AMES, Iowa -- They came, they rode; they wore cardinal and gold bike jerseys? They must be Iowa State University Extension’s RAGBRAI team, the Extension CY-Riders.

A group of ISU Extension staff and friends riding RAGBRAI, the Extension CY-Riders will be serving as ambassadors along the route, promoting ISU Extension’s work for healthy people, healthy environments and healthy economies, said Jacy Johnson, ISU Extension strategic relations manager. 

“Look for the people wearing Extension CY-Rider jerseys and T-shirts and sporting Extension CY-Rider tags on their bikes. They’ll also be armed with free ISU Extension educational materials to distribute along the route,” Johnson said.

Iowans can become “virtual” members of the team and join the CY-Riders via their Web site, www.extension.iastate.edu/cyriders, Johnson added.

• Watch video by visiting Jack’s Vlog. This is Vice President of ISU Extension and Outreach Jack Payne’s video record of his experiences on RAGBRAI.

• Check the team’s daily video journal and see what goes on each day of the ride.

• Read the CY-Riders Twitter page to catch up on all of the riders’ “tweets.”

• View photos (via flickr) that the CY-Riders take while heading across Iowa.

• Listen to radio interviews ISU Extension’s Doug Cooper will be hosting with the riders along the way.

• “Track Jack” via the Web site’s imbedded map that will link to a GPS system Jack Payne will be wearing during the week-long ride.

“Extension always has used technology, in some form or another, to connect Iowans with research-based information and education: from seed corn exhibits on trains traveling from town to town, to field days, satellite uplinks and the Internet. Extension’s CY-Riders are riding RAGBRAI because ISU Extension still takes the research from Iowa State to the people, wherever they are,” Johnson said.

“Before they head to RAGBRAI’s starting point, Missouri Valley, on Saturday, the Extension CY-Riders will recreate an ISU cycling team photo that had been taken in front of Iowa State’s Morrill Hall in the late 1800s or early 1900s.  The main difference is this time they will be wearing spandex!” Johnson mused.

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Note:  The CY-Riders’ Web site is best viewed in Firefox 3.0. You can download this browser from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html.