June 2008 - Spokes Magazine

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COLUMNS FAMILY CYCLING 101 by KEVIN BRUGMAN kbrugman@cox.net “IT IS GREAT TO BE BACK ON THE BIKE!” What a great thing for a dad to hear from his 11-year-old son. It had been far too long since we had been biking together. With Little League Baseball taking up four nights a week and all day Saturdays and Sundays occupied with church and rained out make up games, we have not had much time for riding this spring. The boys and I had once again made our trek down to Mathews, Virginia for the Tour de Chesapeake. I had given my eight-year-old son, Jason, the option of staying home and playing ball as he would be missing several baseball games if he came along. He decided that he would rather come on a father-son bike weekend instead. This left poor mother all alone for three days. This was the tenth year that Bike/Walk Virginia has supported the ride and the fifth time that we have ridden the ride over the 10 years. The ride has grown to over 800 riders enjoying routes varying from 17 to 100 miles. Instead of running this event from the Bike/ Walk headquarters, the event is organized locally with sponsoring support by Bike/Walk Virginia. This year’s excellent event was coordinated by Rebecca Grow and Lynda Smith Greve. The coordinators get the entire town involved from the local schools to the police to provide safe crossings at some of the busy intersections. The Principal of the Elementary School was even drafted to drive the SAG truck. Going south from Washington, D.C., on a Friday afternoon can be an exercise in either patience or frustration. So I pulled the boys out from school early and we hit the road about 1:30 in the afternoon. The start of the trip was not a good omen. We drove through frequent rain all the way to Deltaville. The one problem with the TdC is the lack of nearby hotels. We were able to find a room at Deltaville Inn and the rain broke as we got to the hotel. Early the next morning we headed down to Mathews for the ride. As we came into Mathews, we saw lots of riders heading out for some of the longer rides. We TREK • Seven Pinarello • Colnago LeMond • Raleigh Giordana • Hincapie Descente • Louis Garneau Sidi • Shimano • DMT Bontrager • Mavic • Rolf • HED www.thebicycleplace.com 8313 Grubb Road, Silver Spring MD 301-588-6160 22 June 2008
quickly registered and visited folks that we have met on previous years rides. As we got out on the road, Jonathon expressed his happiness with riding again. We planned on starting out on the family ride and then hook onto one of the longer routes. The first stop on the family ride was only five miles into the ride. But this is a location worth stopping. In addition to fruit and banana bread, the stop is also a working art gallery. There are a number of different glass blowing and blacksmith displays and some active work in progress. We then headed out to Bethel Beach. One of the things that I often see on organized events is for the riders to take the roads hostage. The riders will ride four or five abreast and not let cars pass. It is almost like the riders seem that they are getting back at the motorized vehicles for all the time they have been crowded off the roads or felt threatened by car and truck drivers. Here the courtesy of the area seems to infect everyone. The cars were very careful and courteous around the bikers and the cyclists always scooted to the right whenever they heard the words “Car Back!” Shortly after we arrived at Bethel Beach, my boys met up with a little nine-year-old girl named Anna as they played in the surf. Anna and her mom were riding along with several other nurses from the NICU section from a Richmond hospital. After taking their picture we met Collin and his parents, Paul and Tammi Klaco . The Klaco’s started Tek Cycling to provide bike clothes for the entire family. They have bike clothes for children, men and women. In addition, they have developed a women’s outfit that includes a jersey and a skirt wrap. Their web site is: www.tekcycling.com. As we left the beach Jonathon was feeling really well and pedaling strong. He caught up with a pack of adults and was working hard to stay with the pack while Jason and I hung back a bit enjoying the scenery. All of a sudden we heard a huge crack behind us and the back wheel went all squirrelly. Fortunately another rider was able to shoot ahead and reel in Jonathon and let him know about our flat tire. At first I could not find any thing that would have caused a hole in the tire and then I saw it. A six-inch slit in the sidewall where the bead had separated from the sidewall. We did not have another tire with us and no way to repair the tire. Finally I found an old children’s plastic license plate from an earlier Bike Virginia activity. I was able to wrap the license plate around the inner tube and then fit the entire mess into the tire providing a boot to hold the tire together. When we got air into the tire, the license plate boot was sticking out and rubbing against the seat stays as the tire went around. We started out slowly going down the road. I was expecting the boot to give way at any point. The way I looked at it, every wheel rotation the boot lasted was a little less that we would have to walk. I sent Jonathon ahead to the lunch stop to see if the SAG