RAGBRAI to Roland

Got a letter from the Des Moines Register informing me that Roland has been chosen as a pass thru town on RAGBRAI, on Wednesday, July 25, as riders go from Webster City to Marshalltown.

However, they ask for a few things, and they need the info by March 1. Basically, if the city will support that all vendors shut down by (in our case) 2:30 PM. And they also want to know who our co-chairs for planning our town's events are.

Obviously we just found out, so we don't have any co-chairs for that. So we need to find interested citizens who want to lead various parts of whatever Roland may come up with the day's events.

We can also tell the Register, "Nah, we aren't interested." They will potentially find another route, or they may still pass thru, with no noted support from Roland.

My take: It takes a lot of work from a few people, or some work from a lot of people. It is also a lot of fun on the day of. It is also an opportunity for local clubs to make some money.

I worked in a bar, just to help out, in Pocahontas 2 years ago when Ragbrai passed thru there. It was a lot of fun just meeting all the different people.

I also recall Ragbrai when it last came thru Roland, in 1997. I had just moved here so I didn't really participate. I recall there were some successes and strikeouts. Vendors on Main Street and the Legion did well. Vendors in Erickson Park did not do very well.

So, if you are interested in being a co-chair, please let me know, or let City Hall know. If you think we should tell Ragbrai to go around, let's hear that too. We have until March 1 to get the ball rolling.