TAMA, Iowa — With less than a month to go until RAGBRAI, towns across the state are finalizing their plans. And the smaller towns along the route have just as much of a load to bear as the bigger cities.
On an average summer morning, the streets of Tama and Toledo are pretty quiet. But local business owners know that won't be the case much longer.
Mike Hetzel, co-owner of The Railway Cafe, described the feeling of anticipation as "a combination of excited and terrified at the same time." He and his wife opened the cafe just a few months ago, and they already know to get ready for RAGBRAI.
"I've had friends of mine that have been on that so I kind of know what happens to the towns when they go through them. It's pretty crazy and intense," he said.
Together, the two towns have a little under 5,500 people, making them the smallest stop on RAGBRAI's anniversary route, but that's going to be changing pretty quickly when tens of thousands of cyclists come rolling into town. That's a tall order for businesses to prepare for.
"We're gonna have tables out, we're gonna have everybody we know coming to help so we can service as many customers as we can. It's gonna be a lot of to-go orders, a lot of people coming in,' Hetzel said.
A few blocks down the road, staff at The Pump are making plans of their own.
Bar manager Derek Doran has done this song and dance before. Even though it's been 15 years since RAGBRAI's last stop in Tama-Toledo, he still has an idea of what to expect.
"We gotta figure out where we're gonna store enough for them, we gotta have enough room for them to be around, make sure we have enough for them to have when they get here to drink and enjoy themselves and give them a good time while they're here," Doran said.
While getting everything in order for visitors is no small task, that didn't bother any of the businesses Local 5 visited. They're hoping that serving so many customers in such a short time will pay dividends long after the sound of bike bells have faded.
"Get caught up, get stuff taken care of, fix up a couple things when they take off. Show people that we are having a good time. Come on into town, you'll always have a good time and remember us when you leave," Doran said.
Cyclists will be reaching Tama-Toledo on Thursday, July 27 following an 82-mile ride from Des Moines before rolling out to hit the road to Coralville the following morning.