General Company Wide Updates

• Click Here for general company wide updates.

RAGBRAI Transportation Service Specific Updates for the 2020/2021 Season

6/1/21

• Now that the RAGBRAI lottery results have been announced, an official RAGBRAI rider number is required for all new registrations.

5/19/21

• One way transportation from the End of RAGBRAI to Chicago is CURRENTLY FULL. Check back frequently for updated availability or contact us to be added to our waiting list.

5/12/21

• Due to varying degrees of information currently being communicated through RAGBRAI’s new registration system we will not be requiring your RAGBRAI lottery results or rider number until after June 1st (previously May 1st). Accordingly, Monday, June 21st, 2021 11:59 pm CDT is the new deadline for previously registered participants who
  • WERE SELECTED in the lottery to inform us of their previously registered participants who RAGBRAI rider number or
  • WERE NOT SELECTED to request a refund

5/10/21

• Now that the RAGBRAI lottery results have been announced, a RAGBRAI rider number is required for all new registrations.

1/30/21

• RAGBRAI route announced!

1/28/21

• We are extremely excited to announce that we have now partnered with Pork Belly Ventures to provide charter services during the week of RAGBRAI. Click Here for more information.
  • We are sad to announce that Bubba will no longer be offering his charter services during the week of RAGBRAI at all any more. We wish Bubba and his crew all the best in their future endeavors, and appreciate their support through all the years. Best of luck to you guys!!!!!!

12/7/20

• Registration deadlines updated. Click Here for more information.

12/1/20

• Registration procedures for postponed 2020 participants posted. Click Here for more information.

11/30/20

• Registration for our 2021 RAGBRAI Transportation Service is now open! Click Here to register!

11/8/20

• Web site updated with 2021 dates and information.
  • Our transportation service from Chicago to the start of RAGBRAI will occur on Sat. July 24th, 2021.
  • Our transportation service from the end of RAGBRAI to Chicago will occur on Sat. July 31st, 2021.
• The regular prices and price schedule for our 2021 RAGBRAI transportation service will be the same as last year. Click Here for more information.
• The late fee has increased by $5.00 from $20.00 to $25.00 each way.

1/26/20

• We have updated the comparative rates to driving yourself. Click Here for more information.

1/25/20

• RAGBRAI route announced! Starting, Overnight, and Ending Town History updated. Click Here for more information.
• Information about the specific locations in the starting and ending towns updated to general information. The RAGBRAI starting and ending towns will inform us of these specific locations around May 1st and we will develop the specific routes and provide more information about them after this time.

Major Previous RAGBRAI Transportation Service Specific Updates

Arrival In and Departure From Chicago

• The check in time in Chicago before the start of RAGBRAI is now 8:00 am (30 minutes later) in order to better accomodate participants arriving on several Metra train lines. Accordingly, we will now pick up bikes at the Chicago hotel at 7:00 am and immediately come over to the parking garage to pick up bikes there.
• Pre-Event Bicycle Drop Off in Chicago
  • We will now only be accepting and pre-loading bicycles onto our moving truck on the Friday before the start of RAGBRAI. We will no longer also accept and pre-load bicycles also on the Thursday before the start of RAGBRAI. Click Here for more information.
  • We can now accept any non-upright bicycles (recumbents, tandems, etc.)
  • This opportunity is now available to all participants and no longer limited to the first 26 people. Click Here for more information.
• We are extremely excited to announce that our new main transportation staging point will now be the Goose Island Brewery and Taproom in Chicago!
  • Sadly, the Live Grit triathlon shop went out of business and we are no longer able to use them as our main transportation staging point or bike shop in Chicago. Goose Island is close enough though that we are still able to use many of the same facilities and services.
    • We will still use the same supported hotel in Chicago and pick up and drop off bicycles directly there. Click Here for more information.
    • We will still use the same parking garage in Chicago because of its fantastic rates, but it is now too far from the main transportation staging point to quickly, easily, or safely transport both your bicycle and baggage there yourself. As a result, we will now pick up and drop off bicycles directly at the parking garage. Click Here for more information.
  • Goose Island is still easily amenable to the CTA L Green and Pink line trains but is now further from the downtown Metra train stations. If you will be travelling using Metra, it may be significantly easier and faster to travel from the Metra train station to the main transportation staging point using a CTA L train or taxicab instead of walking the entire way with your bike and/or baggage. We also strongly recommend dropping off your bike before the event as part of our Pre-Event Bicycle Drop Off to make your commute even easier.
    • Click Here for more information about walking and travelling using a CTA L train of taxicab from the Metra Train Stations to the Main Transportation Staging Point.
    • Click Here for more information our Pre-Event Bicycle Drop Off.
  • We will only be providing routes to the Chicago hotel for the long distance public transportation carriers (Amtrak, Greyhound, and Megabus) because you should not plan on arriving/departing on a long distance public transportation carrier immediately before or after the event.
• We will be offering a free pre-event bicycle drop off service in Chicago on the Friday before the start of RAGBRAI! Click Here for more information.
• The Chicago hotel is too far from the main transportation staging point to quickly, easily, or safely transport both your bike and baggage between them yourself, so we will have an additional transportation staging point directly at the hotel if you DO NOT have your own car or alternate means of transportation.
  • Before the start of RAGBRAI we will pick up your bicycle and baggage directly at the hotel at 7:00 am Saturday morning. You will still need to transport yourself to the main transportation staging point after we pick up your bicycle and baggage. Click Here for more information.
• Parking in Chicago
  • If you are planning on parking your car in Chicago long term you should purchase your parking reservation online before you arrive. Doing this is actually less expensive than the posted rates at the garage and significantly helps assure a timely departure from Chicago. Click Here for more information.
  • If you want to pay directly at the Chicago parking garage, the kiosk there now automatically calculates and charges you the total amount owed after you leave based on the ticket you received when you entered. It no longer only issues tickets for the current day one at a time. You no longer need to purchase enough single day tickets that total to the correct amount due for the total amount of time you will leave your car parked there in advance or leave all the tickets clearly displayed on your dashboard so the garage staff knows you have paid. Click Here for more information.
• The Metra Electric District (MED) trains to 93rd St. and Blue Island now depart downtown after our latest possible arrival time in Chicago after the end of RAGBRAI. You will not need to make alternate transportation arrangements if you were planning on taking these trains.
• We will determine the order in which we load bicycles in Chicago depending on what makes the most sense based on where our drop off locations in the RAGBRAI starting town end up being.

