General Company Wide Updates

• Click Here for general company wide updates.

RAGBRAI Transportation Service Specific Updates for the 2023 Season

3/14/23

• Bicycle Transportation Services
  • We will have two separate bicycle moving crews transporting bicycles as part of our new "standard" and "premium" bicycle transportation services both before the start and after the end of RAGBRAI.
  • You must now let us know when you want to pick up your bicycle in Chicago after the end of RAGBRAI so that we can properly stage and load bikes together as one group in the RAGBRAI ending town.
  • Click Here for more information about our bicycle transportation services.
  • Standard Bicycle Transportation Service
    • For our standard bicycle transportation service you will drop off your bike with us on the Friday before the start of RAGBRAI as part of our pre-event bicycle drop off service and pick it up on the Sunday or Monday after the end of RAGBRAI as part of our post-event bicycle pick up service at the Goose Island Brewery in Chicago.
    • We strongly, strongly prefer that you use our standard bicycle transportation service. Doing so helps assure a much, much quicker departure time for everyone by significantly shifting and spreading out the time it takes to check you in and prepare and load your bicycle which helps to assure timely arrival and departure times, minimizes staff wear and tear, and allows significantly more time to overcome any problems that might come up on the road. Accordingly, our standard bicycle transportation services is included with all registrations and there will not be any additional fee.
    • We can no longer accept any baggage as part of our standard bicycle transportation service in order to maximize space for bicycles in our bicycle moving trucks. Instead, all baggage must be transported in the compartments underneath the coach busses.
    • Before the start of RAGBRAI
      • If you drop off your bike with us at our pre-event bicycle drop off service on Friday it will be waiting for you ready to pick up immediately when you arrive at the RAGBRAI starting town! This is because after we finish loading all the bikes we received that day one bicycle moving crew will drive through the night to the RAGBRAI starting town. After they arrive there they will unload all of the bikes onto our bike racks at your desired drop off location as appropriate and they will be waiting there for you when the coach busses arrive from Chicago!
      • Bicycles will not be stored overnight at Goose Island Brewery any more before the start of RAGBRAI.
      • Click Here for more information about our standard bicycle transportation service pre-event bicycle drop off on the Friday before the start of RAGBRAI
    • After the end of RAGBRAI
      • After our premium bicycle transportation service crew has departed the RAGBRAI ending town we will continue to load all remaining bikes as well as our equipment and supplies. We will then drive through the night, arrive back in Chicago early Sunday morning, and unload all of the bikes the Goose Island Brewery where they will be waiting for you to pick up on Sunday or Monday.
      • Click Here for more information about our standard bicycle transportation service post-event bicycle pick up on the Sunday or Monday after the end of RAGBRAI
  • Premium Bicycle Transportation Service
    • For our premium bicycle transportation service, you can drop off your bike with us on the Saturday morning before the start of RAGBRAI and/or pick it up on the Saturday evening after the end of RAGBRAI at the same staging location as the coach busses at the Chicago hotel.
    • You will almost definitely need to wait for your bicycle to arrive after the coach busses do since our bicycle moving trucks travel much slower than the coach busses and also must stop much more frequently to get fuel.
    • Because of the significant overall logistic benefits our standard bicycle transportation service provides, there will be an additional fee for our premium bicycle transportation service of $15.00 before the start of RAGBRAI and $35.00 after the end of RAGBRAI.
      • Even if you are staying at the Chicago hotel, you will still need to register and pay extra for our premium bicycle transportation service to have your bicycle loaded and/or unloaded there. Otherwise you can still drop it off and/or pick it up yourself as part of our standard bicycle transportation service at the Goose Brewery.
      • There will not be any additional fees for our premium bicycle transportation service for postponed participants from 2020, but we would still REALLY appreciate it if you could use our standard bicycle transportation service instead!
    • Before the start of RAGBRAI
