Fort Dodge will mark their second overnight stop along this year’s route.

The event is expected to bring more than 15,000 riders and their support staff to Fort Dodge. As a result, the Fort Dodge Police Department and RAGRBAI committee are asking that residents use caution and remain patient on the roads.

“This influx of bikes and vehicles will significantly increase the daily traffic flow we are used to,” said Capt. Ryan Gruenberg, of the Fort Dodge Police Department. “To ensure the safety of those RAGBRAI participants, and still allow Fort Dodge residents the ability to navigate the city, the Fort Dodge Police Department and Fort Dodge Public Works will be closing several roads throughout the city.”

Bikers will enter the city at U.S. Highway 169 and Kenyon Road. From there they will travel along Kenyon Road to the main campground area located at Sunkissed Meadows.

Monday evening, downtown will serve as the vendor and entertainment area. Riders will then depart Tuesday morning, crossing the city from Sunkissed Meadows before heading east past Rosedale Rapids.

Listed below is detailed information regarding the upcoming road closures throughout the city.

The city encourages everyone to use caution and plan ahead when traveling throughout the day Monday and on Tuesday morning.

“It is the hope of the city that both the riders and community members have a safe and memorable experience, while celebrating RAGBRAI 2021 in Fort Dodge,” Gruenberg said.

City Councilman Neven Conrad, a member of the RAGBRAI executive committee, said RAGBRAI is a wonderful opportunity to showcase all of the things that make Fort Dodge special.

This Google Maps image shows the arrival route for the RAGBRAI ride through Fort Dodge on Monday.

“In general, Fort Dodge relishes the opportunity to be a host town,” he said. “Too often our community is branded with negative connotations, but with RAGBRAI we get the opportunity to show off the ongoing improvements such as the mall redevelopment, reinvestment from our business community, the beautification through strategic planning as well as the tireless work of groups such as PICA, and we also get to showcase Fort Dodge’s greatest asset – our people.

“If a rider happens to come into town Monday with their only understanding of Fort Dodge being an old negative stereotype, then I’m confident we will send them off Tuesday morning with a positive view of our community and what we have to offer,” he added.”Perhaps we’ll see them make a return visit to try out any number of the amenities that make our hometown stand out.”

All roads will return to normal traffic flow at approximately 11 a.m. Tuesday.

“Patience will be key Tuesday morning,” Conrad said. “If you can, plan to leave a little early and if possible travel out and around west of town. If necessary, you will still be able to pass through the route, but it will likely cause delays. Please be patient as we see our guests off to the next stop of their adventure and thank them for visiting if you see them.”

ARRIVAL ROUTE (4 a.m. to 6 p.m.)

This Google Maps image shows the departure route of the RAGBRAI ride through Fort Dodge on Tuesday.

• Kenyon Road from U.S. Highway 169 to South Eighth Street

• Officers will be assigned to each intersection along the route

• Vehicle traffic will be reduced to head to head traffic on Kenyon Road from U.S. Highway 169 to 12th Street starting at 4 a.m., lasting until approximately 6 p.m.

• Riders will cross Kenyon Road at Eighth Street

• Riders will then loop down to the main campground at Sunkissed Meadows

Pleasant Valley Neighborhood

• South Seventh Street will be closed

• South 14th Street and South 22nd Street access points will be open

Monday

Road Closures starting at 6 a.m.

• South Seventh Street from Sunkissed Meadows to Central Avenue will be closed to vehicle traffic.

• South Eighth Street from Third Avenue South to Kenyon Road (Detour to 12th Street)

• Intersection of First Avenue South (Crosstown Connector) and Seventh Street will remain open for east/west vehicle traffic.

• Central Avenue from Third Street to 12th Street will be closed.

• Roads will be closed a block north/south of Central Avenue allowing access to alleyways.

• Meriwether Drive will be closed.

• City Parking Lot behind the Trolley Center will be closed. (Being used as a shuttle drop off/pick up)

• The majority of the camping will take place in Sunkissed Meadows.

• The majority of downtown will remain closed until approximately 2 a.m. Tuesday

DEPARTURE ROUTE

Tuesday (5 a.m. – 11 a.m.)

