An enthusiastic group of riders passed through Tama along Highway 63 near the Family Dollar/Dollar Tree store on Thursday. PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

The sun hung high overhead last Thursday, lighting the path for the more than 30,000 registered riders to come to town. As the day heated up, tents popped up in every nook and cranny of Tama-Toledo as the riders found their place.

Some riders even stayed the night in the Reinig Center. This group was the Adaptive Sports Team. The Adaptive Sports Team is made up of a wide variety of individuals with physical disabilities. Jody Shiflett was one of these individuals, and this year was his very first RAGBRAI. Jody told about one of the downfalls of the ride, how everyone gets up an hour before leaving every day, and everyone leaves by six A.M.

“I’ve been out of the military 30 years, and I don’t do that stuff anymore,” Jody said laughing.

On his eighth RAGBRAI ride was Mario Bennett from Des Moines, who cycles by hand. Mario talked about how rough the hills were and how the ride was treating him so far.

Nino, a blind man from Detroit, was riding his fifth RAGBRAI this year. From Wisconsin to Colorado, Nino has done multiple rides across the states. The gravel Nino and his tandem partner Mark encountered after Colfax was not the best part of this year’s ride for the two. However, for the day, coming down from Grinnell had the sweetest ride. “They had the rolling hills, and that’s good tandem country for getting up speed and rolling over the next hill. So, that was the most fun,” Nino said

The area around the South Tama County elementary and high school was one of the biggest camping areas during the RAGBRAI overnight stay. PHOTO BY MICHAEL D. DAVIS & CO.

The riders entered from Montour and proceeded down the highway north. The four-lane had been transformed for the event, with two lanes for traffic and two lanes for bicycles. This happened with the help of both local and outside law enforcement. The Toledo Police Department had six officers working the event along with twenty-six officers from other agencies helping out. Working alongside the Toledo and Tama police departments were The Marshalltown Police, The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, The State Center Police, The Benton County Sheriff’s Office, The Cresco Police Department, and The Iowa State Patrol Commercial Motor Vehicle Unit.

No major incidents or arrests were made while RAGBRAI was in town. The Toledo Police Departments’ main duties included traffic control, event security, and campground patrol. The Iowa State Troopers were on hand just outside the city limits to help with traffic control; a few more were in town only to enforce alcohol related issues. These troopers had been assigned to follow RAGBRAI from place to place.

More than 75 EMS personnel were on hand in TAMA-Toledo for the event. Thirteen total ambulances were on hand in case of any emergency, three from Tama, three from Toledo, and others from Le Grand, Iowa Falls, Garwin, Dysart, and Marshalltown. EMS workers from Elberon, Dysart, Traer, Iowa Falls, Ames, Cedar Rapids, and Des Moines all came to help with the event.

Randie Brodigan, who has been an EMS worker for thirty-four years, was the one to bring the Dysart ambulance down. Randie told how heat exhaustion was the thing he was seeing most as the weather was getting to the riders.

“Today was a pretty long trip for them and a big elevation,” Randie said.

PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

“The event progressed much better than anticipated,” Greg Johnson, Paramedic/Service Director for Toledo EMS, said.

They were on high alert after hearing that other towns had been overwhelmed with issues, but with some afternoon cloud cover and with a large number of riders riding in RAGBRAI’s SAG vehicle, a lesser number of riders had medical issues.

“While exact numbers have not been tallied, approximately 100 individuals were assessed and/or treated. Of those about 20 were transported to local hospitals,” Johnson said.

Jimmy Hicklin of Tama EMS said, “Better than 90% was dehydration/heat related incidents.”

Issues from cramping to heat stroke were also treated in the IV tent at the High School. Cheri Holland with Advanced Restorative Hydration and Wellness offered a menu full of IVs starting with a baseline price of a hundred dollars. B-12, magnesium, Vitamin C, and much more were offered by the Iowa City company. IV therapy can be used for multiple things, from COVID recovery to pain, but during RAGBRAI, mainly the IVs helped to rehydrate riders. Advanced Restorative Hydration and Wellness followed the riders from city to city since the beginning of the ride, seeing around twenty people a day.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL D. DAVIS & CO.

As riders found their footing in Tama-Toledo the community came alive. From showers and fundraisers to musical performances. So many local businesses and organizations provided services to the exhausted but lively crowds. Some highlighted events are as follows:

The Tama Chapter of the American Legion held a dinner paired with live music.

Downtown Tama was alive with many local businesses selling food and drink, such as: The Pump, El Cerrito, and The Railway Cafe.

Murph’s was bustling with food, music, and of course ice cream treats for riders.

The high school was a main campsite for the riders. Inside the building showers were being sold and the STC Music Boosters held a dinner fundraiser in the cafeteria, also selling breakfast options the next morning.

PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

Sunny Hill Care Center had music, entertainment, and food for residents and riders alike.

The Wieting Theater provided air conditioning and tours of the history building. Two movie showings also took place for riders and locals.

Christ United Methodist Church and the Wieting provided another meal opportunity with proceeds benefiting both parties.

Toledo Heights hosted countless vendors, plenty of beverages for thirsty riders, and of course featured headlining act Foghat.

PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

PHOTO BY MICHAEL D. DAVIS & CO.

PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

PHOTO BY MICHAEL D. DAVIS & CO.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL D. DAVIS & CO.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL D. DAVIS & CO.

PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

PHOTO BY MICHAEL D. DAVIS & CO.