RAGBRAI 2008 will pass through Ames, which serves as a host at the midway point of the ride.

This year’s bike ride will begin in Missouri Valley on July 20 and end in North Liberty on July 26.

The Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau held a meeting Thursday night in the Scheman Building to announce the Ames bike routes and campground locations and to discuss volunteer and vendor opportunities.

Along the way, bikers will pass through Harlan, Jefferson, Ames and Tama-Toledo. The outskirts of the ISU campus will serve as camping grounds for the RAGBRAI riders. Campsites will be set up in the Towers Recreational Field and near Hilton Coliseum, with both locations offering parking spots. Volunteer food and drink vendors will work the area after first undergoing a food serving inspection by the city.

ISU Dining will also offer its services at the Towers. Vendors will have to get a RAGBRAI vendor permit from the Ames City Council, with the exception of vendors who choose to serve meals in their churches. This also allows some vendors to avoid the city inspection guidelines.

This year’s RAGBRAI is the 36th, and the ride is, as always, sponsored by the Des Moines Register.

Each of the seven daylong legs covers about 68 miles, and the entire route runs about 472 miles. Riders can register for the whole week or for single days. The deadline for weeklong riders have passed, but the deadline for daily riders is July 1.

RAGBRAI’s has a limit of 8,500 week-long riders each day of the ride. Daily riders cannot exceed 1,500.

If the number of entries exceeds those numbers, a computer lottery will determine who rides. The results of that lottery will be available on the Web site, www.amesragbrai.com, on May 1.

The entry fee costs include wristbands, baggage transportation, route-marking signage, camping accommodations, discounts, sag wagon services (vehicles to help fatigued riders), emergency services, route maps, drawings and more, according to www.ragbrai.org.

Showers will be provided at all camping locations and the Ames/ISU Ice Arena is being considered as another possible shower location for the riders.