A car chase briefly intruded on the RAGBRAI route Sunday.
The chase began when an Iowa State Patrol trooper tried to pull over a driver on county road T65 in Buena Vista County, said Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla. When the trooper smelled marijuana in the car, the driver drove away southbound on a gravel road.
Because of the dust the car kicked up, the pursuing trooper could not always see the car, which veered east onto the Register s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa route south of Alta at a high rate of speed, Dinkla said.
Another trooper on Iowa Highway 110 north of Schaller put stop sticks out, which deflated one of the car s tires. It rolled and hit a tree in front of a home, Dinkla said.
Route: Fort Dodge to Iowa Falls
Meeting town: Webster City
Miles: 55.5 (70.2 with the optional gravel loop)
Elevation gain: 1,028 (1,376 with the gravel loop)
Highlights: Today RAGBRAI offers its first nearly full-length gravel day. For several years, it has provided the change to ride a brief segment on gravel, but this year s route extends the 55.5-mile main route ride to 70.5 miles, about 50 of it on Iowa s network of unpaved county farm roads. It s a recognition of the growing popularity of gravel riding and a natural innovation for first-time Ride Director Dieter Drake, a veteran racer and organizer of rides on gravel.
The destination town is another highlight. Iowa Falls, The Scenic CIty, is going all out to impress the riders with its amenities and picturesque, bluff-lined stretch of the Iowa River. There will even be riverboat cruises for riders on the Scenic City Empress, brought out of drydock and restored to operation in time for the ride.
A rider on Monday was fortunate that RAGBRAI draws all sorts of people from around the country.
In this case, it just so happened that Dr. Christopher Arpey, a Mayo Clinic dermatologist from Iowa City, was on the ride a few miles outside Rinard when his daughter, Meredith, part of a group accompanying him, saw a rider fall.
Arpey, 60, stopped to help while his daughter, 25, called 911. While Arpey isn t an emergency room physician, he said it appeared the man had overheated.
“He had a thready pulse, but he had a pulse,” he said.
Within minutes an ambulance was on scene taking the man away. For Arpey it was just another story to tell about his adopted home state of Iowa, where he started riding the Register s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa in 2011.
Iowa Falls will experience its largest single-day population boom in 17 years when more than 15,000 cyclists descend on the town of 5,000 Tuesday. And it can t wait.
While some towns on the 2021 route have struggled amid the COVID-19 pandemic to find volunteers, you d be hard-pressed to order a mocha at The Coffee Attic Iowa Falls quaint and essential source of caffeine without running into a member of one of the town s 20 or so RAGBRAI committees.
Executive committee co-chair Jeff Burchfield, who s ridden the Register s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa for 18 years, is ready, and the rest of the town has stepped up behind him.
Police chase briefly crosses paths with RAGBRAI
Driver arrested after car crashed.
Posted: Jul 26, 2021 6:55 PM
Posted By: Mike Bunge
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Police say a car chase briefly crossed an Iowa bike race s path.
The Des Moines Register reports a state trooper tried to pull over a driver Sunday in northwestern Iowa s Buena Vista County. Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla says the driver took off on a gravel road after the trooper smelled marijuana in the car. The driver briefly crossed the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa route south as it fled.
Another trooper set a trap to deflate the car s tires, which caused the car to flip. The driver bailed before the car rolled and was arrested.