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If you see a girl with pink piggy ears attached to her cobalt-blue bike helmet on the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa this week, you should feel a sense of awe.
That's 11-year-old Shirah Snodgrass. Since age 8, she's ridden three RAGBRAIs, each one with more mileage than the last, including the Karras Century Loop for a 100-mile day on 2025.
This year, she has the ultimate goal: to take on the Thursday, July 23, America 250 double loop ― an add-on to the already 87.1-mile day that will bring the total the total to 160 miles, or about 250 kilometers.
That's roughly the equivalent of riding halfway across Iowa. It will be the longest single day's ride in RAGBRAI's 53-year history.
Shirah may need to cut it a bit short, but her dad, Ethan Snodgrass, who's on the ride with her, says no matter what, he's proud of the way she's built up her endurance and determination over the past three years.
Shirah's first time on RAGBRAI, the 50th anniversary ride in 2023, started as a journey to regain her confidence. A few months before the ride, she ended up in the hospital after getting hit by a car while riding her bike. After she recovered, she says, her dad convinced her to get back on the bike. They trained as hard as they could for about a month before the ride.
"So the first year through RAGBRAI was really healing, just to be back on the bike," Shirah's father says.
On her first RAGBRAI, Shirah rode each day, completing about three-quarters of the 500 miles. The parts she didn't ride she filled with equally fun experiences like cooling off in a fountain in Marengo and a first-time trip to Adventureland.
She came back to RAGBRAI the following year and conquered every mile. She says RAGBRAI Ride Director Matt Phippen called her a "rockstar."
"And it made me want to keep going on and get to the end," she says.
Phippen remembers the first time he saw Shirah. He stuck his head out of his car window to give her and her family, who were at the end of the pack, words of encouragement. Phippen and the Snodgrasses have stayed connected and they run into each other often on RAGBRAI.
For Shirah to dust herself off and get back on the bike after her accident shows her perseverance, Phippen says. So does returning to RAGBRAI each year.
"To be able to persevere through the heat and the headwinds and, you know, have this awesome mindset of, 'I'm just going to keep going.' I mean, we have adults that can't get past their own brain sometimes," Phippen says. "But for her to kind of just love the ride and set challenges and goals for herself, and every year be able to hit this goal… it's pretty cool."
Last year, Shirah added the annual century loop to her list of accomplishments. After that, she wasn't sure about returning for RAGBRAI's 53rd year. After all, she had completed all the challenges she set for herself.
Then, she learned about this year's bonus 250-kilometer loop, a feature of the ride Thursday in celebration of the United States' 250th birthday.
The loop on Day 5 begins just outside Jesup and will come near the end of the ride from Marshalltown to Independence, which already will be the ride's longest.
Shirah says her ever-expanding goals are what give her the motivation to keep coming back. Well, that and Mr. Pork Chop and peach ice cream from Beekman's Homemade Ice Cream — two RAGBRAI route delicacies.
Making it to the Mississippi River tire dip at the end also tops the list of her favorite RAGBRAI experiences.
"I really, really liked getting to the river because it made me feel so good that I finally finished the ride, and it just felt like a really, really big accomplishment every time we finished it," she says.
For the Snodgrasses, RAGBRAI is a family affair. Shirah's father started riding it around age 11 with his dad. Now, he wants to share the experience with his children.
"We need another generation to keep this going," he says.
This year, granddad is driving the family's support bus. Shirah's younger brother, Jairus, 7, is joining, too, riding tandem with their father. Shirah sports her own purple bike, adorned with a piggy snout in front and a tail in back to match her ears, an idea her father came up with to easily find his children in a swarm of tens of thousands of riders. The Snodgrass family plans to make some overnight stops with relatives near Boone and Dubuque.
The family has trained for the ride by going on long trail and road rides around their home in Cedar Rapids. They typically start their training once the weather warms up in May and continue until the start of the ride in late July.
Finishing the 160 miles on Thursday would be ideal for Shirah, but she and her dad agree a more realistic stretch goal is closer to 120 miles, given the heat and the family's typical late start and the demands of such a long day. No matter how far they get, Shirah plans to take on the day with "a lot of energy and food."
This year's RAGBRAI is more of a training opportunity for her, anyway. Shirah has a bigger cycling goal in mind: A multi-state bike tour that goes from Iowa into Wisconsin, with stops to see family and friends along the way.
"It's given her a lot of confidence," her father says. "Each year it's grown more. She started talking about doing a multi-state bike tour on our own because she feels like RAGBRAI has gotten her ready to do bigger and bigger stuff every year, (so) where do we go from here?"
For those looking for the confidence or the motivation, Shirah has a message: "I would say keep going, and just, guess it kind of works better with biking, but just keep putting one foot in front of the other."
Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines and Polk County government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: RAGBRAI’s 160-mile day is this 11-year-old’s next big test I Exclusive
Continue reading...
