Waves of riders roll in

(Above) Riders were greeted in Ventura before traveling along the lake on North Shore Drive to downtown Clear Lake.

Thousands of RAGBRAI cyclists love spending time at Lake

Clear Lake was ready when an estimated 10,000 cyclists and 45,000 others descended on the town Tuesday for an overnight stop during the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa.

“Welcome to Clear Lake!  Where you from?” shouted official greeter Tim Esbeck as cyclists entered the downtown, passing in front of Clear Lake’s iconic Lady of the Lake.  It’s a phrase he repeated hundreds of times, celebrating the countless Iowa towns represented by the riders, in addition to those from across the country and even the world.

Alan and Lisa DeJong, from Portland, Ore., were riding in their fifth RAGBRAI.  It’s become a regular summertime routine- exploring a beautiful state one small town at a time.  “We’ve come in search of dark beer and barbecue,” joked Alan, who was given directions to the nearby Laketime Brewery to cool off from the mid-80 degree temperatures.

Local RAGBRAI Chairman Diane Thompson said she was pleased with how the day was going and was looking forward to all of the riders arriving and taking in all that Clear Lake has to offer.

“We hope all the towns along the route had a great day.  I heard things went well in Wesley and there were big crowds in Garner.  We want everyone to succeed.  The ride is about Iowa, not just Clear Lake,” she said.

Jeremey Ainley had a great job on RAGBRAI Tuesday.  He was serving as the driver for the Miss Guided excursion boat, shuttling passengers from the Main Avenue boat launch to The Landing and the PM Park Tiki Bar from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  From 5-8 a RAGBRAI team had chartered the boat for a private cruise.

RAGBRAI booster

Chris Palmer was as excited to have RAGBRAI riders come to town, as the riders themselves were to get here.  Palmer was among the 750 volunteers who helped to make RAGBRAI’s overnight stay in Clear Lake fantastic— and he did it for more than 14 hours.  Palmer volunteered to work in the beverage garden from 9:30 a.m. to midnight.

“I knew they needed a lot of help, so I thought I could give up a day of work to volunteer.  I thought it would be a lot of fun to see all the people come into town and go up and watch the entertainment.  It’s fun to show off how nice our community is.  Everyone works hard to make people feel welcome and enjoy their time here.”

A 22-person local Steering Committee organized the details for cyclists and others to come to Clear Lake to be housed, fed, and entertained during RAGBRAI.  The committee worked on the event for five months, ever since Clear Lake was announced as a RAGBRAI Host Town on Jan. 22.  The group oversaw plans for 13 hours of entertainment, a 420,000 square foot beverage garden, over 40 vendors, five campgrounds to accommo-

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date 10,000 bikers, eight miles of road exclusively for the bike route,  three shuttle routes to move guests from campgrounds to downtown, medical units at three locations, uniformed officers from Clear Lake, Mason City, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff Department, and the Iowa Highway Patrol, and signage to give direction to all of the above.

Olympic cyclist

Among those experiencing RAGBRAI for the first time was Flavia Oliveira-Parks, a professional cyclist, and past winner of the Mountains Competition in the Giro d’Italia Feminine (Giro Rosa).  She was also the Brazilian National Road Champion, and placed seventh in the women’s road race at the Olympic games held in Rio de Janeiro last August.

Oliveira-Parks and her husband, Nathan Parks, rode through Clear Lake on RAGBRAI, and requested special housing for their stay, according to TJ Juskiewicz, RAGBRAI Director.

As an elite, international athlete, the Olympian is part of the Registered Testing Pool (RTP). This means that she must submit her whereabouts each day and night of the year through a web portal.  The couple considered camping in Clear Lake, but the requirement to provide a physical address at all times would make it difficult to meet the couple’s needs.

Tom and Mary Alexander offered to house the Brazilian Olympian and her husband for their time in Clear Lake.

Returning to Iowa

Kristin Gaffney-Tostlebe, originally from Ames, Iowa, is riding the route with her husband, Joshua, and his team, ButtIce.  The 2013 graduate of Iowa State University, is currently stationed at Beale Air Force Base in California, where she is a captain in the USAF, working in Space Operations for the Air Force.

“I love coming back to Iowa to ride in RAGBRAI.  There are people from all over the country just out to have a good time at this event.  There is nothing better than staying active, biking with my friends and touring the beautiful Iowa countryside,” she said.

Ride for pie

Ken Converse jokes, “I ride for the pie!” when asked what he looks forward to the most on RAGBRAI.  Actually pie is one of many things the vice president for Institutional Advancement at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake enjoys about the ride.  There’s also the fellowship, meeting new people and seeing the best of Iowa from the saddle of a bike.  “I love exploring new towns, the little ones in particular,” he adds.

Converse has participated in seven or eight RAGBRAIs, typically riding two to four days of the route.  This year he is joined for four days of the ride by a colleague and neighbor from Storm Lake, Jim Salvucci, and long time riding partner and Storm Lake dentist Dr. Dan Douglas.  Retired Des Moines businessman Glenn DeStiger is a longtime RAGBRAI rider, but is joining the Storm Lake group for the first time this year.

Other than riding as a kid, Converse said he came into the sport later in life (mid-40s) and at that time, got his family involved to the point that all ride.

Peddling toward home

Clear Lakers Alice and Steve Futrell were also including pie on their RAGBRAI must-do list, in addition to promoting the ride’s stop in their town.

