'A nice sense of accomplishment' (2024)

OTTUMWA — It's been a week since RAGBRAI LI stopped in Ottumwa, and it's given advisory board member Marc Roe a chance to reflect.

But more importantly, a chance to exhale.

"I came into the office Friday to send an email to all the volunteers, to the effect that 'we can breathe again,'" Roe said as a hard rain fell outside Greater Ottumwa Partners In Progress on Wednesday, a complete contrast to the humid and sunny conditions the week before. "There were still a lot of businesses that weren't open yet because it was fairly early in the morning, a lot of riders were leaving town.

"It was a relief, but at the same time, I think I had a lot pride for the city, because one of the things I heard was how nice the community is, both from a people perspective and a growth perspective."

The final numbers aren't in yet as far as the economic impact RAGBRAI had, and those won't be clear until sometime in September. But, Roe said businesses were able to recover from slower periods this year because of the one-day event, and the beer garden surpassed 2016 levels.

Roe did say there were 16,000 registered cyclists who came through Ottumwa, with that number likely larger because of those who didn't register.

Following the 2016 event, organizers were able to give back $32,000 to nonprofits. Roe expects to at least match that this year.

And while there seems to be economic success in the wake of the event, Roe insisted the success begins with those who stepped forward to make it happen. In all, there were over 200 volunteers and 19 committees who worked six months to host an event that lasted less than 24 hours.

"I've said it 100 times, but we have the best volunteer network I've ever seen. We had all the right people in the right positions who knew what the right things to do were," he said. "Pick your category, whether it was EMA, law enforcement, marketing ... if any of people wouldn't have been in that place, it could have drastically changed the trajectory of the event.

"It's a lot coordination. The streets department had to work closely with law enforcement, who had to work extremely closely with not only RAGBRAI, but also EMA and the Iowa State Patrol. There are just so many moving parts, and you can't get any of those parts wrong."

Roe heard few complaints personally that "I could count them on one hand." But there were challenges; namely, a hotel occupied plenty of the Bridge View Center area. But, upon further review, he said there would be possible changes whenever the ride comes through Ottumwa again.

"I think we probably would have, in retrospect, given a little bit more space between the sides of the road for the vendors. We packed some in pretty tight in the main area on Church Street," he said. "There was probably more room to put more people over in the new parking lot as opposed to both sides of the street."

Similarly, there was a lack of vendors or water stations in War Memorial Park, where riders were entering through a tunnel off a trail. Roe said that was by design.

"We did think that of that, and that was the model we used in 2016," Roe said. "The reason we didn't do it this year, and maybe it wasn't the best, was that people over at the park did basically no business and were extremely unhappy for being over there.

"Also, the largest team was in the park, and they paid a handsome vendor fee to have all day vendors for their campsite. What we feared was that team, with its own vendor, stealing from anyone else that was over there."

If history is a guide, RAGBRAI will return somewhere between six and eight years. The community hosted in 1984, 2000, 2009 and 2016 before this year. Roe has been on the advisory committee twice. Would he do it again?

"I'll be blessed if someone asked me, but I guess only time will tell," he said. "I look at one of my professional mentors, Tom Lazio, who had a very important role in 2016. And he graciously said, 'I think I just want to let you guys take over and do it.'

"Maybe that'll be the role I take and just stand back and support it. Or if I'm gracious enough to be asked to be a part of it, I would do it. I don't know. But we really showed the world — and there were several international riders — what Ottumwa has done and can do. It just a nice sense of accomplishment."

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