Get ready for the area’s biggest party when Sioux City celebrates the 50th anniversary of The Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, better known as RAGBRAI, on Saturday, July 22, with festivities that will attract a record number of registered riders.

Presented by Missouri River Historical Development (MRHD) and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City, RAGBRAI cyclists will arrive in droves and stay the night July 22 in Sioux City before they dip their tires in the Missouri River and take off Sunday morning.

It will be the eighth time RAGBRAI starts from Sioux City, including the first RAGBRAI which launched in 1973 with over 300 riders, 114 of whom made it to the end. This year cyclists will stop in Storm Lake and five other communities before ending in Davenport, Iowa on July 29.

A focal point for the riders as well as local residents will be the entertainment and bike expo area in the Tyson Events Center and Long Lines Family Rec Center parking lot. Stay up to date with the latest information, sign up to host riders, volunteer or be a vendor at ragbraisiouxcity.com

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RAGBRAI began when Des Moines Register reporters John Karras and Donald Kaul decided to bike across Iowa and invited others to join them. The ride exploded over the years, making RAGBRAI a major summer event across the state of Iowa.