      • You must drop off your bicycle with us at the Chicago hotel at 6:30 am Saturday morning in order to give us enough time to get you checked in and your bike loaded onto our bicycle moving truck.
      • The only way to definitely avoid waiting for your bicycle to arrive and be able to pick it up immediately when you arrive at the RAGBRAI starting town is to drop it off with us as part of our standard bicycle transportation service pre-event drop off on the Friday before the start of RAGBRAI.
      • Click Here for more information about our premium bicycle transportation service on the Saturday morning before the start of RAGBRAI.
    • After the end of RAGBRAI
      • Our premium bicycle transportation service will depart the RAGBRAI ending town first and drop off bicycles at the Chicago hotel that Saturday evening. We will give priority to loading all the bikes that are part of this service to make sure they arrive in Chicago as soon as possible on Saturday evening. You should register for this service if you need your bicycle back in Chicago on Saturday evening such as if you have a flight or train ride out of Chicago early Sunday morning.
      • The Chicago hotel has significantly more amenities nearby and will be a much nicer place to wait for your bicycle to arrive on Saturday evening than the area around the Goose Island Brewery.
      • Click Here for more information about our premium bicycle transportation service on the Saturday evening after the end of RAGBRAI.
• Coach Busses
  • In order to assure the fastest possible departure and arrival times, all coach busses will now depart promptly after all participants and their baggage have been loaded and we have completed our final head count. We will no longer wait for any bikes to be loaded as part of our premium bicycle transportation service for the coach busses to depart.
  • The Chicago hotel will now serve as the staging point for all coach busses.
    • All baggage will be staged and loaded/unloaded only at the Chicago hotel on the Saturday morning before the start of RAGBRAI and on the Saturday evening after the end of RAGBRAI regardless of which bicycle transportation service you will be using (standard or premium). We will no longer load or unload any people or baggage at the Goose Island Brewery at any time - we will only load and unload bicycles there as part of our standard bicycle transportation service.
    • We will no longer need to separately pick up any bicycles at the Chicago hotel on the Saturday morning before the start of RAGBRAI which significantly frees up our staff and vehicles to assure a faster departure time from Chicago and arrival time in the RAGBRAI starting town.
    • In the RAGBRAI ending town all baggage will be staged and loaded together and we won't need to segregate any baggage which significantly frees up our staff to assure a faster departure time and arrival time in Chicago.
    • Click Here for more information about people and baggage transportation services.
• Long term parking in Chicago during the week of RAGBRAI
• Before the start of RAGBRAI:
  • You will need to park your car at the parking garage then and come back over to the Chicago hotel on your own before our arrival deadline time of 8:00 am.
  • We will no longer separately pick up your bike ourselves directly at the parking garage.
  • If you are using our premium bicycle transportation service on the Saturday morning before the start of RAGBRAI you will need to drop off your bicycle with us at the Chicago hotel at 6:30 am before parking your car.
  • For security we recommend transporting your baggage with you from the parking garage back to the Chicago hotel and not leaving it with us at the Chicago hotel until it is loaded directly onto a coach bus because our staff will not be able to watch it.
  • Doing so significantly frees up our staff and vehicles to assure a faster departure time from Chicago.
  • Click Here for more information about long term parking in Chicago before the start of RAGBRAI.
• After the end of RAGBRAI:
  • We will still drop off you (but not your bike or baggage) at the parking garage as our first stop on our way into Chicago. You will then need to pick up your car and drive over to the Chicago hotel.
  • We will no longer drop off your bike or baggage directly at the parking garage. You will need to pick up your baggage and bicycle (if applicable) if you are doing the premium bicycle transportation service at the Chicago hotel.
  • Doing so allows us a significantly faster departure time from the end of RAGBRAI because we won't need to segregate any bikes and baggage to be dropped off at the parking garage. It also allows a faster arrival time in Chicago because we also won't need to drop off any bikes or baggage at the parking garage.
  • Click Here for more information about long term parking in Chicago after the end of RAGBRAI.

