RAGBRAI 2025 - One Week, One Ride, One Story | USA
- LoriKat
- Aug 30
- 7 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
📅 Jul 2025 | 🗺️ Orange City to Guttenberg, IA (and a little bit of Minnesota)
RAGBRAI — The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa — isn’t just a ride. It’s a rolling festival. Not a race. A celebration. Picture pancakes at sunrise, pie at every pass-through town, live bands, roadside oddities, impromptu slip ’n slides, and that legendary tire dip in the Mississippi to mark the end.
Seven days. One tire dip. A thousand tiny moments that made it all worth it.
This year’s route was “only” 406 miles — the second shortest in RAGBRAI history — but it didn’t feel short. With 10,487 feet of climbing, relentless headwinds, foggy mornings, and a heat index flirting with 105°F, RAGBRAI 2025 packed a punch. Short on miles, long on grit and laughter — the kind of week that sticks to your spokes.
📚Journal Spill
Day 0: Orange City, IA - The Beginning
Charter day: east to west across Iowa… and no bikes. We got off the bus in Orange City, looked around like “uhhh” because our bicycles never arrived! We then circled back later when our wheels finally rolled in to pick them up and it was dark.
So we pedaled to the Airbnb in the dark — headlamps bouncing off quiet streets.Windmill Park was postcard-perfect: Dutch fronts, tidy canals, tulips everywhere. We did a quick “pre-weekend” tire dip at the start line, wandered past shops, and I climbed into a giant wooden clog because obviously.
The whole weekend eased in — simple food, porch drinks, and a military flyover that shook the sky. No crowds yet. Just calm before the crank.






Day 1: Orange City, IA to Milford, IA - Sunshine, Hills, and Cloud Chasing 72.9 miles | 1541 feet climb
What a kickoff. Sun-up rollout from Orange City felt invigorating. Cool morning air through Granville, a little climb into Primghar, and that first “yes, this is happening” grin.
Two beer tents. Three pies. One elf giving away hugs and candy canes in towns. Peak RAGBRAI.
Hartley turned B-Rad’s broken spoke into a win: foam party at sunrise, lemonade stands, and 4-H kids way smarter about animals than we’ll ever be.
In May City, we ended up in someone’s front yard drinking free beer and petting the friendliest dog in Iowa.
We rolled into Milford under double rainbows — music pumping downtown, camp glowing. The best kind of tired, with dessert.


















Day 2: Milford, IA to Estherville, IA - Fog, Flamingoes, and Minnesota Cameos
42.2 miles | 1090 feet climb
The day started inside a cloud. Lakes near Wahpeton disappeared in the fog, so we focused on pancakes. A “flamingo game” happened. We still don’t know the rules.
First-ever RAGBRAI trip into Minnesota — pure chaos: one backward kybo with a 30-minute line, a packed park, commemorative tokens, and walking tacos that slapped.
Back in Iowa, the headwind woke up angry — but a winery stop with clean bathrooms, free wine, and a band fixed everything. Then a slip ’n slide beer stop near Superior because why not. Thunder grumbled, so we pushed on.
Estherville welcomed us with cold drinks, cool AC, and quiet. Perfect.

















Day 3: Estherville, IA to Forest City, IA - Forest City Bound
74.0 miles | 1327 feet climb
Sunrise over wind turbines leaving Estherville, then… snap snap snap. More spokes gone on B-Rad’s bike. Armstrong saved the day with a mechanic, pie, ice cream, and mural-watching while we waited.
Swea City sprayed us down with unicorn sprinklers as we rolled in — we answered with gas-station donuts and energy-drink selfies. On the edge of town, On the edge of town, cyclists powered wobbly tractor “drag races,” and one rider actually made it to the finish line — we cheered for him like kids.
Bancroft handed out Toppling Goliath samples; we sprawled barefoot under shade trees.
Titonka was chaos — lost each other, found each other, saved by a walking taco!
Woden was a favorite: shade, smoothies, sunscreen rituals, and a breeze that made us forget the heat.
We clinked root beers with riders tackling the Karras Century — unfortunately, we did not participate in this today. Heat was already humming and tomorrow was big. So we decided to take it easy as we had other century rides under our belts.
Quick stop by Crystal Lake for the world’s largest bullhead and a signature.
Into Forest City we came — hoses spraying, squirt guns firing, locals cheering like we were in a parade. Best finish line feeling.
















