Im interviewed in the Des Moines Register

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070807/NEWS/708070344/1001/RSS01

WDM's '100-mile kid' impresses Armstrong

Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong wanted to meet Nic Cory, 11, who took the option of extra distance for a long ride.

By MICHOLYN FAJEN
REGISTER CORRESPONDENT

August 7, 2007

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Nic Cory was living large during RAGBRAI when he rode nearly shoulder to shoulder with Tour de France icon Lance Armstrong on the last leg of his visit to the state two weeks ago.

The 11-year-old from West Des Moines spent six days of the seven-day tour with the former yellow jersey champion on his LiveStrong team, along with his father, Joe Cory.

But Nic is no stranger to cycling. This year marked his seventh RAGBRAI and his second pedaling independently.

Cyclists have the option to add miles to their daily trek looping an extra 20 miles on top of the normal 80 to make it a 100-mile course one day of the ride. Most opt out of the additional challenge, but not Nic, who was later praised by his teammates for his century ride and was awarded a jersey for the effort.

The youth's feat took Armstrong by surprise and he asked team captains to direct him to Nic.

"He said he wanted to meet the 100-mile kid ... me," said Nic, who will share what he did on his summer vacation with pride come the start of school.

Armstrong shook Nic's hand, telling him he couldn't believe an 11-year-old would attempt the extra mileage.

Later in the week, Armstrong's last day on the road, teammates were invited to join Armstrong, riding alongside him. Nic got his shot to pedal with Armstrong for a leg.

Rob Gray, 38, of Chicago caught the moment on videotape.

"I had to grab the shots of the playful banter between the two of them, especially after I heard this young boy completed a century ride. I was thinking that I may be looking at the future winner of the Tour de France because this is a really special kid. Here I have potentially two greats riding side by side," said Gray of his teammate, who was the only child on the team.

Throughout those miles, Nic said he and Armstrong chatted about the century ride and at one point Armstrong turned to him and said, "Do you want to race?" Nic recalled.

"So I said, 'Bring it on,' " said Nic with a laugh. "It was an honor to ride and talk with him. He really is a nice guy."

Nic admits he would have loved to have gotten an autograph from the biking icon, but he and his father agreed it was best to treat Armstrong as one of the guys and refrain from bugging him about his celebrity status.

But more surprises were packed into Nic's RAGBRAI journey. Armstrong brought a good friend of his to one of the evening team meetings - NFL star Dallas Clark, who plays for the 2006 Super Bowl champions Indianapolis Colts.

"He's a cool guy. He's just like us, too, except for the Super Bowl ring," said Nic laughing.

To join Armstrong's LiveStrong team, which was limited to 150 riders, each person was challenged with the goal of raising $1,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation to benefit cancer research. Joe Cory said the team exceeded the requirement and in total raised more than $300,000.

Many on the LiveStrong Team have had cancer affect their lives. Nic said the last five funerals his family has attended were all for people who lost a battle with cancer.

As Joe Cory looks back at the week spent with his son, he finds that the century ride and experiences with Armstrong are not the ones that make him most proud of Nic. It was his son's character on the last day of RAGBRAI when he had not seen Nic for a few hours and as he pedaled back through the pack he asked teammates if they had seen his son.

"They gave me a hard time and said Nic told them he left me behind in the dust," Joe Cory said. "And as I advanced, I saw him at the front of the pace line leading the entire team, riding about 19 mph."