What to Do on a Seven-Day, 400-Mile Bike Ride Across Iowa? Visit LBM Dealers, of Course
- Craig Webb
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
By Craig Webb, President, Webb Analytics
Imagine being at your lumberyard in your town of just 1,100 people, watching close to 20,000 bicyclists ride through, taking over Main Street for a few hours as they fill water bottles, gobble slices of pie, tune up their bikes, and chat with the locals. That's what happened late last month in Aplington, IA, and a dozen other small- and mid-sized communities during the rolling party known as RAGBRAI.
This was the 52nd year for RAGBRAI, short for [the Des Moines] Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. It's the nation's biggest multi-day recreational event for bicyclists. This year's route spanned more than 400 miles across much of northern Iowa. Cyclists from every state and multiple nations come for the scenery, the food, the music, the friends, and the fun of being part of a common community.
I, of course, also came to see the building material dealers.
Whenever I passed through a town, I sought out the local LBM dealer. Among other things, I learned there are plenty of people still making a bet on their communities. In Armstrong, for instance, Josh Gates took over Armstrong Building Supply during COVID. And in Primghar, Eric and Heidi Brown this year bought Earl's True Value Hardware and will rename it Primghar Hardware. They already own a hardware store in nearby Paullina.
The cross-state trek also gave me my first opportunity to visit a branch of Forge & Build, a fast-growing chain in the center of the country.
The corn and soybean fields seemed to go on for miles and miles, and you often could tell you were nearing a small town if you saw a farm co-op's grain elevator and a water tower. (One such co-op, CFE, also sells building materials.) When I asked dealers how they were doing, just about every one stressed that their business depends on how farmers are doing. And in those late July days, the U.S. government's tariff talks with China were top of mind. Iowa exported $13.5 billion worth of agricultural products in 2023, putting it No. 2 among all ag-exporting states.
Cycling as much as eight hours a day, as well as relaxing at stops and camps, provided lots of opportunities to meet people from every state and around the world. Politics never was the first topic of conversation--most chats began with remarks about the ride and the riders, then moved on to where you lived. However, and perhaps in part because people knew I'm from Washington DC, the various cuts to grants, funding, programs, and people would get mentioned. Optimism prevails, but what's happening with the federal government was a regular cause for concern.
Living here can be tough: The sculpture I'm standing next to was made from bikes tossed about and destroyed when a tornado ripped through Parkersburg, IA, in 2008. But these towns, like RAGBRAI, have endured.
This was my first RAGBRAI--indeed, the first time I ever rode so many miles on consecutive days. Taking part reminded me of how many wonderful people there are across the country, and why there's so much reason to be optimistic about America today. I'll be thinking about the people, the bikes, and the LBM dealers for years to come.
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Aug. 18 follow-up: By popular request, here are more scenes from RAGBRAI
