My girlfriend (who was nice enough to drive me down to the start) and I got into Sioux City by 4 p.m. It took us until 6 to finally work out an amicable parking situation. There really wasn't much for signs around the campground directing us where to go and the majority of volunteers kept pointing us to different locations.
As luck would have it, the restaurant near the main campground (Bev's on the River) had a deal going where, for purchasing $20 in dinner tickets, we were given free parking in their lot for the evening. We also managed to find a parking spot within short walking distance from where we set up camp (see second photo). I guess the blind squirrel (or in this case, the novice RAGBRAI rider) finds a nut once in awhile.
Aside fom the parking mess, the rest of RAGBRAI has been a pretty cool sight so far. The downtown expo had several blocks worth of interesting RAGBRAI vendors (particularly t-shirts) that covered every need a cyclist could ever have. For those in the above-21 crowd, there were also plenty of places to "quench your thirst."
Another interesting aspect was the general diversity of groups riding at RAGBRAI. Some look like they came off the cover of Bicycling magazine, others look like your average family (as the first photo would indicate). Our tent is actually set up next to a group of riders from Tuscan, Arizona, further illustrating the diversity of bikers on this trip.
As far as evening plans go, I've already done the ceremonial "tire dip" in the Missouri River, where you dip the rear wheel of your bike into the water. After dinner, the plan is to figure out where the baggage truck is located and then head downtown to enjoy a little middle school nostalgia with Smash Mouth in concert.
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