ALGONA — RAGBRAI riders and crews left their mark on Algona on Monday, July 24 as the town slowly began to fill up with trucks, trailers, food stands and bike shops throughout the day. Banners were hung, camels set out and streets blocked off in anticipation for the some odd 10,000 official riders to arrive. Despite the official figures, many estimate the numbers to be twice that much when considering support crews and nonregistered riders.
The long awaited day arrived for the Algona RAGBRAI committee and many of the townspeople. Businesses closed early and people took time off of work to either avoid the madness or volunteer with the many RAGBRAI positions.
By nine in the morning, volunteers were already working furiously as information booths were getting their final touches, food stands inspected and the beverage garden stocked.
“We are getting excited to get everyone uptown,” remarked Katie Besch, Algona RAGBRAI executive co-chair. One of the most amazing parts of this process for Besch was seeing the sudden influx of volunteers. A couple weeks prior to RAGBRAI, the committee logged only 10 percent of its needed volunteers. “It all fell into place at the end,” she mentioned.
For more on RAGBRAI, please see the July 27 issue of Kossuth County Advance.