RAGBRAI Rolls into Newton!

RAGBRAI stands for Register's (as in the Des Moines Register newspaper) Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. They do it every year and about 10,000 cyclists ride from the west end of the state to the east end. They bike about 70 miles a day for an entire week! They have one or two people who rotate and drive their support vehicles full of all their bags and stuff. They have a different route each year and this year the route came through Newton. At each Pit Stop City, the riders camp or stay in people's houses for the night.

These are the people who stayed in our house. From left to right: Jim (who works with Cody), Sharon, Sheila, Shelly, Arne, Randy, and Judy. They were a great bunch of people who have been doing this for years and we had a great time hosting them.

It was so neat to see such an event in our town. There were tents EVERYWHERE in the city. Our neighbors had about 10 in their yard alone. Maytag Park turned into a small city of it's own for one night. They had events on the square all day long until about midnight last night. We just really enjoyed being a part of it all and wish our new friends well on the rest of their ride!