The 41st-annual RAGBRAI kicked off on Sunday morning in Council Bluffs.

RAGBRAI — the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa — is a seven-day bicycle ride across the state from west to east.

This year’s route is the second shortest in history, totaling 406.6 miles. It’s also the 15th-flattest route in history with a total climb of 17,410 feet.

Overnight host communities include Council Bluffs, Harlan, Perry, Des Moines, Knoxville, Oskaloosa, Fairfield, and Fort Madison.

While Johnson County didn’t make the route this year, Coralville served as one of the overnight stops in 2011. Iowa City has not hosted riders overnight since 1975, The Daily Iowan previously reported.

Although Oskaloosa is the closest stop to Iowa City this year, officials say there is still reason to enjoy the annual event.

“RAGBRAI is only one of 52 weeks of great cycling in Iowa,” Jess Rundlett of the State Historical Museum in Des Moines previously told the DI. “But it is definitely a great opportunity for Iowa City riders to be a part of history.”

This year is also a memorable one as it includes a stop in the capital city of Des Moines for the first time in 16 years.