Scorching temperatures near 100 degrees, coupled with the fact that the 3,616 feet of climb from Des Moines to Tama-Toledo stretch of the ride made it the hilliest of any individual day by a wide margin, may have slightly tempered the turnout at the two main stages — Toledo Heights Park and downtown Tama — but plenty of riders still took the opportunity to soak in the atmosphere and check out everything the smallest overnight stop of the weeklong ride had to offer.

A rider from Omaha named Justin was asked what kept him coming back to RAGBRAI year after year.

“The challenge and the overall environment. Everybody’s just kind of chill,” he said. “It’s hot. It’s uncomfortable out here. The miles suck. The hills suck, but everybody, generally speaking, is in a good mood… You kind of know what you’re signing up for. You tell somebody from out of state you’re doing this, and they say ‘Oh, Iowa’s flat.’ And you’re like ‘Go ride RAGBRAI and tell me Iowa’s flat.”

He added that he preferred the small town setting because it’s easier to find people and connect with them, and another rider named Joe from the big city of Denver, Colo. indicated plans to “drink some beers” and “try to cool off and hydrate between the beers.”

T-R PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER — Tama County Economic Development Executive Director Katherine Ollendieck fully embraced the throwback ‘70s theme and showed up to Toledo Heights Park decked out in retro garb for RAGBRAI on Thursday.

“I just think it’s amazing that people camp out in their front yard, let people hang out, spray water everywhere,” he said. “It’s great. I mean, it’s like every small town RAGBRAI always goes through. (People are) super nice, willing to have people camp out in their yards.”

Both stages featured ample entertainment and a wide variety of food offerings, with several local vendors participating including the Tama County Cattlemen, Smokin’ G’s and Rube’s Steakhouse (no, riders didn’t have to grill their own steaks, they were served on a stick) in Toledo and El Cerrito, The Pump and the Tama Railway Cafe in Tama, to name just a few.

Under Current kicked off the music on the main stage at Toledo Heights Park, followed by a high energy Earth, Wind and Fire tribute band all the way from Pittsburg, Penn. pumping out their versions of classics like “Shining Star” and “September.”

At about 6:15 p.m., the Toledo American Legion performed a salute to veterans of all branches of the military, and “The Star Spangled Banner” played while a massive American flag was raised. The stage was then turned over to Iowa-based classic rock cover band Not Quite Brothers, who got the crowd amped up before classic rock legends Foghat, known for hits like “Slow Ride” and “I Just Wanna Make Love to You,” wrapped it up. There were three performances on the Tama stage, and local favorite Grand Marshall played in Montour earlier in the day. The Meskwaki Settlement also hosted a powwow, and the Fleetwood Mac tribute band Rumours played a free show outside of the casino.

Of course, no RAGBRAI would be complete without copious amounts of alcohol, and a committed group of volunteers — donning their trademark light green shirts — from around Tama and Toledo donated their time to making sure the beer tent was stocked and no rider left town thirsty. Two of them, Brandi Surman and Mandy Lekin, spoke to the T-R about the experience and what it meant to host the event in their own community.

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

“I think (volunteers) were pretty willing to jump on (board). You know, everybody comes and is ready to do it. You have some that are a little shy, but in the end, they all come together and do what they need to do to get it done,” Lekin said. “It takes a lot of people to get that together, and then the day of, it takes a lot of people to take care of the beer tent, to take care of the tickets, to take care of your volunteers, to take care of your parking.”

Surman added that there were ample opportunities for volunteers whether they wanted to be inside (which most would likely have preferred on a day like Thursday) or outside, and she was proud to play a part in pulling off such a Herculean task.

“There’s a lot of other towns that could’ve (or) would’ve loved to have been on the schedule, I guess, but it was an honor to be able to help put this on,” Surman said.

Lekin thanked everyone who got involved in assisting with various aspects of the undertaking from housing and RVs all the way down to porta potties and trash cans.

“I feel like it’s ran very smoothly. We’ve had lots of compliments. I just hope it continues throughout the night,” Lekin said. “For a small town, you know, we don’t have a lot of the big things that the other towns have, but I think our crew has done great for being a small town of 4,000. You look at the other towns on the route and they’re way bigger.”

T-R PHOTO BY MICHAEL D. DAVIS — Classic rockers Foghat played the headlining show at Toledo Heights Park on Thursday night, wrapping up a day full of music, food, drinks and fun.

Another resident who considered himself proud of the two communities’ efforts was Toledo Mayor Brian Sokol, who was on hand and excited to take it all in at Toledo Heights Park. He was also quick to shout out major sponsors like Iowa Premium Beef, State Bank of Toledo and Corteva Agriscience.

“We planned this thing for three or four months. We knew it was gonna be a big one this year, and it’s just kind of hard to, we hear the numbers, but it’s hard to put in perspective what it’s gonna look like,” Sokol said. “It’s definitely a good feeling when those bikes start to roll into town.”

In addition to the fun side of RAGBRAI, public safety and health are also crucial components of the ride, and the local police departments and EMS services in Tama and Toledo received a helping hand from several area agencies. Familiar faces like Marshall County Chief Deputy Ben Veren (who was happy to report a “very quiet” evening), his wife Casee, a Hy-Vee security officer, Marshall County Patrol Sergeant Joe McMillen, deputy Jon Rogers and Marshalltown Police Department Captain Kiel Stevenson were just a few of the law enforcement professionals brought in to keep the situation under control, and there were medical tents and IV booths set up around the South Tama elementary and high school property for anyone feeling under the weather after all that exercise.

With tents and RVs set up all across both communities, bike traffic outnumbering vehicle traffic, music blaring from multiple directions and riders and those accompanying them asking for directions and rides, it’s safe to say Tama and Toledo succeeded in recapturing the aesthetic of the original RAGBRAI ride 50 years ago. By the time the sun came up in the morning, they were off to their next destination, and the cleanup process was underway for the same group of volunteers who worked so hard to make it a reality.

“It makes us feel good that we can compete with the Des Moines and the Ames and the Coralvilles. I think it shows that a small town can come together and make big things happen,” Sokol said.

T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY — Riders roll up to the intersection of South Broadway Street and Business 30 in Toledo during RAGBRAI Thursday evening.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.