11 Years since RAGBRAI stopped in Clear Lake

Tue March 23 2010
Posted Mar 24, 2010
4,481

Clear Lake, IA It’s been 11 years since the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa pulled into Clear Lake for the night. RAGBRAI comes north again this July with overnight stops in Algona, Clear Lake and Charles City. “It’s like the Fourth of July only bigger and all in one day,” said Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Gary Bright. Clear Lake will host about 15,000 cyclists and crew members for the night of Tuesday, July 27. Bright said the economic impact of RAGBRAI for an overnight community is $2 million or about $133 per rider. “Think out of the box for one day,” Bright told a meeting of Clear Lake merchants Tuesday. “If you want to do business as usual on Tuesday, July 27, you’re going to miss out.” Clear Lake RAGBRAI chairwoman Diane Thompson said planning for such an event is a huge undertaking. “We have 24 people on our steering committee and we have nine on our advisory committee and everybody has their little piece of the pie and quite honestly they are doing far more than I thought they would ever be able to do,” Thompson said. “There’s an awful lot of work to do but we’ve got a good start.” Clear Lake is no stranger to hosting large celebrations. Thousands flock to the city each year for the Winter Dance Party, Fourth of July parade and fireworks and Christmas By The Lake celebration. “Clear Lake does know how to throw a party. That’s the reputation that we have. I think people are expecting a lot out of Clear Lake,” Thompson said. “We are preparing to give them a wonderful day while they are here.” This year’s short 51-mile ride between Clear Lake and Algona means riders will arrive earlier than usual. They also may stay later than normal because the ride to Charles City is about 51 miles. “I think it’s a great opportunity for Clear Lake. There’s a lot of things we will be able to do because they will be here all afternoon.” Clear Lake’s Chyrl Bergvig is in charge of food vendors. She said applications for vendors will be available on the Chamber Web site and city Web site by April 5. The committee is selling florescent-colored bicycle pins for $1 as a fundraiser to cover expenses. T-shirts will also be on sale but they are not available yet. The group is not receiving any Chamber or city money. Entertainment committee chairman Shane Cooney said it will be at least a month before the group makes any offers to entertainers. Most of the entertainment and almost all the food vendors will be located downtown around City Park. Main Avenue will be closed that day. Other roads will also be closed that day. Shuttles will be available to move people around Clear Lake.