Minnesota Ironman Bicycle Ride expects to move to Waconia

The 51st Minnesota Ironman Bicycle Ride is slated to move this spring from Washington County to Waconia — despite the fact that the ride has yet to be approved by the Waconia City Council.

"This has been worked on for months," said Susan Arntz, Waconia's city administrator, "and last week is the first time I've ever heard of it. This is a 3,000-person event that they're bringing to our community, and I just received it last Friday."

But event organizers hope to rectify that oversight soon, spokesman Russ Lowthian said.

"We didn't talk to the right people," he said. "We've been working with the Waconia Chamber of Commerce, and everybody assumed the city itself would know about it. Shame on us and shame on [the chamber]."

Registration for the ride opens Wednesday, but the event won't go before the City Council for approval until Feb. 6 at the earliest, Arntz said.

"We have a lot of questions for the organizers," she said. "We've got a lot of work to do before we can say everything's a go."

About 4,000 cyclists are expected to start their bicycling season by participating in the April 30 event, Lowthian said.

Why move to Waconia?

"People tend to want new routes," he said. "We can only vary those routes in each location before they're old hat and attendance goes down. Attendance goes up by 1,000 when we move, and it goes down every year until we move again."

This year's route is tentatively planned to go around Lake Waconia and through Young America, Lester Prairie, Hollywood and Mayer. According to organizers and the event's website, the ride would start at Waconia Senior High School.

Arntz said the city has not yet received a traffic or security plan, but Lowthian said that organizers now have sent the city the necessary information. They have a contract with the high school to serve as the ride's start and end point.

"We'll make sure that the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed before we go ahead," he said. If city leaders reject the ride, he said, they have backup plans.

The Minnesota Ironman Bicycle Ride started in 1967. It originally featured a 100-mile route, but because it's considered a season opener, loops of varying lengths are now offered.

"Most people are not in shape to do a 100-mile ride that time of the year," Lowthian said.

About 3,500 cyclists participated in last year's ride that took place in Washington County, Lowthian said. That ride offered loops of 15, 36 and 67 miles; this year's route lengths are still under consideration.

Though the ride goes by the name Ironman, it's not part of the triathlon or race by the same name. "Anybody can get out there," said Tom Sullivan, the event's co-director. "We're out here for everybody."

Fitness aside, weather also can be an issue for riders. Since 2010, it has rained on all but two rides.

"Most of the time, the temperature is in the 40s or 50s," Lowthian said. "Minnesota weather — you can never predict it."

In a way, that unpredictable weather is a draw for some riders. Neither snow nor rain are grounds for canceling the ride. "Bragging rights is a big part of this," Sullivan said.

Gabriel Sanchez is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.