APLINGTON - Heat, hills and humidity occupied about 20,000 riders most of Wednesday morning. Then, it was Aplington's turn to keep them busy.

"Welcome riders!" a booming voice announced over a loudspeaker as cyclists turned off County Road C51 to Parriott Street.

The voice belonged to an emcee hoisted in a cherry picker overlooking the city's main drag. Some, as they passed, belted out their home states or towns: Massachusetts … Hawaii … Seattle … Cedar Falls …

Riders left Hampton Wednesday morning. They passed through Aplington, Stout, Kesley, Aredale and Dumont during the 68-mile ride, and residents pulled out all stops in each town.

"There are more people in town right now than there are in all of Butler County, I think," said Ivan Harken, an Aplington resident.

Putting on the ritz

Locals lined parriott Street welcoming the sweaty bikers, and cheerful slogans scrawled across shop windows let people know what was in store for them. Many of the residents were happy to soak in all the scenery.

"I think it's wonderful," said Alice Olthoff.

Olthoff and several others parked themselves under a shade tree next to the main thoroughfare. Later, they were joined by weary riders.

Olthoff didn't care that the event took over a good portion of town.

"Of course, I'm right here on main street," she said. "I haven't been off the beaten path."

All over Aplington, various groups of children and adults held up signs and yelled as if they were hawking items on the boardwalks of New Jersey. Two in particular - Tim Pollock and Lane Hovenga - seemed particularly passionate about getting folks over to the First Presbyterian Church for lunch.

"Take a right, First Prez church," one yelled.

"Everything you need. Indoor plumbing, water, air-conditioning, pie!"

Harken said the church was prepared to feed up to 500 guests. Not quite enough for the entire RAGBRAI entourage, but he said other places in town would help pick up the slack. Down the street, vendors clogged the city park offering the gamut from pies to barbecue to homemade ice cream.

Bulk benefits

Local organizations bet big on attracting riders. After nearly shuttering its doors not long ago, Kids Quest looks like it may have a good year.

The Christian day care center's vending booth sold its first walking taco at 8 a.m. and had a steady stream of customers by noon. April Lupkes, an organizer, said the center began planning its booth in April. Whether or not to participate was an easy decision.

"It was just a no-brainer," she said.

Lupkes said the nonprofit operation had trouble paying its bills in 2006, but a valiant fundraising effort by the community kept the center open.

Kids Quest also benefited Wednesday because of Tyson Foods: 75 percent of profits made at the company's tent in Aplington Wednesday will go the day care.

Kid Quest's stopped short of selling alcohol. Separate beer gardens put on by Stinky's Bar and Grill and the Aplington Fire Department took care of that issue, however. Both were conveniently located. Stinky's was right where riders arrived, and the fire department set up where they were expected to leave.

Sweaty riders also were given the chance to cool off in a pair of blue wading pools provided by the fire department. Firefighter Jeff Noble said he had his sights set high for the crowd.

"I want all of them to stop here," he said.

At the park, local talent belted out tunes on a flatbed trailer converted into a stage. Many of the cyclists, though, were busy thinking about ice cream. Poppin' Jonny's Ice Cream from Chester had its twin 1940s John Deere ice cream makers. The tractors sputtered every so often, shooting out a ring of white smoke, and one eventually petered out.

"This one has got an oil problem," Randy Ensz said. "Normally, they're pretty trouble-free."

Easy, breezy

Trouble-free. That was a good way to describe what most people thought of Wednesday, and few riders apparently encountered difficulties.

Tuesday, though, Team Plain Vanilla - think Wells Blue Bunny Ice Cream - lost two riders. One person broke his collarbone somewhere between Humboldt and Hampton, said George Dunn, the team's support driver.

"I think that was the first time we really had a casualty that couldn't ride anymore," he said.

Dunn, a three-year RAGBRAI veteran, said Plain Vanilla is comprised of Iowans who grew up in northwest Iowa, hence the reference to Blue Bunny. He lives in Redwood Falls, Minn. Others are in Texas or Illinois.

In Stout, population 220, residents prepared the best they could for their first go-around.

"People say RAGBRAI is getting too big," said Bernard Schell of the Reformed Church of Stout.

He doesn't see it that way, though.

"The people are good and friendly. We've had no problems here," Schell said.

Celane Hauser, organizer of the day's events in Stout, noted only five people, including herself, helped plan the RAGBRAI response.

"I wish we would have had more," Hauser said.

Things still progressed smoothly, though, she said.

Next door, the Hayes family was cooking like mad for hungry riders. They brought in more than 1,000 ears of sweet corn, Ryan Hayes said.

Artistic impulse

The week apparently was enough to spur one Iowan to record events for posterity.

Donna Zimmerman of Monticello is painting an image, trying to re-create a snapshot she took near Edna south of Rock Rapids. All she had to finish was a bean field in the lower right corner.

Zimmerman's husband, Norm, was riding for the first time and is a member of Team Livestrong, Lance Armstrong's group. Zimmerman is a member of the support staff.

When the painting is done, she said there is talk about making and selling prints and donating the money.

"If there's any profit at all, it all goes to Livestrong."

Contact Josh Nelson at (349) 291-1565 or josh.nelson@wcfcourier.com.