News : Phippen talks RAGBRAI

Matt Phippen spoke to the local Kiwanis group on Tuesday about the planning that goes into organizing the logistics of RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) as well as the experiences he had on the ride this year.

Phippen came into the organization following a 23-year career at Scheels. He shared that throughout the years he had turned down several opportunities to work outside the state, but he wanted to stay in Iowa. As RAGBRAI prepared for its 49th year, they called Phippen to direct the ride. Phippen said that with the encouragement of his wife, Danielle, he took the opportunity. 

His first day was January 10th, He said as soon as his new role was announced, he received congratulatory messages from people all across the United States whom he didn't even know. He soon realized that this event was even larger than that. It's one that is recognized around the world. He said all 50 states as well as 20 countries were represented in the ride. Phippen would argue that it's the largest tourist attraction in Iowa not supported by state dollars.

In a study of the cities that RAGBRAI passed through this year, it's estimated that $4.6 million stayed in Mason City,  $2.5 million stayed in Sergeant Bluff, and Emmetsburg kept over a million. He said even the small towns that were afraid that they might not be able to handle the traffic made around $25,000 from the ride. He said that the economic impact of the ride pushes that total close to a $100 million impact on the state of Iowa, in a single week. 

RAGBRAI is also responsible for getting some roads that might not be on the radar for repairs, to be fixed. One of Phippen's tasks is mapping the roads for the ride. The route is driven about 20 times looking for anything that will affect the riders. He finds all of the imperfections in the roads that the ride will take, then he sends a report to the counties. The counties are then able then to look for the potholes or cracks and get the roads ready for the riders. Like he said, "you don't want to be known as the town where you have to get your bike fixed because of the roads." An issue arose a couple of years ago when fresh gravel was laid because the town thought that the riders would appreciate it. Unfortunately, the riders sank into it and crashed. 

He encouraged anyone who has never ridden in RAGBRAI to sign up this year. He shared the story of a man that he met on the ride and how it saved his life. The man said that he was in a really bad spot, had gone through a divorce, and had become suicidal. He said that fortunately his friends called and said, "Hey, we're doing RAGBRAI this year, why don't you join us?" The first day of riding his bike turned into a week, then a year, and now he says that he won't miss another RAGBRAI, "RAGBRAI saved my life," the man told Phippen.

A family from out of state had found out about RAGBRAI when the middle child discovered it online. He convinced the family to come to Iowa for the ride. The family arrived and took off unprepared for the ride. Not knowing what they needed, they came with the wrong kinds of shoes, and bikes that were worn out and without the proper gear. Fortunately for them, the State Patrol and RAGBRAI were able to chip in and get the family all of the gear that they needed to complete the ride. Bikes, helmets, apparel, sunglasses, shoes, etc. Phippen said, "But that's what RAGBRAI is about. Helping your community." At the end of the day, while everyone else had stopped to relax at the end of the day, the three boys were off in a field riding their new bikes and so appreciative of the gifts.

Phippen explained that the ride has a team called, "Air Force." Their job is to swoop in whenever anyone is in trouble. If they need bike repairs they take care of those, and get the riders back on track. Their job is to find issues and fix them as they did with this family.

A lot of preparation goes into the planning of the ride as well as for the towns that host the ride. He said that the ride, "showcases Iowa, but it doesn't just happen." He said without the proper registration numbers, they had towns that ran out of food, grocery stores whose shelves were empty, and gas stations that were empty after the ride pulls out. Right now Phippen is in the process of compiling data to better prepare for the upcoming rides. 

Next year's route has been determined, and he is expecting it to draw a larger crowd. Phippen determines the route, he said that is the thing he is most proud of. For next year, he gave a clue. "It will go from west side of the state and end on the east side."  He also said, "Where people think it's going, it's not." There will be towns on the route that riders will roll through, simply because they aren't large enough to support a stop. He said some of the needs for towns to be considered is for towns to have green space. He said that towns like Vinton could easily handle a ride. An overnight stay for the organization requires 200 hotel rooms to handle the team that travels with the ride.

One of the issues the ride faces is the preparation for how many people will arrive in a town. They had 18,000 registered this year, but in some towns, 30,000 showed up. They call the people who join the ride "bandits."  They enjoy the same experience as other riders, and all of the benefits, without paying. "The goal is to get everyone registered this year," Phippen said. 

He said some of the issues are simply the math. He gave the example that they tell the town how many people they have registered and arrangements are made for things like porta-potties. He said each one serves 200 people. When an additional 12,000 show up...well, that's a problem. While he said he doesn't want to take away the ability of a family to join the ride while it's passing their house and ride for a bit, he just needs everyone to understand the way the rides work. RAGBRAI also provides State Patrol protection along the route as well as arranging for ambulances in case of emergency. He simply wants to make sure that the towns can support the people and that RAGBRAI is prepared.

Phippen said that the new role in this job, has been a blessing. He can now work out of his office in Vinton, and his new schedule doesn't require him to be away from home every other weekend. He also appreciates that he's able to spend more time with his family.

So get ready to ride with RAGBRAI next year. It's only 296 days away!