Iowa
Photo credit: Harry Baumert /Des Moines Register / AP
For 37 years, the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa has been giving thousands of Americans from around the country a chance to pedal leisurely across the entire state. Not to mention a modest case of seat rash. The seven-day event is not a race, and the route changes every year. This year it travels a 442-mile path through the southern half of the state, making overnight stops in Council Bluffs, Greenfield, Ottumwa and other small towns where the only previous tourists have been politicians stumping for the presidential primaries. The ride is meant to give participants a chance to take their time and see the countryside, but just in case you're thinking you'll get off easy, be warned: although Iowa has a rep for being flat, it definitely has hills. Entry fee: $140