Bicycle and Baggage Transportation

• We will now use different colored identification tags to quickly and easily identify and properly stage and load bikes and baggage to be delivered to the different drop off locations at the start of RAGBRAI and in Chicago after the end of RAGBRAI. Bicycle Illinois specific identification tags must be attached to your bicycle to be transported, but people themselves and their baggage do not need an identification tag. Click Here for more information.
• Not including carry on items, the size of each participant's baggage must be limited to 5 square feet so all baggage can fit in the baggage compartments underneath the coach bus. Click Here for more information.
• We will now give you two separate color coded identification tags to put on your bicycle that indicate where your bicycle should be dropped off in the RAGBRAI starting town and after the end in Chicago. We will not require you to put identification tags on your baggage or yourself. We will load all baggage going to the same drop off location as one group in separate bus compartments so that we can quickly and easily unload them together. We will also have signs posted on each coach bus baggage compartment door so you know the appropriate place to stow your baggage and these signs will also be color coded to match the color of the identification tags on your bicycle. Click Here for more information.

Travel Times

• The duration of our mid-route stop and lunch from Chicago to the start of RAGBRAI has increased to one hour from 45 minutes. Click Here for more information.
• All actual and estimated travel times have been updated based on previous experience. Click Here for more information about the travel time from Chicago to the start of RAGBRAI. Click Here for more information about the travel time from the end of RAGBRAI to Chicago.

Arrival at the RAGBRAI Starting Town

• We no longer need to provide a route for you to follow from our transportation staging point to the camping location for the charter services during the week of RAGBRAI since we will have a drop off location directly there.

Departure from the RAGBRAI Ending Town

• We will now have baggage pick up locations at the RAGBRAI baggage truck and also at the Pork Belly Ventures camping location in the stopping town before the ending town on the Saturday morning at the end of RAGBRAI. Depending on your personal plans it may be much, much easier for you to deliver your baggage to us at one of those locations rather than transporting it yourself in the ending town, particularly if our transportation staging point is significantly far away from the RAGBRAI main baggage drop off or Pork Belly Ventures. Click Here for more information.
• We will no longer indicate our route to our transportation staging point in the RAGBRAI ending town by using painted road markings designated with "BI" directly on the road. You will need to rely on our paper cue sheet(s) and map and/or the downloaded GPS routes instead.
• We will arrive in the RAGBRAI ending town as early as possible so you have secure, dry place to leave your bicycle and baggage to prevent us from rushing to quickly load everyone's bicycles and baggage all at the same time. We will inform you of our planned arrival time in the ending town after May 1st.
• Based on overwhelming preference, our first stop in Chicago after the end of RAGBRAI will now be at the main transportation staging point since this is where the majority of participants will depart from. After we have unloaded all participants and their bicycles and baggage at the Chicago hotel we will proceed over to the Chicago hotel where we will drop off all participants who are staying there as well as their bikes and baggage. Click Here for more information.
  • Accordingly, we will be staging up and loading the bicycles and baggage of participants departing at the Chicago hotel first to be able to unload them last in Chicago. Click Here for more information.
• The .pdf file of the cue sheet and map of the route from the RAGBRAI ending location and dip site to our transportation staging point in the RAGBRAI ending town will be posted on the bicycleillinois.com home page and our RAGBRAI transportation service home page for you to download onto your smartphone in case your paper copy gets lost or destroyed during the week of RAGBRAI.

Other Event Services

• No refunds will be issued in the event we are unable to run an event due to circumstances beyond our control. These circumstances include but are not limited to disasters (natural and/or manmade), pandemics, war, acts of terrorism, government regulations, strikes, civil disorder, curtailment of transportation facilities, or acts of God. (Force Majure)
• Only online registration will be available after regular registration closes four weeks before the start of RAGBRAI in order to assure that we receive all of your information and payment in a timely manner due to laspes in mail service. Click Here for more information.
• In order to maintain a current accurate list of available seats and assure that we receive all of your information and payment in a timely manner due to laspes in mail service all registrations must now be done online:
  • After regular registration closes
  • Once only ten seats remain on either bus
• The fee for non-upright bicycles (recumbents, tandems, etc.) has increased $5.00 to $25.00 each way.
• Our policies regarding one way transportation have changed. Click Here for more information.
• Our capacity has increased to 56 passengers per coach bus.
• We have listed our prices from previous years for reference so you can get an estimate of what our prices will be for the current year before the RAGBRAI starting and ending towns are announced and plan your budget. Click Here for more information.
• WE NO LONGER ISSUE ANY REFUNDS AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON. If you do not participate and would like a refund you MUST purchase an individual travel insurance plan, which will reimburse you according to the plan coverage. Click Here for more information about our refund policy.