Former locals, now living in US Virgin Islands, come back for RAGBRAI

By Gretchen Teske, GTNS News

NEW LONDON - While many parents would not entertain the idea of cooking breakfast for a RAGBRAI team of 40, Jeanne Fedler, of New London, did not bat an eye. Instead, she enlisted the help of her son's mother-in-law and together the pair whipped up breakfast for the team and their children, who came back to Iowa from St. Croix, just to ride in RAGBRAI.

Clint Fedler, originally from New London, and his wife, Wendy Fedler, originally from Houghton, moved to the island a few years ago for a job opportunity after spending 10 years living in the Des Moines area. While living there, they met friends through their church in Waukee who were interested in riding. Clint did not even own a bike at the time, but because his wife had already ridden RAGBRAI once, he thought he would give it a try.

'My wife Wendy had done it once before when she graduated high school, had never done it since then, and our friends had a team and invited us to go do it,” he said.

To train, they use hybrid bikes, which are considerably harder to use, on the island and ride RAGBRAI with bikes they have stored at a friend's house in Des Moines. They started riding in 2013 and have only missed onc trip so far due to a family wedding. They became so hooked they are now co-owners of the Des Moines-based team, Team Kamikaze.

'People do call us crazy because they ask (us) what do we do for vacation and we're like ‘we go to Iowa,' and most people are like ‘I don't even understand you at all,'” he said.

'RAGBRAI came through my hometown of Houghton when I was 10 and I rode about a mile on my one-speed, Wendy recalled. ” It had always been a dream of mine to do when I grew up, so in 2013 we finally got the opportunity to do it.”

Coming back to Iowa, Clint said, is not only coming home to their biological family, but their bike family as well. The camaraderie between teammates and other people on the ride is what makes it so special, they said.

'The different people that you meet and coming from all areas, it's just really neat to hear everyone's stories. She rode with a nun one year. I mean we've met people from Australia, Italy, places in Europe, South America on the routes and it's such a diverse, all-encompassing event, and that I think is such a real, beautiful part of RAGBRAI,” Clint said.

Being able to share a little slice of home life with their friends by having breakfast at his mom's house, Clint said, is the cherry on top of an already great week.

'They've seen how close we are with our RAGBRAI family, and they understand this is a big part of who we are,” he said. 'We like to have our family see this side of RAGBARI.”

Jeanne Fedler, Clint's mom, said having her kids home and bringing 40 of their closest friends with them is like Christmas in July. She has been making breakfast for the team for the past few years but this was the first time she was able to host them on her property.

'It's amazing. They're great kids, they're very kind, very appreciative, they work hard in the Caribbean, just so they can come back to Iowa for three weeks,” she said. 'This is my dream come true.”