Eight "host communities" are selected each year by RAGBRAI organizers, with the exception of the inaugural route (1973).
Two of the communities are beginning or end points, while the other six serve as overnight stops for the participants.
At the beginning of the ride, riders traditionally dip the rear wheel of their bikes in either the Missouri River or the Big Sioux River (depending on the starting point of the ride), and dip their front wheels in the Mississippi River at the end of the ride.
There has been at least one incident of a rider losing his bike after riding into the Mississippi River.
The planned 2020 route was used in 2021, with modifications due to overnight town availability changing.