Justgobike

This week meet Brian O'Leary, executive director of the Dream Team which is a five month program that partners youth with adult mentors to provide a unique opportunity to build relationships, achieve personal growth, and learn life skills. They train and prepare as a team to ride every mile of RAGBRAI. Their mission is to use the power of a bicycle to assist youth in developing a positive approach to life’s challenges. Brian is going to give us more info on the The Dream Team, including how you can help this Central Iowa nonprofit group. www.dreamteamdesmoines.org www.ragbrai.com www.murphologypodcast.com

ParrotTalk continues her throwback series, this time with an article by John Karras on The Joy of Negative Thinking, written after SAGBRAI. You'll also get the latest on RAGBRAI Registration, the RAGBRAI Route Announcement, Iowa Bike Summit, and the Iowa Bike Expo! Links: RAGBRAI Registration: RAGBRAI.com/registration Route Announcement Tickets: https://ragbrai.com/events/RAP/ Iowa Bike Summit: https://iowabicyclesummit.com/ Iowa Bike Expo: https://iowabikeexpo.com/ To send John Karras a note: RAGBRAI c/o John Karras 400 Locust St, Suite 500 Des Moines, IA 50309

Bicyclist Kevin Nicholson checked the weather before he left home, but Alexa apparently had no clue. The Iowan's routine bike ride in central Iowa on this fateful morning in August left him in the middle of an historic storm--a derecho, or inland hurricane, with winds of more than 100 miles per hour that flattened corn fields, peeled roofs off houses and toppled trees. Co-host Kyle Munson talks with Nicholson about how he survived the storm on his bike, what he witnessed, and what he thinks about experiencing one of the legendary bike rides of 2020.

This week Murphology chats with Dixon Novy from the Quad Cities Bicycle Club, QCBC. This club has been around since the 60’s and their charter has been part of RAGBRAI for as long as the ride has existed. Dixon himself has biked a dozen RAGBRAIs and has been part of several overnight town committees who do all the planning and prepping for thousands of cyclists to camp. Dixon shares his take on what it is like to be part of the QCBC club and charter. www.qcbc.org www.murphologypodcast.com

RAGBRAI XLVIII registration just opened - are you ready to RAGBRAI? ParrotTalk fills you in on RAGBRAI's COVID-19 preparation plans, the new registration system, and more! Is it July yet?

We all got together (virtually) this week to talk Thanksgiving - possibly the best holiday due to its many pie-based traditions. What's your most thankful moment on a bicycle? Stop by and let us know on our social media - @JustGoBike on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

ParrotTalk is back this week with a couple of Donald Kaul's Over the Coffee columns, celebrating Clarence Pickard, and proper training for your backside. Note: if you would like to learn more about the inimitable Clarence Pickard, stop by the RAGBRAI exhibit at the State Historical Museum of Iowa in Des Moines. Got a question for ParrotTalk? Message us here or email justgobikepodcast@gmail.com.

Jared Fenstermacher was 18 days into a cross-country bicycle ride in 2016 when he was hit by a truck on a lonely highway near Hinton, Iowa. He broke his back and both arms and spent a month in the local hospital, followed by six weeks of rehab in Philadelphia. He's a determined guy. Four years later, he returned to the exact spot where he was hit in rural Iowa to get back on the road and finish his journey. Fenstermacher, 36, also sat down to share a meal and make peace with the driver who hit him. He talks about his wreck, his approach to life and bicycling, and what's next for him after he reaches the finish line in Ocean City, New Jersey. Follow Fenstermacher's adventures through facebook.com/jaredsride

This week, Murph chats with Kelly Guilbeau, Director of Milkweed Matters, and one of the masterminds behind the milkweed seed bombs that are thrown into ditches on RAGBRAI each year. Look for them on the ride next year (we hope!) to help protect and regrow Monarch habitat! Want to get involved before then? Visit www.milkweedmatters.org. Want more Murphology? Follow the Murphology Podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platform or visit www.MurphologyPodcast.com!

ParrotTalk is back with the third and probably final edition of John Karras Q&A. Karras answers the urgent questions and also gives us his GORP recipe. Got a question for ParrotTalk? Message us here or email justgobikepodcast@gmail.com.

ParrotTalk is back with a little more SAGBRAI advice from John Karras. Just how many bikes are you planning on fitting into that charter bus? Will there be breakfast? Karras answers the urgent questions and more. Got a question for ParrotTalk? Message us here or email justgobikepodcast@gmail.com.

This week's episode is an Iowa Bicycle Coalition update from Mark Wyatt. Make plans to vote this election. Need information on how to do that (and not who to vote for -- that isn't our thing), just visit www.iowabicyclecoalition.org/vote. Also, join us at the Iowa MTB Festival in Coralville on October 17. Visit http://mtb.iowabicyclecoalition.org for more information. Finally, Save The Date: Iowa Bicycle Summit on January 28-30, 2021. More at www.iowabicyclesummit.com.

Alan Snel, a lifelong bicyclist and journalist, has gathered nearly 40 years of vivid road stories into a new book, "Bicycle Man: Life of Journeys." Our interview roams among New York, Tampa Bay, Denver, and his current home, Las Vegas. Snel talks about everything from bicycling through an earthquake to teaching his own mid-60s mother to ride a bike.

RAGBRAI may have been virtual this year but the RAGBRAI Roadshow brings the best parts of the ride to eight different places along the bike trails of Iowa this fall. Hear what the first one was like and what to expect from future dates on this episode of the JGB podcast.

How many RAGBRAIs have you ridden? 5? 10? 20? Coreen Frasier has completed 30! Listen up this week for her stories from the road, a shower hack, and more from three decades of cycling across Iowa. Want more Murphology? Follow the Murphology Podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platform or visit www.MurphologyPodcast.com!

This week on ParrotTalk, we've got cycling advice from none other than Grandpa RAGBRAI himself, John Karras, answering riders' questions about the upcoming SAGBRAI. Funny how some of these questions haven't changed in 40+ years! Got a question for ParrotTalk? Message us here or email justgobikepodcast@gmail.com.

Mark Wyatt hosts the show to talk about recovery from the Iowa Derecho. We need your support. Visit www.iowabicyclecoalition.org/derecho to help out.

It's ParrotTalk this week with a post-Derecho check in, and a Pigtails ride recap. We also have a RAGBRAI poem for you, "Barn," from Steve Rose, veteran RAGBRAI rider, and Professor Emerita of Simpson College.

We caught up with Scott Edwards, a Harvard professor on a Surly who's cycling across the country for his bucket list, and because black lives matter. Want to keep up with Professor Edwards' trip? Find him on Twitter @ScottVEdwards1

Kathy Murphy caught up with a few Virtual RAGBRAI riders to ask them, "literally how much fun did you have last week?" From Iowa's Largest Frying Pan, to an Old Grump, to a virtual friendship, these riders share how they made the best of RAGBRAI gone virtual. Want to hear more Murphology? Check out www.murphologypodcast.com!