UPDATE 27 JULY 2025: According to KCCI, a cyclist on the final day of the ride was hit by a motorcyclist. Police and witnesses report a 59 year-old riding a Harley-Davidson was yelling and screaming at RAGBRAI cyclists on the route when he crashed into a 37 year-old female cyclist from Texas from behind, with the rider sustaining minor injuries.

On Thursday organizers of the 52nd edition of the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) in the United States announced two riders died while participating in the week-long event.

RAGBRAI Director Anne Lawrie made the terrible announcement, “Despite receiving prompt medical attention on the scene, it is with great sadness that we confirm the passing of two RAGBRAI riders earlier this week. Our sincere thoughts and deepest condolences to their loved ones.”

On Monday 62 year-old Mark Spoo of Colorado collapsed around 08:15 while riding as the route briefly entered southern Minnesota, according to Iowa and Minnesota State Police. Three event participants stopped to render aid (a doctor, surgeon and physician’s assistant) until medics arrived and transported Spoo to hospital, where he later died.

A second rider, who has not been named, died after a medical incident Tuesday in northern Iowa, according to responding emergency medics from the town of Esther. Upon arrival, the medics discovered a man receiving CPR, but without a pulse. Despite an hour of life-saving measures administered both on scene and at local hospital, the cyclist did not survive.

RAGBRAI attracts upwards of 20,000 riders annually, with this year’s event running from Sunday 20 July until Saturday 26 July. The route starts out west in Orange City and finishes on the eastern edge in Guttenburg after covering 406 miles across Iowa. But with daily temperatures as high as 90F and humidity around 70%, riding conditions have been challenging for even the most fit cyclists.

Photo Credit: RAGBRAI

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