~by Taylor Teays for The Scranton Journal
The 50th Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa kicks off Sunday, July 23, with riders traveling through Greene County on Tuesday, July 25.
Riders will depart from Carroll in the morning, with Ames being their final destination.
The ride will pass through Jefferson, with Lincoln Way being closed from Grimmell Rd on the west to Cedar St in the east, from 8:15 am to 2 pm. In Jefferson, all north-south streets that cross Lincoln Way will be closed between State St on the north and Harrison St on the south, with the exception of Elm St (Hwy 4).
After passing through Jefferson, the ride will head towards Rippey for the lunch stop. There will be around 30 food vendors, a beer stand, and a couple bands for riders to enjoy.
The Rippey Lions Club and the Rippey fire department have joined together to serve many of the RAGBRAI® riders when they cycle through town. The Lions and fire department crew will serve pork loin sandwiches, chips and water from their site on Main Street.
The Rippey United Methodist Church will serve lunch starting at 10 am that day. The menu includes sloppy joes, chips, a bottle of water, pie and ice cream. They will have both indoor (air conditioned) seating as well as a large tent in the parking lot with fans running to move the air.
Deardorff Highlands Beef Trailer from Yale is one of the vendors with food and cold drinks.
“We also have a rock that was brought into town for riders to sign as they come through,” said Rippey mayor Dan Brubaker.
Brubaker also mentioned local residents can expect all the streets in town will be congested while riders are in the area.
The ride will leave Rippey to head towards Luther, passing through on their way to Ames, where they will stay for the night.
Plan for Greene County Medical Center patient RAGBRAI rerouting – Although Jefferson is a pass-through town, there will be many riders stopping to utilize the services and conveniences offered throughout the community. This also means there will be quite a bit of traffic congestion in spots throughout the morning and very early afternoon hours.
Greene County Medical Center, the Family Medicine and Specialty Clinics, Outpatient services, Public Health, UnityPoint at Home and the Emergency Department want to ensure that the throng of riders do not affect patients’ access to services.
Cyclists will be entering Jefferson from the west on County Road E-53, taking the left turn from Westwood Drive to continue on W. Lincoln Way past the medical center.
Those who have an appointment scheduled for July 25 or find themselves in need of services need to be aware that patient traffic will be re-routed to State St and west to the drive at the north side of the medical center emergency department. Those going to the medical center will turn left at the emergency department drive. Patients of the Family Medicine and Specialty Clinics, Public Health and UnityPoint at Home will see signage directing them through the drive and parking lot to the west along the north side of the facility and around a curved drive, leading to access of the south clinic parking lot. Directional signage will also be placed at the intersection of Highway 4 and State Street.
“We are excited to have RAGBRAI visit our community and can’t wait to share in this 50th celebration,” said Greene County Medical Center CEO Chad Butterfield. “However, our patients and those in need of medical care and their ability to easily access our services are our priorities. Please look for the rerouting map accompanying media notifications, on our social media pages and the print copies available throughout the Medical Center and clinics.”
Anyone with questions should contact the organization or department of their scheduled service.
