Each year since 1973, Iowans have anxiously awaited the March announcement of the towns chosen to host riders during the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa.

For these towns, the weeklong ride is not only an opportunity to showcase its best amenities, delicacies and hospitality — it’s considered quite the honor, as well.

In the last two decades, many communities within Jasper County have been presented with this opportunity: riders crowded the Courthouse Square in Newton in the hopes of meeting Lance Armstrong in 2006 before rolling through Reasnor, Sully and Lynnville. In 2001, RAGBRAI took cyclists through Mingo, Ira and Baxter en route to Grinnell. More recently, riders passed through Baxter before stopping midway in Colfax during the 2011 ride.