The triple digit temperatures and intense heat took their toll on several bikers participating in the annual bicycle ride across Iowa, known as RAGBRAI. Iowa State Patrol trooper Vince Kurtz says the weather added to what is an already busy time for those who work to see the riders move along safely.
“There were a number of incidents related to the heat of course, and there other incidents with bicycle crashes,” according to Kurtz. The heat may also been a factor for one participant suffering a heart attack.
“Fortunately there were nurses on the route that were able to perform C.P.R. and an ambulance arrived and they were able to bring that person back to life, actually,” Kurtz says. He says they don’t expect things to get any easier as the extremely hot conditions will continue.
The 40th year of the ride started Sunday in Sioux Center to Cherokee. According to the Highway Patrol, many of the riders started the second day of RAGBRAI before sunrise to beat the heat, with some of them arriving at RAGBRAI’s third host town of Lake View, before 10 a.m.
The distance between Cherokee and Lake view is 62 miles.
By Dennis Morrice, KLEM, Le Mars