A Lasting Legacy: Friends, family of Tom Sperling ride RAGBRAI in his honor

EDITOR’S NOTE - For many years, the late Tom Sperling chronicled his journey across the state of Iowa as a participant in RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa). Tom’s RAGBRAI Journal became a tradition and was published annually in The Opinion-Tribune after the ride had been completed.
Tom passed away in 2021 but his love of bicycling and making new friends and memories along the RAGBRAI route is not been forgotten. Several friends and relatives of Tom’s rode in RAGBRAI this year as a memorial tribute to Tom. Their thoughts are shared in the following “RAGBRAI Reflections.”

Ragbrai Reflections

Adam Sperling (Colorado Springs, Colorado 4th RAGBRAI):
I reluctantly offered to my dad, Tom Sperling, that I would finally join him on RAGBRAI for his 60th birthday back in 2015. As maybe some of you feel, I didn’t see the upside of riding through our state at the hottest point of the summer.  I just got done last week with my 4th and the upsides just keep me coming back. Yet, this time was the first time without Dad in the group. He passed away in December of 2021. This summer a group that went with him back in 2016 (and a few first timers) decided to come together for another week on the bike. The group all knew Tom and each of us would refer to things we remember from what he taught us in how to take on this adventure. I even rode with his bike bag that still had his name plate attached to the back of it. All week, other bikers would pass by me saying, “On your left, Tom”. It was fun to keep hearing that all week. It finally hit me at the end of our ride at the tire dip in Davenport that Dad really wasn’t with us. We had talked about him so much that week that it almost felt like he was there. A few nights we even read out loud some of his past RAGBRAI journals that he submitted to the Opinion Tribune in the past. Standing at the Mississippi, it set in how thankful I was that I got 3 RAGBRAI rides in with him and how much fun it is to help others experience the same thing he introduced me to.

Below are a few more RAGBRAI reflections from the past ride across Iowa from the group that came together to remember this great event that Tom loved each summer he could.

Graham Sperling (Colorado Springs, Colorado 1st RAGBRAI, 12 years old):

This was the first time I was doing RAGBRAI and I was nervous and excited all at the same time. I had started out on day 2 because my dad said that there were going to be a whole lot of people on day 1.
I thought that I was going to die on all the hills that were coming my way. But this bike ride is really fun and challenging. My bike was not the best for RAGBRAI because it was a mountain bike and not a road bike. My grandpa (who I call Hepa ) loved riding his bike and loved doing RAGBRAI. I think that he would love to see my brother and I doing RAGBRAI. Hepa loved meeting people on the road, and he loved putting in 100 or more miles every day. Don’t ask me how he did it. RAGBRAI is full of bikers. If you stop on top of a hill and look down, you will see hundreds of bikers.

Micah Sperling (Colorado Springs, Colorado 1st RAGBRAI, 14 years old):

This was my first RAGBRAI experience and even though I did not do the whole thing it was amazing. It was surprising to me to see the amazing hospitality of every town along the route. From the houses we stayed at and pass through towns that provided all the fuel that we needed to keep riding. Those things would get Hepa (my grandpa, Tom Sperling) really exited. He would thank everybody he passed for their hospitality. One other highlight was the food that the people of the towns prepared for us from the pie to the pork chops, it was all good.  This year was the long awaited 50th ride therefore being 500 mile but if you knew my Hepa he would not stop there. He kept riding after the route was over to get 100 miles each day. He was crazy. I never could do that if I tried. Hepa also loved talking to all the people he met along the route and then would write about it in his journal to log it and then put it in your newspaper the week after. In all, Hepa would have loved to be here this year and ride with Team Legacy.

Trevor Hixon: (Denver, Colorado 1st RAGBRAI):

As a RAGBRAI “virgin” and one who had not been to Iowa, I didn’t know what to expect apart from stories over the years about how much fun a ride across Iowa can be and all the quirks it would bring.   Among the many interactions over the 7 day ride what I experienced was exceptional.  From the warm hospitality of every passing town to gracious hosts who provided a shower and place to sleep, I am left asking how I can be more like people I met along the way.  RAGBRAI also afforded me the opportunity to reconnect, be encouraged by, and suffer together in the hot sun with lifelong friends.  With something as simple as bikes and good people surrounding me I will not easily forget the time well spent and will do my best to bring others along for the ride next time

Cameron Mock ( Denver, Colorado 2nd RAGBRAI):