• Prices and registration
  • Full registration for our 2023 RAGBRAI Transportation Service is now open! Click Here to register.
    • Paper registration form posted. Click Here for more information.
  • Our full price schedule has been announced and all new participants must now pay the full registration amount (initial deposits are no longer being accepted). Click Here for our full price schedule.
  • We are now accepting the remaining amounts due for participants who had initially registered on an initial deposit basis through our online registration form. Click Here for more information.

3/9/23

• Due to a significant number of operational changes we are working on implementing we have extended the deadline until March 31st, 2023 (only for 2023) for
  • Participants who previously registered on an initial deposit basis who decide
    • TO PARTICIPATE to remit their remaining balance due to us
    • NOT TO PARTICIPATE to request a refund
  • Reduced pricing and guaranteed seat availability for postponed 2020 participants.

1/29/23

• RAGBRAI route announced! Starting, Overnight, and Ending Town History updated. Click Here for more information.
• We have updated the comparative rates to driving yourself. Click Here for more information.
• We will announce our full pricing schedule after we have received quotes back from our coach bus companies for the 2023 route.

1/19/23

• If you register using a paper registration form:
  • You can now submit your payment through Zelle.
  • We no longer have incoming fax service so you can't send us a copy of your completed form this way any more.

11/15/22

• We are now accepting registrations on an initial deposit basis before our full price schedule is announced so you can be guaranteed a spot on our transportation service and guarantee your personal plans as appropriate. Click Here to register!
  • After our full price schedule is announced, all participants who registered on an initial deposit basis must also provide additional information about their Personal Travel and Lodging plans. Click Here for more information.
• One crew will now depart Chicago on the Friday evening after our standard bicycle transportation service pre-event drop off, transporting all the bikes we received that day. If you drop off your bike with us on Friday your bike will be waiting for you ready to pick up immediately when you arrive at the RAGBRAI starting town! Click Here for more information.
• We now have a Post-Event Bicycle Pick Up as part of our standard bicycle transportation service staging point at the the Goose Island Brewery in Chicago where you can pick up your bicycle on the Sunday or Monday after the end of RAGBRAI! Click Here for more information.
• We will be offering registration discounts to participants who drop off their bikes in Chicago on Friday instead of Saturday morning before the start of RAGBRAI in Chicago, and pick them up in Chicago on Sunday or Monday instead of Saturday evening after the end of RAGBRAI as part of our standard bicycle transportation service. Click Here for more information.

11/14/22

• Web site updated with 2023 dates and information.
  • Our transportation service from Chicago to the start of RAGBRAI will occur on Sat. July 22nd, 2023.
  • Our transportation service from the end of RAGBRAI to Chicago will occur on Sat. July 29th, 2023.
• Registration deadlines updated. Click Here for more information.
• Information about the specific locations in the starting and ending towns updated to general information. The RAGBRAI starting and ending towns 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.
• We have added "e-bike" as an additional option for the type of bike you will be transporting. There will be an additional $30.00 fee to transport e-bikes each way. This is because e-bikes generally require special handling and care since they are are typically heavier and/or take up more room in our vehicles than standard upright bicycles and therefore cannot be transported on any outside roof racks and must be transported inside a support vehicle.
• The fee for bicycles that require special handling and care (recumbents, e-bikes, tandems, etc.) has increased $5.00 to $30.00 each way.
• The late registration fee has increased by $5.00 from $25.00 to $30.00 each way.
• Unfortunately we can no longer offer the RAGBRAI: America's Favorite Bicycle Ride book for sale due to supply chain issues.
• The price of all merchandise items has increased:
  • The price of Bicycle Illinois jerseys has increased by $10.00 from $79.99 to $89.99 ea.
  • The price of Bicycle Illinois water bottles has increased by $2.00 from $9.99 to $11.99 ea.
  • The price of Bicycle Illinois Baseball Hats has increased by $2.00 from $15.99 to $17.99 ea.
  • The price of Extra Bicycle Illinois has increased by $2.00 from $14.99 to $16.99 ea.
    • The additional price of oversized t-shirts (size XXL and XXXL) are still $2.00 extra.
  • The price of Bicycle Illinois Polo Shirts has increased by $2.00 from $23.99 to $25.99 ea.
    • The additional price of oversized polo shirts (size XXL and XXXL) has increased by $0.50 from $2.50 to $3.00 extra.

