‘You Never Forget Your First Ride’ - Sioux City unveils RAGBRAI theme

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - City officials have unveiled the theme and slogan this year for the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

Sioux City is the starting point for this year’s RAGBRAI, and their slogan is “You Never Forget Your First Ride.” It was unveiled Friday morning at a news conference where the logo was also shown.

This is RAGBRAI’s 50th year, and Sioux City has been the starting point for the annual ride seven times since 1973. In fact, Sioux City is where the first RAGBRAI started in 1973. Since then, the ride has rolled out of Sioux City in 1978, 1988, 1993, 2001, 2010 and most recently in 2015.

Participants will mainly camp at Chris Larsen and Riverside parks, with some groups staying at the Expo Center and other hotels and homes throughout the city. Entertainment will be based in the Tyson Events Center parking lot.

The city’s newest crown jewel, the Chris Larsen Riverfront Development, will be open for visitors, but won’t host campers.

The ride itself is scheduled to begin on July 23, but city officials expect 40,000 - 50,000 people will visit Sioux City in the days leading up to the event.

The full RAGBRAI event goes from July 22 through July 29.

Copyright 2023 KTIV. All rights reserved.