Roasting RAGBRAI riders sweep through downtown Des Moines for anniversary ride

A decade after its last visit, RAGBRAI returned to its birthplace Wednesday to celebrate its 50th birthday.

And tens of thousands of cyclists peddled through the punishing heat to participate.

Riders rose before dawn Wednesday to begin their 55-mile journey to Des Moines, where Des Moines Register journalists John Karras and Donald Kaul 50 years ago hatched the idea for what would become the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

Amateur bikers and RAGBRAI newbies, including Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, joined veteran riders for the day, gliding along the wide, smooth highways of central Iowa.

Up to 60,000 riders or more passed through Slater, Madrid, Polk City and Ankeny before proceeding down U.S. 69 ― Ankeny Boulevard ― to Des Moines, where it becomes East 14th Street. RAGBRAI last came to Des Moines in 2013.

Bikes streamed through the downtown streets and past the steps of the Iowa Capitol, where riders stopped for pictures. Some cheered and threw their hands into the air as they passed under a large, inflatable banner reading "desmoines-apalooza"

Darren and Ann Patrick of Dallas posed with their bikes for a time-delayed photo on the Capitol steps.

Having grown up in the Quad Cities and been away for more than 20 years, the couple said participating in their first RAGBRAI was a sort of homecoming. Plus with the 50th anniversary, they said they couldn't pass up the chance to be a part of history.

"That's why we wanted to do it," said Darren Patrick, 53.

More: RAGBRAI's 50th anniversary ride is coming to Des Moines! Here's what to know

The Wednesday night campground was set up at Water Works Park, where a free concert by Lynyrd Skynyrd and other entertainment is planned at Lauridsen Amphitheater.

The Patricks said they were intrigued to see what the crowds would look like as the massive ride picked up tag-alongs throughout Wednesday's route.

"We're interested in what's going to happen here," Darren Patrick said. "People scared us. First, they said there's going to be 30,000 people ― no, there's going to be 60,000 ― there's going to be 100,000 people! So we don't know."

Tens of thousands join the ride to Des Moines

About 9,000 registered one-day riders were expected to join the 20,000 registered weeklong riders Wednesday. And their ranks were swelled by tens of thousands of unregistered cyclists who wanted to be a part of the historic day.

Des Moines RAGBRAI officials said they expected 60,000 riders ― a number that would far exceed the previously largest day, a 2018 ride from Winterset to Indianola through Norwalk that drew 40,000.

The Tremmel family parked their car in uptown Ankeny with plans to ride just the final 15 miles of the day's route. As they lathered on sunscreen and unloaded their bikes, 10-year-old Liam Tremmel had a clear goal in mind: tacos.

"We're hoping there's food at (Water Works Park)," said dad Nick Tremmel. "If not, somebody missed the memo."

Michael Josten of Clear Lake and Mason Winsauer of West Lafayette, Indiana, joined the ride in Ames Wednesday morning. Josten said he did a similar one-day stretch on last year's RAGBRAI.

"One day's about all I can take off work," he said.

More: See live video of RAGBRAI's Des Moines arrival, departure on city SkyCam

Also among the many one-day riders was the governor, who started the day in Ames with her brothers, her nephews and a few friends.

“I have been wanting, honestly, to do this for a really long time, and it's just really hard with my schedule to get it done,” said Reynolds, who was having a quick cup of coffee before the ride. “So, I am really excited to finally be riding on RAGBRAI and then to have it be the 50th anniversary and then to have my family.”

More: Gov. Kim Reynolds joins her first RAGBRAI: 'Such a legacy'

More heat ahead Thursday and Friday

Wednesday was the hottest day so far of the week-long ride, which began Sunday in Sioux City and will end Saturday in Davenport.

The heat Wednesday topped out at 95 degrees, a little lower than expected, though the heat index, or “feels like” temperature, reached 105 and Des Moines was under a heat advisory.

The route from Ames to Des Moines, however, was the shortest and flattest of the week, giving riders a bit of a break after some long, high-mileage days.

Plus, Iowans were ready to welcome sweaty riders with sprinklers, water bottles, popsicles and more.

Medicap Pharmacy manager Krystal Bell set up a luau-themed "hydration station" in front of the business on Garfield Avenue in Des Moines, complete with water, Liquid IV and BIolyte. But the crowd favorite appeared to be a large beach ball sprinkler perched nearby on the lawn.

Riders navigated toward the sidewalk hoping to get spritzed before moving along, and a few stopped to drench their heads. Many of them yelled thank yous or gave grateful nods and smiles.

