GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) – The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa has begun. The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports that the popular cross-state bike ride began Saturday morning in Glenwood. Riders are heading toward Shenandoah, the first overnight stop early Sunday. They’ll have to endure brutal heat this year, as a heat wave promises to send Saturday’s heat index over the 100-degree mark.

Riders will end their 421-mile, seven-day ride at the Mississippi River in Muscatine on July 30. The annual ride draws thousands of participants every year.