Club Undulations from the President

George Kyriazis

Get Healthy - Stay Healthy - Save the Environment- RIDE YOUR BIKE at every opportunity

Wow!! and WOW again!! What a great annual picnic we had at Leslie Groves Park on June 19. Approximately 36 members and guests had a great time networking, storytelling, eating, drinking, and playing games. The weather was perfect and people stayed around for many hours.

The TCBC provided chicken legs and hot dogs, members brought salads and desserts, and the TCBC provided a celebration carrot cake to help send off Bill Painter to his Mount Rainier climb-it must have worked because he was successful!

For the first time, the Club had a liquor license for this event, and this seemed to be a nice addition. This is one way we have used TCBC funds for the benefit of our members. Unfortunately a number of our very active members were out of town for the event, and we didn't invite bike shop owners--maybe next year. Looks like we have started a new trend with such a successful picnic.

The Club owes a big THANK YOU to Dave Gerkensmeyer for supplying and cooking on a second barbecue that greatly enhanced the cooking process. Thanks also to Sue Gerkensmeyer for bringing the ingredients and making old-fashioned ice cream right at the picnic!

The TCBC is very sound financially, but I implore the members to actively recruit new members so that the Club remains strong in the future. Thanks to Vicki Patten, we have designed and produced a great looking TCBC business card to help each of us encourage membership. Please use your contacts and be a salesperson for the benefit of all members. We do have a lot to offer.

We will continue to have the TCBC Tuesday and Thursday morning (8:30 AM) and evening (6:00 PM) rides from the Richland Community Center. Unlike the Saturday rides, these are more casual, without a designated leader. Just show up and meet your friends there. The morning rides have proven to be very popular and well attended. The Saturday morning rides also continue to be popular, especially now that summer has arrived.

In mid-July, three couples from the TCBC leave on the second leg of their self-supported bicycle ride following the Lewis and Clark return trip to St. Louis. This will take about eight weeks and cover 3200 miles. Any member who wants to travel part or all of the first day's ride from the Tri-Cities to Dayton, Tuesday, July 20, is welcome to come along. Call Mary Kay Britton at 547-5256 or me at 375-1977 for starting place and time.

The next regular Board meeting will be at 5:30 PM on September 23, followed by the regular club meeting at 6:30. This will be at the Richland maintenance shops near Wal-Mart. We will again begin the process of determining if changes should be considered in the TCBC Constitution and Bylaws. We also will discuss changes to the Helpful Hints for Officers and the necessity of developing some written TCBC policies, such as how our membership roster and web site are to be used by members and nonmembers. The development of a new TCBC jersey will also continue.

Upcoming Meetings

Vicki Patten

Our last meeting before the summer break was the picnic at Leslie Grove's Park in Richland. The Club provided grilled chicken and sausages and members brought salads and desserts. It was a beautiful evening and a good time for everyone who attended.

This fall, we start our regular meeting schedule again on September 23 (always the 4th Thursday of the month) at the Richland City Shops near Wal-Mart. This time, the Board will meet at 5:30 and the general meeting will start at 6:30. We're having a tire-changing clinic, so bring a wheel from your bike and your tire-changing tools, and we'll get some free advice and instruction from a couple of our tire-changing experts.

Information about meetings scheduled for the last quarter of the year will be published in the fall newsletter in October.

Welcome to the Club

We welcome the following members who have joined the TCBC in 2004.

David Beach. . . . Mark & Kathy Butcher. . . . The Carter Family. . . . The Clauss Family. . . . John Gill. . . . David Harvey & Karen Nelson. . . . Jake & A.J. Jacobsen. . . . Eva & Stina Kuusinen. . . . Jerry Nielson. . . . Jeff Petersen. . . . Charles Rogers. . . . Merl & Valda Rosenthal. . . . Sally & David Sandoz. . . . Ginny Sliman. . . . Steve Wisness. . . . and Wade Woolery

Join the Peleton Project and Ride for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Oct. 2–3

Joe Thurston

You can join Lance Armstrong this fall (in spirit) on 25 to 200 mile rides on the first annual "Tri-Cities to Yakima and Back" ride (TCYAB). I'm spearheading the organization of this two-day event as part of the Peleton Project, a program for cyclists who want to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF). Money raised will be contributed to the LAF and its fight against cancer and its support for cancer survivors (a term that Lance uses to describe anyone who has contracted cancer, whether they beat the disease or not).

