Why donate

The Dream Team relies on the generosity of business, bike clubs, charitable groups and caring individuals to fund the team’s activities and equipment needs. Help these young people achieve the goal of a lifetime with a tax-deductible gift.



$1000 will sponsor a teen through the training program and RAGBRAI

The equipment needed to enjoy the sport of cycling can be costly. The Dream Team helps alleviate
this by providing all of the necessary equipment at no cost to the participants.

Share life experiences

A charter bus carries the team to the start of RAGBRAI® where they meet the trucks carrying the bikes,
tents, clothing and other equipment for the week. The team is well prepared for a week of enjoying the
Iowa hospitality that only RAGBRAI® can bring. The team tent-camps in the main campgrounds throughout
the week. Some mentors are designated as campground hosts, and provide support to the team in each
overnight town. They are responsible for laying out the campsite, and scouting out the overnight town
for showers, food, and entertainment possibilities.

Around the middle of February, the participants and mentors start meeting twice a week on Monday and Thursday
evenings at the Riverfront YMCA downtown for ninety minutes of training. Thirty minutes is devoted to each
of three workouts; spin classes on stationary bikes, resistance training, and running the indoor track. Mixed
into the exercises are some informational sessions designed to provide the participants with some of the basic
information they’ll need to know once the training rides start. Class sessions include information on

In 1996, a concern for disadvantaged and at risk youth led a small group of bicycle enthusiasts from RAGBRAI®,
Bike World and the Riverfront YMCA in Des Moines to discuss how these youngsters could participate in RAGBRAI®
. They wanted youth, who otherwise would not have the opportunity, to experience the sense of fellowship,
accomplishment and goal setting that participation in RAGBRAI® brings. Working as a grassroots organization,
they successfully obtained equipment, then recruited and trained youth to participate as the first Dream Team

We are finally on the bikes and learning to bike in the real world with other bikers and traffic considerations.
This April presented us with a lot of rainy and cold weather. Three of our Thursday rides in a row were canceled.
We canceled on Saturday ride because of snow. We substituted indoor educational training and fun team building activities.
Every rider and mentor got to practice changing tires. We then had a changing rodeo for young riders and also mentors.
The young rider winner was a girl named Victoria.
Jim S won the mentors division.

Most of this month is aimed at continued indoor training and building strenght and endurance.
A break to the routine was taken one night when all went to the Brenton Skating Rink for a fun slippery night.
The month culminates with an evening of orientation and equipment fitting.
One hour is spent in class going over video training with regular material reviews to make sure the riders are paying attention. The topics covered include
Bike component identification
Proper bike fit
Proper helmet fit
Protective eyewear
Shifting and braking
Riding safety
Traffic considerations

In early February we meet with riders and parents/guardians to cover the program and lay out expectations. Documents are signed to establish understanding.

We fit the riders for bikes, helmets, and gloves.

We conducted indoor training sessions for two weeks in February.
We meet each Monday and Thursday at the downtown YMCA for ninety minutes.
The group of riders and mentors is broken into three sections which rotate through different workouts.

Planning for the next year starts in late fall with more focus in November and December.
We create plans based on expected number of mentors and money.
Each year starts with the hopes that donations will arrive to fund our needs as they arise.
We invite riders from the previous year to determine our base rider core. We then determine how may new riders we can recruit.
We work with the Des Moines School system to identify youth who could benefit from our program.
Organizational tasks are divided up among returning mentors to accomplish the goals.