Silver City, Henderson, Emerson Join Glenwood On RAGBRAI Route
RAGBRAI is returning to Henderson this year. This was the scene on Main Street Henderson in 2003.
RAGBRAI riders head east on Gaston Ave. in 2016.
It’s now official!
Along with Glenwood, three Mills County communities – Silver City, Henderson and Emerson – will be on the official route for RAGBRAI LI on Day 1 (Sunday, July 21), as the cross-state bicycle ride makes it way from Glenwood to Red Oak.
Silver City and Emerson will serve as RAGBRAI “pass through” towns and Henderson will be the Day 1 "meeting town" for the bicyclists.
The ride will leave Glenwood on Redbud Ave. near Glenwood Community High School and head east and north on 245th to Gaston Ave., where the bicyclists will head east to Highway 242. There, the route turns north to Silver City. After passing through Silver City, the route wil make its way to Brothers Ave. and then east into Henderson and eventually to Highway 59. Traveling south on Highway 59, riders will cross the Highway 34 overpass into Emerson before their last leg of the day takes them east on "Old Highway 34" into Red Oak.
“I’m excited for this year’s full route,” RAGBRAI Director Matt Phippen said in a news release naming all 35 pass-through and meeting towns. "It combines iconic views of Iowa with communities that have proven they can provide world class hospitality and experience for the riders.”
The complete RAGBRAI route was announced Thursday morning.
RAGBRAI Day 1, Sunday, July 21: Glenwood to Red Oak
- Miles: 41.9.
- Feet of climb: 2,435.
- Themes: Tire dip, Mile of Silence.
- Pass-through towns: Silver City and Emerson.
- Meeting town: Henderson.
- Gravel option: 7.6 miles, 638 feet of climb.
- Highlights: Climbing through the scenic Loess Hills of the Missouri River valley, one of the world's most unique landscapes, with lots of long-range views. Those charmed enough by it to consider a return visit will want to check out the Wabash Trace Nature trail passing through the heart Silver City, a 63-mile rail trail from Council Bluffs to the Missouri border. Red Oak, the overnight town, is a former railroad town with a thriving and historic town square and an impressively ornate and ― appropriately ― deep-red-hued county courthouse.