Things are expected to get hectic Monday in Carroll when an estimated 25,000 RAGBRAI riders and support team members arrive, and organizers are encouraging residents to prepare themselves ahead of time for the potential disruptions. Carroll Chamber of Commerce Program Director Ashley Schable says they hope to limit the impact on most residents.
Riders are expected to begin rolling into town Monday afternoon, but support teams and vehicles could start setting up early that morning. Schable says there will be plenty to do, with live music, dozens of vendors, and more all on the schedule. She says the party will get started before most of the crowd arrives.
That list only scratches the surface of what is happening in town on Monday. The RAGBRAI Central Committee has released a selection of valuable information sheets, including maps of the town and festival area, a welcome flyer for riders, and a Carroll RAGBRAI handbook with schedules, ATM locations, emergency contacts, and more. The handbook is available at www.carrollragbrai.com. Cell service will likely be partially disrupted with Carroll’s population nearly quintupling, so Schable recommends people have that information in hand ahead of time.
The PDF version of the Carroll RAGBRAI handbook is also included with this story online. RAGBRAIers will enter town via Highway 71 and then east on 180th Street to the main welcome area. There will be various road closures throughout the community, primarily in the downtown and Chamber Depot areas. Organizers recommend residents take care of any errands before Monday. Additionally, U.S. Highway 30 between Carroll and Glidden will be closed to motor vehicle traffic from 5 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Tuesday as riders head toward Glidden on the route to Ames. Commuters will need to find alternate routes into town that morning until the bulk of riders have gone on their way.
