When you get a Chance, Don’t Let it Slip!

In preparation for the 2019 RAGBRAI event I’ve been tirelessly researching each of the overnight communities. When you are the support vehicle driver, it is best to know the lay of the land ahead of time. Knowing where the best camping areas are is helpful as spots disappear fast. There’s also the locations of local grocery stores, gas stations, and other services that can provide support to your riders. Then, of course, you need to know where the night’s celebratory activities are going to be held!

A number of the communities linked through the RAGBRAI website have there own websites dedicated to the event with plenty of information. Many of these sites have event maps that provide a wealth of information for bikers and their support crews. Some towns have event-specific Facebook and/or Twitter pages to provide information in more of a real-time basis.

However, there are a few communities that don’t have much available. No ride-specific website. No maps online of available camping areas. Not even a Twitter account to get information out. This is a massive failure for communities of ANY size, of any level of involvement along the trek that is RAGBRAI. Each town along the way is visited by 20,000+ bikers, support vehicle drivers, vendors, and a myriad of onlookers and partiers. It is your community’s rare chance to shine. To show how great of a town you have.

When you get your chance to bring so much attention to your community, don’t let it slip!

When rolling out the red carpet for visitors, success is not achieved just by your actions when an event is in town. It is key to provide potent information well ahead of the festivities. If it is an annual event that hits different communities each year, start your research before it comes to your town. Regularly check out websites and social media pages of other communities. See how others have conquered the task of information dissemination. Understand what works and what doesn’t make sense.

Even if you are not anticipating to eventually be part of the rolling party that is a RAGBRAI style event someday, all communities have their own events that can benefit from this work. It doesn’t have to be the same type of event. There just needs to be some similarities that make their event a viable resource. You can then pick and choose unique aspects from what they’ve provided with their electronic media to make yours better.

There’s always a way to make things better. If you don’t think so, then you’ve already failed.