"It's fun sitting here watching them all zig-zag over to get into it," she said.

Des Moines hospitals reported that, despite the thousands of riders exerting themselves in the heat, they weren’t seeing many heat-related illnesses in their emergency rooms.

Unity Point said the only one it had by midday was not from the ride, and Broadlawns had none. Mercy One reported four RAGBRAI-related cases, but it wasn't clear if any stemmed from the heat.

Still, the scorching weather is expected to continue across Iowa through Friday.

The National Weather Service predicts a Thursday high of 99 degrees in Des Moines, and 98 degrees at the campground in Tama. Thursday's ride will be just shy of 90 miles, the longest of the trip, and will have the most elevation gain.

One bit of good fortune: The forecast Thursday calls for a tailwind that will help push the riders along.

First-timer David DiCarlo is used to riding in the heat where he lives in Austin, Texas. But he said the sweltering ride was daunting, especially compared with his usual five-mile commute to work.

"I left Austin to get out of the heat," he joked. "I came to the wrong place."

RAGBRAI plans to provide extra support-and-gear vans, or SAG wagons, and buses on the route to aid riders who need a lift.

Also, riders are advised to pace themselves, as some were clearly doing Wednesday, stopping in the shade of downtown skyscrapers and dodging into air-conditioned bars and restaurants, clearly in no hurry to complete the ride.

“Know your limits,” RAGBRAI ride director Matt Phippen said in Madrid, where he was urging riders to hydrate and eat to keep their temperatures down and energy up. “If you think you could push forward and your body is acting funny, there’s a chance that your body telling you that you need to slow down and you need to stop, so listen to your body.

“Like I’ve always said, this is not a race, it’s a ride and you’ll get there in the end.”

Riders wary of swelling crowds, tight-packed roads

RAGBRAI riders new and old told the Register they had been nervous about the number of people participating in this year's ride.

The crowds were particularly notable on Sunday, as the mass of participants set out from Sioux City. One rider said the first seven to 10 miles were like "being in rush hour traffic in New York."

Crowded roads and new riders led to a busy first day for both the SAG wagons, which pick up bikes from riders who are unable to complete the route, and for ambulance transports.

Going into Wednesday, with even more riders expected to join the route, riders were apprehensive.

Taking a breather at TrailSide Tap in Ankeny, eight-time RAGBRAI rider Terri Whitson said it was "a little scary" to prepare for the crowded roads, and she said part of the route Wednesday morning required them to walk their bikes in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd.

But overall, North Carolina resident Whitson said the crowds were not as bad as she expected.

"I thought it was going to be so packed, but there has been plenty of room, people are being safe," she said. "I think it's been really good."

Jason Livingston, a Beaver, Pennsylvania, resident riding his first RAGBRAI, acknowledged there was "a little anxiety" associated with the upcoming ride to Des Moines.

"Not going to be a lot of space to move around," Livingston said. "But we'll see if the heat chases people away."

Riders had to navigate crowds off the bike as well, as thousands of cyclists jockeyed for the same food stands and bar stools.

Marlene and Gary Read of Florida said they struggled to find shuttle busses to take them to nightly concerts, and they've had to wait in long lines for food, which has been made even more difficult by Marlene's gluten allergy.

"It's just packed, and the lines are so long. I don't know where to go to eat," Marlene Read said.

Even so, the Reads said their first RAGBRAI has been unforgettable.

"I love the bike ride," Marlene Read said. "It's been challenging. I think the challenge of it too for me is something I'm finding I'm enjoying. … it empowers you a bit."

'I'm so glad it's still going'

Living up to "Iowa nice," residents along East 14th Street, the route that brought the riders into the city, greeted RAGBRAIers with Indian food, burgers and brats, music and lemonade stands.

East 14th Street resident Calista Nichols and her son laid out Gatorade, water and popsicles on a stand in front of their home. By noon, she said, she had already met riders from as far away as Jamaica.

Nichols, who rode RAGBRAI multiple times in the early 2000s, said she wanted to be outside to cheer on passersby.

"We're telling them they've only got 8 miles left to go," she said. "It's really nice to see people out alongside the roads, cheering you on. It gives you the extra burst."

Nichols said she was thrilled the ride made it to its 50th year.

"It's amazing," she said. "I'm so glad it's still going."

More: See RAGBRAI 2023 from above as cyclists ride through Iowa State's Jack Trice Stadium

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: RAGBRAI 50th anniversary ride sweeps into Des Moines in scorching heat