RAGBRAI® TRANSPORTATION
Updates
General Company Wide Updates
RAGBRAI Transportation Service Specific
Updates for the 2020/2021 Season
1/29/21
- Registration for Bubba's Pampered Pedalers
charter service during the week is now open! Click
Here for more information!
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.
- Routes added from all Metra train stations
to the main transportation staging point by
either walking and/or using the CTA L trains. Click
Here for more information.
- 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.
Charter Service During the Week of RAGBRAI
- We have partnered with Bubba's Pampered Pedalers
to provide charter services during the week. Click
Here for more information.
- Bubba's Pampered Pedalers now offers a less
expensive "Mini-PAMPERING" option. Click
Here for more information and Click
Here to download the registration
form for Bubba's Pampered Pedalers charter service.
- Based on strong customer feedback, RAGBRAI
now allows us to drop off and pick up baggage
at Pork Belly Ventures camping location!
- We can drop off your baggage directly
at Pork Belly Ventures camping location
in the RAGBRAI starting town and pick up
your baggage directly at Pork Belly Ventures
camping location in the stopping town before
the RAGBRAI ending town on Saturday morning.
We will NOT pick up any baggage from Pork
Belly Ventures camping location in the
RAGBRAI ending town. Click
Here for more information
about baggage pickup in the previous RAGBRAI
stopping town.
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. 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 will now have three drop off locations at
the start of RAGBRAI, either at our transportation
staging point (close to the RAGBRAI main campground)
or at Bubba's Pamered Pedalers or Pork Belly
Ventures camping location.
- We can still drop you off at Bubba's
Pamered Pedalers or Pork Belly
Ventures camping location if it
is closer to your final destination in
the RAGBRAI starting town even if you will
not be using their charter services during
the week.
- You must let us know which location you
want us to drop you off at so that we can
properly load bikes and baggage in Chicago.
If you register for our transportation
service before these locations have been
determined and don't know which location
you want use, we will follow up with you
after they are determined. Click
Here for more information.
- We will no longer need to provide a route
for you to follow from our transportation
staging point to the Bubba's Pampered Pedalers
camping location at the start of RAGBRAI.
- 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.
Departure from the RAGBRAI Ending Town
- We will now have baggage pick up locations
at the RAGBRAI baggage truck and also at Bubba's
Pampered Pedalers and or 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, Bubba’s Pampered
Pedalers, and/or Pork Belly
Ventures. Click
Here for more information.
- Bubba's Pampered Pedalers will no longer
be delivering any baggage to us in the RAGBRAI
ending town. Instead, you must leave your
baggage at Bubba’s Pampered Pedalers
camping location in the previous stopping
town on Saturday morning and we will come
pick it up. Click
Here for more information about
baggage pickup in the previous RAGBRAI stopping
town.
- 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.
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