'I Can Do This': Broken Arrow Woman Cycles 434 Miles Across Iowa

A Broken Arrow woman just got back from a weeklong bike ride that's been going on for 51 years.

The ride is hundreds of miles across the state of Iowa.

A bike and endless pavement. That's all Julie Williamson needs to find a sense of peace.

“The wind is in your hairs, you are flying down the hills, and you don't think of anything else but just riding,” she said.

She only found this feeling five years ago.

“My boyfriend Bryan bought me a bike for Valentine's Day, and it was love from then on,” said Williamson.

Her love for cycling has expanded quickly in that time — Julie is tracking almost three thousand miles this year alone.

A chunk of those — 434 miles, to be exact — came just a few weeks ago.

“I have heard about RAGBRAI for years. I had heard about it and had decided at the beginning of this year that I wanted to do it,” she said.

The RAGBRAI — short for Registers Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa — is a weeklong bike tour from the state's western to eastern border.

“You start by dipping your rear tire in the Missouri River, you ride across the state of Iowa, and then you dip your front tire in the Mississippi,” she said.

Julie followed a plan for half a year to get ready for the ride. She worked her way up to riding 200 miles a week.

She says this year's route was extremely hilly and pushed her not just physically.

“The challenge of being 57 and doing an athletic event that challenges your body. It taught me that age is not a factor. I can do this if I set my mind to it,” Williamson said.

She's already setting her mind to doing RAGBRAI again next year.

“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can,” she said, laughing.

Until then, she'll enjoy the peace of the open road.

If you have Something Good you would like to share, email us at Somethinggoodnewson6@griffin.news