Tour the Raccoon ride attracting cyclists from across the Midwest

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Old friends met for the annual Hiawatha Classic bike ride last month, which raised funds for the Perry-to-Woodward connector trail. Cyclists from Iowa and five other Midwestern states will be on the Raccoon River Valley Trail Saturday and Sunday as part of the two-day Tour the Raccoon Ride.

Bicycle riders from Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and, of course, Iowa are among those already registered for the Tour the Raccoon two-day ride that will be held this weekend on the Raccoon River Valley Trail.

The Des Moines Cycle Club sponsors the ride for the public and online registration and additional information is available at www.dmcycleclub.com.

Riders may also sign up Saturday at the official starting point, the Vince Meyer Learning Center, a school in Waukee.

Tour the Raccoon riders will experience the full 89 miles of the RRVT. The route uses the RRVT north loop for the Saturday ride from Waukee to Jefferson. Riders will overnight in Jefferson during the community’s annual Bell Tower Festival, then will use the south loop for the Sunday ride back to Waukee and the Des Moines area.

The tour has typically averaged approximately 100 riders, with 175 joining one year.

A highlight on Saturday will be a scavenger hunt by participants in the trail towns along the way. On Sunday riders will enjoy a complimentary breakfast at the Jefferson Depot, provided again this year by McFarland Clinic of Jefferson. The breakfast will include Bunkers Dunkers glazed donuts, bananas, orange juice and coffee from Jefferson’s Greene Bean Coffee Company.

Further down the trail on Sunday Boy Scout Troop 153 in Panora will host a breakfast/brunch at the Community Center. The scouts offer the meal to the riders, but also serve the public from the Panora area.

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