This RAGBRAI rider wants his daughters to join him so much he put a condition in his will

RED OAK — Rich Stevens is hoping that if there's a will, there's a way he can get his daughters to join him on RAGBRAI — literally.

Stevens has had a 29-year love affair with the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa and he wants to share it with his daughters, age 31 and 14.

How serious is Stevens about getting them to join him on the ride?

“I put a condition into my estate that they have to ride with me at least one day while I’m alive or they have to ride all seven days carrying my ashes if I die to get their inheritance,” Stevens said.

Stevens, 65, a professional engineer from West Des Moines, is riding this week with team Pace Yourself, a mixture of riders from the metro area, Texas, Chicago and Minnesota.

RAGBRAI is rich with colorful characters and Stevens is one of them. Catch him during beers at the end of Day 1 in the overnight town of Red Oak and stories begin to flow as freely as Busch Light at an Iowa State Cyclone tailgate.

Strike up a conversation with Stevens and his love for RAGBRAI becomes evident. He and his wife, Christina, have taken bicycle trips to Greece, France, Ireland, New Zealand and other international locales as part of the Bow Wow Hot, an international bicycle club. But it is his experiences over nearly three decades of RAGBRAI that have him waxing poetic.

Asked about his favorite RAGBRAI and Stevens points to 2021 when he first joined forces with many of the members on this year’s team. He quickly reels off the fond memories of that ride he shared with some of his newfound teammates of that year:

“We found free beer in the ditch.” (actually many free beer stands offered by farmers on the route)

"We found rhubarb pie." (actually a staple along the whole RAGBRAI route)

“We swam in some guy’s farm pond.” (actually a large recreational farm pond complete with waterslides and rafts open to all RAGBRAI riders)

“We even got up on stage with Maddie Poppe in New Hartford,” said Stevens referring to the Clarksville native who won "American Idol" in 2018, before being corrected by a teammate who said no, “YOU got on stage with her.”

Stevens' constant companion on the trip is a tiny stuffed bear named Ella, who belongs to his younger daughter, that he swears gets him into all the VIP tents during RAGBRAI.

Asked if his daughters know about the unique provision in his will relating to RAGBRAI, Stevens said they do.

“I think they are counting on me dying before mom so the will can get changed,” Stevens said.

“When they gripe about the provisions of the will I tell them they are just lucky I’m being cremated.”

Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.