Major Previous RAGBRAI Transportation Service Specific Updates

Arrival In and Departure From Chicago

• Due to previous conflicts with Lollapalooza we have changed our supported hotel to the Crowne Plaza Chicago West Loop from the Congress Plaza Hotel. Click Here for more information.
• The arrival deadline time in Chicago before the start of RAGBRAI is now 8:00 am (30 minutes later) in order to better accomodate participants arriving on several Metra train lines.
• We now offer a free pre-event bicycle drop off service in Chicago on the Friday before the start of RAGBRAI as part of our standard bicycle transportation service! Click Here for more information.
  • We will only be accepting and pre-loading bicycles onto our moving trucks on the Friday before the start of RAGBRAI and no longer also on Thursday.
  • We can now accept any bicycles that require special handling and care (recumbents, e-bikes, tandems, etc.)
  • This opportunity is now available to all participants and no longer limited to the first 26 people.
• Our standard bicycle transportation service staging point will still be at the Goose Island Brewery in Chicago.
  • The Goose Island Brewery is still easily amenable to the CTA L Green and Pink line trains but is further from the downtown Metra train stations. If you will be travelling using Metra, it may be significantly easier and faster to travel from the Metra train station to the standard bicycle transportation service staging point at the Goose Island Brewery using a CTA L train or taxicab instead of walking the entire way with your bike and/or baggage. We also strongly recommend dropping off your bicycle and baggage before the start of RAGBRAI as part of our Pre-Event Bicycle Drop Off Service and picking up your bicycle after the end of RAGBRAI as part of our Post-Event Bicycle Pick Up Service to make your commute even easier.
    • Click Here for more information about walking and travelling using a CTA L train of taxicab from the Metra Train Stations to the standard bicycle transportation service staging point at the Goose Island Brewery.
    • Click Here for more information our standard bicycle transportation service pre-event bicycle drop off on the Friday before RAGBRAI.
    • Click Here for more information our standard bicycle transportation service post-event bicycle pick up on the Sunday or Monday after the end of RAGBRAI.
  Parking in Chicago
  • If you are planning on parking your car in Chicago long term you should purchase your parking reservation online before you arrive. Doing this is actually less expensive than the posted rates at the garage and significantly helps assure a timely departure from Chicago. Click Here for more information.
  • If you want to pay directly at the Chicago parking garage, the kiosk there now automatically calculates and charges you the total amount owed after you leave based on the ticket you received when you entered. It no longer only issues tickets for the current day one at a time. You no longer need to purchase enough single day tickets that total to the correct amount due for the total amount of time you will leave your car parked there in advance or leave all the tickets clearly displayed on your dashboard so the garage staff knows you have paid. Click Here for more information.
• Sadly, the Live Grit triathlon shop went out of business and we are no longer able to use them as a transportation staging point or bike shop in Chicago.
• The Metra Electric District (MED) trains to 93rd St. and Blue Island now departs downtown after our latest possible actual arrival time in Chicago after the end of RAGBRAI. You will not need to make alternate transportation arrangements if you were planning on taking these trains.
• We will determine the order in which we load bicycles in Chicago depending on what makes the most sense based on where our drop off locations in the RAGBRAI starting town end up being.

Bicycle and Baggage Transportation

• We now use two separate different colored identification tags to quickly and easily identify and properly stage and load bikes to be delivered to the different drop off locations at the start of RAGBRAI and the different drop off times and locations in Chicago after the end of RAGBRAI. We do not require you to put identification tags on your baggage or yourself. Click Here for more information.
• Not including carry on items, the size of each participant's baggage must be limited to 5 square feet so all baggage can fit in the baggage compartments underneath the coach bus. Click Here for more information.
• We will load all baggage going to the same drop off location in the RAGBRAI starting town as one group in separate bus compartments so that we can quickly and easily unload them together. We will also have signs posted on each coach bus baggage compartment door so you know the appropriate place to stow your baggage and these signs will also be color coded to match the color of the identification tags on your bicycle. Click Here for more information.

Travel Times

• The duration of our mid-route stop and lunch from Chicago to the start of RAGBRAI has increased to one hour from 45 minutes. Click Here for more information.
• All actual and estimated travel times of the coach busses have been updated based on previous experience. Click Here for more information about the travel time from Chicago to the start of RAGBRAI. Click Here for more information about the travel time from the end of RAGBRAI to Chicago.
• We will now list the actual and estimated travel times of the premium bicycle transportation service based on previous experience.

