Hi Jim – Yes, this question is being discussed. I’d encourage you to read through this thread: https://ragbrai.com/forums/topic/day-0-sat-ride-to-the-river-2/

Quick recap of options we’ve kicked around:

– Ride from Sioux Center to Hudson, SD and back, hopefully including a tire dip.
– Ride from Sioux Center to Oak Grove State Park for a tire drip, then return to town.
– Encourage the town of Sioux Center to bus riders out to Oak Grove State Park.
– Options to just wet your tire in river water, whether in town or by bussing there and back.

I’m hoping we can do the first option.

On RAGBRAI, my only requirement is to ride from an Iowa Kurb, in Sioux Center, to the Mississippi!!!! Of course, I expect there will be many more Kurb opps along the way!!!! :)

I’ll be riding to Hudson only if (i) there is no shuttle & (ii) the newbies in my group insist.

I would ride to Hudson, but my car will be in Clinton :wink:

giantron:
I would ride to Hudson, but my car will be in Clinton

I expect to be on PBV’s East to West shuttle till at least 4 PM. Then I’ll be standing in the PBV check-in line (with beer in hand), then hauling bags to my rental tent, then….., I’ll be looking for a great Kurb in Sioux Center! Damn, not much time for riding till Sunday morning!!!!! H.E.C.K.!!!!!

Michrider: I expect to be on PBV’s East to West shuttle till at least 4 PM. Then I’ll be standing in the PBV check-in line (with beer in hand), then hauling bags to my rental tent, then….., I’ll be looking for a great Kurb in Sioux Center! Damn, not much time for riding till Sunday morning!!!!! H.E.C.K.!!!!!

Well hell, Mich, you’ll need at least a few more hours once you get to Sioux Center to knock the rust off that Sidero and lube up those wheelchair gears.

Michrider: I expect to be on PBV’s East to West shuttle till at least 4 PM. Then I’ll be standing in the PBV check-in line (with beer in hand), then hauling bags to my rental tent, then….., I’ll be looking for a great Kurb in Sioux Center! Damn, not much time for riding till Sunday morning!!!!! H.E.C.K.!!!!!

Gunna suggest our club leave for Expo Town earlier on Saturday but that prolly won’t happen. :(

Maybe someone could start a rally cry so when we get there … the peeps that wanna go can gather and ride together? I’d like to ride over to the park and take the dip. At least then it is a “coast to coast” ride. AND find a curb to sit and sip with michrider.

Sunset on July 22 in Sioux Center will be at 8:56 PM. At a leisurely pace of 15 MPH the trip to Oak Grove State Park and back would take 2 hours. Figure 30 minutes to dip your tire and take a picture… you’d have to leave Sioux Center by 6:26 to be back before sunset. I don’t know what time PBV will drop me off in Sioux Center… Do the charters arrive early enough that we could pick a meeting point and leave at, say, 5 PM? Or earlier?

I was planning/hoping to do the tire dip in a river. This will be my first RAGBRAI, and it would be nice to make it an official “coast to coast” ride. Will be coming in on the RBBC charter. No idea what time it will arrive, but hopefully enough time to make the trip. And the beer will taste that much better at the end of a ride!!

Or if Hudson is the destination, a beer would taste good there as well. Looking forward to a short ride Saturday as a warm up for Sunday.

JimA:
Sunset on July 22 in Sioux Center will be at 8:56 PM.At a leisurely pace of 15 MPH the trip to Oak Grove State Park and back would take 2 hours.Figure 30 minutes to dip your tire and take a picture…you’d have to leave Sioux Center by 6:26 to be back before sunset.I don’t know what time PBV will drop me off in Sioux Center…Do the charters arrive early enough that we could pick a meeting point and leave at, say, 5 PM?Or earlier?

Jim, after you get off the PBV bus, you have to check in with them, get your luggage to your tent, put up a tent, find your bike & get it ready to ride!!! Last year the wait was long and hot. I hope you can make it and have time to ride!!!!

Also it was pointed out on the other thread that there is a sizeable hill to climb when returning back out of the park by the river. Account for that in your calculations :-)

The Sioux Center Chamber of Commerce told me they were not going to sponsor any rides/shuttles, etc. from SC to the Big Sioux River due to traffic and “the big ride on Sat. 7/21/12.” I see now – maybe everyone else already realized -that the route on the “Gran Fondo” on Sat. (day before RAGBRAI) comes into Sioux Center on east/west B30 road. I think that probably will make rides to and from Oak Grove difficult for would-be tire dippers. And I would guess it might affect the traffic on east/west B40 which is the route I would take to Hudson, SD to dip my tires.

And then factor in all the north/south traffic in addition to the above east/west mess.

Mich, I may just run my rear tire through the kiddie pool filled with water from the Missouri and skip the dip, instead have a few more cool Buds on the kurbs of Sioux Center on Saturday.

iceman:
Mich, I may just run my rear tire through the kiddie pool filled with water from the Missouri and skip the dip, instead have a few more cool Buds on the kurbs of Sioux Center on Saturday.

Iceman we can drink a few Bud’s (St Louis water) and sprinkle our rear wheels with a bit of beer!!!