DES MOINES, Iowa – An iconic summer event in Iowa will be skipped this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organizers for RAGBRAI, the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, announced Monday morning the 2020 ride will not take place. The ride will return in 2021.

A statement on RAGBRAI’s Facebook page says, in part, “After deep consideration and collaboration with the eight overnight town executive committees, government agencies, the public health department, and official business partners of RAGBRAI, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone RAGBRAI XLVIII to 2021.

The safety of our riders has always been the most important focus for our RAGBRAI team and we feel the decision to postpone to 2021 is the right one. We strongly feel that this is in everyone’s best interest.”

The ride had been scheduled to take place July 19 through July 25th and the overnight stops chosen were Le Mars, Storm Lake, Fort Dodge, Iowa Falls, Waterloo, Anamosa, Maquoketa and Clinton.

This is the full statement from RAGBRAI:

RAGBRAI Nation, As we’ve watched the impact COVID-19 is having on the world, we’ve continued to plan and adjust our timelines, hold key conversations with our trusted partners, and determine the best course of action for all parties involved. After deep consideration and collaboration with the eight overnight town executive committees, government agencies, the public health department, and official business partners of RAGBRAI, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone RAGBRAI XLVIII to 2021. The safety of our riders has always been the most important focus for our RAGBRAI team and we feel the decision to postpone to 2021 is the right one. We strongly feel that this is in everyone’s best interest. RAGBRAI takes months of planning and preparation. Based on the extreme disruption COVID-19 has had and will have on the planning, we didn’t feel it was responsible to move forward and put the safety of our riders, crew, communities, or residents of Iowa at risk. While we wish we were biking across Iowa this July, our resolve is to make 2021 even better and we look forward to lifting up these communities when it is safe. The RAGBRAI XLVIII route will remain the same for 2021. The towns along the route have already put a substantial amount of work and resource into planning and will have the opportunity to showcase their communities in 2021. The full route with meeting and pass-through towns will be announced at a later date. You can view our full statement which includes refund options and a detailed FAQ at RAGBRAI.com/registration. WHAT’S NEXT? RAGBRAI is planning several ways to stay connected this year in lieu of the ride. More details about a weekend fall ride and more will be released this spring. We understand how disappointing this news feels. Please know that we didn’t take this decision lightly. We have spent the last month and a half talking to our partners, reworking our timelines and while biking continues to be one of the safest things to do right now, we couldn’t take a risk that would endanger even one person come July. We appreciate your unwavering support over the past 47 years and we will be in touch this spring with some exciting new opportunities! Sincerely,

your RAGBRAI team RAGBRAI