CEDAR FALLS -- As the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa rolls into town Wednesday, an eclectic mix of artistic expression coasts in on its coattails.

RAGBRAI has local painter Alice Dolgener seeing Cedar Falls from a new vantage point -- through the spokes of a bicycle wheel. Dolgener recently painted a distant view of the UNI-Dome, complete with approaching cyclists and RAGBRAI bus, encircled by a bicycle tire. Her husband, a 10-year RAGBRAI veteran, helped her compose the watercolor by posing his bike on Hudson Road.

Dolgener calls the watercolor "Live Large," borrowed from the Cedar Falls RAGBRAI committee's theme for the 2007 event. The original is on display at S&C Studios on Main Street.

"In the painting, the tire looks huge. But it's just a normal-sized tire. It looks big because of the perspective of the viewer," she explained. "It's the same with life. It's the perspective of the viewer that makes life large."

Organ recital

After David Raymond pumps his bike pedals nearly 300 miles on the RAGBRAI journey into Cedar Falls, he'll push some pedals of a different sort. Raymond, an accomplished organist from Earlham near Des Moines, will perform a free organ recital at First United Methodist Church at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"The inspiration for me is the fact that, for previous classical music events, the RAGBRAI riders just flocked to (them). Obviously not all 12 or 15 thousand, but there's a definite draw there," said Raymond, who is riding RAGBRAI for his 22nd time. "I thought for a long time that it would be a lot of fun to play an organ recital on the ride and see how riders are interested."

Raymond isn't alone in using RAGBRAI as a musical venue.

"All along the ride there are people who do unusual things artistically," he said. "I camped for the first 13 years (I rode) RAGBRAI. I never will forget one year we had a great trumpet player. Every morning, you'd hear this great trumpet music wafting through the forest. Another year there was a violinist who played at lemonade stands on the route."

Gourmet feast

Another group of RAGBRAI riders, Team Cuisine, will bring its own professional chef into town Wednesday, turning the bike trek into gourmet dining with an artistic flair.

"They bring a full-sized freezer, two grills and all the pots and pans and cookware they'll need," said Gretchen Behm, who will host the team that primarily hails from the Chicago area. "They try to buy as much local food as they can."

To that end, chef Aaron McKay already traipsed through town, scouting out fresh produce sources and available kitchen facilities. McKay, originally from Knoxville, is a chef at Schwa restaurant in Chicago, which claims on its Web site to be "thinking about food as art."

"He is an artiste," said Pam Bernas, longtime Team Cuisine member. "We are stricken from going in the kitchen at certain times, usually about an hour before dinner. Even the host is not allowed in. We all love his food so much, we've grown to find the humor in it. It's fun to have exquisite and delicious and different food while we're on the road."

The bad news for the bulk of RAGBRAI riders: The gourmet feast is exclusive to Team Cuisine, its overnight hosts and any good Samaritans who happen to lend them a hand en route. Any volunteers?

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See the "Live Large" watercolor original by Alice Dolgener on display at S&C Studios in Cedar Falls. Digital reprints are on sale for $19.99 at the Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau, area bike shops and stores on the Cedar Falls Parkade.

Hear the free organ recital by David Raymond at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at First United Methodist Church in Cedar Falls.