You'll find a brochure for this ride in this issue of The Spokesman. It includes an application for the ride, so you can sign up early. There will be updated information about the ride on the TCBC Web site, so be sure to check back as the ride date approaches:

http://www.tricitybikeclub.org/tcyab

The ride will start at the Rattlesnake Brewing Company in Richland on the Columbia River (at Columbia Center Blvd), where the registration desk will be open between 5:00 and 9:00 AM on Saturday October 2. The cost for this supported ride is $49 for adults, $39 for young adults under 18 years of age, and free for riders 12 and under (who must be accompanied by a registered adult or guardian).

You'll have a variety of rides to choose from: the double-century to Yakima and back in one day, two single-century days to Yakima and back, and 25, 50, and 75 mile single-day rides. Helmets will, of course, be required.

I've been one of Lance Armstrong's biggest fans, both for his outstanding cycling abilities and achievements, but also for his heroic battle to overcome life-threatening cancer. My ties to Lance are a lot deeper than just the fancy Trek bicycle I ride! He was treated for his cancer at the Indiana University Medical Center. I'm a native of Indiana and spent the first six weeks of my life as a premature baby at the Riley Children's Hospital at that same University Medical Center. My odds of surviving weren't much different from Lance's. Later, I graduated from the Indiana School of Dentistry, and thirty years after that I found my path in life intersecting with that of Lance Armstrong.

Those who have cycled with me in the TCBC know how much I love the sport, and I hope you'll be able to join me on this outstanding ride and catch some of my enthusiasm for cycling and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Congratulations Bill Painter

On July 4, longtime TCBC member Bill Painter completed a climb to the top of Mt. Rainier. He has made this climb on two previous occasions (see the Fall 1999 issue of The Spokesman), but this time was extra special-only one other person his age has climbed the mountain, meaning Bill had tied the record.

The Painter klan, from left to right Jimalee and Mark, Cam, Bill, and Dave and Lori

He made the climb with his two sons, Mark and Dave, and their wives Jimalee and Lori, and Dave's son Cameron. They started from the parking lot at Paradise, and made the assent and return trip over two and a half days, a somewhat "leisurely" trip for this family. He was happy to report that the trip was as difficult as ever but, thankfully, not an exciting one, in that there were no dangerous surprises and the group had come prepared for the climb.

The record had been set in 1992 by Jack Borgenicht of New Jersey, who was 81 years old at the time. When told of Bill's feat, Mr. Borgenicht offered him a hearty "Congratulations" and was glad to hear that someone else had finally challenged the mountain and his record.

NEWS FLASH-According to rangers at Mt. Rainier, Mr. Borgenicht climbed the mountain on his 81st birthday. Bill celebrated his 81st on January 23 of this year, meaning that Bill was actually five months older than Jack and is therefore the new record holder as the oldest person to climb Mt. Rainier. Way to go Bill!

Bill approaches the summit of Mt. Rainier about 5:30 on the morning of the 4th of July. Mt. Adams can be seen in the far distance.

So what's Bill's secret? Is it the mysterious "vitamins" he takes each day? How about that gorgeous 18-year old girl he married (50+ years ago)? All that most surely helps, but we think Bill has discovered one of the true paths to the mythical Fountain of Youth. He can't tell you what the fountain looks like, but we've seen how the path goes and what it takes to travel it.

To follow the path, Bill bicycles 100 miles a week with the bike club. He climbs Badger Mountain a half-dozen times a week wearing a heavy backpack. He builds swimming pools in his backyard and fills them back in thirty years later. He re-digs a smaller version of that hole to build a fish pond. He repairs countless flat bike tires.

In short, the path to the Fountain of Youth is an exhausting one. Bill has muscles where he's supposed to and barely enough fat on him to fry an egg. When he's bicycling or hiking, huge doses of oxygen flow to parts of his body that, if he were living a more typical inactive life, would otherwise never see a red blood cell.

Finding the Fountain of Youth is not the point. But by traveling the long, difficult path towards it, we may find that we're optimizing the resources we already have and putting off some of the myriad physical disabilities that have come to signify our "golden years."