Being from Colorado, I received many inquisitive looks in the weeks leading up to RAGBRAI. Though they come in many forms, almost all questions can be summarized as “why?” I can only speculate this question means they have not experienced the magic of Iowa. Perhaps they have not had lunch on the shores of Lake View? Or ate homemade apple crisp pie while listening to live music in the shade of the Polk City town square? Or ridden through the Iowa State Fairgrounds in the early morning fog then watch the sun melt away while flying across the corn fields outside of Altoona? Perhaps they haven’t had a leg of lamb sandwich, black raspberry pie, and homemade ice cream in Newton then immediately rode 22 miles to Grinnell? Or stopped later that day to have another piece of pie from the Amish? Perhaps they haven’t had a chance to experience the hospitality of Iowans who open their homes and cook meals for people they have never met? Or witnessed the golden sunrises and sunsets over the rolling, corn-filled hills outside of Carroll? Maybe they have not finished a 100+ mile bike ride with a victory lap around Jack Trice Stadium? Or started a bike ride to Davenport with a warm up through the halls of Kinnick Stadium? Or spent a week with close friends laughing, pedaling, and sweating for 500+ miles from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River? What I do know is that if they had experienced all these things, there would be no question of “why?” but only “when do I get to do this again?”

Kolten Powell (Austin, Texas 2nd RAGBRAI):

Before Iowa is slowly overrun with news cameras and politicians eating fried food and pretending to be normal, let us pause to remember the everyday Americans that welcome in thousands of bikers every summer to their wonderful state. Individuals, families, churches, schools, town committees, and highway patrol officers open up their yards, their doors, and their figurative (or literal) arms to every passerby. No one is red, no one is blue….but everyone is sweaty and a little weird, and everyone feels at home. From the kids selling lemonade to the old farmers giving out free ice, everybody lends a hand. Fire hydrants are opened, lawn chairs are unfolded, streets are closed, bands are assembled, and no one complains too loudly about the slightly inebriated cyclists peeing in their corn fields. Even our brave military servicemen and servicewomen fly in the wings to help fix a busted chain or a popped tire. Show me a better America than RAGBRAI! Fly over this state to your own demise! There may be no sea or purple mountains, but her plains are fruitful and her people are kind. God bless Iowa. God bless RAGBRAI. Here’s to 50 years.

Dr Bubba Hamilton (Rapid City, SD 1st RAGBRAI):

RAGBRAI 2023 was the event of a planned friends reunion trip for me. I was planning to meet with some dear friends of mine that I haven’t been able to see for several years and enjoy 7 days of riding bikes. Enjoying each other’s company was wonderful despite the 500+ miles of cranking on the bike in the summer heat of Iowa. What exceeded my expectations were the families of Iowa residents that welcomed us with open arms, giving us places to sleep, meals to share and conversations to enjoy. Adam Sperling, our trip leader, reached out to friends and acquaintances alike and was able to secure host housing each leg of the ride. We stayed in unique settings from rural farmhouses out in the corn fields, city apartments right off the route in downtown Des Moines, to suburban neighborhoods. What stood out most was the incredible hospitality and friendliness of each of our host families. I look forward to my next opportunity to ride and enjoy the lovely state of Iowa.

Brendan Bryant (Colorado Springs, Colorado 2nd RAGBRAI)

Although this, my second year attending RAGBRAI, was cut short and yet shorter still due to a bum knee and a work trip, the couple days I had in the saddle left me wanting more. More of the long awaited “Great Ride Across Iowa” to rekindle old friendships. More of the mysterious sense of camaraderie that comes from getting swallowed up in a constant river of fellow-cyclists, all bound by a common goal. More of the easy rolling hills and meandering back roads that checkerboard the ever-surprisingly beautiful, and often overlooked state of Iowa. More of the truly inspirational hospitality that seems to be “just the way folks are” if they live in Iowa. More tender butt and fatigued legs to prove a day well spent on some good quality type-2 fun. And more of the hidden gems of this beautiful state hidden along the way. Such treasures are  only discoverable on two wheels, in a lower gear, surrounded by friends and friends-to-be, who all join together in what would leave those who’ve never attended RAGBRAI bewildered, asking “what could possibly draw so many to ride a bicycle across Iowa for a week?” Well, you’ll just have to try it, and I promise it will leave you asking for more.

Poem (Ode to RAGBRAI 2023) by Kolten:

Every corn field looks the same
Every soy field looks the same
Every windmill looks the same
So why is it so damn pretty?

Every town is full of pork
Every barn smells like manure
Every breeze blows the wrong way
So why don’t I miss the city?

My muscles want to punch my face
My sweat glands cannot open more
My hands and crotch are going numb
So why do I keep trying?

My bike is not a noble steed
My gears are trying to eat my legs
My tubes refuse to hold the air
So why do I keep flying?

We all keep smiling through the pain
We all keep waving at the folks
We all keep drinking in the grass
We all keep drinking from the hose

We all keep swerving through the hydrants
We all keep yelling at the cars
We all keep singing to the music
We all keep laughing in the yards

There’s magic in these rolling hills
And meeting friends both old and new
The haze may shift horizon lines
But I’ll always enjoy the view

Keep rolling, friends, across the land
This ride will not forever last
Together raise your helmets high
And savor life before it’s passed.