The Cult of Joey Flaphole bonds over tragedy, shared love of RAGBRAI nicknames
Heat, humidity, hills and headwind.
That was how the self-dubbed Cult of Joey Flaphole, a collective of Southerners with loads of cycling experience, described Friday’s 80-mile voyage from Tama-Toldeo to Coralville. And one more adjective, too — hell.
The group is made up of more than a dozen members wrangled together by Joseph Scott Murphey, a historical architect for the Department of Defense.
He goes by his first name as the so-called "cult leader" for one week every year, loading up friends and family from Arlington, Texas, as well as recruits from Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. Together, the Cult of Joey Flaphole navigates Iowa from river to river.
In Arlington, the group rides three times a week, Sharon Urquhart told the Press-Citizen Friday in Coralville.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they take it easy, riding for about 18 miles in about 90 minutes. On Saturdays, they ride for roughly 30 miles.
Murphey and his co-worker Jodie Foster (not that one) unintentionally formed the group when they rode RAGBRAI in 2011. Murphey used a tent that had a peculiar flap hole that Murphey would peek his head through.
The nickname was born.
The group has nicknames for one another, from "To the Right MF’er" to "J’Mo" and "Lt. Dan," each with unique origins. Murphey’s wife, Paula, the managing editor of the Boy Scouts of Americ magazine “Scout Life,” was dubbed Lt. Dan because her e-bike “gives her magic legs," a reference to the 1994 movie "Forrest Gump."
Foster has a Ph.D. in economics, so he became "The Invisible Hand," the economic term for forces that drive the market.
The Miracle of the Flapsie and the memories of the past
Tragedy has followed the Cult of Joey Flaphole throughout the years, bringing the group closer on each ride.
Foster suffered a massive heart attack last year while training for RAGBRAI, but was on the seat again in time for the ride just a few weeks later. Though doctors had cleared him, Murphey said it was still incredible to have biking across Iowa as the other half of their duo for the 11th time.
Sadly, tragedy struck again Thursday night when Foster was pedaling alongside Murphey. His father had passed away, forcing Foster to cut his annual ride short.
By chance, Murphey had his vehicle, a lucky break after forgetting his shoes on day one of the 50th RAGBRAI. That meant the team could take Foster to the airport and fly him back to Texas.
It was a "Miracle of the Flapsie," Murphey said.
Murphey has battled through his own family heartbreak which happened nearly 30 years prior. His father passed away in 1994. Murphey took his dad along for one final ride in 2017, carrying his ashes with him on what he called Dad-BRAI. Murphey left his dad's remains in seven spots throughout the state, including Buddy Holly’s crash site in Clear Lake.
Fellow teammate Raul "Gorilla"endured his own medical problems before eventually passing in 2022. He bravely powered through RAGBRAI in 2018, one week after chemotherapy treatment for cancer. He passed away last year, just before RAGBRAI pedaled off. This year, Murphey left a small piece of Raul's bike to honor him. He's also referenced on this year's team jerseys.
“RAGBRAI was a huge part of (Raul's) funeral,” Murphey said. “At his service, they had his bike and his riding helmet and all of that sort of stuff.”
More: RAGBRAI concertgoers in Coralville told to seek shelter from coming severe storm
A mother-son duo took different paths to RAGBRAI
Joey Murphey's sister-in-law, Amy Wright teaches English in Texas. She doesn’t like to be told what to do.
That stubborn attitude is exactly how she earned the "Move to the Right MF’er" nickname.
When she was a RAGBRAI “virgin” last year − how riders refer to first-timers − people would shout at her and tell her to move over. She hated it.
The rest of the group had a good time with her frustration, giving Wright her new nickname.
Wright's son, Charlie, first rode in 2019 as a high school student and had plenty of time to train. His impressive feat that first year was cruising across the state on a one-speed bike.
Murphey inspired Charlie Wright’s college essay by teaching him about the pain cave, where he says you should go when pain begins to creep in.
Charlie Wright has decorated his pain cave with lamps and settles in, allowing him to push on. That inspired 500-word essay earned him entry into Texas A&M University, instilling a useful mentality he leans on today.
“I related it to life and how you have hills and you have battles, but sometimes it’s just better to deal with it when you get there rather than look up at the hill and worry about it,” Charlie Wright said. “Keep your head down and get over it.”
Charlie Wright's significant college load left him well behind on training for his return to RAGBRAI in 2021, though he was eager to ride with his family. The statewide terk forced him to call on his pain cave yet again.
He does regular pushups and can run a mile and a half in 8:30, which meant RAGBRAI wasn't much of a challenge. Charlie Wright was drawn to the single-speed bike again, hoping to surpass Murphey’s personal record of four RAGBRAIs on a single-speed.
RAGBRAI's final leg on Saturday leads riders into Davenport, a 71-mile trek through Kinnick Stadium and Iowa City, West Liberty, Muscatine and Buffalo.
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on Twitter @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: The cult of Joey Flaphole has been taking down RAGBRAI since 2011
