RAGBRAI 2008 Survey is in!!

Very interesting.... This is taken directly from Des Moines Newspaper site

RAGBRAI PARTICIPANTS' HABITS
70% of respondents ride every mile of RAGBRAI (71% in 2006)
80% of respondents preferred starting time is 6:00 am to 7:00 am
69% of respondents prefer to ride 11-20 miles between stops
90% of respondents prefer to stop in most or all towns
17% of respondents prefer to stop in every town
25% of respondents rode the Karras Loop

RAGBRAI ROUTE
73% of respondents rate the 2008 route excellent or above average (2% rated below average)
63% of respondents rate the signage for the 2008 route excellent or above average (3% rated below average)
67% of respondents rate the safety of the 2008 route excellent or above average below average (6% rated below average)
83% of respondents rate their overall RAGBRAI experience excellent or above average (2% rated below average)

RAGBRAI WEB SITE, REGISTRATION & ONLINE STORE
92% of respondents registered for RAGBRAI online
82% of online applicants rated RAGBRAI's online application procedure excellent or above average
84% of respondents felt the registration fees are set just right
72% of respondents visited the RAGBRAI online store
76% of visitors rate RAGBRAI's Web site excellent or above average

AGE & GENDERS OF RIDERS
Under 19 7.41%
Ages 20-24 4.78%
Ages 25-34 12.84%
Ages 35-44 19.01%
Ages 45-54 29.61%
Ages 55-64 18.96%
Ages 65+ 6.39%
Average age of this year's RAGBRAI participants is 43.34 years.

Males 65%
Females 35%

OTHER
77% of respondents used personal/rented vehicles to transport baggage
For 36% of respondents, this was their first RAGBRAI
69% of respondents first heard about RAGBRAI from friends or family
124 riders come from 18 foreign countries
Only 40% of riders are from Iowa
79.68% of riders use a road bike
10.37% hybrids
2.95% tandems
2.97% mountain bikes
2.26% recumbents
and less than 2% all others

The Des Moines Register conducted these surveys from Aug. 6-29, 2008