president's message - the Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey

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6It’s the first Sunday of May, and over 30,000 cyclists are poised inBattery Park to start what for nearly all will be an event to remember,The Five Boro BikeTour. The Tour is todayperhaps the largest cyclingevent in the nation.Like many such events,it had humble beginningsstarting in 1977as the Five Boro Challenge.The Challenge,run by the NYC Board ofEducation and AmericanYouth Hostels (AYH), wasattended by some 250cyclists one of whomwas a skinny curly haired17-year-old bike enthusiastfrom Queens named LeonardDiamond.That skinny kid from Queens found his stride, continued ridingthat tour for 35 consecutive years, and today is not only a B* riderand BTCNJ member, but the chair of Bike New York, the non-profitorganization that co-produces the Five Boro Bike Tour with the NYCDepartment of Transportation. After that first ride, Len becameincreasingly involved with the ride and the organizations that eventuallytook over producing the ride. In the late 1980’s, volunteeringfor the Tour was Len’s second job. He would literally work 40 hours aA diamond in the PelotonI recently caught up with Len, now Dr. Leonard Diamond, and had achance to chat with him about Bike New York.In the early days,the ride was chaperonedby just two policecars, one in frontand the other in therear. As the cyclistsapproached eachintersection, one policecar would be infront while a volunteerbike rider wouldstop to preventcross traffic untilall the cyclists werethrough. The otherpolice car remained in the rearand rotated positions with thefirst. The goal of the initial ride,which was produced by AYH with assistance from the NYC Board ofEducation, was to promote bike safety and youth hostels.First year volunteers for the Five Boro Bike Challenge.4th from the left standing is 17 year old Len Diamond.Though the route has pretty much remained the same, the eventgrew and its purpose changed. It is now the main fund raiser for BikeNew York which uses the funds to pay for 100% of their educationalefforts. The money is used for cycles, helmets, and instructors to providefree bike education and safety programs. Another BTCNJ member,Cyndi Steiner, is one of Bike New York’s most active instructors.As you can imagine, an event of this size has it oddities. This yearthey introduced a crazy costume contest and many of the cyclistscame decked out as their favorite super hero and other colorful characters.They had one biker at the end of the tour propose to his brideto be in front of the entire crowd. In a previous year, they actuallyhad a biker fall from the upper deck of one of the bridges and landon the lower deck surviving the fall.The task of producing a bike event of this size is enormous, particularlyin New York. Len describes with angst that the number of city,state and federal agencies they have to deal with is staggering. Whilesome agencies, such as the Dept. of Transportation and Police areobvious, who knew they would have to deal with the Army and theCoast Guard. Add to that the MTA, the Bridge and Tunnel Authority,EMS, the Fire Department and the list goes on. One of their biggestchallenges is avoiding or coping with road construction. As everyNew Yorker will attest, there is constant construction in this area.7 survivors of the original ride at the 30th anniversary celebrationat Gracie Mansion where Len Diamond, 2nd from left inthe back row, gave a speech with Mayor Bloomberg.week at his paid job, and then another 40 hours a week volunteeringto help with the Five Boro Bike Tour.So what would motivate someone to take on such a monumentaltask? Well, since 2010, more than 17,500 people have enrolled inone or more of Bike New York’s classes. And it is in these classes thatsome learn how to ride a bicycle for the first time, or how to navigatetheir way by bike in a metropolitan area, or how to buy a bike, orhow to get fitted for a bike. At the end of the day, for Len, it is knowingthat his efforts will introduce so many young people to the sportof cycling, and educate so many others that make it all worthwhile.- Larry Schwartz
