Weaving a Ribbon Through Text

Create the text:

Create the stroke:

Select the text with the selection tool (black arrow):

Go to Object > Expand:

Go to Object > Ungroup. You won't see a visible change in the image until you use the selection tool to select individual letters.

Hold the shift key and use the selection tool to select every other letter.

Bring the selected letters to the front with Object > Arrange > Bring to Front.

Click away from the image to deselect the letters. Adjust the position of the ribbon if necessary.

Click to enlarge