Route Out

• Sunkissed Meadows up Seventh Street to Central Avenue

• Central Avenue east to 11th Street

• 11th Street to Sixth Avenue North

• Sixth Avenue North, east to Martin Luther King Drive

• Martin Luther King Drive to 10th Avenue North

•10th Avenue North, east out of town

On Street Parking (North 11th Street and Sixth Avenue North)

• NO PARKING will be allowed on North 11th Street and along Sixth Avenue North from midnight to 11 a.m. Tuesday. Any vehicle parked along this route will be towed at the owner’s expense.

Driveway access along the route

• Riders will be utilizing the parking lane and the south traffic lane. Vehicle traffic will continue along Sixth Avenue North using the north traffic lane.

It is strongly encouraged that anyone along the route to utilize alley or off-street parking. This will help avoid exiting your driveway into bike traffic. If you must use your driveway, use extreme caution when exiting to ensure no riders are in your path.

North/South Vehicle Crossing Locations along route (manned by officers)

• North Ninth Street and Central Avenue

• North 15th Street and Sixth Avenue North

• North 22nd Street and Sixth Avenue North

• All other areas crossing the bike route will be closed to crossing vehicle traffic

North 32nd Street

• North 32nd Street will be closed to through traffic

• Northbound traffic should detour on First Avenue South to 15th Street

• Southbound traffic should detour on 25th Avenue North

Pleasant Valley and Knollcrest Neighborhoods

Pleasant Valley Neighborhood (Monday and Tuesday morning)

• Seventh Street will be closed

• South 14th Street and South 22nd Street access points will be open

Knollcrest Neighborhood Residents (Tuesday morning)

• 10th Avenue North will be closed

• Will need to detour to North 32nd Street, north to 25th Avenue North and back into town to North 22nd Street

RAGBRAI information

Hosting an overnight stay

Housing thousands of visitors to Fort Dodge is a daunting task. Hotels and motels are booked housing riders and their support teams. In addition, hundreds of local residents have stepped up to offer their spare bedrooms, backyards, and driveways to RAGBRAI participants.

“We’ve spent a lot time on the phone and through emails organizing and communicating campground locations with the groups,” said Ryan Maehl, RAGBRAI Campgrounds Committee chair. “Our effort has been to over communicate, provide easy to read maps, actual photos of the sites, even walk the areas with them, and honestly, to make their stay in Fort Dodge amazing. The stress it must be to organize a trip across Iowa, on bikes, has to be just daunting. So our goal was to make this Monday night, as easy for them as possible and so far, we have heard that from them.”

The vast majority of riders will be spending the night under the stars in tents in the Sunkissed Meadows area of Fort Dodge.

The RAGBRAI committee has also been working with large groups and charter groups for specific camping locations in Fort Dodge. Some will be near Fort Dodge Senior High School and others near Dodger Stadium.

Nearly 100 volunteers will be helping riders and support team members find their camping spaces in Sunkissed Meadows and in GPS charter locations.

“Throughout the organizational process, we have worked with RVs, charter groups, large teams, small groups and individual riders,” Maehl said. “Each one has a different setup and process for what to look for.

“The small groups and individuals will have 13 plus acres in Sunkissed Meadows to carve out a spot for themselves at their own pace and when they arrive, which is right by the RAGBRAI trailers. Many large groups and charters have pre-arranged their locations and have received GPS maps to locate their exact spot. Additionally, an identification number, specific to each group, has been painted in their campground to help even further. RVs with RAGBRAI credentials will have two locations, FDSH and Dodger Stadium, for their night in Fort Dodge. Regardless of the group type, volunteers in bright yellow shirts will be in the campground/RV areas helping to get our biking visitors to their temporary home while in Fort Dodge.”

RAGBRAI volunteers still needed

Volunteers are still needed to help at the beverage garden ticket booth and with food and vendors. Volunteers with food and vendors needed from 7-11 p.m. and will be helping to check in/check out vendors, shuttle ice, and help with anything else that might be needed. Please contact ShannonCrouse@msn.com.

