Members Stories

Greetings--

Being in law enforcement I am occasionally privey to certain information which is not available to the general public. It has recently come to my attention that one of our members who shall remain nameless (Stevie B) is under investigation. The authorities are being tight lipped but I have learned that the complaint originated with the ASPCA and other animal rights groups. It seems that our boy assaulted dear sweet Bambi over the weekend and used a deadly weapon to do so. Bambi was out for a romp with his buddies, minding his own business when a cyclist tried to run him over.

Consider the more delicate half of the species; the she-bubba. Yes, I am referring to Team Bubba. At first blush one might conclude that only men would belong to Team Bubba. The use of the word "men" is not to confuse any of the male members of Team Bubba with adults. Unlike some other cycling organizations which go by a given name the bubbas welcomed all sexes so long as they met the criteria for membership which mainly involve showing up. Some time back I was riding with one of the beloved she-bubbas up 136 out of Trenton. I was in one of the switchbacks climbing away and she was somewhere up the road probably already having a cold beer at the top when a real bubba in a pickup truck slowed down. He leaned out the window and hollered "hey buddy, the girl's beating you." Ah the male ego.

But such slights on the road are passing. Yet recently while thumbing through Velo News while doing my winter training which primarily consisted of drinking beer and watching sports I came across an ad for a local company. The folks at Merlin cycles had placed an ad in Velo News and used a local cyclist. This particular cyclist, who shall remain nameless (Joni Sharp) was in the picture with her Merlin and the caption talked about her being a Cat Three racer, a mom and all that stuff. In a catty moment I thought that they omitted the fact that she makes her own clothes. While I was proud to see one of our own in the magazine I wondered where the guys were? What of my brother bubbas?

As the current president of the Chattanooga Bicycle Club I represent approximately 230 plus riding members. In a perfect world the club officers would have liked all 230 plus members and their friends to attend the Chattanooga Bicycle Task Force and Bicycle Master Plan Public Meetings. Many of our members are raising families and have careers. Those of us who are retired were able to attend these meetings. The information from these meetings was discussed at our monthly club meetings and in our monthly newsletter publication “Tail Wind”.

Greetings my fellow cyclists

As this winter winds down, I look forward to another fun filled spring in the Tennessee Valley. I’ve been doing what I can to stay in shape and be ready for the Spring Festival. The pieces of the puzzle are coming together. The Chattanooga Bicycle Club is gearing up for yet another exciting event. The fun will be from the 12th to the 14th of April at the famous White Water Center in the Cherokee National Forest. Seven miles of trails have been added and they are a blast! The festival will occur the same weekend as the Tanasi Challenge. It’s a race on the 14th of April.

My bride, fabulous woman that she is, gave me a whole pile of cycling videos for Christmas. There was the traditional ten hour tour tape, the Belgian classics and "The Road to Paris." The Paris video chronicles Lance Armstrong and Postal's campaign for the maillot jaune from last year. In the first part of the tape Lance is getting ready to ride. The rear hatch of the station wagon is open and he is talking with the crew about the weather and what to wear. It is the same conversation, minus the driver and director, that we all have at the beginning of a ride. How many times have we gathered around on some lovely winter day with it spitting rain and debated how many layers to wear?

I watched this after Christmas (even before Paris-Roubaix) and got inspired. I set off by myself on a cold nasty day. I was thinking of the Three State and Mt Mitchell and trying to find my climbing legs. And as I left Tiftonia in the biting cold I thought of cyclists all over the world thinking of spring and starting their training. We may not have the staff and the endorsements and a car following us but we are in essence doing the same thing that the big boys and girls are doing this time of year. Are we on the same level? Of course not. Except for Byron and Tabby T.

When gas prices hit $5.00 a gallon, how will I afford to get my kids to school and myself to work?

I'm planning for that day. I'm working with other citizens of Hamilton County and North Georgia to build a master plan for bicycling. We are doing this because we love to bike, and we think our neighbors would get out and ride their bikes more often if we had better, safer routes, streets and facilities. This plan is part of a larger plan for all surface transportation — cars, railroads, buses, highways, parking, streets, intersections, enhanced parkways, etc.

The holiday draws near
Its approach, unrelenting,
strikes fear deep in my heart
For with it comes the question
That plagues mankind --
What do I get for my wife?
I am no longer beset by that
other demon --
A gift for Mon -- for now I have
a wife, and
When she asks the dreaded
question,

I took the bride across the pond this spring for one of those birthdays ending with a zero. In the new millennium no less. I told her of my plans way back in the fall when Paris was but a young man's fancy and the prospect of London as close as the man on the moon. Miss Karen was excited at the prospect of Europe in the spring (early spring) and then got suspicious. Of me. And me a lawyer no less. "What bike ride is going on?" "None dear." She asked if it was the Tour or the Giro or one of those spring classics I get so excited about. And if the Waterford was going. I assured her that we were not going so I could ride bikes. We were going strictly for her birthday. To be together. To maybe buy some cool jerseys. See where the Tour ends in Paris. I later learned that the Tour of Normandy would be going on while we were in Normandy. "Aha" was the bride's reply. The husband, caught again. I protested that I didn't know it at the time but with little success.

And so it comes to an end. This will be my last column as president of this illustrious club. I have been doing this for several years and have seen president elects move and develop other complications. I think new leadership will be good for the club and I look forward to supporting John Beverly as he takes over the helm of CBC. When I began as president I was off the bike having broken my wrist while bird watching on a ride. But bones heal and I was soon back on the bike and off climbing things. I have ridden in Colorado, something I never thought that I could do. I recall climbing Lookout several years ago and stopping four or five times. On that ride had someone told me that I would cross Trail Ridge Road or Monarch Pass I would have told them they were crazy. Yet I did these things. Our Ride the Rockies jersey this year contained a quote from Plato wherein he stated; "The journey upward is the ascent of the soul."

Behind every great man there is a woman. This is no less true of our club although I am not saying that I am a great man. But I do have a great woman behind me who has not only encouraged me and been there at the top of Mt. Mitchell and other places; but has also been a good sport when I have written about the mysteries of little shoes and marriage. Whatever I have accomplished in the last several years both as president of CBC and as a rider I could not have done without the support and backing of the bride.

This is a husband thing. One of our members recently married and the universal cry from the other married guys was "buy your toys now." Before I got married I went to the store for groceries. I came back with a new receiver for the stereo. Guys think nothing of this. My bride, who at the time did not have a title other than the love of my life, just laughed about it. "He goes off for milk and comes back with electronics." Things are different now. Certain items fall under the category of husband toys and a loose list of them is as follows: electronic devices (any item which can be used to watch football, watch Le Tour tapes, or listen to tunes), power tools, sporting equipment and of course bike parts. The purchase of any of these items requires a meeting of the budget committee. No naval admiral has it so tough when he wants a new aircraft carrier.