(Sioux City) On Sunday, thousands of bike enthusiasts and support personnel will hit the roads for RAGBRAI’s 500-mile trek across Iowa. The trip starts on Sunday from Sioux City and ends in Davenport on Saturday, July 29.
There are two different teams of Iowa State Patrol Troopers traveling with RAGBRAI. State Trooper and District #4 Public Information Officer Shelby McCreedy is a member of the Traffic Control Unit consisting of 13 State Troopers that help bicyclists and support vehicles safely reach their destination.
The traffic team remains on duty from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and the second team consisting of 12-14 Troopers follows the bikers enforcing the shutdown times in the pass-through communities.
Trooper McCreedy says the biggest issue is non-participating traffic.
Trooper McCreedy says the other issue is the interruption in cellular service because of the thousands of people overloading cell towers. She says this can be incredibly difficult to make a phone call or text message. This is very challenging in an emergency, and the need to dial 911.
On Sunday, the route starts in Sioux City with overnight stays in Storm Lake, Carroll, Ames—Des Moines, Tama-Toledo, Coralville, and ending in Davenport.
