OTTUMWA — For fun, health, family time and yes, even pie, thousands flock to the Hawkeye State to ride their two-wheelers across Iowa.

On Thursday the traveling town left Chariton and headed for Ottumwa, which was the next overnight stop. Coming in from Blakesburg, the bicyclists used the Bluegrass Road to connect with Shaul, Finley, Johnson and Chester avenues.

By 9 a.m., many of the residents who live along those avenues set up their lawn chairs and watched the riders go by.

The riders were coming in one at a time instead of groups. One resident said a pre-dawn thunderstorm in the Chariton area had slowed down the RAGBRAI participants.

Tim Cullinan of Ottumwa was one of the early riders, and he stopped in front of Evans Middle School to munch a granola bar.

“Yes, there was a storm at about 4 a.m. at Chariton. My tent was wet, so I packed up and headed for Moravia,” he said.

The 2009 ride is Cullinan’s third.

“This is my third RAGBRAI and I’m using a tent this year,” he said.

An avid bicyclist, he rode in RAGBRAI in 2006 and 2007.

Pam Kaupins, one of the Ottumwa RAGBRAI Advisory Co-chairs, considers RAGBRAI “just remarkable.”

“It’s unbelievable how much fun this is,” she said early Thursday afternoon while riding in a four-wheeler to the information booth in Ottumwa Park. “A lot of downtown people have come to the bridge, to the Shady Grove, to enjoy the food vendors.”

Kaupins said “everything is running smoothly” and even little things were resolved immediately.

“From the police chief to the people hauling ice and the volunteers — it’s remarkable how we’re working together,” she said.

Kaupins also noted shade tents were up and the food smells lured a steady stream of customers.

“There are people everywhere,” she added.