Lang
6/12/20
The former RAGBRAI director who left the group to form his own, competing bicycle ride is quitting for a new job in Arizona before the new event even had its inaugural ride.
TJ Juskiewicz released a statement Thursday saying he’s moving to Arizona to become executive director of El Tour de Tucson. Juskiewicz was director of RAGBRAI until he and his staff resigned from The Des Moines Register in October, citing the Register’s handling of criticism following a story involving Carson King, who raised over $3 million for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. The newspaper received backlash for discovering and asking King about racially insensitive tweets he sent when he was a teenager.
After resigning from the Register, Juskiewicz immediately launched Iowa’s Ride and scheduled it for the same week and format as RAGBRAI. The decision divided the loyalties of Iowa’s cyclists, leading to Iowa’s Ride changing to a different week and an east-to-west format.
This year’s RAGBRAI and the first Iowa’s Ride were cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns, with RAGBRAI offering those who signed up a full refund. Iowa’s Ride offered a 75% refund.
Juskiewicz says he plans to return for Iowa’s Ride next year as a rider.