RAGBRAI to make Ottumwa stop

Jan. 29—OTTUMWA — For Meet Ottumwa Executive Director Laura Carrell, the event logo featuring the American Gothic House was a major tell.

"We were 99% sure it's ours and we were going to celebrate," she said Monday. "We thought we submitted a solid application. But in that 1% chance that we didn't get it, we would celebrate the other teams."

There was no need to do that. Months of work in luring the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) paid off handsomely Saturday evening, when event officials designated Ottumwa as one of the overnight stops for the 51st running of the ride as the route takes a southern Iowa track.

Ottumwa will be the fifth stop on the ride, with bicyclists descending on the city July 25 from Knoxville, then heading out the next day to Mount Pleasant. But for Ottumwa, it was a long-time coming, something that is anticipated to be an economic boon in the millions, just as it was in 2016, the last time RAGBRAI rolled through.

"We're not the same community that we were 10 years ago, and there's been so much work physically in the community to make things look better, work better and be better," Carrell said. "This is an opportunity to showcase who we are, and as a community people need to know about."

Meet Ottumwa worked with Greater Ottumwa Partners In Progress in crafting an application that would give officials a reason to make Ottumwa a stop, but highlighted many of the changes; the community continues to grow its diversity footprint, Main Street is completed, retail and hotels have opened.

In the end, it added up to something local entities have waited for for a long time.

"By July, people will a sportsplex and soccer complex getting built. When we had it in 2016, it was a little bit of a challenge because there was a lot of construction going on downtown," GOPIP Executive Director Marc Roe said. "But now we get a chance to really expose Ottumwa to a lot of people and what this community is made of.

"This is a time to shine for our community. We've gone through a bad economy, a pandemic and downtown was struggling," he said. "But a lot has happened since then."

As for the economic impact from the 2016 edition, neither Roe nor Carrell could put a ballpark figure on it, but Roe did put it in perspective.

"I talked to one business owner on Church Street after it, and he said he made 1 1/2 years worth of revenue in one day," he said. "That's how big of an impact it makes."

"There's going to be tens of thousands of people," Carrell said. "Whatever you're investing into it, you're going to get a return on it, and it's going to be substantial."

Ottumwa mayor Rick Johnson was pleased, and hopeful, RAGBRAI decided to make a return stop.

"It's always an honor and everyone is ecstatic," he said. "What I don't think people realize is how much of an economic driver this will be with the money that gets spent. I think people see Ottumwa on the right track and things getting bigger and better."

The undertaking for RAGBRAI will be intense, involving many committees and volunteers willing to give their time in some fashion, Carrell said. Those discussions have already taken place as the community looks to improve on its 2016 effort.

"We already have an idea what we want to do, so preparation was kind of already in the back of our heads," she said. "Marc and I can put in our experience as event planners, but you have to have a volunteer base that's willing to work for the next six months for that one day of amazing.

"We know people are coming in from all over the world. We want to grow and change," Carrell said. "A lot of the people who helped us in 2016 aren't here anymore for one reason or another, but what we want is for (riders) to have such a good experience that they want to come back on their own, that they can spend more time next time and go to a different restaurant, or stay in a different place."

The ride will begin in Glenwood, which is just south of Council Bluffs, then work its way to Red Oak, Atlantic and Winterset. From the birthplace of John Wayne, the ride will continue to Knoxville, before ending a 60-mile jaunt in Ottumwa. The ride will end July 27 in Burlington.

RAGBRAI was first run in 1973, and had made stops in Ottumwa 1984, 2000, 2009 and 2016.

The ride will be the shortest on record at 434 miles, but at 18,741 feet of climb the elevation will be the steepest.

The full complete route will be announced in April. Organizers expect upwards of 18,000 registered participants to take part in RAGBRAI, either for the entire week or one or more days.

Those who wish to volunteer, or have ideas on how the city can be presented to the riders, can contact Roe at GOPIP or Carrell at Meet Ottumwa.

Editor Kyle Ocker contributed to this report.

— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury