What to Expect

BRANCEL BICYCLE CHARTERS

By joining us you can make your trip easier. Just follow these steps for those meeting us in Burlington or Glenwood:

1. Register with RAGBRAI for the ride.
2. Sign up with Brancel Bicycle Charters by registering online) and then either paying by credit card or mailing in a check.
3. Get a week-long parking pass if needed. This will be available when the town’s website is established usually in the spring
4. Drive to join us, and we will help you out the rest of the week.

When you arrive in Burlington:

You will park your car at the RAGBRAI designated parking area and then find Brancel Bicycle Charters. We will notify you in our email sent out in late June of our distinguishing features so you can easily find us. Burlington will have camping, food, showers and week-long parking. The parking will be available near the charter departure site.

Ending town website link

You drop your bike off with us on Friday July 19, 2024 from 2:00 PM until 8:30 PM. Then Saturday morning you drop off your bags at one of our air-conditioned charter buses and get ready for a relaxing ride across Iowa. The buses will start to arrive at 7:15 am and will load them one by one and then leave as they are full. The last bus will leave by 8:15 AM. The ride will go by quick as you watch movies and talk with other passengers.

Once we arrive in Glenwood in mid afternoon we will unload your bikes and we will set up our camp site for the night. There will be an expo going on and the RAGBRAI opening ceremonies.

If you are only using our bus / bike transportation you will be able to get your bike and head off with the group, you are camping with.  We will have two drop points for you – the Brancel Bicycle Charter campsite or the main RAGBRAI campsite.  Your bikes will be located our the Brancel Bicycle Charter campsite.

When camping with us during the week:

Each morning you will load your luggage on our truck to be transported to the next town. You can then take your time riding to the next city. When you arrive at the end city for the day, we will have BBC signs up as you enter the city pointing you to the location of our camp site for the night.

Once you arrive at the camp site, we will have canopies set up for you along with cold drinks in a cooler. The drinks will be there for a small fee. We will have a shower truck, bike mechanic, massage therapists, portable bathrooms, hand washing stations and bike pumps.

We will have a separate camping area for our group.

RAGBRAI provides a list of activities going on in each city and eating places. We will pick you up a copy of that so you can plan your activities for the rest of the day.

Visit our FAQ if you have additional questions.

For those meeting us in Glenwood:

You may also use our charter services starting in Glenwood for our week-long camping option.  We will send out information in late June on how to find us to start your week.  Glenwood will have week-long parking if needed and there are other charter services available at the end of the ride to get you back across the state.