April 2011 - Spokes Magazine

On
theCover
Ride with heroes and World TEAM President, former
U.S. Ambassador Paul Bremer in the Face of America
Ride, April 15-17.
is it possible to tell if a mouse, running
round and round on an exercise wheel, is smiling?
The reason I wonder about this is I recently heard
that more than half the runners in America run
indoors on treadmills rather than outside in the fresh
air. When I heard this I prayed that this was not the
case with bicyclists.
Sure, I do spin classes at my gym and ride on a trainer
at home when the weather or daylight doesn’t permit
riding outdoors. But it makes me feel sad to hear of
my fellow spin class riders who never ride outdoors.
They think spin bike classes are like riding outside.
Earlier this year a woman I work with, and who loves
spin classes at our local Y, asked me if I could loan
her a wind trainer I wasn’t using so she could mount
her road bike and ride indoors at home.
I am a life long cyclist who has experienced most of
which the sport has to offer. Bike touring with fully
loaded panniers in some of the nicest most scenic
places there are to ride. I’ve done some mountain
biking, although road is my passion, and I’ve done
tons of group rides, where you spend the best part of
a day mixing and matching your riding companions,
one group before a break, another group after the
break, and so on. What a great way of meeting new
people.
But the best part of the riding is being outdoors with
the fresh air, the ever changing scenery, the smells
and sounds of the lives of the thousands of people
and their homes or places of work that you pass on
virtually every mile of the ride.
One of my favorite memories was on a Sunday morning
in Pennsylvania’s Amish country. A group of us
was spinning towards what appeared to be a stream
of horse and buggies transporting families to a place
of worship. Later in the morning, as we spun along,
we began hearing a singing and chanting off in the
distance. Sure enough, we approached a large pavilion
surrounded by probably 100 parked horses and
buggies, all black of course. The owners and their
children were all indoors celebrating their own religion
and their lives on our planet.
It was a religious experience for everyone and that
included our group of cyclists who were moved by
the sounds, smells, and spirit of the moment.
Would this ever be possible in a spin class? You know
the answer.
As for those mice running full speed on a wheel, I
can only imagine that the only reason they do it is
the hope that one day, when the opportunity arises,
they’ll use their speed to break free and head to the
outdoors where fresh air and freedom await.
Happy trails.
Neil Sandler
Editor & Publisher
page 6
Touring • Racing • Off-Road
Recreation • Triathlon • Commuting
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GRAPHIC DESIGN
Studio 22
www.studio20two.com
april 2011
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Neil W. Sandler
neil@spokesmagazine.com
CALENDAR EDITOR
Sonja P. Sandler
sonja@spokesmagazine.com
www.spokesmagazine.com
Cycle on gently curving roadways
through picturesque small towns and majestic
Chesapeake landscapes in
Caroline
Come cycle
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Caroline!
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