Over rivers and mountains covered in ice, snow, and dirt, the goal is to get to Nome, Alaska and finish "The Last Great Race on Earth." The Iditarod is an annual 1000 mile long race, and while it is primarily run by mushers with teams of sled dogs, it's also become an incredible challenge for cyclists.
In this episode of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe chats with Steve Cannon, the first Iowan to finish the Iditarod Trail Invitational 1000-mile bike race.
"There is this mental challenge that will determine whether or not you make it or not," says Cannon. "So if there was any one thing, it was just getting comfortable in a place that shows you how vulnerable you are - a place that is so big that you realize that at any moment, like a flea on a dog's back, it can just flick you off.”
She also talks with musher Emily Maxwell, who took on her second Iditarod this year.
Later in the program, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor and Paula Silva join to talk about the University of Iowa's Women’s Creative Mentorship Project, where young and emerging women writers are connected with established writers across the globe. The project is a part of the UI International Writing Program.