“We have had several people say they remember what a great job Clear Lake did last time RAGBRAI came through town.  They are looking forward to it,” said Alice.

In addition to pie, the Futrells said memorable moments along the RAGBRAI route included seeing paper tulips made by children lining both sides of the highway leading out of Orange City.  Monday the couple also caught a ride from dinner to the campground in Spencer on a bike-powered rickshaw.  “That was fun and a first after a day of biking,” they said.  They also toured the Grotto in West Bend.

The Futrells are riding with about 80 members of the North Iowa Touring Club.  On Tuesday, club riders were planning to spend the night in the couple’s yard before most trekked on to Charles City on Wednesday.

A reunion of friends

Riders aren’t the only ones who look upon RAGBRAI as a gathering of friends.  Ted Christensen, from Clear Lake, participated in 31 RAGBRAIs as a vendor.  Two years ago the owner of J. Galt Imprinting made the difficult decision to step down as one of a dozen official vendors allowed to travel the route.

“Some of my best friends I would see once a year on RAGBRAI,” said Christensen. “RAGBRAI was really my vacation.  My three girls worked with me until they were too old, and then my grandkids were involved.  We all had a great time.”

Christensen would create two to three designs, each one approved by RAGBRAI leadership, for the shirts he would sell each year and then print them on a variety of colors.  He was best known for his tie-dye shirts.

Christensen said the organization behind the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa is what makes the ride so successful.  He vividly recalls arriving at the start of the route on Friday night, participating in an expo Saturday, then pulling out to always be at the next overnight stop by 8 a.m.

“RAGBRAI really hasn’t changed much over the years.  It’s still the most organized and cooperative thing I’ve ever seen.”

All charged up!

Cyclists were not only able to recharge themselves in Clear Lake, but CL Tel offered a solar generator-powered charging station in front of their North 4th Street building for their devices.

“Since bicyclists tend to appreciate sustainable, ‘green’ things, we thought it would be a good way to show that Clear Lake is working at sustainability,” said CL Tel President Jan Lovell.

The portable solar charger also has a Clear Lake connection.  It is owned by Derek Nelson, owner of Creative Footprints, a sustainability consulting service and brother of Clear Lake City Councilman Tony Nelson.  Derek currently is the manager of Kum & Go, the Des Moines-based Iowa convenience store chain.  Kum & Go was the first convenience store in Iowa to achieve LEED building certification.  The solar generator has provided power at numerous major events in the Des Moines area, including the Principal Charity Classic, and across Iowa.

Ready for a crowd

When you live on Main Street, have a large yard, a pool and hot tub, you can bet you’re going to be a popular spot to host RAGBRAI riders.  Bobby and Jenny Kopriva had a yard full, with a total of 55 people and four support vehicles taking over the Kopriva homestead.

“We have heard nothing but good things about RAGBRAI riders and we are looking forward sharing our facilities with two groups of riders,” said Jenny before the riders arrived Tuesday.

The first group, the Cockroaches, have 40 members, with an average age of 40.  They come from a variety of states, including Minnesota, Texas, Illinois, Oklahoma, California and New York.  They also come from a variety of occupations, including health care, sales, lawyers and teachers to name a few.  The group will bring a 54-passenger school bus, a shuttle bus and a former ISU CyRide bus. They also have their own port-a-potty, delivered and picked up the next morning, and their own shower.

Bobby met the second group, Jorts, as a fellow rider a number of years ago.  This is the second time the group has stayed at the Kopriva home.  Jorts travels with a large motor coach and 15 members.  The group is so well organized it even has its own website, www.teamjorts.com and coming soon, their own gear line.

The Koprivas provided a tent for shade, a bags game, use of their pool and hot tub, bottled water and use of two of their bathrooms and showers.

“I think hosting riders is a great way to get to know people from all over the country and also to showcase our community,” said Jenny.

Building awareness

Sukup Manufacturing, a world leader in the production of grain bins, partners with GoServ Global to build tin houses used for homes in places such as villages in Haiti, as well bible camps in Peru.  In honor of their partnership with Zion Lutheran Church in Clear Lake, one of the tin houses was set up at Zion Lutheran Church during RAGBRAI.  Representatives were there to provide further information about the organization, and to direct donations to help out with future missions and tin homes. Donations are always needed, as a single tin house can cost about $10,000 total to build, transport, and setup.

The church has partnered with GoServ Global for mission work for a number of years.  Go-

Serv Global has helped to make it possible for a group from Zion to travel, from Aug. 9 through Aug. 17, to Peru for mission work.

A beach wedding

Sarah Banks and Whit Oyler had their first experience with RAGBRAI, and with Clear Lake, in 2014. According to Banks, they enjoyed the ride and the town so much that they knew they’d return someday.

“RAGBRAI was a special time for us in 2014. We loved everything about the ride,” Banks said.

When they got engaged in October, they both knew that they wanted to return to RAGBRAI for their wedding.  RAGBRAI went through Clear Lake in 2014, and the idea of getting married at the lake was “a perfect fit.”  The couple was married at 3 p.m. on the beach stage between bands. Vickie Snyder, a member of the RAGBRAI committee, helped to plan the “short and sweet” wedding.

“We’re pretty simple people, so there’s nothing elaborate planned,” Banks said.

The couple met in college at Oklahoma State University and have been together for six years.

Banks, a licensed psychologist in Denver, Colo., works with children with autism, and is originally from Texas.  Oyler is finishing a graduate degree in public health.

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