50th Anniversary RAGBRAI Underway In IA

What bills itself as “the world’s longest, largest and oldest recreational bicycle touring event” is larger than ever this year as RAGBRAI celebrates its golden anniversary. The brainchild of a couple of writers from The Des Moines Register in 1973, the ride begins with a dip of the rear tire in the Missouri River and ends seven days later with a ceremonial dip of the front tire in the Mississippi. In between, a crowd that could push 50,000 — including one AP Sports Writer — will pedal upwards of 100 miles each day across the rolling Iowa farmland in a caravan that has been likened to Woodstock on wheels.