Sioux City Journal

Crawford County stands firm on RAGBRAI ban

Posted: Tuesday, September 02, 2008

DENISON, Iowa (AP) -- Crawford County officials say they won't repeal a ban keeping RAGBRAI from traveling through their county, despite a deal between a statewide group and bicycle fans.

The Crawford County Board of Supervisors say they still support state legislation that exempts cities and counties from lawsuits filed by bicycle riders.

The board passed the ban last year after they paid $350,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman whose husband died in 2004 while riding in RAGBRAI.

The man was thrown from his bicycle after hitting a crack in a stretch of county road.

County officials argued that the roads are designed for motor vehicles, not bicycles.

The Iowa State Association of Counties announced last week that it was dropping its push for state laws and county ordinances to regulate bicycles on county roads after concessions by RAGBRAI addressed the liability issues.

Story Comments

Freemason Cyclist wrote on Sep 3, 2008 10:34 AM:

" I have been on 5 RAGBRAI's. I have seen nudity, but have never seen pot smoking or any kind of illegal drug use, I have never even heard of it on RAGBRAI. Usually the nudity is often associated with drinking alcohol, then again, sometimes not.

People in NW Iowa calling cyclists post smokers comes as no surprise fo me & it must be a NW Iowa thing. I grew up in Des Moines & never once heard anythig of the like there. When I came here 15 yrs. ago I started hearing this. Can someone explain where that comes from? "

Freemason Cyclist wrote on Sep 3, 2008 10:29 AM:

" Bike paths do not always go every where a cyclist needs to go. I use my bike for much more then just recreation. I commute to & from work on it, I ride to & from the the stores I need to shop at on a weekly basis. I even take my recyclables to the Siouxland Recovery Center bi-weekly. Trails do not go every where I ride. I use a combination of the trails & city roadways. Some of you have probably seen me. I am the goofy looking fat guy on a recumbent, with music playing on external speakers. I work in downtown Sioux City & live on the norht side I use Hamilton Blvd & downtown streets to get to the parking ramp I lock my bike up in. Yes I am allowed to do this as long I do not ride through the ramp or use a parking space. I lock my bike to a fence across from the ramp office. "

Bob wrote on Sep 3, 2008 7:41 AM:

" @Absolutely:

You should take a look at the Iowa State law books. It's in the books that a bicycle is a recognized vehicle with every right to the road that a car or other vehicle has.

Yes there are bikes that don't always obey the laws (stop signs, ect...) And there are jerks anytime you gather 15,000 or more people together. We do use the bike trails that are out there. It's like driving up and down the street in front of your house. How many times can you do that without getting bored? The lawsuit happened because they moved the cones and the officer off, more than the fact that the crack was there. "

Bob wrote on Sep 3, 2008 7:30 AM:

" @Absolutely:

You should take a look at the Iowa State law books. It's on the books that a bicycle is a vehicle with every right to be on the road, it's 321.3 I think. Yes there are jerks on this ride, but if you put 15,000 of anybody together you're going to find said jerks. "

Freemason Cyclist wrote on Sep 3, 2008 12:25 AM:

" As Amanda already mentioned this is the first law suit of it's kind in 36 years. Yet there is on average of 3 law suits filed against counties & 8 against the state of Iowa by motorists because of crappy road conditions. I believe this is on a monthly basis. Yet nothing is done to limit or prevent motorists from using the roadways. Maybe something should be done. "