Manchester Preparing for RAGBRAI on July 24th

Manchester is preparing for RAGBRAI to roll through this summer.

The community will serve as a pass-through town when the annual bicycle ride makes its way through Delaware County on Friday, July 24th. Manchester Chamber Director Laura Holtz, who serves on the Manchester RAGBRAI committee, says they’re excited.

It’s been 15 years since RAGBRAI has come to Manchester – it last rolled through back in 2010, when the community was an overnight stop. Shortly after Manchester was announced as a pass-through town in April, a committee was formed to get the town ready for the big event.

RAGBRAI will kick off in Onawa on July 19th, with an overnight stop in Independence on Thursday, July 23rd. On Friday morning, July 24th, they’ll pass through Winthrop and arrive in Manchester from Old Highway 20.

Holtz says downtown Manchester will be the main area of activity for the RAGBRAI riders and visitors.

With Manchester serving as a pass-through town, most RAGBRAI riders will stop by lunch, meet up with their support crew and take a break before moving onto Earlville and eventually Dyersville, where they’ll settle in and stay the night. Fellow committee member Sarah Maurer says that means everything should be wrapped up in Manchester by late Friday afternoon.

Maurer says Manchester is accepting applications from those who would like to be a vendor at their RAGBRAI stop – get those applications in by Monday, June 8th.

A few things to keep in mind when it comes to vendors…

Maurer says if you are interested in being a vendor, there is a fee.

Holtz says she wants to clarify that the City and Chamber do not make a profit from the fees paid by RAGBRAI vendors.

Volunteers are still welcome to help out on the day RAGBRAI rolls through Manchester – and residents will be able to buy Manchester RAGBRAI t-shirts too.

With RAGBRAI still two months away, Holtz says it’s a good idea to just prepare yourself for a busy day in Manchester on July 24th.

You’ll soon be able to find out all the information you need to know about Manchester’s RAGBRAI on kmch.com – our special RAGBRAI site is launching later this week. And you can follow along with all the plans on Manchester RAGBRAI’s Facebook page too.

image and map courtesy of Manchester RAGBRAI