Thousands of cyclists engage with ag, sample soy during RAGBRAI stop in Alexander

July 31, 2025 | Aaron Putze, APR

How does an Iowa town with a population of 164 attract tens of thousands of visitors in just six hours?

Easy. Be on the route of the (Des Moines) Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI).

An estimated 30,000 cyclists from across the country and throughout the world pedaled through the Franklin County town of Alexander July 23. It was day-four of the weeklong summer tradition that began July 20 in Orange City and would end 406 miles later on July 26 in Guttenberg.

The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), at the invitation of local farmer and past ISA board member Roy Arends, made the most of Alexander’s population boom.

Cyclists were eager to take a break at the ISA booth as they battled feel-like temperatures surpassing 100 degrees and stiff headwinds enroute from Forest City to Iowa Falls. They participated in an ag trivia contest, enjoyed assorted flavors of roasted edamame and engaged in conversations on a variety of ag, food and energy topics.

"It was an incredible opportunity to share the story of Iowa agriculture,” said Lydia Zerby, ISA Consumer Insights & Engagement Manager.

Zerby, who helped manage the popular Des Moines Farmers Market prior to taking the helm of ISA’s Iowa Food & Family Project in 2021, organized the association’s RAGBRAI presence.

With roasted edamame snacks, soybean trivia and ag-themed prizes, ISA volunteers sparked meaningful conversations about farming, sustainability and the many ways soybeans benefit human health and nutrition.

“It was a powerful way to elevate the voice of Iowa soybean farmers and showcase their impact far beyond the field,” said Zerby.

Arends, whose row crop farm is located just a 10-minute bike ride from Alexander, wanted cyclists to better understand issues impacting the land and farms they view from behind their handlebars.

Upon hearing that RAGBRAI’s route would bring it through Alexander, Arends invited friends and neighbors to display farm equipment. The sprayers, tractors and combines also featured signs noting the cost of each implement.

“I just thought, ‘We’re going to have a lot of non-ag people going through our small community, which is an ag area, so why not visit with them so they better appreciate where their food comes from?’” said Arends.

“It was an opportunity too good to pass up.”

Nearly 2,000 cyclists visited ISA’s booth. Some stopped for 30 seconds, others chatted for 5-10 minutes. While many riders were from Iowa, numerous visitors from other states joined in conversations. They included cyclists from Texas, Arizona, California, Montana, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado, and Kentucky, to name just a few.

RAGBRAI participants were grateful for the protein-packed soy snacks and readily engaged on a variety of topics including:

• Firefighting foam made with soybeans
• The composition of a soybean
• Breakeven costs for growing soybeans and corn
• Iowa’s rank in soybeans, corn, pigs and egg production
• Amount of land devoted to crop production in Iowa
• Biofuels
• The soybean checkoff
• Planting and harvesting dates and
• Machinery costs.

As the remaining cyclists mounted their bikes for the 20-mile ride from Alexander to Iowa Falls, Arends reflected positively on his hometown’s efforts to share ag’s story.

“It’s wonderful to have conversations with those who probably don’t pay a lot of attention to ag,” he said.

Some riders, he added, exchanged phone numbers with the farmers they visited with, hoping to make a return visit this fall or next spring to join in harvest and planting.

“I hope today was just the start of the conversation so we can keep and even grow strong relations and understanding,” Arends added.

RAGBRAI began in 1973, when two Des Moines Register feature writers and avid cyclists decided to bike across Iowa. The rolling celebration of Iowa attracts participants from all 50 states and many foreign countries and has covered thousands of miles through the years and visited all 99 Iowa counties.

More than 470,000 cyclists have participated in the ride since its inception, making it the longest and largest recreational bicycle touring event in the world.

About 40% of riders are from Iowa, with nearly 100 participants coming from other countries each year. The average age of participants is around 47 years old.

Written by Aaron Putze. 

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