Iowa's Ride Modified to Weekend Event in Eldora

Originally planned as a weeklong bicycle trek across the state this summer, Iowa's Ride has now been modified to a weekend outing in Eldora.

The organization announced Tuesday that the inaugural 2021 ride, slated for July 18-24 from Dubuque to Rock Rapids, will be downsized to a July 16-18 gathering in Eldora due to ongoing concern over the coronavirus pandemic.

"We had several of our small community schools or city facilities that were still not comfortable opening their facilities needed for overnight camping throughout this upcoming summer," said TJ Juskiewicz, Director of Iowa’s Ride, in a press release. "Since we were mainly in smaller communities there were not many suitable options to safely camp other than school grounds or city parks. Although we were able to secure some alternative locations, we ultimately decided to modify the event to a weekend event based out of Eldora."

According to Juskievicz, Iowa's Ride is just one of many nationwide cycling events affected by COVID-19 concerns.

"There are several multi-day summer rides throughout the country that have been modified in some way, while many have been completely canceled until the summer of 2022."

Read the full article in The Reporter.