Manchester glad its time has come once more as ride host

MANCHESTER - After seeing RAGBRAI routes touch southern Iowa in recent years, some people in Manchester thought it was time for the cyclists to come through their city.

“Manchester was due,” said Jeff Salow, a RAGBRAI rider and owner of JJams Bike Shop in Manchester. “It's been ten years since they hosted.”

This weekend, officials with the statewide ride revealed the route and overnight stops for the July 25-31 event. Manchester, the smallest city on the overnight list, will be an overnight host for the first time since 1999.

“For many of us, we found out, officially, last night or this morning,” said longtime Manchester Mayor Milt Kramer. On a cold Sunday morning, he and City Manager Timothy Vick were already making early plans to prepare for RAGBRAI riders' arrival on July 30.

Kramer said local restaurants, taverns and hotels will benefit from thousands of cyclists coming through Manchester. He also said other sectors of the city should expect to see an uptick in people.

“We have 13 churches in Manchester,” Kramer said. “Many of them will put on church dinners, and they will advertise it. The churches really have a financial gain in it.”

At least as long as the cyclists make it that far. Kramer and local historian Tim Tutton remembered the unbearable heat that plagued the town's last overnight turn.

“It was so hot that half of them (the cyclists) didn't come down from Decorah,” Tutton said. “All the churches hurt that year because they had all this food prepared and people didn't show up. They were looking for air conditioning!”

Salow said he has ridden RAGBRAI “about 20 times” and remembers the heat of 1999 leaving a real mark for cyclists. He said the asphalt became so hot it would loosen off the road and stick to the bottom of bicycle frames.

Salow's bicycle repair shop is closed for the winter. But come summer, having RAGBRAI enthusiasts passing within a block of his home won't keep him busier with repairs - he'll be riding right along with them.

“We have a group of 25 to 30 riders that go with us,” he said. “Most of them have been along with us, and we enjoy the company.”

On East Main Street downtown, Vick said, about 10,000 cars and trucks pass through each weekday. Part of the planning for the Friday night stop will be moving the traffic around to accommodate up to 10,000 cyclists instead.

“We are working to put that into the budget,” he said. “Law enforcement, overtime and cleanup after.”

-By Chris Earl, KCRG-TV9