With this great achievement added to Bill's résumé, we're nonetheless wondering what he has planned for next year when he's 82. Thank you Bill, for encouraging and inspiring us with your great feat, and for humbling us at the same time.

Biking the Lewis & Clark Trail

Jim & Mary Kay Britton

Lewis and Clark and their fascinating adventures have captured our imaginations. Following their route seemed like a perfect excuse for an extended bicycle tour. Due to headwinds and other factors, we decided to explore their return trip and travel west to east. Jane Sereda and George Kyriazis will travel the entire trail with us. Ann and Gary Roberts cycled the Seaside loop. Jan and Ken Absher will join us as we start east and will cycle with us to St. Lewis. Our daughter Barb and her husband, Scott, will join us with their recumbent bicycles, from Bismarck ND to Council Bluffs IA.

In May, we started with the western loop, a trip that we recommend to anyone. We left our cars in The Dalles, OR, and then followed the Columbia River on the Oregon side down to Astoria. On the way we went past Horsetail Falls, Multnomah Falls, and all the other falls along the old highway.

Two days later, we traveled past the closed Trojan Nuclear power plant. At Astoria, we turned south and cycled to Fort Clatsop, the Lewis and Clark winter home, and then down to a rest day in Seaside, the location of the winter Salt Works.

From Seaside, we returned to Astoria, crossed the Columbia River, and traveled west to Cape Disappointment. We then traveled west along the Columbia River, passing through Kelso, Camas, Skamania, Stevenson, and several other towns on the Washington side. We stopped and spent some time at the Skamania Lodge, where we ate one of our lunches. We continued until we came to the road that led to the bridge where we crossed into Oregon at The Dalles where we had left our cars.

We will cycle the rest of the Lewis and Clark route starting in mid-July, bicycling east from here to St. Louis. We will be traveling through ten states, not counting Oregon, with the trip across Montana taking the longest.

We will also spend a couple of days following the Katy Bicycle Trail into St. Charles, MO. We will be carrying our own gear, staying in motels, and eating good food in restaurants. We will pass through Lewiston, ID, and cross Lolo Pass to Missoula, MT. Then on to Great Falls, MT, Williston, Bismarck, ND, Pierre, SD, Sioux City, IA, and finally St Louis, MO.

The total trip should be over 3,100 miles. The portion from Pasco to St Louis will be over 2,600 miles and should take us around 52 days, with only 43 traveling days. If you are interested in following us on the trip, the portion from The Dallas to Seaside and back and daily updates on the rest of the trip should be available on our Web site at:

http://www.mgcpa.com/bicycle/

Ride Calendar – Summer 2004

Tuesday and Thursday rides start at the Richland Community Center (meet on the north side by the bike racks). These are leaderless rides, with the destination chosen by the group. Morning rides start at 8:30 AM; evening rides at 6:00 PM. If you have a question about the Tuesday and Thursday rides, call Bill Dunbar, at 627-0167.

Saturday rides will generally start at 8:30 AM from their scheduled locations, as specified in the ride calendar.

Ride Codes: Green – less than 15 miles with nearly level terrain; Blue – 15 - 40 miles with moderate terrain; Black – greater than 40 miles with moderate terrain, or fewer than 40 with asphalt moguls

Riders: No need to call ahead unless otherwise indicated. Just show up at the start. Feel free to call the ride leader for more information.

Leaders and Sweeps: Ride leaders and sweeps are always needed. As a leader, you can choose a ride that’s been done before, or create the ride of your choice and have it immortalized in this Spokesman ride calendar. The day you lead the group on your ride, you may be surprised at the number of riders who have never followed your route before. Ride sweeps provide the “rear guard” for the ride, ensuring that slower riders or those with mechanical troubles don’t fall back behind the pack. Call Ed Nordquist 627-1195, to volunteer.

And two more Very Important Notes: First, WEAR YOUR HELMET! Second, please obey the rules of the road at all times. The Club is active in community affairs, which helps us promote legislation that could provide better facilities for cyclists. Don’t ruin it by blowing through stop signs, tailgating left turns, or riding against traffic. If you wouldn’t do it in a car, don’t do it on a bike!