7Slaying the Badger Greg LeMond, Bernard Hinault and theGreatest Tour de FranceBy Richard Moore304 pp, VeloPress, $18.95By Ralph MontiIf you’re a seasoned sports fan,there’s absolutely nothing betterto get the pulse going thanwitnessing a great match-up.Nostalgic baseball buffs will harkenback to the days of the WillieMays vs. Sandy Koufax battles.Football fanatics will rememberthe Joe Montana vs. Dan Marinoduel in Super XIX. And tennis fanswill recall the ferocious volleyingof the 2008 Wimbledon finalbetween Rafael Nadal and RogerFederer.All of these were one day affairs, matching one top competitor fromone team or side, versus another. But how do you square a fiercerivalry between two great competitors on the same team? With bothfighting to win cycling’s greatest race—over a three week timeframe,to boot? What you get, of course, is what many consider the greatestand most dramatic Tour de France ever: The 1986 classic of Greg Le-Mond pedaling against his teammate, Bernard “The Badger” Hinault.Did You KnowBook Review: slaying the badger• that your club has an OUTREACH program?• that there’s a dedicated group of club members who’ve offeredto lend a hand, an ear, a shoulder, to visit or other assistance tomembers in need?• that you can volunteer to join this terrific group of people and feelreally good about doing so?• that you too might be in need of OUTREACH one day? (We hopenot, but you never know.)• that offering your services is as easy as contacting one of usbelow.If you become aware of any members who are ill, have had anaccident or a death in the family, please let usknow by getting in touch with our contact forthe month.Diana Shikiar 201.995.9101dianashikiar@gmail.comHenry Gozdz 201.892.4059hgozdz@hotmail.comOur contact for the month of July is:Mary Mullane mary_mullane@yahoo.comVeteran sports author Richard Moore weaves a most exciting, grippingand page-turning story, as he brings to life an extraordinaryrace rivalry, one that lasts almost to the final day in Paris. Indeed,what made the 1986 Tour so compelling and dramatic was the ethosthe LeMond-Hinault rivalry created: an on-going narrative of mistrust,betrayal, heroism, duplicity, jealously, fear, and politics. Indeedthat year’s Tour evolved into more than just a bike race, as these twowillful combatants waged mental and physical war on one anotherday after day.You know you’re in for a thrilling ride when you get drawn into thestory from page 1. Moore uses a storyteller’s ploy to hook the readerin, describing a nasty sequence of events that occurs during a midracestage. While it’s a story that would never make prime time, it’sa tale that is a precursor for the wearing psychological and physicalbrutality to come, from two of cycling’s great champions. And it’salso the beginning of a terrific read.Be a Part of Ironman HistoryJoin the inaugural Ironman U.S. ChampionshipVolunteer Team! Saturday, August 11th.Follow the links below to volunteer at the mile 11 and 64 bike aidstation in Alpine NJ on the PIP.BTCNJ - Bike Aid Station at Exit 3 - 11:30 am to 5:30 pmHere are the instructions to sign up as a volunteer:To sign up:1. Visit: http://www.doitsports.com/volunteer2/join-protectedgroup.tcl?event_id=2134182. Find our group name (BTCNJ) from the drop down list, be sure totake note of the shift you are registering for.3. Enter our group password (btcnj) for the shift you have selected.4. Fill out all of the required information and click submit!Thanks,Ellen Daviselledavis@verizon.netJAMES VINCENT BICYCLES8505 Bergenline avenue nOrth Bergen, nJ 07047OPensundays201-869-1901SALES SERVICE RENTALSClOthingshOestrainerslightshelMetsBring in this ad to receive an extra 10%off all in stock fall and winter clothing- MOUNTAIN BIKES -- ROAD BIKES -- COMFORT BIKES -- FOLDING BIKES -- KIDS BIKES -3.5%salestaXthuleCaMelBakMaviCBOntragergirO- TREK - CANNONDALE - SCHWINN -- GT - LEMOND - FISHER - DAHON -visit us Online - JaMesvinCentBiCyCles.COM
Page 1 and 2: July Meeting: Annual Ice Cream Soci
Page 3 and 4: 3BEGINNEr’s CORNERBy kevin gately
Page 5: 5Home Baked Goods Needed forAnnual
Page 9 and 10: 9Ramapo Rally…coming soon…volun
Page 11 and 12: 11bergen county bicycle tour Write-
Page 13 and 14: 13Most members join BTCNJ for the d
Page 15: 15Support Your Local Bike ShopThe o

president's message - the Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey

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