72-year-old farmer looks forward to riding WOW Bicycle Ride again
SIOUX CENTER � Bert Van Batavia loves riding open country roads or trails on his bicycle. The 72-year-old man who farms between Hull and Boyden logs 50-60 miles in a typical week during the bicycling season. Bert Van Batavia, 72, who farms between Hull and Boyden, plans to ride again in Promise Community Health Center's Wellness on Wheels Bicycle Ride on Saturday, June 4. He has ridden almost every year of the six-year event. He said you can see � and smell � so much more from a bicycle. He loves seeing the straight rows of corn, even the crooked ones. He enjoys the view of farm buildings and the scenery of rivers and rolling hills. He doesn�t even mind the wafting smell of a hog barn or cattleyard every once in awhile � this is Iowa, after all. And it�s a perfect time for him to reflect. �My thoughts are all to myself. I can almost even decide whom to vote for in the next election,� Van Batavia said with a chuckle. �That�s what I like.� He also rides bicycle for the cardiovascular