Day 4: Forest City, IA to Iowa Falls, IA - Windburn, Popsicles, and the Long Haul to Iowa Falls
72.1 miles | 1531 feet climb (AKA "Windy Wednesday")
Wheels rolling before 6 a.m. Ventura gave us a mirror-calm lake and a sneaky preview of the wind to come. B-Rad found the infamous big panties (don’t ask).
Meservey: breakfast burritos + kiddie pool = life.
Alexander: oven temps rising. Steve returned from a Coca-Cola mission like a mirage.
Somewhere between towns, a tent served free ice cream, blueberries, cucumbers, and blessed cold water.
Latimer had a band and cold drinks.
Coulter had popsicles from angels, Freedom Rock, and sunscreen check #85.
Then the grind: Coulter → Iowa Falls. Headwinds up to 24 mph. Heat index 105°F. SAG wagon full of riders tapping out. We were nearly out of water.
An ostrich farm waved us in — we soaked jerseys and filled bottles (brownish but cold — good enough).
One final house with a sprinkler = actual salvation.
We crawled into Iowa Falls windburned, sun-dazed, soaked in sweat, and SO happy to sit in air-conditioning.
















Day 5: Iowa Falls, IA to Cedar Falls, IA - Flight Themes, Flat Roads, and Cedar Falls Glow
51.9 miles | 1300 feet climb
Finally — an easy day. Cloud cover, a breeze, and a cinematic river crossing out of Iowa Falls.
Ackley went full aviation theme — drones, planes, and a giant paper airplane we signed like celebrities.
Aplington = tacos and a stretch.
Parkersburg = Barbie photo ops + “Crocodile Rock” + free ice cream at a tiny church (hallelujah).
New Hartford = packed, so we grabbed sodas and hid in the shade swapping stories.
Rolling into Cedar Falls felt fun — zig-zag neighborhoods, murals, riverwalk views, tubers floating by, and a solid downtown.
Fries, popcorn, hot dogs, ice cream, live music, and festival vibes.
One of the most joy-packer 50 milers ever.
















Day 6: Cedar Falls, IA to Oelwein, IA - Duck-Themed Delights and Parkside Peace
38.3 miles | 1143 feet climb
Late start = instant bike traffic jam through Dunkerton. A nearby beer stop showed off duck décor — a teaser for the day.
Then Fairbank. We fell in love. Murals, horses, a very pettable pig, and clean bathrooms (we celebrate these things now). Burgers + picnic table + Mountain Dew = bliss.
Oelwein was ready for us — “Duck Duck Viaduct” everywhere. We rolled in early, cleaned up, wandered town, and caught a killer sunset. A surprise pony and B-Rad peeking out of corn sealed its spot as favorite overnight.



















Day 7: Oelwein, IA to Guttenberg, IA - Tire Dip & Treachery
62.5 miles | 2429 feet climb
Roll out from Oelwein at 4:50 a.m. Blinky lights leading the way to Stanley, then farm roads and one almost-wipeout on gravel to wake us up.
Aurora: black cat cameo.
Lamont: unicorn sprinkler.
Dundee: pie inside a firehouse as soft rain started.
By 7 a.m., drizzle cooled everything without wrecking the day. We grabbed free light-green route shirts at a beer stop and rolled on with working brakes (victory).
Edgewood was the vibe of the week: free beer, free popsicles, and karaoke guy slaying his “Wheel in the Sky” remix.
Then: hills. Doom - doom - doom. No walking my bike — even when someone walked past me (what?! okay wow, pedaling harder now).
Reward: smooth rollers into Amish country, kids waving like it was a parade.
Missed a selfie in Garber, whoops.
Then the Big One. 46 mph rolling down the hill into Guttenberg — brakes warm, heart hotter, praying not to hit rumble strips.
The Air Force Cycling Team cheered us in. We took the welcome-sign photo, stood in the tire-dip line, and dunked those wheels in the Mississippi like we meant it.
420 miles. Bikes intact. Bodies tired. Spirits loud.
We did it — again.



















🔚 Final Spin
We didn’t just ride across Iowa. We rode through fog that soaked our jerseys, rain that actually felt amazing, headwinds that tried to ruin our vibe, and sunshine that almost did. We laughed a lot. We complained a little. We ate pie whenever we could find it.
We rolled into towns we’d never heard of and left thinking we could totally live there. We made friends we’ll probably only ever see on bikes again — and that’s fine.
420 miles. One tire dip. One very sweaty, very awesome week.
We showed up not totally sure what we were in for. We pedaled anyway. We stayed curious and open and ridiculous.
And now we’ve got stories rattling around in our spokes that we’re not forgetting anytime soon.
🍬Echoes, Keepsakes, & Oddities
Rainbows over Milford
A commemorative token from Minnesota - first time RAGBRAI left Iowa
A walking taco that reunited the crew in Titonka
Popsicles mid-ride, cucumbers that changed your life
Pie at sunrise, pie at noon, pie at dusk
B-Rad poking out of a cornfield in Oelwein
Edgewood karaoke guy singing his heart out to “Wheel in the Sky”
A foam party at sunrise
A unicorn sprinkler in Lamont, because why not
46 mph descent into Guttenberg, brakes burning, heart racing
Tire dip in the Mississippi
Asking B-Rad to share his "dip pic" at the end of the ride
🎞️ Tag & Snag




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