Arriving at the Transportation Staging Point

You must arrive at our transportation staging point at the end of RAGBRAI by 3:30 pm

We feel this arrival time best balances arriving back in Chicago at a reasonable time with the needs of our slower riders since we will be departing on what is still a riding day. All riders will still be able to linger in the interesting towns along the route that day and enjoy the last day of their RAGBRAI experience. You will not need to get up at the crack of dawn or make a mad rush to arrive at our staging point on time, making an otherwise enjoyable ride into a stressful one. If you are a faster rider you may want to slow down your pace on the road that day but if you do arrive in the ending town well before this arrival time there will still be plenty for you to see and do there.

It is extremely important for you to plan your day so that you complete the ride and activities in the ending town and arrive at our transportation staging point by the arrival time. We certainly do not want to you miss our transportation service back to Chicago! Your arrival time in the ending town will depend on such considerations as your departure time from the previous overnight town, your riding pace on the road (particularly if the route that day is a long distance and/or has a lot of climbing), and the amount of time you spend at stops and the pass through towns on the route that day.

You should also plan on leaving some extra time just in case any unforeseeable situations come up such as mechanical trouble, inclement weather conditions such as rain, heat, or headwinds, or just extra stops because you are tired and riding slow after a long week. You should also leave enough time to do such things in the ending town as dipping your tires at the finish in the Mississippi River to signify you made it, dropping your bike off at the bike shipping location (if applicable), picking up your baggage, taking a shower, eating and drinking, checking out the ending town, and bringing your bike and baggage to our transportation staging point.

Please note that showers will not be available in Chicago. If you want to shower after your ride you will need to do so in the ending town before we depart.

• Click Here for all drop off locations in the RAGBRAI previous and ending stopping towns overlaid on satellite imagery. (coming after May 1st)
• Click Here to download the in town cue sheets and maps for the RAGBRAI previous and ending stopping towns. (coming after May 1st)

Baggage Pickup in the Previous RAGBRAI Stopping Town
We will have separate baggage pick up locations in the previous stopping town on Saturday morning at both the RAGBRAI baggage truck and also at the Pork Belly Ventures camping location. Based on previous experience it will be much, much easier for the majority of our participants to deliver your baggage to us at one of these locations than transporting it yourself after you arrive in the ending town. Doing so will also significantly help us depart the ending town in a reasonable amount of time bacause you won't need to go back to pick up your baggage after you arrive!

We will be accepting baggage at all locations from 5:00 am when the RAGBRAI baggage truck opens until 8:00 am when it departs. We will also unload your baggage in the RAGBRAI ending town so you can still access your personal items there (shower stuff, car keys, book for the ride home, etc.)

If you are not using the RAGBRAI baggage truck or Pork Belly Ventures to transport your baggage during the week of RAGBRAI it is very important to check where your staging locations will be both in the RAGBRAI ending town as well as the previous stopping town to determine the easiest way for you to transfer your baggage to us. You can still deliver your baggage to us at one of these locations in the previous RAGBRAI stopping town on Saturday morning transporting even if you are transporting your baggage during the week of RAGBRAI another way.

• Click Here for more information about the RAGBRAI previous stopping town. (coming soon!)

Coming after May 1st!

Coming after May 1st!

RAGBRAI Ending Town Locations
The RAGBRAI ending town will inform us of these specific locations around May 1st and we will develop the specific routes and provide more information about them after this time.

• Click Here for more information about the RAGBRAI ending town. (coming soon!)

Coming after May 1st! We expect our coach bus to arrive at the transportation staging point at TBD (coming after May 1st!)

Coming after May 1st!

Coming after May 1st!

Coming after May 1st!

Please note that all locations are approximate.

Riding to Our Transportation Staging Point
At the end of RAGBRAI, you will need to ride directly to our transportation staging point yourself from the ending location and dip site. We will provide a route for you to follow.

• Click Here for all supported facilities, services, and in town routes for the RAGBRAI ending town overlaid on satellite imagery. (coming after May 1st!)
• Click Here to download the in town cue sheets and maps for the RAGBRAI previous and ending stopping towns. (coming after May 1st!)
• Click Here to download the GPS route dataset files for the RAGBRAI ending town. (coming after May 1st!)

• Click Here for more information about in town transportation.
• Click Here for more information about our routes.
• Click Here for more information about the roads and bike paths we follow.
• Click Here for more information about navigating our routes.
• Click Here for more information about our cue sheets and maps.
  

Cue Sheet and Map
We will distribute a printed cue sheet and map of our routes in the RAGBRAI ending town to all participants before the start of RAGBRAI as part of the registration materials.

