RAGBRAI^® TRANSPORTATION
Driving Yourself

Drive Yourself • Have Someone Drop You Off and Pick You Up in the Ending Town
Have Someone Drop You Off in the Starting Town and Pick You Up in the Ending Town

Drive Yourself
Approximate Total Cost - about $505.00 to $720.00, at least 8 hours of driving, and a dangerous drive back to Chicago
To drive yourself from Chicago you would need to drive to the RAGBRAI ending town, park your car there for the week, and have another charter service transport you, your bicycle, and your baggage to the start of RAGBRAI. We estimate that it would cost you between about $485.00 to $575.00 to do so.

After the ride you would also need to drive yourself back to Chicago which could be very, very dangerous. You will be UNBELIEVABLY tired, having ridden both that day as well as seven straight days over roughly 500 miles the entire previous week. If this is your first time riding RAGBRAI please, please trust our experience for your safety when we say you have no idea how truly tired you will be and will ABSOLUTELY NOT want to make the drive back to Chicago. If you have ridden RAGBRAI and have done that drive yourself before we know you'll remember EXACTLY how you felt and what we're talking about.

Gas - about $75.00 to $85.00
The shortest, fastest driving distance from Chicago to Guttenberg is about 220 miles (4 hours) by following I-90, US 20, and US 53. Assuming gas is about $3.50 to $4.00 per gallon and your car gets about 20 miles per gallon, the cost of gas would be about $40.00 each way, or about $75.00 to $85.00 round trip.

Tolls - about $6.00 to $12.00
If you follow I-90 from Chicago to Guttenberg you would need to pay $3.00 in tolls each way using an I-Pass, or $6.00 round trip (double the tolls if you pay cash).

Week Long Parking - $100.00 to $200.00
You would need to park your car in Guttenberg during the week of RAGBRAI and the cost for long term parking in Guttenberg starts at $100.00 for standard cars and pickups up to $200.00 for larger vehicles

• Click Here for more information about parking in Davenport during the week of RAGBRAI

Charter Service to the Start of RAGBRAI - about $200.00 to $275.00
Because RAGBRAI is a one way ride, you would still need to transport yourself, your baggage, and your bike to the start. To do so, you would need to use another charter service and they cost about $200.00 to $275.00 on average per person.

Hotel at the Start of RAGBRAI before the start of the ride - about $125.00 to $150.00
Most charter services depart the RAGBRAI ending town very early in the morning, typically around 7:00 or 8:00 am. Considering the drive from Chicago to Guttenberg is roughly four hours (not including traffic and breaks for food, gas, and restrooms), you would probably want to leave Chicago the night before and spend the night in a hotel near there. Guttenberg is very small, and there are no available hotel rooms so most likely you would stay in Dubuque which is the largest town near Guttenberg from Chicago with hotel options available but still about a hour away. In addition from our experience hotel rooms also charge a premium rate due to the significantly increased demand that night.

Otherwise you could leave Chicago VERY, VERY early in the morning (2:00 am at the latest) in order to be sure to make it on time since you would still need time to get your bike loaded on the charter service and also get your weeklong parking situated. We think it would be an absolutely terrible idea to start your vacation on such an already physically challenging week in such a demanding way!

Have Someone Drop You Off and Pick You Up in the Ending Town
Approximate Total Cost - about $475.00 to $600.00 and a BIG favor for your driver
If you did not want to park your car in the RAGBRAI ending town during the week, you could have someone drop you off and pick you up there. We estimate that it would cost you $480.00 to $525.00 to do so and you would owe the driver a BIG favor after driving at least 8 hours (one full day) for you.

Gas - about $150.00 to $175.00 and Tolls - about $12.00 to $24.00
The amount you would have to spend on both gas and tolls compared with driving yourself would double. This is because you would have to get dropped off and picked up both before the start and also after the end of the event.

Charter Service to the Start of RAGBRAI - about $200.00 to $250.00
You would still need to use another charter service to transport you, your baggage, and your bike to the start of RAGBRAI.

Hotel Room at the Ending Town before the start of the ride - about $125.00 to $150.00
Before the start of the ride, you and your driver would still need to either get a hotel room near the ending town or leave Chicago VERY, VERY early in the morning.

A BIG Favor for Your Driver
Whoever drives you would need to drive over twelve hours total over at least two days - about six hours each way there and back both before the start and after the end of the event, not to mention the time and hassle getting in and out of the ending town with all of the others rider there. You would definitely owe them a BIG favor.

Have Someone Drop You Off in the Starting Town and Pick You Up in the Ending Town
Approximate Total Cost - about $390.00 to $475.00 and an ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS favor for your driver
If you had someone initially drop you off in the starting town instead of the ending town you would not need to pay for parking in the ending town or a charter service to the start of RAGBRAI. We estimate that it would cost you about $425.00 to $445.00 to do so and you would owe the driver an ENORMOUS favor since they would need to drive at least 26 hours (three days) for you.

Gas - about $250.00 to $300.00
The shortest, fastest driving distance from Chicago to Orange City is about 500 miles by following I-90, US 20, and back roads, and from Chicago to Guttenberg is about 220 miles by following I-90, US 20, and US 53. Assuming gas is about $3.50 to $4.00 per gallon and your car gets about 20 miles per gallon, the cost of gas would be about $250.00 to $300.00.

Tolls - about $12.00 to $24.00
If you follow I-90 from Chicago to Burlington you would need to pay $3.00 in tolls each way using an I-Pass, or $6.00 round trip (double the tolls if you pay cash).

Hotel Room at the Starting Town before the start of the ride - about $125.00 - $150.00
Considering the drive from Chicago to Orange City is at about eight and a half to nine hours each way (including breaks for food, gas, and restrooms), your driver would definitely need to spend the night in a hotel near the starting town before driving back to Chicago.

An ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS Favor for Your Driver
You would definitely owe an ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS favor to whoever drives you because they would need to drive about twenty four hours total over at least three days - at least eight hours (each day) each way to and from Sioux City and at least six hours (one day) after the end, not to mention the incredible time and hassle getting in and out of the ending town with all of the others riders and support personnel in both the starting and ending towns.