WEBSTER CITY - Thousands of RAGBRAI riders rolled into Webster City Tuesday afternoon, just 24 hours before they plan to take over Marshalltown.
Riders braved the warm mid-summer temperatures as they made their way from Lake View to Webster City.
Several of the riders commented on how hospitable Iowans have been on the trip across the state, including Craig Slonski of Tomahawk, Wisc.
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T-R PHOTO BY ANDREW POTTER
RAGBRAI riders arrive in Webster City Tuesday for the overnight stop on the trip across the state. More than 20,000 riders are expected in Marshalltown Wednesday.
"So far this is a blast," he said on day three of his first RAGBRAI. "Everyone's very friendly and you can eat your way across the state."
Also on her first RAGBRAI journey was Cynthia Casados of Phoenix.
"It's great to see the beautiful scenery with all the fields," Casados said. "This has been a wonderful experience."
While the weather got the early headlines, a staunch headwind was on the minds of riders Tuesday.
"The wind (Tuesday) was horrible," Gene Woelfel of New Holstein, Wisc., said. "That's the strongest wind I've ever biked in."
Woelfel said he also cherished the Iowa hospitality after spending the night with his team at a host family farm near Sac City.
"We had a meal of pork tenderloin and they had the good china," he said.
The heat was affecting one person a little more than others - Brett Maier, 14, of Eagle Grove.
Maier was dressed as the Corn Man and said he lost about 3 pounds in the matter of an hour inside the suit. His work, which was to promote the Iowa Corn Growers Association, was appreciated by the riders who waved to him as they entered downtown Webster City.
"I"m getting a lot of smiles," he said.
Most riders headed to their campsites first then made their way back to the downtown area, where the headline musical act in Webster City was Three Dog Night.
They will get up Wednesday and most are expected to arrive in Marshalltown early to mid-afternoon for the overnight stop. On Thursday, riders will head through Garwin then several other towns on their way to the eventual overnight stop in Cedar Rapids.