We will also post a link on the bicycleillinois.com home page and our RAGBRAI transportation service home page for you to download the .pdf file of the cue sheet and map onto your smartphone in case your paper copy gets lost or destroyed during the week of RAGBRAI.

Unfortunately we will not be able to distribute them after the end of RAGBRAI, so if you do not register for our transportation service from Chicago to the start of RAGBRAI you will need to download and print them yourself and carry them with you during the week.

GPS Route Dataset Files
GPS route dataset files will be available for you to download to your own individual personal GPS device for navigation if you will be riding with one.

• Click Here for more information about riding with your own personal GPS device.

We will not be providing a GPS unit to any of our participants for navigation at the end of RAGBRAI.

Detours and Reroutes
In the extremely unlikely event that either our transportation staging point location or the route to it changes after all printed materials and the GPS route dataset files have been distributed (such as in response to unexpected blocked roads, new road construction, etc.) we will indicate our route to our transportation staging point by using painted road markings directly on the road designated with both "BI" and "DT" to signify Bicycle Iillinois and the DeTour. We will also inform all of our participants on their cell phone using both text message and voice mail of the situation. Unfortunately we will not be able to provide anyone with a new individual printed cue sheet or map of GPS route dataset files of our new routes.

• Click Here for more information about our signage.
• Click Here for more information about our road markings.
• Click Here for more information about reroutes.
• Click Here for more information about road construction.
• Click Here for more information about us contacting you during the event.

Other Signage
We will not mount any Bicycle Illinois specific signs onto sign posts or telephone poles because they will be too easy to miss and will not stand out enough among the hundreds of other club signs posted there. In addition we will not be able to come back later to take the signs down.

Transporting Your Baggage to Our Transportation Staging Point
If you do not deliver your baggage to us in the previous RAGBRAI stopping town you will need to transport it to our transportation staging point in the RAGBRAI ending town yourself.

• Click Here for more information about baggage pickup in the previous RAGBRAI stopping town

In order to prevent unnecessary traffic in the RAGBRAI ending town, RAGBRAI only allows us to travel to our transportation staging point and we cannot pick up any participants or their bicycles or baggage at any other location. If you used Pork Belly Ventures charter service during the week of RAGBRAI, they will not deliver your baggage to our transportation staging point in the ending town either.

Ideally, our transportation staging point will be close enough to your baggage in the RAGBRAI ending town so that you can easily carry it to our transportation staging point yourself from there yourself.

If your baggage is not within a reasonable walking distance to our transportation staging point, our transportation staging point will be a stop on the official RAGBRAI Rider & Support Shuttle Service which will run all day. To use the shuttle service to transport your baggage to our transportation staging location you should bike to our transportation staging point (without your baggage) using our route from the RAGBRAI ending location and dip site and drop off your bicycle with us. You should then take the shuttle service back to where your baggage is located (without your bicycle), pick up your baggage, and then take the RAGBRAI shuttle bus back to our transportation staging point with your baggage. Shuttle busses can take up to an hour and a half each way, so make sure and budget at least three hours to get your baggage after you arrive at our transportation staging point.

Bicycle Staging and Loading
We will have two separate bicycle moving trucks travel from the RAGBRAI ending town to Chicago. The first truck will depart the RAGBRAI ending town at the same time as the coach busses and drop off at all staging points in Chicago on Saturday evening. We will give priority to loading all the bikes that need to return to Chicago on Saturday evening onto this moving truck to make sure it and the busses coach busses depart the RAGBRAI ending town and arrive in Chicago in a timely manner.

• Click Here for more information about our transportation staging locations in Chicago

After the coach busses and the first moving truck depart we continue to load the remaining bikes (as well as our equipment and supplies) to be picked up at our post-event bicycle and baggage pick up on Saturday and Sunday. This second truck will drive through the night and arrive back in Chicago early Sunday morning. We will then unload all of the bikes at the main transportation staging point there where they will be waiting until you arrive to pick them up on Sunday or Monday. Allowing us to transport your bicycle later and picking it up from us on Sunday or Monday will help assure a much, much quicker departure time for everyone from the RAGBRAI ending town. Accordingly, we will be offering a significant registration discount to participants who pick up their bikes from us on Sunday or Monday instead of Saturday evening.

Please note that all baggage (whether or not it will be left for our post-event bicycle and baggage pick up) must still be transported to Chicago in the compartments underneath the coach busses since there is only enough room on our moving truck to transport bicycles and not any additional baggage.

• Click Here for more information about our post-event bicycle and baggage pick up

We will stage and load bikes and baggage in the RAGBRAI ending town together as one group so that we can quickly and easily unload them in Chicago together in the following order of drop off locations:

• Saturday evening delivery
  • Parking Garage
  • Main Transportation Staging Point
  • Chicago Hotel
• Post-event bicycle and baggage pick up