Des Moines Storytellers Project

Kittie Weston-Knauer, also known as "Miss Kittie" in the bicycling community, is the nation's oldest female BMX racer. She talks about how bicycling, racing and education have been intertwined throughout her life.

The co-founder of Iowa rock band the Nadas also is a lifelong photographer. Here Walsmith talks about a fateful day during his first semester of college that helped to change his entire outlook as an artist, and the course of his career.

The legendary "Iowa Boy" of Iowa journalism talks about how he stumbled into the world of bicycling and riding RAGBRAI -- a happy accident that years later probably saved his life.

Jess Rundlett, an Iowa historian and avid bicyclist who also is a tireless advocate for bike safety, talks about a tragic and fateful ride in 2015 and how she has dealt with its aftermath.

The Des Moines restaurateur who also is devoted bike commuter talks about one of the worst bike rides of his life: It was a stormy, soggy epic struggle along the Great Western Trail south of the city that Auen never will forget.

The cancer doctor and founder of Above + Beyond Cancer talks about the highs and lows of bicycling with a team of cancer survivors in their first Race Across America. What made it into the record books wasn't the most important thing about their grueling coast-to-coast trek.

Emily Wynn resented being a twin. But that changed when she moved and nobody knew she is one. Originally from Colorado, Emily is a writer and graphic designer.

As a young child, Judy Zobel believed there were little people in the radio. But that changed one Christmas. Judy is now a retired educator who last taught fourth grade in West Des Moines and now volunteers at the Iowa Historical Center Library.

Phillip Harder was drafted to his brother's baseball team. But that season changed everything. Phillip now resides in Des Moines and is a photographer who dabbles in writing and video.

As a child, Marlu Abarca would often interpret for her mother. But what she lost she also gained in translation. Marlu is now a first generation college graduate with a bachelor's in psychology from Grinnell College.