In The Ring: Hickenlooper Bikes, RVs His Way Across Iowa

It would have been easy for former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to drive into Iowa’s largest bicycle ride, RAGBRAI.

Tens of thousands of bikers were gathered in Indianola by late Tuesday afternoon, creating the perfect place for a presidential candidate to meet future caucus goers.

Hickenlooper didn’t take the easy way out, though.

Instead, he rode a borrowed bicycle 12.2 miles from Norwalk to Indianola, even stopping to pour some beers along the way.

The Renaissance man has many claims to fame, one of which is his past success as part owner of 20 breweries around the Midwest. So when he saw there was a never ending line at a craft beer tent halfway between Norwalk and Indianola, he had to stop and help.

“I went there and helped pour beer for about 20 minutes,” Hickenlooper said. “I told people I’ve poured more beers than any of the other candidates put together.” 

The ride itself wasn’t bad, either, he noted. 

“The last couple of hills are steep hills, but if you’ve got a hill coming at you, you get a little speed,” Hickenlooper said. “And just like life, you get a little speed up and then you just power through.” 

Looking Forward To RAGBRAI For 20 Years

Hickenlooper first heard about RAGBRAI when he was in Des Moines opening the Raccoon River Brewing Company about 20 years ago.

“I heard about RAGBRAI and I just loved the idea of it,” Hickenlooper said. “I always wanted to be on it, I just never had the time.”

In fact, he thought RAGBRAI was such a great idea, he duplicated it in Colorado. 

When Hickenlooper became governor there nine years ago, he pitched the idea to get people on their bikes riding through Colorado’s countryside to the publisher of the Denver Post. They named the ride Pedal the Plains. It has been going strong for six years.

The former governor has joined in on that ride before, too. He’s a bit of a bike enthusiast with three bicycles of his own in Colorado. He was confident the 12-mile trek through Iowa would be “nothing” and that he’s ridden much farther than that before. Although he admitted he hasn’t had much time for biking this summer since he’s been a little busy running for president. 

Compared to Colorado’s bike ride, Hickenlooper said Iowa’s is dramatically larger.

“It was just a constant flow of bicycles. I felt like I was beside a river,” Hickenlooper said. “You know how they say you never get into a river at the same place twice because there’s new water going by? That’s how it felt. You just get in or out of the flow of bicycles, wherever it was at.”

It was a great vibe, Hickenlooper said. Everybody was happy. They’re usually happy around here.

“Iowans are so proud to live in Iowa,” Hickenlooper said. “I met a couple last night at the Fox Brewery and she was an MD and he was a kind of designer and they moved here about six years ago and they’ve lived in eight other states and said they will never leave Iowa.”

“People in Iowa wake up in the morning and they’re ready to go to work,” Hickenlooper said. “They know that tomorrow is going to be better than today and today is going to be better than yesterday. I think that’s part of what the rest of the country has lost.”

Keeping Track Of Those Iowa Values

While Hickenlooper has an idealistic view of Iowa, one resident attended his speech at Fox Brewing in Des Moines because he’s worried the values he cares about most are disappearing.

Don Burrows, a West Des Moines resident, called President Donald Trump a “racist” and a “fascist.” He said the President is “changing the tone of America.”

“I think it’s just un-American,” Burrows said. 

He asked Hickenlooper how he’d create a country that is better than it was before Trump was voted into office.

“He gave a very nice response and recognizes the need to get back to what America used to be about,” Burrows said of Hickenlooper. “I just find the direction our country is headed very frightening.”

Burrows agrees with Hickenooper’s ideas on several issues. Like Hickenlooper, Burrows said he’s a supporter of universal health care but only in the sense that he believes healthcare is a right.

“I think health care is more complicated than people recognize, so we may need more than one solution,” Burrows said. “Medicare for All is a hybrid. You aren’t going to get rid of private insurance for a while. You aren’t going to give everyone what they want. We need to recognize the fact that nobody should be uninsured. That’s not acceptable.” 

Burrows, who’s lived in Iowa for the last 35 years, said he started following Hickenlooper after his son, who lives in Colorado, told him he should.

He said he’s worried about whether Hickenlooper will be a viable candidate in the Iowa caucuses, but said “he’s very impressive. He’d probably be a great president.”

Prepared To Be President

During his speech at Fox Brewing, Hickenlooper didn’t spend much time talking about the current president.

Instead, he focused on his own past experiences and shared his vision for the future of the United States.

He said his past experiences as a small business owner, the mayor of Denver and the governor of Colorado has prepared him to take over the nation’s highest office.

Hickenlooper said he came to understand the frustration average people have with the government when he helped start up 20 breweries and employed more than 1,000 people early in his professional career.

That frustration led him to run for office.

He said the same type of frustration with the government is what got Trump elected.

People didn’t support a massive expansion of government. They didn’t support Medicare for All. And they didn’t want anyone forcibly taking away their private insurance, he said.

Hickenlooper’s platform is in direct response to those worries.

For example, he’s not offering a free college for all plan like some of his Democratic opponents. Rather, he offers a plan to give high school graduates direct pathways to skilled labor professions.

In Colorado, high school students can enter a trades program during their sophomore year. In that program, students can receive on-the-job training two days a week and go to school three days a week. Then, their junior year, students can work up to three days a week. By the time they’re seniors, students can participate in full-time apprenticeships.

That allows them to graduate from high school with certain certifications and degrees and earn money while still in school.

Hickenlooper wants to expand that program nationwide.

“We should recognize 65 to 70 percent of our kids never get a four year degree,” Hickenlooper said. “We’ve made many of those kids feel they haven’t been successful enough if they didn’t get a four year degree. That’s nonsense.”

A Committed And Active Approach To Iowa

Hickenlooper’s trip to Iowa this week showed off his commitment to the Hawkeye State. He arrived at the event at Fox Brewing Co. in a new Winnebago, which is the RV he’s planning to spend a lot of time in here.

He learned how to drive the camper at a training session at Des Moines Area Community College early Tuesday morning.

His wife, Robin, said he passed the test, but she didn’t jump on the opportunity to try and drive it.

Robin rode on RAGBRAI with the Hickenlooper team, along with more than 20 others.

He said he was excited to be able to ride RAGBRAI with her because he likes to participate. He doesn’t like to take the easy way out.

“It’s important to not just be an observer,” Hickenlooper said. “In a way, part of politics is to get in the ring, to get sweaty and to take a few punches sometimes. The person with the blood and sweat knows the event in a different way than the people who sit around and watch.”

by Paige Godden
Posted 7/24/19