Eric White, 49, of Ankeny cycled almost 400 miles this week while wearing a Viking helmet glued on top of his bike helmet.
White, riding in his ninth RAGBRAI, had a simple reason why he sported the horns. “I’m just a huge Minnesota Vikings fan, and all the Packer fans get offended,” White said Friday. “Plus, it’s just another layer of protection. Just in case.”
It didn’t take him too long to superglue the Viking helmet on, and he said it held up pretty well through the heat of the ride and the rain storm he and nearly 20,000 other RAGBRAI riders endured before they arrived in Coralville on Friday afternoon.
“The rain wasn’t too bad, you just ride through it. It was actually kind of a shower for some of us,” he said.
Biking is a part of life for White. In Ankeny, he rides his bike mostly everywhere. He even has a trailer for when he picks up groceries in town. RAGBRAI is just a natural progression.
“RAGBRAI was passing by a town nearby in 2007, and I just decided to get off my butt and do it,” White said. “I’ve done it every year since, and I’m not stopping soon.”
After days of riding, and the end of the ride one day away, White said he was going to relax Friday night, but he had to save just a bit of energy to rock out at the Cheap Trick concert as part of Coralville’s RAGBRAI overnight stay festivities.
“I got a couple of their CDs at home. Let’s hope they put on a good show. Us cyclists need a little energy to finish the race,” he said.
— Zach Berg
RAGBRAI veteran Eric White, 49, of Ankeny sports a Viking helmet to pay homage to his favorite sports team — and for a little more protection — on Friday, July 24, 2015.
via RAGBRAI http://ift.tt/1Kq4nO8
