RAGBRAI 4:55 pm SUMMARY: RAGBRAI 2017 is in the books for Decorah

Police officer Scott Hermann guides traffic on College Drive, while tractors served as bookends, providing makeshift bike racks

As the saying goes, it takes a village, and many locals helped pull off RAGBRAI and Nordic Fest, as they took place on the same day this year.

From serving in food booths and retail stores, policemen directing traffic flow, the rugby team gathering trash, and being a friendly face in the crowd, we welcomed RAGBRAI with open arms. Many riders commented on how beautiful our city is and how easy it was to get around as they looked around, took selfies on Water Street and around town.

Decorah resident Troy Vande Lune sat in his driveway, greeting riders as they made it up the steep hill on Division Street, on their way out of town. Several riders smiled and greeted him back, while a few riders even pulled over, took a break from the hill to carry on a short conversation. Several riders jokingly said, "Okay, now we're paying for that hospitality!" as they pedaled or pushed their bike onward to Ossian.

L-R: Russell Novak from Decorah, Jim from Texas, Ricco from Indiana, Mason, Dale and Gavin from Indiana and Tade Kerndt from Decorah, get to know each other this morning over cold drinks and shade

L-R Kirstie Bower and Llew Jenkins helped draw a crowd towards Impact Coffee's stand this morning

Jim (from Texas) films the sights Decorah has to offer

Bike riders made it up the hill on Division Street, sometimes with a smile on their face