Prepping for RAGBRAI-LII

After once again riding “the prettiest mile of trail in Iowa,” near Okoboji, I’m now psyched to pedal a very special 15 miles out of Oelwein next Saturday.

OKOBOJI, Iowa – “Godspeed and tailwinds!”

I convey that old RAGBRAI blessing on all who will be riding across northern Iowa this next week on the 52nd edition of the world’s biggest, oldest and best bicycle touring event.

I plan to be joining the crowd for a portion of the ride on its final day, Saturday, July 26. I’ll be pedaling about 15 miles from Oelwein to Stanley and on to Aurora on my “Mary Riche Roots Tour.” I’ve named it to honor my wife, who grew up in that little area and will be my support driver. More on her background there in a moment.

First, let me tell you about my training for this ride.

It’s been physical, nutritional and psychological.

The columnist riding the special mile of trail through Lower Gar State Recreation Area. (Photo by Pam Fisher)

The physical part has been riding my bike a few miles around the flat part atop our Owl’s Head neighborhood just west of downtown Des Moines. And I’ll put in a few more miles between now and next Saturday, pedaling around Des Moines and my other town, Jefferson, and a few miles on the Raccoon River Valley Trail there.

My nutritional training? In the past two weeks, I’ve increased my consumption of pie, which most of you know is important for RAGBRAI.

Psychological? That happened this past week when Mary and I spent four days visiting our friend Babs Hein at her family’s cottage here on Lake Okoboji. It was a grand get-away. And while they went shopping Wednesday afternoon, I rode my fold-up Brompton bicycle twice, up and back, on what I’ve long called “the prettiest mile of trail in Iowa.”

It’s the section of trail through a towering and thick stand of trees in Lower Gar State Recreation Area; then across “Joanie’s Bridge,” as I call it, over the connection between Lower Gar and Minnewashta Lakes, then continuing north through the even thicker canopy of Henderson Woods. (My nickname for the bridge honors the work of the late, great trails advocate Joan Schneider, of Okoboji, who got a whole lot of trail work done across the state when she served on the board of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.)

Roxy and Brad Brunk, of nearby Fostoria, walking the trail with Lower Gar Lake just beyond the trees to the left.

Mark and Pam Fisher, who live at the Iowa Great Lakes, walking their bulldog Watson, on the trail going north into Lower Gar State Recreation Area.

So, this little bit of trail I’m telling you about is so beautiful that when you ride on it, you will be psychologically prepared to be a bicyclist again. You’ll want to be out there pedaling, no matter what cycling challenge is ahead of you. And my little ride on Wednesday reminded me: What the hell, when you’ve just turned 78 years old, if you’re still getting on a bicycle and riding anywhere, appreciate the miracle you’re living!

I’ve been writing about that stretch of trail for 30 years or longer. But I’m not the only scribe who’s done so.

Here’s what Rylan Howe wrote about it a year ago in a story for “Okoboji” magazine: “Canopied by towering oak trees and flanked by woodland shrubs and wildflowers in spring and early summer, it’s easy to see why this section (of trail) is often referred to as one of the most picturesque.”

And he quoted Erin Reed, executive director of the Dickinson County Trails Board: “The bridge is really cool, and this is one of my favorite sections of the trail system. You have the natural tree canopy, a lot of winding around and some hills that provide a small challenge. It’s just a really, really beautiful stretch of trail.”

A fisherman on “Joanie’s Bridge,” as the columnist calls it.

The view across Lake Minnewashta from “Joanie’s Bridge.”

So, I’m now better prepared for my 15 miles of RAGBRAI next Saturday.

For 16 years, many of you know, I was co-host of RAGBRAI with the late John Karras, when both of us were Des Moines Register columnists. After I left the Register in 1998, I rode another 10 or 12 complete RAGBRAIs as a paying customer. Other years, especially during illnesses and family deaths, I’d only manage to ride a day or two — or maybe not at all.

But last winter, when the route of RAGBRAI-LII was announced, I told my wife Mary that I would have to ride the first 15 miles of the Saturday route, in homage to her background.

I will start my ride from the statue of the Husky dog, the mascot atop a stone platform in front of Oelwein High School, where Mary graduated in 1966.

Then I’ll ride 7 miles to little Stanley, where she attended grade school, junior high school and church.

The 6.1 miles from Stanley to the next town of Aurora will have two stops even more special in Riche family history. First, will be at the rural Stanley Cemetery, where Mary’s parents Verda and Frank Riche are buried, as is her brother Dick Ray Riche, who died in infancy. (His twin sister Bette Riche Bobcowski now lives in Blackwood, N.J., just outside Philadelphia.)

Mary Riche visits the family graves in Stanley Cemetery in northeast Iowa in 2022.

Then just south of the cemetery, the riders will come to a corner to turn east toward Aurora. Near that corner, on the west side of the road, is the farmstead where Mary grew up. And then it’s on to Aurora, where her parents moved after farming and operated a small grocery, Riche’s Store, for about 20 years.

In my roaming around Iowa for column material, I was an occasional drop-in at Riche’s Store, usually have a bottle of pop and candy bar while following up on story ideas that Verda Riche had sent to me at the Register.

With all that family history right there, I really do have to ride, don’t I? And Mary will join me at stops along the way where she can get our support vehicle close enough.

The more I think about it, the more excited I get.

BELOW ARE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS FROM “THE PRETTIEST MILE OF TRAIL IN IOWA.”

The entrance to the trail going into the state recreation area, and you can see Lower Gar Lake through the trees.

Historical marker along the trail as you approach “Henderson Woods.”

A beautiful spot along the trail in Henderson Woods, with one of the many trail benches that are in memory of people from around the area. And note the foot path heading off into the woods at the left.

The trail entrance from the north into Henderson Woods, which is a wildlife area.

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