Departure from the RAGBRAI Ending Town

• We now have baggage pick up locations on the Saturday morning in the previous stopping town before the RAGBRAI ending town at both the RAGBRAI baggage truck and also the Pork Belly Ventures camping location. Depending on your personal plans it may be much, much easier for you to deliver your baggage to us at one of those locations rather than transporting it yourself in the ending town, particularly if our transportation staging point at the end of RAGBRAI is significantly far away from the RAGBRAI main baggage drop off or Pork Belly Ventures. Click Here for more information.
• We will no longer indicate our route to our transportation staging point in the RAGBRAI ending town by using painted road markings designated with "BI" directly on the road. You will need to rely on our paper cue sheet(s) and map and/or the downloaded GPS routes instead.
• We will arrive in the RAGBRAI ending town as early as possible so you have a secure, dry place to leave your bicycle and baggage and also to prevent us from rushing to quickly load everyone's bicycles and baggage all at the same time. We will inform you of our planned arrival time in the ending town after May 1st.
• The .pdf file of the cue sheet and map of the route from the RAGBRAI ending location and dip site to our transportation staging point in the RAGBRAI ending town will be posted on the bicycleillinois.com home page and our RAGBRAI transportation service home page for you to download onto your smartphone in case your paper copy gets lost or destroyed during the week of RAGBRAI.

Registration

• Registration for RAGBRAI is now based on a first-come, first-served basis and no longer utilizes a lottery system. Accordingly, we now accept registrations on an initial deposit basis before the RAGBRAI route and our full price schedule is announced. This way you can be guaranteed a spot on our transportation service immediately after you initially register for RAGBRAI itself and guarantee your personal plans as appropriate. Click Here for more information.
  • Click Here for the price schedule for our initial deposits.
  • In order to assure that we receive all of your information and payment in a timely manner due to laspes in mail service all registrations using initial deposits (both before and after our full pricing schedule is announced) must be done online.
• Regardless of when we announce our final pricing schedule, March 15th will be the deadline for previously registered participants who decide
• TO PARTICIPATE to remit their remaining balance due to us
• DECIDE NOT TO PARTICIPATE to request a refund
• If (and only if) you had originally registered for our RAGBRAI Transportation Service in 2020 and have not already re-registered for one of our events, we will honor the original rates for our RAGBRAI Transportation Service from 2020 for you and also guarantee you a seat until 11:59 pm CST March 15th every year until you use your credit amount through a special, additional access code for online registration. After 12:00 am CST on March 16th, you can still use your credit amount to register, but you will need to pay the difference between the rates from 2020 and the current year. Click Here for more information.
• No refunds will be issued in the event we are unable to run an event due to circumstances beyond our control. These circumstances include but are not limited to disasters (natural and/or manmade), pandemics, war, acts of terrorism, government regulations, strikes, civil disorder, curtailment of transportation facilities, or acts of God. (Force Majure)
• Only online registration will be available after regular registration closes four weeks before the start of RAGBRAI in order to assure that we receive all of your information and payment in a timely manner due to laspes in mail service. Click Here for more information.
• In order to maintain a current accurate list of available seats and assure that we receive all of your information and payment in a timely manner due to laspes in mail service all registrations must now be done online:
  • After regular registration closes
  • Once only ten seats remain on either bus
• We have listed our prices from the previous year for reference so you can get an estimate of what our prices will be for the current year before the RAGBRAI starting and ending towns are announced and plan your budget. Click Here for more information.
• WE NO LONGER ISSUE ANY REFUNDS AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON. If you do not participate and would like a refund you MUST purchase an individual travel insurance plan, which will reimburse you according to the plan coverage. Click Here for more information about our refund policy.

Other Event Services

• We are extremely excited to announce that we have now partnered with Pork Belly Ventures to provide charter services during the week of RAGBRAI. Click Here for more information.
  • We are sad to announce that Bubba will no longer be offering his charter services during the week of RAGBRAI at all any more. We wish Bubba and his crew all the best in their future endeavors, and appreciate their support through all the years. Best of luck to you guys!!!!!!