Beginning riders and those who want a shorter ride: Show up at the longer rides and let the ride Sweep or Leader know you’d like a less strenuous ride. They can help you with a shorter route and try to match you up with someone to ride with. We won’t leave you dangling.

Ride Leaders – Some hints for an enjoyable and successful ride:

• Introduce all the riders before starting.
• Make sure everyone is wearing their helmets
• Brief all riders on the route, where to regroup, any problems expected. (If you are unsure of the route and its conditions, ride it yourself the week before the ride.)
• Provide maps. You can get some maps on the Web, or ask John Ittner for maps, xxx-xxxx.
• Ask about the riding abilities of the group, if you are not personally acquainted with some of the riders. Ask someone to act as sweep (rear guard) if there are riders who can’t keep up with the leaders.
• Ask riders to let you know if they will be leaving the group before the end of the ride.
• In hot weather, carry extra water in case another rider goes dry.
• After a particularly good ride, if the ride leader should ask for a tip, offer him or her the previous one..

Riding in the fresh air and sunshine is its own best reward

July

[ALSO] Jul 16 – Portland to Seattle –www.pwtc.com

Jul 17 – Clodfelter Road Loop - Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Jadwin to Acme, up the I-182 bridge bike trail to Queensgate, Keene, Leslie, cross Badger, and up to Clodfelter. Make long climb to Plymouth Rd., Sellards, Travis and Weber Canyon. Stop at Kiona for break, return on DeMoss Rd to Ruppert, Van Giesen, and back to Some Bagels. Black, 50+ miles. Leader: Bill Painter, 946 1076

[ALSO] Seattle to Portland, STP – www.cascade.org

Jul 24 Chocolate Factory Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 a.m. Cross Col. River on I 182, out Court to Harris, left on Harris to Dent. Left on Rd 68, right at fire station, out to Hwy 395 and lunch at the Chocolate Factory. Retrace route to return. Maps will be available. Black, 40 mi. Leader: Bill Dunbar, 627-0167

[ALSO] Jul 25 – Tour de Kitsap – www.westsoundcycling.com

[ALSO] Jul 25-31 Bicycle Idaho – www.oregonbicycleride.org

[ALSO] Jul 29 - RAMROD - www.redmondcyclingclub.org

Jul 31 Hover There Leave Espresso World in Kennewick at 8:30 am (for those wanting a longer ride, start at Some Bagels in Richland at 7:30 am). Ride through Kennewick and Finley to old Hover town site and return. Lunch stop TBD. Blue, 40 miles. Leader: John Ittner, 627-1858

[ALSO] Summit to Surf – www.summittosurf.org

[ALSO] Midsummer Night City Tour– www.bikegallery.com

August

[ALSO] Aug 6-7 - Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party (RSVP) – www.cascade.org

Aug 7 Badger Canyon Loop Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Columbia Park Trail to Leslie to Badger Canyon, down Webber to Kiona. Food, water stop at Conoco in Benton City. Return via Rupert Rd to DeMoss Rd and Van Giesen. Blue, approx. 40 miles. Leader: Bob Morford, 375-0839

[ALSO] Torture 10,000 - www.pwtc.com

[ALSO] Aug 8 - Providence Bridge Pedal – http://www.providence.org/oregon/events/rose_pedal/

[ALSO] Aug 8-14 Oregon Bicycle ride www.oregonbicycleride.org

Aug 14 Prosser Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Van Giesen to Ruppert Rd to DeMoss Rd to Benton City. Five mile climb up Webber Canyon. County Well Rd to Hwy 221 to Prosser. Water, food stop at the Blue Goose. Return on Old Inland Empire Highway. Black, approx. 75 miles. Leader: Gene Weisskopf, 946-1316.

[ALSO] Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour – http://www.mvbc.com

[ALSO] Aug 15-21 – RAW - www.cascade.org

Aug 21 Sagemoor Loop Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Bike trail to Columbia Point and across Columbia River on I 182 bridge bike path. West on Court to Harris, west on Harris to Dent, follow Dent to Columbia River Road near Douglas Fruit. Left on Columbia River Rd to Sagemoor and up the hill. Return on Taylor Flats Rd to Rd 68, right on Sandifur, Rd 100, Harris, Court. Retrace route back to Some Bagels. Black, approx. 35 miles. Leader: John Ittner, 627-1858

