Iowa State Patrol worries opposing bike rides will stretch department thin
With two opposing bike rides taking place next summer, the Iowa State Patrol is concerned it won't have the proper resources to support both events.
Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla said the department was caught off guard to learn the RAGBRAI organizers left to hold a competing cycling event next summer.
RAGBRAI has previously hired troopers to protect riders and control traffic along the statewide route. Dinkla said he has some concerns that two rides will spread the state patrol thin.
“My first thought was, ‘How many riders will be on each ride? Is this something ... can the Iowa State Patrol support the two rides? And where are we going to go from here?’” he said.
Dinkla said the State Patrol gets security requests from hundreds of public events every year and that RAGBRAI is the largest event it patrols.
He said authorities have not begun to assess if they can patrol two bike rides at once, but that the Iowa State Patrol is willing to consider it.
“Should the new bike ride need our help with the traffic control, if they want to sit down and work out the logistics with us, we'd be very open to see if that's something we can provide,” Dinkla said.
The RAGBRAI and Iowa's Ride routes have not been announced. Iowa's Ride said it will announce its route in November.