That's 11-year-old Shirah Snodgrass. Since age 8, she's ridden three RAGBRAIs, each one with more mileage than the last, including the Karras Century Loop for a 100-mile day on 2025.
This year, she has the ultimate goal: to take on the Thursday, July 23, America 250 double loop ― an add-on to the already 87.1-mile day that will bring the total the total to 160 miles, or about 250 kilometers.
You must be registered for see images
That's roughly the equivalent of riding halfway across Iowa. It will be the longest single day's ride in RAGBRAI's 53-year history.
Shirah may need to cut it a bit short, but her dad, Ethan Snodgrass, who's on the ride with her, says no matter what, he's proud of the way she's built up her endurance and determination over the past three years.
Shirah's first time on RAGBRAI, the 50th anniversary ride in 2023, started as a journey to regain her confidence. A few months before the ride, she ended up in the hospital after getting hit by a car while riding her bike. After she recovered, she says, her dad convinced her to get back on the bike. They trained as hard as they could for about a month before the ride.
"So the first year through RAGBRAI was really healing, just to be back on the bike," Shirah's father says.
On her first RAGBRAI, Shirah rode each day, completing about three-quarters of the 500 miles. The parts she didn't ride she filled with equally fun experiences like cooling off in a fountain in Marengo and a first-time trip to Adventureland.
She came back to RAGBRAI the following year and conquered every mile. She says RAGBRAI Ride Director Matt Phippen called her a "rockstar."
"And it made me want to keep going on and get to the end," she says.
Phippen remembers the first time he saw Shirah. He stuck his head out of his car window to give her and her family, who were at the end of the pack, words of encouragement. Phippen and the Snodgrasses have stayed connected and they run into each other often on RAGBRAI.
For Shirah to dust herself off and get back on the bike after her accident shows her perseverance, Phippen says. So does returning to RAGBRAI each year.
"To be able to persevere through the heat and the headwinds and, you know, have this awesome mindset of, 'I'm just going to keep going.' I mean, we have adults that can't get past their own brain sometimes," Phippen says. "But for her to kind of just love the ride and set challenges and goals for herself, and every year be able to hit this goal… it's pretty cool."
Planning for bigger challenges to come
You must be registered for see images
Last year, Shirah added the annual century loop to her list of accomplishments. After that, she wasn't sure about returning for RAGBRAI's 53rd year. After all, she had completed all the challenges she set for herself.
Then, she learned about this year's bonus 250-kilometer loop, a feature of the ride Thursday in celebration of the United States' 250th birthday.
The loop on Day 5 begins just outside Jesup and will come near the end of the ride from Marshalltown to Independence, which already will be the ride's longest.
Shirah says her ever-expanding goals are what give her the motivation to keep coming back. Well, that and Mr. Pork Chop and peach ice cream from Beekman's Homemade Ice Cream — two RAGBRAI route delicacies.
Making it to the Mississippi River tire dip at the end also tops the list of her favorite RAGBRAI experiences.
"I really, really liked getting to the river because it made me feel so good that I finally finished the ride, and it just felt like a really, really big accomplishment every time we finished it," she says.
For the Snodgrasses, RAGBRAI is a family affair. Shirah's father started riding it around age 11 with his dad. Now, he wants to share the experience with his children.
You must be registered for see images
"We need another generation to keep this going," he says.
This year, granddad is driving the family's support bus. Shirah's younger brother, Jairus, 7, is joining, too, riding tandem with their father. Shirah sports her own purple bike, adorned with a piggy snout in front and a tail in back to match her ears, an idea her father came up with to easily find his children in a swarm of tens of thousands of riders. The Snodgrass family plans to make some overnight stops with relatives near Boone and Dubuque.
The family has trained for the ride by going on long trail and road rides around their home in Cedar Rapids. They typically start their training once the weather warms up in May and continue until the start of the ride in late July.
Finishing the 160 miles on Thursday would be ideal for Shirah, but she and her dad agree a more realistic stretch goal is closer to 120 miles, given the heat and the family's typical late start and the demands of such a long day. No matter how far they get, Shirah plans to take on the day with "a lot of energy and food."
This year's RAGBRAI is more of a training opportunity for her, anyway. Shirah has a bigger cycling goal in mind: A multi-state bike tour that goes from Iowa into Wisconsin, with stops to see family and friends along the way.
"It's given her a lot of confidence," her father says. "Each year it's grown more. She started talking about doing a multi-state bike tour on our own because she feels like RAGBRAI has gotten her ready to do bigger and bigger stuff every year, (so) where do we go from here?"
For those looking for the confidence or the motivation, Shirah has a message: "I would say keep going, and just, guess it kind of works better with biking, but just keep putting one foot in front of the other."
Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines and Polk County government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: RAGBRAI’s 160-mile day is this 11-year-old’s next big test I Exclusive
Continue reading...
