As Bill LaRose pedaled the last few hundred meters Saturday to the tire dip site on the shores of the Mississippi River, he belted: "Woo! My first one!"
LaRose, 58, of Athol, Massachusetts, who said the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa has been on his bucket list, got the opportunity to ride the 51st edition with three riders from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and with help from a friend from home, Chris Casella, who provided driving support. Along the ride, LaRose said he was taken by Iowa's beauty and people.
"You know, you usually drive through states like Iowa when you're on the interstate," he said. "I discovered what the heartland was. And I discovered that there's a lot of physical beauty — but the people here are more beautiful than the landscape.