Thousands of Cyclists Crossing Iowa

Plus, an Iceland gravel documentary and Stats for the Nerds

Author

Sam Westby
July 24, 2025

Welcome to the Bike Bulletin, your weekly ride through the world of cycling.

—Sam Westby @samcwestby

This is a weekly newsletter about bike trips, urban cycling, and a love for two-wheeled transit. The more time you spend on a bike, the better. I share new editions every Thursday, gearing you up for the ride ahead.

Here’s what we have today.

  • 🌍 RIDE: RAGBRAI 2025

  • 🎥 WATCH: The Rift Gravel Race

  • 📰 NEWS: Wireless e-bike charger and a completed FL road diet

BEHIND THE CURTAIN

My current update is that I am still editing the vlog for Week 2 in Europe. I planned to release it today, but it’s not ready. The week starts with my dad and me crossing from Andorra into France on one of the longest descents of my life. We also discovered the magic of French bakeries even though we’re horrible at the language.

Week 1 in Europe took about 25 hours of work, and I’m (repeatedly) learning that time management is hard.

Making my regular short 1-minute videos is more predictable. They take 30-90 minutes with almost no exceptions. One reason is the amount of content I record. On a typical day, when I create my short daily vlogs, I record about 5 minutes of content. On the other hand, a week of longform filming generates 2-3 hours of footage.

Although long-form videos are more challenging to create, it’s the direction I want to continue exploring. They’ll get easier if I keep making them.

RIDE ON MY RADAR

RAGBRAI 2025

Pronounced RAG‑brye, it’s a 7-day party on wheels from one end of Iowa to the other. Happening Now. Each day is 40-70 miles. There are support vehicles, theme days, and 25,000 other riders.

I’ve never attended, but I’ll get out there one year. This year has been hot for the riders. The organizers have been providing water and cooling centers.

RAGBRAI has affected Iowa’s attitude toward cyclists. That’s what happens when thousands of people on bikes flood a new small town for a day each year. When I’ve bike toured through Iowa, everyone — drivers, small town shops, random people — are familiar with cycling and are a little kinder. It’s a lovely thing, like a mini Tour de France effect.

More exposure to cyclists = better experience for cyclists.

More content about RAGBRAI

WHAT I’M WATCHING

The Rift Gravel Race in Iceland

Follow along as amateur cyclist Christoph Döttelmayer trains and completes the Rift in Iceland. 200 km (≈125 miles) with 2,600 m (≈8,530 ft) of climbing, spread across rolling highland roads, and volcanic ridges. Most of the ride is through mystical black lava fields with multiple river crossings.

Watch on YouTube

  • Trailers. Montreal is testing out trailers for its bikeshare bikes. (La Presse)

  • 59 Percent. The percentage of trips in New York County done by biking or walking. (Axios)

  • 72 Percent. The percentage of Toronto car drivers who say the city needs to improve safety for non-motorists. Most drivers care about cyclists and pedestrians. (Momentum Mag)

  • Wireless. New e-bike charger tech from TILER that looks like a kickstand, but acts like a charger. (electrek)

  • New Construction. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, started construction on modernizing Michigan Street, including new bike lanes. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

  • Illegal. Proposed legislation in Syracuse, NY, would make it illegal to park in a bike lane. (syracuse.com)

  • Completed. Jacksonville, FL’s Park Street Road Diet. This is expected to make the corridor an excellent place to walk and bike. (News4Jax)

A Note From Sam

Reply to this email and let me know what sections you liked / topics you’d like me to write about.

To share this email, you can forward it or send someone this link: https://bikebulletin.beehiiv.com/subscribe.

Find Sam on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Strava