TJ Juskiewicz, Iowa's Ride Director issued the following statement on their Facebook page canceling the Most Wonderful Ride through Vinton, and the rest of Iowa.

"Unfortunately, after evaluating the current situation surrounding Coronavirus (COVID-19) and great concern for the safety of the general public, the townspeople, riders, support drivers, volunteers, the Iowa State Patrol troopers, safety officials and staff, it will not be safe nor feasible to host the inaugural Iowa's Ride on July 12-18, 2020.

Our top priority has always been the safety of everyone that would be involved in the event. We carefully monitored the evolving pandemic and consulted with health and safety officials across the state and country and town leaders to base any decisions. With Governor Reynolds closing all Iowa schools for the year (several were planned to be used for campgrounds) and recommendations to not continue the ride from the various law enforcement agencies, emergency managers, city managers and mayors, county supervisors, local hospital officials and other safety agencies that have been involved with the planning of Iowa's Ride, we knew the ride could not continue as planned. We do greatly appreciate your patience as we explored all possible options and assessed the health risks and the level of stress the event might place on the local health system and emergency services before taking this course of action.

Some people will ask why we could not wait longer to decide as the pandemic is ever changing. We tried to hold out as long as possible in hopes that the world would begin healing. We also know the reality that the clock was ticking to lock in many requirements to host the ride including insurance, permits and licenses. Some of these are required to be secured and paid for 60 days prior to the event.

Unfortunately, we have already put six months of time and resources into setting up the event and were prepared to host a great event. Most of these resources cannot be recouped. Needed corporate sponsorship dollars will also not be received by not hosting the event. Iowa's Ride was planned to give all proceeds to the charities in our host towns and bring a needed economic boost to these small-town businesses. Sadly, by not hosting this summer's event, there will be no proceeds to give to these charities as honestly the event will lose money due to COVID-19. I also do not want to give false hope or promises that we would just be able to roll your registration over to a future ride, like many long-time established events, when there is so much uncertainty in the world. We are trying to do the right thing during unimaginable times.

We will extend the request for refund deadline until May 15, 2020. We will issue refunds based on our stated policy. Please email fun@iowasride.com to request your individual or group refund. We will acknowledge that we received your request by email. Due to the volume of refund requests, it may take up to 30 days to process all refunds.

A registered participant is eligible for a 75% refund of registration fees. Fees for ticketing and processing may not be refunded. The refund will be processed to the original credit card; we cannot credit another card. If a card's account is totally closed, please call the issuing company of the closed card to learn their policies regarding refunds to the closed account.

These are unprecedented times. We appreciate your support, patience and understanding in this serious health emergency. COVID-19 has had a devasting effect on our country and its people. Our family has two friends that contracted the virus and have been in the hospital on a ventilator. We hope and pray that they and everyone else affected by the virus will fully recover.

As I stated before, a bike ride is never that important. We will remain hopeful that the health risks will eventually subside, and our country will get back to doing the things that we all enjoy like riding our bikes by ourselves or at large events. I hope you might stop in one of these host towns, when it is safe to do so, and support them by eating lunch at a restaurant or tasting a beer at one of those local breweries. I know they would appreciate it.

Again, we are trying to do the right thing during unimaginable times. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to write or call me anytime.

Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with those that are affected by the coronavirus throughout the world. Please stay safe!"


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