Organizers of Iowa’s Ride have announced the overnight towns for their route coming up this summer, and those locations are now starting preparations.

The ride starts on Sunday, July 12, in Dubuque and ends in Rock Rapids on Saturday, July 18. In eastern Iowa, Monticello, Vinton, and Eldora are overnight stops on the ride. Other stops include Clarion, Emmetsburg, and Sheldon.

“Any time you can get that many people into a town it’s going to be good for business,” Karilea Reis, owner of Camerons Clothing in Vinton, said.

Reis was getting ready for Small Business Saturday this weekend when she learned of the news. Having been through a number of RAGBRAIs in the past, she said she is excited about what this might mean for business.

“People come in [and buy things], and we have boxes so we mail [their purchases] out to them,” Reis said.

However, there are still a lot of unknowns about the ride. This fall, Iowa’s Ride organizers told KCRG-TV9 that hundreds have signed up for the race, but those helping to organize it in the small town said they are going to prepare for the thousands of people RAGBRAI would normally draw.

“We have a lot of things we are excited to show off in town,” Melissa Schwan, director of Vinton Unlimited, the town's economic development office, said.

Schwan has known about the stop for a couple of weeks, and said they are already working on starting the planning phase. She said they will be speaking to the Benton County Emergency Management Agency next week to discuss what happens if there is severe weather.

“We are hoping to partner up with the school and some of the local churches,” Schwan said.

Schwan said she isn’t going to release all of the details in the works right now and will continue to form a committee and get volunteers. There are still a lot of unknowns about the ride, but Reis said one thing is for certain: people will be shopping in Vinton.

“It was fun when RAGBRAI would come through,” Reis said. “It brings the locals out to see the event and people are enjoying our community.”