[ALSO] The Vine Ride - www.vineride.com

Aug 28 Loop the Parks - Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. To Columbia Point, across I-182 bridge over Columbia, ride through Chiawana Park. Return via Cable Bridge and Columbia Drive through Columbia Park, I-182, Jadwin, back to the start. Blue, approx. 25 miles. Leader: Bob Morford, 375 0839

[ALSO] Aug 28/29 – RAPSody - www.rapsodyride.org

September

Sep 4 Free Ride – Meet at Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Appoint a leader and pick a ride route over some coffee, tea, and a bagel. Enjoy the freedom. Bike Free or Die!! Leaderless Ride

[ALSO] Sep 5 - Hutch’s 100K - www.hutchsbicycles.com/event.htm

[ALSO] Sep 4/6- Leavenworth Tandem Rally - www.evergreentandemclub.org

Sep 11 Cherry Hill Loop Meet at Some Bagels in Richland at 7:30 am. Car pool to the Dairyfair store in Sunnyside. Leave from Dairyfair about 8:30 am. Head east to Grandview then loop back around to the west through the orchards and vineyards north of I-182. Around Cherry Hill, return along Yakima River. Late lunch at the Dairyfair in Sunnyside. Blue, approx. 40 miles. Leader: Bill Dunbar, 627-0167

[ALSO] Sep 11/12- WA MS 150 Bike Tour – http://www.nationalmssociety.org/was/event/default.asp?g=6

[ALSO] Sep 11/18- Cycle Oregon XXVI – Big Blue - www.cycleoregon.com

[ALSO] Sep 12 - Sunnyside Century – www.sunnysidesports.com

[ALSO] Autumn Century- www.spokanebicycleclub.org

[ALSO] Headwaters Century – www.twbc.org

Sep 18 Tri Cities to Touchet Leave from Espresso World in Kennewick at 8:30 am. Canal Dr to Col. Dr and Cable Bridge. Out ‘A’ St. to Hwy 12. Stop at Alkali Flats Cafe in Touchet. Return same route. Black, 72 miles. Leader: Dave Gerkensmeyer, 628-3084

ALSO] Thunder 100 - lmcon442@aol.com

ALSO] Tour des Lacs - www.roundandround.com

Sep 25 Picnic at Tieton - Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 7:30 am. Carpool to Greenway Parking Lot. (Turn right at Valley Mall exit, toward river.) Ride Yakima Greenway, River Rd to Naches Heights. Picnic in Tieton (bring lunch). Black, 47 miles. Leader: Ed Nordquist, 627-1195

[ALSO] Dam 2 Dam Thumbs Up - www.mikeutley.org

[ALSO] Kootenai River Ride - www.ruralnorthwest.com/rotary

[ALSO] Sep 26 - Peach of a Century - www.salembicycleclub.org

Fall Preview

Oct 2 Tour de Hanford Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Go out via Williams to Harris to Davison. North to Hanford St to GW Way. North to 300 Area. Follow Stevens on around to Route 4S, ride route 4S north to Rt 10 at the Wye Barricade. Rt 10 and Horn Road to Benton City. Snack at Conoco in Kiona. Return via Kennedy, Queensgate, I-182, Goethels, and Lee. Black, 47 miles. Leaderless ride

[ALSO] Manastash Metric Century – www.elltel.net/XCski/

Oct 2-3 Tri-Cities to Yakima and Back TCYAB), a ride for the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s Peleton Project – www.tricitybikeclub.org/tcyab/

Oct 3 - Kitsap Color Classic - www.cascade.org

Oct 9 Hat Rock to Pendleton Loop Meet at Some Bagels in Richland at 7:30 am. Car pool to Hat Rock Park in Oregon. Leave park about 8:30 for Pendleton, through the wheat fields north of Pendleton. Water, food stop in Pendleton. West to Echo along the Umatilla River, then return to Hat Rock. Black, approx. 80 miles. Leader: Gene Weisskopf, 946-1316

Oct 16 Wannawish Dam - Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Bike path thru Howard Amon Park and Haines to Van Giesen, out to Fallon, Canal and Grosscup to Harrington. Follow Harrington to the pavement end beyond the Wannawish Dam. Return to West Richland via Grosscup. Return to Richland by retracing route. Blue, approx. 25 miles. Leader: Dave Gerkensmeyer, 628-3084

[ALSO] Oct 16/18- The 508 - http://www.the508.com

Biking the Lewis & Clark Trail St. Louis to Bismarck, 6/15 – 7/3/04

Dave Bechtold

Here we go. Sunny Young and the Bechtolds (Dave and Becky) flew to St. Louis on June 13, dumped their bags at an airport motel, and took the very nice light rail down to the Arch monument to meet up with Becky's sister and her husband from Indianapolis.

