MY PROUDEST MOMENT

At of all the things I have accomplished in my life, I think finishing RAGBRAI takes the cake.

Virgin written on the back of our legs. People were so much nicer after they saw that!

It was the summer after my senior year of college, and me and two of my good friends, Sarah and Laura, planned to ride our bikes with thousands of our closest friends across the great state of Iowa. Luckily, we were selected through the raffle and became an official RAGBRAI team, The Lamp Commanders. (The team name is a story in and of itself, and will be saved for another time!)

Once my friends and I decided to take RAGBRAI head on, I was determined to finish. I worked out and tried to prepare myself mentally. The best piece of advice I received was from a customer I had while working at the bookstore. She told me to just get back on.

Laura said that these were the bitchest hills. She was right!

I knew it was going to hurt. I knew the days were going to be long. I knew this would push me further and harder than ever before. And no one let me forget it. A lot of people doubted me, and they weren't afraid to tell me. But there was one person who seemed confident in me. Her name was Liz. I worked with her at the bookstore and as the days grew closer I became more and more nervous. She always seemed very positive though and kept telling me that she thought I could do it.

She was right. I could do it! And I did! All 477 miles of it. It was hard, long, and there were many struggles. But I never stopped, and I never quit. There were many challenges along the way, but it was so much fun. I learned a lot about myself, and I think my relationships with my friends grew too.

I can't wait to do it again!