Indianola CrossFit members greet RAGBRAI riders while also riding — on stationary bikes

INDIANOLA — There was a group of bikers on a corner here Wednesday morning and then there were the RAGBRAI participants pedaling by them.

A few members of the Indianola CrossFit Undone club's 8:30 a.m. class opted to switch up their usual routine by trying to pedal 32 miles in an hour while on stationary bikes situated along South Jefferson Way, watching people on Day 4 of the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa go by. It took riders 32 miles to travel from Winterset to the meet-up town of Indianola on Wednesday before biking another 43 miles to the overnight town of Knoxville.

Gym owner Nealey Webster, of Indianola, loved "the amount of bikers who are entertained by this."

Bike riders on both sides of the curb encouraged one another, and the gym had drinks for sale for the RAGBRAI riders. A couple of golden retrievers, 7-year-old Kirby and 10-year-old Charlie, also enjoyed the activity.

Alicia Bowlin of Indianola shouted "Good job!" and clapped to energize RAGBRAI riders as they passed. And then: "I'm not sure I can keep this pace. I did not train for this," Bowlin said.

More: Riders line-up to bike through the Bridges of Madison County on RAGBRAI 2024

"The idea of the members riding bikes is so that we can be a part of RAGBRAI as well as the RAGBRAI riders run through our community," Webster said.

"Why not jump in on the fun?" she added.

Phillip Sitter covers the western suburbs for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com or on X at @pslifeisabeauty.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Indianola CrossFit members greet RAGBRAI riders while also riding — on stationary bikes