RAGBRAI in Roland

Didn't get a chance to post on Ragbrai coming thru Roland. I took off on vacay as soon as the bikers were out of town (well, at least most of them). I must admit, I was a little underwhelmed at the community interest in helping pull this off. The Popp family and the Gustafson family did most of the work, and I am thankful to them for the efforts in making Ragbrai go in Roland.

As far as I know, everything went off pretty well. I was working at the Britson Park stand, in that park, though I also hopped on the bike and toured around town, to see how things were going. We had a lot of folks in lawn chairs, cheering, giving good words, and just generally enjoying the spectacle. We got a few more vendors in downtown, and they looked like they were keeping reasonably busy. I haven't heard if the stands were big money makers or not.

Thanks to our EMS folks too. I saw a pedestrian/bike collision that scuffed some people up. Otherwise I heard of no major issues.

At the stand I was at, I head a lot of bikers that were going to call it a day at Zearing. They didn't want the hills or to face the south wind into Marshalltown. I also heard a lot of "Who is Gary Thompson?" Seeing the rocket, most thought he was an astronaut.

I got to talk to people from California to Pennsylvania. That was kinda fun. Ragbrai itself can be a lot of work. And it is a distraction. But it is certainly an "Iowa thing" and a sight to see. With as blazing hot as it was, I'm glad it wasn't me on the bike.

Here is a photo with a biker, who just happened to be wearing the same color shirt as the Britson Park stand workers. She seemed impressed she could get a photo with the mayor and Park Board President