Sioux City's logo for RAGBRAI sports 1970s look partly inspired by "Mark-It" shop

RAGBRAI starts off in Sioux City on July 22, ending in Davenport on July 29.

The logo and the slogan "You Never Forget Your First Ride" was unveiled at a news conference held at the Sioux City Art Center Friday morning.

Graphic designer Jeff Gordon created the logo imagery, which included a bicycle, the state of Iowa, waterways, the local skyline as well as the cities Sioux City and Davenport, which were both represented by violet hearts.

The distinctively groovy font was inspired by both "That 70's Show" and t-shirts made at Mark-It, a since-closed custom printing shop that was located at the Southern Hills Mall during RAGBRAI's first decade.

"Mostly, I wanted to highlight 50 years of RAGBRAI with all of the hippie flowers and the colors that dominated advertising back in 1973," Gordon, a member of the local publicity committee, explained.

The logo will be featured on t-shirts, signs, posters, emails and in the media.

Nobody was happier for Sioux City being RAGBRAI's kickoff community than Siouxland Cyclists president Ron Begnoche.

"RAGBRAI had started in Sioux City seven times before (1973, 1978, 1988, 1993, 2001, 2010, 2015)," he said. "Since RAGBRAI started in Le Mars (in 2021) and Sergeant Bluff (in 2022), I was worried they'd bypass Sioux City."

Instead, Sioux City will kick off RAGBRAI for an eighth time.

"I think it is going to be wonderful," Begnoche said. 

RAGBRAI began when Des Moines Register reporters John Karras and Donald Kaul decided to bike across Iowa and invited others to join them.

The initial year had 114 riders. The number exploded in subsequent years and is now a major summer event across the state of Iowa.

More than 17,000 riders have already registered and most of the metro hotels are already booked.

Chris Larsen Park and Riverside Park will serve as campgrounds for registered cyclists. Cook Park will be the location for unregistered riders.

The Tyson Events Center and Long Lines Family Rec Center parking lot will host the entertainment and bike expo area.

"Sioux City is excited for the 50th anniversary of RAGBRAI," Sioux City RAGBRAI chair Matt Salvatore said. "RAGBRAI can showcase Sioux City like no other event and create a powerful economic impact."

"Cyclists and their support team from across the country and around the globe will flood Sioux City to eat in our restaurants, stay in out hotels, shop, buy gas and more," he added.