mechanic had any tandem tires that we could put on the bike to get us home. Slowly and carefully, we pedaled for five more miles until we got to the lunch stop. After we hobbled into the lunch stop, Jonathon had just gotten to the mechanic and was ready to see if he had any tires. The mechanic did not have any tires but was ready to try and boot the tire until he saw the cut and the boot bulging out of the tire. He was surprised to hear how long that the boot had lasted and very strongly recommended that we SAG it back to the start of the ride. This was the first time I had ever had to get a ride on a ride, but the next couple of miles were on the only busy road with a minimal shoulder. So my fatherly protection of my boys overrode my pride and I signed up for a ride home back to the start. Jonathon was a little bummed, but he knew that I would not let him ride the last couple of miles alone, so he reluctantly rode in the truck back with us as well. We were able to divert our sorrows at the end with the Tour de Chesapeake classic finish, fresh strawberry shortcake. This has been a hallmark of the ride since the beginning and expected by all. In addition to the organized rides on Saturday there were other events over the weekend. They had a dinner and family movie on Friday night. After the ride they had a block party with nominal fees for food and drink or you could go over to the sausage and beer fest. Then later in the evening there was music and dancing at the block party. On Sunday there were several no frills rides with route guides but no amenities such as organized rest stops of SAG support. There were also kayak tours available and many of the shops were open offering special made in Mathews items. The ride organizers have gone to local talent over the past few years to get the t-shirt designs. This year the winner was eighth grade Lindsey Brown from the local Thomas Hunter Middle School. Ms. Brown’s design featured the classic elements, a beach ball, fish and a bike. The school displayed the over 20 different designs that were submitted for the riders to see. I was very happy that I was not on the selection committee having to decide on just one of the very good designs submitted. Riding through Mathews County, you realize just how relaxed it is. Mathews is a very small county, just 98 square miles. I spoke to a local triathlete and he shared how spoiled he was living in the area. He says that they can go out running or biking and they are very seldom pressured on the road. The drivers are very patient and courteous of all the users. Besides bikes, there are slow moving farm vehicles on the road and everyone just waits their turn. Besides farming, there is an active waterman’s life style in the area. It seems that almost everyone has a boat and many have several. All the local marinas are full of boats of all types, from pleasure cruisers to active fishing boats and it is enjoyable to just sit on the dock and watch the boats go by. We also saw several folks heading out in their kayaks going into the smaller waterways. The excitement of catching a good size striped bass in a kayak should keep the adrenal flowing for several days. There is also a sizable artistic community in the Mathews area. In addition to the glass blowing and Blacksmith work at the first rest stop, the Poddery has developed some wonderful pottery. At the Poddery, one can find a delightful mix of practicality, functionality and whimsy in many of the same pieces. Who ever said that practicality had to be boring or art hung on a wall? If you are looking for a quiet weekend to get away from it all the dates for the 2009 Tour de Chesapeake have already been announced, May 15-17, the weekend before Memorial Day. The Brugman boys plan to be there once again and we hope to see Anna, Collin and all the other folks that we saw this year. TANDEMS = Sharing WHY RIDE A TANDEM? It’s sharing the fun and experience with a partner, a child, a parent, or a friend. Sharing exercise, sharing adventure, sharing the joy of accomplishment, and creating a shared memory. We sell and rent tandems because we’ve shared these things and found that bicycling can be even more fun when it is shared. We’re fighting “oil addiction” with human powered transportation. Join the fight – park your car and ride your bike. bikes@vienna, LLC 128A Church St, NW Vienna, VA 22180 703-938-8900 www.bikesatvienna.com COME TO OUR WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT OUR UNUSUAL PRODUCTS AND CLICK USED BIKES FOR PHOTOS, DESCRIPTIONS, AND PRICES OF OUR PRE-OWNED BIKES. June 2008 23
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Page 4 and 5: BAY Dreaming A Biker’s Guide to S
Page 6 and 7: DREAMING continued from p.5 which a
Page 8 and 9: BLUSTERY WINDS CONFOUND PROS AT AIR
Page 10 and 11: COLUMNS THE ROOKIE +1 by MATT COOKE
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Page 16 and 17: DEPARTMENTS TRISPOKES by RON CASSIE
Page 18 and 19: TRISPOKES continued from p.17 Yoder
Page 20 and 21: COLUMNS MY BIKE SHOP by RON CASSIE
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Page 26 and 27: DEPARTMENTS COMMUTER CONNECTION by
Page 28 and 29: CALENDAR OF EVENTS Griffin Cycle 49
Page 30 and 31: BOB MOORE, 73, MARYLAND CYCLING LEA

June 2008 - Spokes Magazine

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