07/07/2026
An update to my previous post. With just getting my fitness back from 3 weeks off the bike post-crash, there simply is not enough time to retrace my original ride before RAGBRAI. I plan to go back out to start after that. I can accelerate my schedule by using the e-bike and put bigger days in. I have a race in Grand rapids Aug 1 and 2. From there I will ship out to Portland and do the ride from Aug 3-11, the last day of which is 10 years since the accident. I moved to be at the same spot on the same day. Some things just never leave you. This is one. I have spent more time in Iowa to than any other state besides PA. I guess a part of me is always left out there. I'm drawn to the last place I was able- bodied. I think it will always be that way and why I enjoy RAGBRAI so much. It's a part of my identity to keep proving I can ride across Iowa without the bad part happening. I can do it over a thousand times, but it can't change what happened. I guess it's just a sacred place. I will always be back to do RAGBRAI until my last days on Earth. Maybe to thank God for a second chance, to meet the driver when he's free, and to stay in touch with the good friends I'm ultimately thankful to have that only exist because of the accident. It's a shared bond only the involved parties that day, and weeks to follow share with me. But it's a spiritual thing that is always there. Not many days go by where I don't think of that extended corn raised family and how they are doing.
