First day of RAGBRAI in Sioux City flows well

By 1 p.m. on Saturday, there was easily double that number milling around the parking lots of Sioux City's Tyson Events Center where the RAGBRAI Expo was being held to mark the beginning of RAGBRAI 50.

And the figure only grew as the minutes ticked away. Not just at the Tyson Events Center but also at Chris Larsen Park, Riverside Park and the Seaboard Triumph Foods Expo Center where participants were parking RVs and pitching tents and tuning up bikes. 

Despite the crowds promising to be record-breaking for Sioux City, which has served as the starting point seven times before, local organizers and volunteers for RAGBRAI 50 had few problems to report. 

"It's been going really well," said Barbara Sloniker, a RAGBRAI executive co-chair for Sioux City and executive vice president of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce. "I mean, it's crazy how many people are down here but traffic seems to be flowing pretty well. People seem excited and hospitable. It's a good day so far."

In terms of numbers, Sioux City Parks and Recreation Director and Sioux City RAGBRAI Chair Matt Salvatore said, in the four times he's helped plan a RAGBRAI event, he'd never seen so many bikes. 

"The day was an overwhelming success," he said. "There were a lot of people in Sioux City but we expected that." 

Sue Chartier, who served as the co-chair of the information committee for Sioux City RAGBRAI, said it was heartening to her that so many of those people wanted to venture out into the town. 

"The questions are like: 'Where can we go eat? What can we do that's RAGBRAI- related?' They do want to get out in the community and be part of that," she said. 

Just from her table in front of the Tyson Events Center, where she was handing out pamphlets and giving advice on where to go, Chartier said she'd talked with people from England, Germany, California, Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, Ohio and Texas. 

"They've been everywhere," said Chartier. 

Assistant Sioux City Manager Mike Collett, who worked on the transit planning committee, said the biggest issue his team saw during the day was "a little traffic that slows things down every once in a while."

Midway through the RAGBRAI Expo, which was slated to start at noon and end at 9 p.m., Collett said eight city buses were in use and shuttling people between the Tyson Events Center, the campgrounds and the RV site at the Expo Center. Salvatore said the main two campgrounds filled up so riders had to be directed to the overflow spots at Cook Park and Headington Park.

Before the end of the night, Collett said the number of buses would double.

"You always have a plan when you start out and you have to make some adjustments but all in all, it's been very smooth."

With temperatures climbing above 90 degrees, dehydration and heat exhaustion were a concern for first aid and rescue service teams sprinkled around downtown Sioux City. However, the members of those teams weren't swamped with many people suffering from such issues. 

Taylor Henry, an executive assistant in the UnityPoint Health - St. Luke's C-suite, said in the first hour or so, her group only had one case of heat exhaustion it needed to treat. 

"And a few ankle scrapes," Henry added. 

The experience was similar for Sioux City Deputy Fire Marshal Joe Rodriguez who started his shift at 9 a.m. 

"Very minor injuries, cuts and bruises," he said.

If people needed assistance at the campsites, Rodriguez said there were aid stations there as well. And people could also cool down by walking through misting tents at the Tyson Events Center. Even though he had a job to do, Rodriguez said he was able to stop and enjoy the day.

"It's kind of neat seeing everyone experience this," he said. 

When they all leave town Sunday morning, Sloniker said she hoped it was with pleasant memories of Sioux City.

"I hope they leave (thinking), 'Wow, Sioux City was a great place. They were hospitable. The people were friendly. They knew their stuff. And they were welcoming to us and we want to go back.'"