Gotta Ketcham all: Ames man leads the pothole patrol with an eye for detail
Rich Ketcham of Ames, a bicycling enthusiast and software guru, has turned his passion and friendships into a side hustle that saves RAGBRAI participants from unnecessary bumps and bruises.
Ketcham was chatting with friends and former RAGBRAI directors T.J. Juskiewicz and Jim "Greenie" Green a few years ago about how the event managers track the road pavement hazards.
"At the time, I had written and managed the software that tracks all of the elevation travel of the ride," Ketcham said. "But when I found out how they tracked the road hazards, I said I think I can step up their game."
Ketcham is a vital member of the RAGBRAI pre-ride crew and joined the team Tuesday as they rolled into town. The group was inspecting this year’s route, which begins in Sioux City and ends in Davenport. The state-long route will cover 500 miles in 2023 – RAGBRAI’s 50th year – featuring 16,549 feet of climb.
In the old days, Ketcham said, Greenie would head out on the route with his bicycle and car to search for road hazards including broken pavement, crumbling shoulders or potholes. He'd track the mileage on his car and catalog the problems. Then he communicates those hazards to the local county and community officials for their attention.
"So he would say something like, '10 miles outside of Ames there's a pothole on R38,' but it became an exercise for them to figure out from where that 10 mile mark started," Ketcham said.
Ketcham's brainstorm was to take a software program he wrote in 1995 to track his bicycling GPS and apply it to the RAGBRAI road hazards.
"We use a GPS computer and we roll along in the car," Ketcham said. "We push a key to tag a bad shoulder or pothole and when we are all done, we can compile a report that is a Google Earth map where we can see the actual hazards, rather than just a list."
RAGBRAI management then informs local jurisdictions regarding recommended pavement repairs.
Ketcham said the roadways have been "for the most part, in great condition this year."
Urban areas are typically where the most concerns pop up due to the heavy travel on the pavement, he said.
On what is known as the "Luther Blacktop," 270th Street, Ketcham said there is some concern where it looked like Boone County had done some patching. There were also some potholes on Mortensen Road.
"We do our work, but bicyclists have an obligation to keep their eyes open and on the road ahead," Ketcham said. "There's an educational component that comes with riding bicycles in a crowd. When you come up on a road that has a lot of patches, and people in a crowd will zig and zag while listening to music or talking to a friend, bikers have to maintain good situational awareness."
When a road is heavily patched, Ketcham said, it's easy to catch the edge of a bicycle tire and take a tumble.
Ketcham said RAGBRAI is the only ride for whom he performs this service. But he said he'd like to have the opportunity to expand his work.
"I'd love nothing else than to be invited out to Ride the Rockies and inventory their route," Ketcham said.
Teresa Kay Albertson covers politics, crime, courts and local government in Ames and central Iowa for the Ames Tribune and Des Moines Register. Reach her on Twitter @TeresaAlberts11 and at talbertson@registermedia.com, 515-419-6098.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames' Rich Ketcham helps spot potholes during RAGBRAI pre-ride