Additionally, the RAGBRAI committee is asking Fort Dodge residents to line Kenyon Road to welcome riders.

Some riders will start rolling into town around 11 a.m., though most are expected between 1 and 3 p.m.

RAGBRAI T-shirts are still available at Mary Kay’s Gifts and Home Decor, 1108 Central Ave., and will also be available at the information booth on Central Avenue.

“A large event like this doesn’t just happen overnight. Hundreds of volunteers are involved with the planning and execution of bringing RAGBRAI to Fort Dodge and Webster County,” said Webster County Supervisor Niki Conrad, RAGBRAI executive committee member. “The planning process began in early 2020, with the help of so many fantastic people who generously donated their time, energy, and expertise to making this a huge success. I am tremendously proud of our community and thank them all for their service.”

Fort Dodge City Councilman Neven Conrad, RAGBRAI executive committee member, added, “The focus of this year is creating a tremendous celebration downtown with our phenomenal local businesses. We have the opportunity, through being a RAGBRAI overnight town, to give back economically in a big way to our small business community after a disastrous 2020 due to COVID. It’s an opportunity to showcase these businesses while simultaneously giving many of them a nice economic shot in the arm.”

Transportation during RAGBRAI

Normal Pathfinders/DART busing routes will not run on Monday due to RAGBRAI, according to Shirley Helgevold, community development director, Pathfinders Strategic Partners.

“All riders will be able to buy a wristband for $3 for unlimited rides on Monday at the nine bus stops we have set up at nine of the campgrounds,” said Helgevold. “The locations of the bus stops and the two bus routes are on the map developed by The Messenger and the FD RAGBRAI committee.”

Bikes will not be allowed on the bus, Helgevold said.

“We have two RAGBRAI routes running that day,” she said. “The north/yellow route (Aquatic Center, Fort Dodge Middle School, Fort Dodge Senior High and Dodger Stadium) and south/red route (Hydro-Electric Park, Silos by Amigos, and two in the Sunkissed Meadows area) both converge at the central point which is the parking lot across from Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance.

The routes will run from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. On both routes from 11 a.m. to noon the buses will run every half hour.

After 12 p.m. on the north/yellow route buses will run every 15 minutes.

After 12 p.m. on the south/red route buses will run approximately every seven minutes.

These times are approximates, as if a bus gets full at one stop we will take them directly to the drop off site. If that happens the interval times will change.

Citizens who normally ride the route service on Monday will be able to use the demand response service we have set up that day by calling the DART number 515-573-8145. Regular routes will be back in service on Tuesday.

Beverage garden information

Participating locations for this year’s beverage garden and those accepting tickets include Amigo’s, 4th Street Depot, Moose Lodge, Cricket’s Lounge, Shiny Top Brewing, Four Seasons, Olde Boston’s Restaurant and Pub, Dodge City, River Hops Brewing, and JoJo’s Cocktail Lounge.

More than 80 local volunteers are helping just with the beverage garden.

Tickets to the beverage garden can be purchased at five different locations:

• North 10th Street and Central Avenue

• North Eighth Street and Central Avenue

• North Sixth Street and Central Avenue

• Central Avenue between Third Street and First Street near the nature trail just east of the railroad tracks

• Sunkissed Meadows parking lot area next to the information booth for the campground

“Given the year and a half our hospitality industries endured, we thought it made the most sense to pursue an opportunity to focus on local businesses’ success rather than adding three areas of competition for such a large event,” said Luke Hugghins, RAGBRAI Beverage Garden Committee chair. “At the end of the event, each establishment will be reimbursed with the majority of the ticket cost and our local RAGBRAI committee will retain a portion to cover RAGBRAI Fort Dodge expenses. This focus on local assets also partnered well with the Entertainment Committee’s focus on local talent for the entertainment.”

Drink tickets are $2.50 a piece. Examples of what locations may charge are: one ticket for water or soda, two tickets for domestic beer, and three tickets for craft beer and mixed drinks, if available. These locations will be identified by signs. Within the barricaded entertainment area, customers can then take their drink and walk freely.

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