For seven days at the end of July, Patrol Squadron (VP) 46’s flight surgeon, Lt. Penny Goode, was on a 485-mile bicycle ride.

Goode, along with 13 other riders from various commands throughout the Navy, participated the annual state cycle tour known as Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. The event, which took place from July 24 to 30, marked the 33rd consecutive year in which riders from all across the United States and the world have been meeting for this statewide celebration.

There are over 8,500 participants who traditionally start their journey from Iowa’s western border at the banks of the Missouri River, across an average of 470 miles of prairie to finish at edge of the Mississippi River.

The route changes yearly. This year’s began in Le Mars, Iowa and concluding at the state line in Guttenberg, Iowa. They averaged 54 to 107 miles a day.

Earlier this year Goode was contacted by her friend and fellow flight surgeon at Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron, Lt. Erin Griffith.

Griffith had been riding this event for some time and thought that Goode, who has been an avid cyclist since her completion of medical school in 2004, would be a suitable candidate to participate.

“I was nervous at first, especially considering that a month before the ride I had sprained my ankle and was unable to prepare myself as I would have liked,” said Goode. Fortunately, the months prior to the injury were spent tackling the grueling terrain of Western Washington and had given the flight surgeon all the training she would need.

After getting to the event and starting out, Goode discovered it wasn’t as tough as she had thought it would be.

“The ride wasn’t too bad at all,” she said. “It was fortunate that Iowa is so flat. The time I spent at home riding the hills really paid off.”

The length of the ride also required that the cyclists spend the night in the various designated stopover towns. The 14 Navy riders and their three escorts who drove a bus and a service truck would sleep at armories and campsites along the route. At one point, in the town of Estherville, the 17-member team crammed into the house of a welcoming host family.

“It was a good feeling riding through the state (of Iowa) as Midwesterners have traditionally been strong supporters of members of the military,” observed Goode.

It wasn’t just the terrain and accommodations that made the ride the experience that it was. Some of the participants would wear outlandish costumes and ride unique bicycles throughout the countryside. One individual rode the entire event on a seat-less bicycle while another took to the road on a vintage 19th century style high-wheeler.

On certain legs of the ride there would be a number of extra participants, sometimes reaching upward of 20,000 people, who escorted the main body of riders and created an impressive display. Goode recalled, “There was sometimes a sea of cyclists that reached out to the horizon and went on as far as one could see in either direction. It was an awesome experience.”

The participation of Goode and her fellow cyclists gave an opportunity for other riders and members of the Iowa communities along the route to be exposed to the Navy. At each mid-day rest period, the team would set up an information table to meet and talk to anyone interested in making the Navy a career or who was simply curious about the branch of service.

Conversely, anyone who is interested in accessing more information about the yearly cycle event can look it up on the web at http://www.ragbrai.com{{PERIOD}}