Tell us about your family.
My wife Deborah is a realtor and enjoys working outdoors when she can. My daughter Lauren and her husband Jeff live in Omaha and my son Drew is in Waukee.
You seem to have a passion for cycling. Can you tell us where that started?
One of my high school buddies rode RAGBRAI before they started using the RAGBRAI name consistently. He had a blast and we all started going the next year, RAGBRAI III. I’ve been hooked ever since.
We heard you recently biked across several states. Tell us about that.
In 2015, I completed the transcontinental southern route, which was 2,900 miles in 27 days. So far, I’ve ridden in 21 states, and across 12 of those. This summer, I will ride from Washington state to Minnesota and add four to the tally.
Can you tell our readers about your involvement with the Waukee Railroad Pergola?
Chuck Offenburger and I had a discussion about doing something at the trailhead while we were both on the Board of the Raccoon River Valley Trail Association. I asked a group of Waukee people to meet and discuss the idea, and the project took off. It was interesting to see an idea grow to a project and now a reality. My advice to anyone considering a project is to avoid small thinking and dream big!
If you had to choose one local trail you love to bike on, which would it be?
The Raccoon River Valley Trail is my training ground. When I’m on a very long ride across a state, I visualize the trail to talk myself to the finish line. It works, and that’s why the trail will always hold a special place for me.