54. 5 Valuable Life Lessons From RAGBRAI 2022

by Julie Lefebure | Aug 16, 2022 | Podcast

My husband and I are back and recovered (well, mostly recovered) from our RAGBRAI biking trip that took place the last full week of July. I shared more about this ride and preparing for it in episode 51. In case you missed it, though, RAGBRAI is the annual bicycle ride across Iowa, and this was our 7th trip across our state on our tandem. And just like past years, God taught me much on this year’s ride. I’m sharing these life lessons from RAGBRAI 2022 today in this episode. Not only for me, however, because I believe you’ll benefit from these as well. I love learning lessons from others!

5 Valuable Life Lessons from RAGBRAI 2022 | Bill and Julie with tandem next to Mississippi River

This year’s RAGBRAI route took us through some new and some familiar towns as we peddled from near the Missouri River, the western border of Iowa, to the Mississippi River on the east, enjoying small town Iowa at its finest along the way. My husband and I, on our bicycle built for two, experienced Iowa once again the way co-founder, John Karras, once described it.

“You drive around Iowa, and it’s not very impressive in a car... When you bicycle through Iowa, it was stunning. Incredible. You approach a river valley — there a lot of river valleys in Iowa — and it’s full of mist, and it’s morning, and just glorious, beautiful.”
John Karras, Co-founder of RAGBRAI

Mr. Karras was right. There’s nothing like experiencing Iowa on a bicycle. Nothing. And experiencing seven of those misty-filled mornings on RAGBRAI was an unexpected joy I had forgotten about.

Each RAGBRAI is special, and on each one God teaches me lessons I don’t want to forget.

This trip across the state was no exception. God again showed up, meeting me on the back of our tandem, teaching me, transforming me, and wowing me in ways only He could.

But the thing is, if I don’t write these lessons down, or better yet if I don’t share them, I will forget them. And I fully believe these lessons aren’t just for me. There for any of us who care to apply them.