Spencer 'Dream Team' training for RAGBRAI

(Photo by Kris Todd) Spencer Dream Team program participants currently training to ride in the 2009 RAGBRAI include, from left, Megan McLaury, Emily Johnson, Stephan Graham, Shane Hessenius, Jordan Bates and Dr. Bill Phelps. [Order this photo]

Their goal is to complete the July 18-25 RAGBRAI ride across Iowa.

If all goes as planned, The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa will have bicyclists advancing from Council Bluffs to Burlington this year, including first-time Spencer High School riders Jordan Bates, Stephan Graham, Shane Hessenius, Emily Johnson, Megan McLaury, John Elliott and Chance Sorenson. The area youth will be accompanied by Sioux Central sophomore Judah Hoffman, who finished the bike ride across Iowa last year on the first local Dream Team.

If all finish the seven-day ride, they'll also earn the bikes, helmets, gloves and biking shorts they've received to date to train with.

The local group of teenagers is being mentored by fellow biking enthusiasts Dr. Bill Phelps, Crystal Hoffman, Dawn Lee, Derek Bailey, Randy Van Dyke, Russ Salton and Jason Chaffin.

Local team's inception and progression

The team grew from Phelps' involvement with the Crown Council's Smiles for Life campaign, in which the Spencer dentist donates his time and expertise to raise money for children's charities while performing professional tooth whitening from March through June. Phelps and 1,200 other North American cosmetic dentists participating in the council's Smiles for Life campaign have raised over $28 million for charities benefiting children since 1998. Locally, Phelps' contributions have funded a $10,000 grant for Head Start children, as well as helped several area youth over the past six years.

"But over the past two years, instead of donating money to that sort of thing, we decided to donate the money to get kids involved in things like they're trying to do with Positively Spencer Youth, where they're attempting to get kids involved in things to not only keep out of trouble, but also to get them involved in community things," Phelps said. " ... With the help of Kerry Schmidt and the Boy Scouts, and with my help through Smiles for Life, we've been able to put together this local Dream Team program. The other people who're really helping are Jason and Brandy Chaffin, the owners of Bikes, Boards & Blades. They're giving us a lot of help as far as picking out the bikes, giving us some nice discounts on them and also showing us how to change a tire and take care of the bikes."

While 20 area youth initially signed on to take part in the training and annual bike ride this year, Phelps noted more community involvement is currently being sought.

"It costs about $500 to sponsor each kid. That includes the bike, their biking shorts, gloves, helmet and a bit of cash," Phelps explained. " ... Part of the fundraising could also be having their smile whitened. They don't have to be a patient of record for us. We just have to do a quick exam, which is free and makes sure there aren't any abscesses or bad things. Then we take impressions and make the whitening trays for them. And then they write a check, which is a donated thing that goes for the kids in this program."

Local Dream Team members

Dawn Lee and Shane Hessenius have taken on the responsibility of the local team's training schedule. They're arranging every-other-week bike rides to get everybody in shape, trained and ready to go.

"Every couple weeks we'll increase the length of the rides," Hessenius said. "Eventually, when we get closer to RAGBRAI time, we're going to be about where we need to ride in one day."

"I love riding my bike and I think it's fun to actually go on a big bike ride with it," Emily Johnson said, who chose to take part in Spencer's Dream Team because her friend, Megan McLaury, was. "This is my first time (doing RAGBRAI) and I'm excited. It's always kind of been a dream, but it's more a reality now."

McLaury, meanwhile, began biking at her mother's request nearly four years ago.

"I ended up liking it a lot, so I've gone back every year. Last year, I went back by myself," she recalled of the University of Okoboji Campus Ride her mom asked her to ride on. "When RAGBRAI went through Spencer two years ago, she let me do a day. She let me do a day and a half last year."

McLaury also knew this year's local Dream Team program was something she wanted to take part in. The Spencer teenager encouraged other 13- to 18-year-olds to participate in 2010.

"It's a really great opportunity. I think more kids should take advantage of it and get involved," she said.

Like others participating in this year's local preparation, Jordan Bates acknowledged he finds the bike ride exhilarating.

"I knew it would take a lot of discipline and I thought I was up to the challenge," the SHS senior said of his participation. "Also, we pretty much get a free bike through this. I thought that would be very useful at college next year, because I'm going to (the University of Nebraska-Lincoln), a state university with a pretty big campus."

Fellow SHS senior Stephan Graham, who plans to attend classes at Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City this fall, added, "If I make it this year, I'm definitely going to go on RAGBRAI again. If I don't make it this year, I'll probably still go again."

* Contact Phelps' office, located at 114 E. Fifth St., with questions regarding whitening or contributing to the Spencer Dream Team by calling 262-9133.