RAGBRAI: Davenport names dip site for annual bike ride

Davenport is getting ready for a big day – with perhaps 100,000 visitors – on Saturday, July 29. Part of the planning for that day was unveiled Thursday afternoon, March 9, as business and city leaders announced the specific ending site and logo for this summer’s RAGBRAI (The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) […]

Davenport is getting ready for a big day – with perhaps 100,000 visitors – on Saturday, July 29. Part of the planning for that day was unveiled Thursday afternoon, March 9, as business and city leaders announced the specific ending site and logo for this summer’s RAGBRAI (The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) bike trek across the state.

The 50th anniversary RAGBRAI will begin in Sioux City, Iowa, on Saturday, July 22, and end in Davenport a week later. (The ride will start July 23.) This year’s ending dip site for bicyclists will be at Davenport’s Marquette Street boat ramp and Veterans Memorial Park at 473 S. Marquette St., officials announced at a news conference attended by more than 50 people at the Union Station Destination Center at 102 S. Harrison St. The announcement was hosted by Visit Quad Cities. “RAGBRAI is a cultural phenomenon, and we are humbled to be part of the largest touring bike ride in the world,” said Dave Herrell, president and CEO of Visit Quad Cities. “We are a bold destination that has a tremendous amount of momentum that we need to leverage for future success.”

Other highlights announced Thursday include:

• The Davenport RAGBRAI logo and theme were introduced. That local theme is “Be Bold. Ride Gold.” Mr. Herrell said he wants that theme to “be the battle cry in the Quad Cities.” (Each town along the bike route will create its own personalized logo that will be separate from the official RAGBRAI logo.)
• Officials introduced a new website – davenportragbrai.com – that will update people on RAGBRAI-related events in the community. There is also a related Facebook page.
• Mr. Herrell added that RAGBRAI and Visit Quad Cities officials will soon make more announcements concerning numerous entertainment events and other activities that will be held in the Quad Cities on or near July 29 including the designated route to the dip site, volunteer opportunities, corporate sponsorship and other details.

“The excitement for the 50th (RAGBRAI) has been building since we dipped tires in Lansing (Iowa) last year,” said Matt Phippen, RAGBRAI ride director. “We can’t wait to welcome record crowds this year from all 50 states and 17 countries. This year’s route will definitely highlight Iowa communities for the whole world to see.” The RAGBRAI official added that he was committed to having Davenport being the end spot for this year’s ride because the city was the last stage of the first ride 50 years ago. “There were towns along the way fighting for your spot. I wanted Davenport,” he said. In addition to the thousands of participants and fans RAGBRAI will bring to Davenport, the city also will host the annual Quad City Times Bix 7 road race on July 29. The RAGBRAI, business and city government officials all said thousands of visitors will be in Davenport, but offered no firm estimate. Mr. Herrell said he believes RAGBRAI alone will likely bring in at least 20,000. The Davenport RAGBRAI website states at least 30,000 will be in Davenport on July 29. “The numbers look good. We will have a couple of people showing up in July,” joked Mr. Phippen. Mayor Matson did suggest the crowd could exceed 100,000 by the time all the runners, bikers, family members, support staff and other visitors who want to get a look at the activities are counted.  “It could be 50,000 people or 100,000. It’s going to add up quickly. … We are preparing for historic numbers,” the mayor added. Hosting all those visitors is going to take a small army of volunteers. The Davenport RAGBRAI website has a page devoted to signing up volunteers for the big day in July. “Are you available to make a positive in-destination experience, want to meet people from all over the world, and experience one of the largest sports events in the history of Iowa?” the website says in a plea for volunteers. “You could staff Quad Cities information tables, take photos at the dip site, assist at the celebration, direct visitors to their destinations, or help during set-up or tear-down.”