Britt welcomes RAGBRAI to the Hobo Jungle

BRITT  - “Welcome to the (Hobo) Jungle” was the theme at Britt for Day 4 of the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). The community served as the mid-way point on Wednesday’s 105-mile ride and was a designated “meeting town’ for support vehicles and riders.

Mayor Ryan Arndorfer was helping out at the National Hobo Museum. Visitors had the opportunity to learn about the history of hobos in the United States and hobo culture. 

“It’s been great! It’s been fun having all the riders come through. It's always fun to show off Britt,” Arndorfer said.

A steady stream of visitors trekked though the museum and learned about the history of hobos in the U.S.

“It’s always a boost for the museum and helps with operational costs. It lets us showcase the uniqueness of Britt,” Arndorfer said.

Iowa native Zach Weigelt of Missouri is a five-time RAGBRAI participant.

“Being from Iowa, it’s in your blood growing up,” he said. He visited the Hobo Museum when RAGBRAI came through the area in 2017.

“It’s definitely unique,” Weigelt said of museum. “A lot of people may have their own perception of what ‘hobo’ means. This clarifies it.”

Paul Delger and Earl Hill of Britt were dispensing (and receiving) free advice to riders as they made their way through downtown.

“We’ve learned a number of things,” said Hill. “For instance, some guy came up and said, that we were not supposed pat a burning dog. That was interesting.”

“We’ve had a lot of serious questions, actually, about age, marriage and relationships and what the meaning of life is,” Paul Delger remarked.

“As I was telling a young man, you can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a bicycle and that’s as close to happiness as you can get,” said Hill. “We had a gentleman here earlier, he gave a lot of financial advice.”

Moments later, a young couple from Singapore rode up to the booth. The young man asked how he could get his mother-in-law, “to like me?”

“You can be nice and show her that you really love her daughter,” was the advice from Delger.

“Don't forget a bouquet of flowers occasionally, either,” Hill remarked.

The couple, Grecie and Caen, are on a mission to travel all 50 states.

“We were thinking what is the best thing to do in Iowa? We decided the best way to see Iowa was on RAGBRAI,” Caen said. They learned of the bike ride on YouTube. The experience has exceeded their expectations.

“It’s fun. People are kind - so much kinder than in real life,” Grecie remarked.

Caen agreed. “It's not just a sporting event. It's a community event,” he said.

Entertainment included Britt native David DeVaul. A 2006 graduate of West Hancock, DeVaul moved to Nashville in 2011 to write, record and perform his music.

Riders could cool off with water fights, courtesy of the Britt Fire Department. 

Iowa State Patrol Troopers Josh Missman and Austin Westfall said there were about 18,000 registered riders this year. The only mishaps at that point in the ride were minor ones.

 “It’s going really, really well,” said Missman. “The weather has helped. There was one day it was hot but the weather cooled off and it has been fairly mild.”

RAGBRAI XLIX was held July 23-30. Host communities were Sergeant Bluff, Ida Grove, Pocahontas, Emmetsburg, Mason City, Charles City, West Union and Lansing.