Over 1,200 cyclists participated in the inaugural Pedaler’s Jamboree Iowa this past weekend.
Riders traveled from Waukee to Jefferson on Saturday and headed back to Waukee on Sunday. At every town were performances from bands all across the country. Marcia Loomis from Ames has been on 27 Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) and tells Raccoon Valley Radio that Pedaler’s Jamboree is truly a unique experience.
“We have a lot of people that went on RAGBRAI like 20 years ago that show up for these rides. And so it’s kind of like old school coming back and you can take your time. And then there were random people on guitars along the way to get here (in Jefferson) and so we just stopped and said, ‘This is fantastic.’”
A total of about 1,500 people enjoyed the evening festivities in Jefferson and Director Mike Denehy says he’s glad they chose the City as their overnight stop for the event.
“Jefferson’s been fantastic, so thank you so much to this town. The pinnacle of the ride is the overnight experience. It was the turning point of the ride about having it in this town and Jefferson was so warm and welcoming that it was an instant yes, we’re going to do it.”
Denehy plans to have next year’s event on Labor Day weekend in 2016.