MASON CITY – The Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa® (RAGBRAI) will be arriving in Mason City for an overnight stay on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. Over 20,000 bicyclists and support personnel will be arriving that day. In order to help facilitate a safe and expeditious arrival of bicycles and vehicles, routes into and out of town have been established.
(PHOTOS: RAGBRAI 2014 ride and stopover in Mason City)
An interactive map is available for residents, businesses, and RAGBRAI guests to help provide guidance on traffic, campground locations, and downtown street closures. Residents are encouraged to click here, read the information and then enter their address to see how RAGBRAI’s visit to Mason City may impact them:
Click on the map layer icon in the upper right corner to select the layers that you want to see on the map. This will help you to find detour routes through your neighborhood during closures, where support vehicles will be traveling, shuttle routes for RAGBRAI guests, and how the downtown area will be closed to provide a safe space for vendors and entertainment.
July 27, 2022
Road Closures, Partial Closures, Traffic Flow & No Parking Areas
Street closures and one way only traffic designation will be in place from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, in the following locations:
- 19th Street SW – westbound traffic only – Pierce Ave west to city limits
- Pierce Ave – southbound traffic only from 1st St NW to 19th St SW
- 1st Street NW – closed to vehicle traffic from Pierce Ave to downtown
- East State St – closed to vehicle traffic from downtown to Kentucky Ave
No parking will be allowed along Pierce, 1st Street NW, or East State during this time.
Support Vehicles will be pulling into Mason City starting in the morning and will check-in at the North Iowa Events Center. Support Vehicles will then travel along 12th Street to get to their campground or other destination.
Campgrounds
Riders will be stopping at their designated campsites along the main bicycle route as there are campgrounds along the main bicycle route.
There are several designated camping areas throughout the community. RAGBRAI campground locations include the following: North Iowa Events Center, Parker’s Woods, East Park, Mason City High School, Jefferson School, and Riverside in the North Carolina Avenue area between 4th Street NE and 12th Street NE.
Residents are reminded to be prepared for a heavy increase in traffic in the areas of these campgrounds, from both support vehicles and a large number of bicycles. Residents of homes near the 2008 flood buyout area near the Riverside campground area may have campers on sites adjacent to their properties. Prior to the event City crews will be erecting police tape barriers so that campers do not encroach on private property.
Downtown Parking Lots
The downtown parking lots and street parking will be closing prior to the event to accommodate entertainment, beverage garden, and other activities. Some parking lot closures will begin Sunday evening, July 24 at 5:00 pm with most downtown parking lots closed by 5:00 pm Tuesday evening, July 26. Downtown street parking will be closed beginning at 11:00 pm Tuesday evening. These lots and downtown street parking will remain closed through July 27 and is expected to be re-opened on Thursday, July 28 (subject to change). Vehicles that are in the parking lots after the designated closure time will be subject to being towed. (See attached downtown lot closure map.)
July 28, 2022
Outbound Bikes
Early morning of July 28, 2022, riders and support vehicles will be leaving Mason City. Expect to see riders leaving as early as 5:00 am and support vehicles around 7:00 am.
The outbound route closes to traffic from 6:00 am to 10:00 am on Thursday, July 28, 2022, and includes the following streets:
- East State St – East Park to Kentucky Ave
- Kentucky Ave – State St to south city limits
No parking will be allowed along East State from East Park to Kentucky Avenue or along Kentucky Avenue from State Street to the south city limits.
Support Vehicles will be leaving Mason City starting in the morning and will depart on 12th Street east to California Avenue on their way to Charles City.
Thanks for your willingness to partner with everyone involved with RAGBRAI to help showcase our community and to make this an event that guests and residents alike will remember.
