I’m not exactly sure how we got here, smack dab in the middle of winter and trying to remember what sunshine even looks like. I guess we can’t complain too much since we’ve certainly had a mild one here in Chicago, but there are still days when I long to not have to worry about crashing my bike on icy roads. In that regard, I thought I’d offer up a little “throwback” to warmer days... a homemade video that I put together over the holidays to commemorate a rather large accomplishment from this past July.

From July 19-25, 2015, Jessie Atchison (Pepper Group’s Director of Client Services), my brother Joel, and I successfully accomplished RAGBRAI XLIII, a 498-mile bicycle ride across the state of Iowa. If you’re not familiar with RAGBRAI, it’s the world’s largest, longest, and oldest organized bicycle touring event in the world. It is both a challenge and a rolling celebration with 20,000 of your newest friends. Joel and I had ridden it two previous years, but this was Jessie’s first. She pushed herself beyond previous limitations and really shined ... especially when it came to her long-time nemesis, hill-climbing. Get ready to see visual proof of her steadily riding past countless cyclists as they walked up a long climb near the end of the sixth day!

This video recap gives you a flavor for what the week was like for us, and hopefully intrigues you enough to want to ride it yourself someday.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to me for more information on this amazing adventure. It should be on everyone’s bucket list!

Todd Underwood