Turning 50 is hard for some, but it was even more thought-provoking for Brian Hart because of the gift his wife, Julie, gave him: a brand new bicycle.
“I wasn’t as appreciative as I probably should have been,” says the owner of Hart Financial, LLC, and a member of the DMU Board of Trustees.
Something got his wheels turning, however. Now, seven years later, Brian owns three bicycles, one of which he rides most days to his Des Moines office – 30 miles round-trip. He’s set a goal of riding 25,000 miles total by his 60th birthday; he has fewer than 8,000 to go.
“It’s about changing your mindset,” he says. “For example, I don’t think of it as riding my bike to work. It’s just how I get there.”
Brian will peddle 471.1 miles closer to his goal next week, when he and approximately 10,000 other bicyclists from around the world roll through Iowa on RAGBRAI, the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. This annual week-long bike ride, now in its 40th year, is the oldest, largest and longest bicycle touring event in the world. While the route changes every year, the ride – which the Register dubs a “rolling celebration of Iowa” – always begins somewhere on the state’s western border on the Missouri River and ends on its eastern border on the Mississippi River.
This year will be Brian’s and Julie’s fifth RAGBRAI, and we’re excited he plans to send us periodic reports from the road. We think his commitment to health and fitness perfectly matches Des Moines University’s focus on holistic health care and wellness. Watch Dose of DMU for insights on his memorable, moving tour of Iowa!