The Lewis and Clark museum at the base of the monument set the tone for the trip. From the top, the arch's shadow on the high, muddy, fast-running Mississippi reminded us of the recent rain storms in the region. After a dinner in the nearby tourist zone, the three cyclists returned to the motel for the last "real bed and bath" experience for three weeks.

The next morning saw us at the airport being picked up with Tom Armstrong, the director of Historical Trails Cycling (out of Hood River), and his young mechanic Sam. Both were originally from Lincoln NE. Also along were other tourers who had just landed (the tour was designed well with just 20 cyclists making up the group).

We drove to St. Charles to camp at the first of numerous parks, armories, high school gyms, civic auditoriums, and assisted-living facilities on this low-budget trip (about $70/day). We reacquainted ourselves with stinking, humid heat and met the cook, Sue, from Spokane.

Dave got dropped off at an eye clinic for an urgent eye exam while Becky and Sonny bike-toured the old-town St. Charles historic district. That night we met the rest of the touring bunch from Steilacoom, WA, New Hampshire, Taos, St. Louis, DC, VA, Reno, and Florida. Many were retired. Before repairing to the tent and Handi Wipes (no showers), we also reacquainted ourselves with lightning bugs in the lush Midwestern foliage.

Becky and I would miss the first day's ride on the Katy Trail (Rails to Trails) due to another eye exam from a Lewis and Clark and Steven Ambrose fan, who gave me a clean bill of health and insisted I read Undaunted Courage while in transit. We got a prearranged ride to Hermann, MO, to rejoin the group.

Unfortunately, while we were sitting in an air-conditioned Chrysler, we missed the first day's ride that was being cooled by a genuine prairie thunderstorm, complete with sheet rain and numerous ground strikes. Hermann is a German-settled town with some river boat wreck history that plays up its heritage for the tourists. We can attest that you can get a good bratwurst there.

We began riding for real the next day on the Katy Trail-finely crushed limestone that rode almost as fast as a paved road, without hills or traffic. The grade went just alongside the lush, flat river bottoms that were intensively farmed in corn and soybeans. The corn was already five feet high due to the heavy rain in the last few weeks. Sometimes we tunneled through the woods and vines, our path verdantly lined with poison ivy. We saw turtles, rabbits, squirrel, deer, fawns, indigo buntings, cardinals, orioles, and other colorful birds. We occasionally passed a tiny village handy for a snack stop, or the tour van itself.

We pulled off at Hartsburg, MO, to eat and to camp at the park in this modest town. The bike shop had great smoothies, while Dottie's restaurant had wonderful cobbler and what looked like a scrumptious fried chicken dinner. We forewent the latter, knowing we were being provided with two meals a day by the tour. The mayor came to camp and told of the German farmers who settled the town to farm the bottoms, and of the great flood of '93 that devastated so much of the lower Missouri and mid-Mississippi drainages. The local farmers reclaimed their lands from a ruinous deposit of sand by having a huge single-bottom plow built to bring the topsoil back to the top and turn the sand under as it was being towed by four Caterpillar D-8s. The mayor was a retired expert in State assistance programs, and related the town's organizational efforts in marshalling state and federal assistance in rebuilding, buying out, and generally persuading the independent-minded folk to avail themselves of some of the help their taxes had been paying for all their lives. The local young-bloods's softball association had a game that night, so some of us had to remove our tents from the ball field.

"We proceeded on." Thursday took us up the Katy Trail with its numerous Lewis and Clark information plaques, past the swollen Missouri River as far as Booneville. More users of the trail became evident as we passed Jefferson City. We departed the trail at Booneville to follow, more or less, the Missouri, and were immediately reminded that Missouri is a hilly state.

We put in at Arrow Rock, a historic district town with hand-stoned street gutters and an historical museum explaining that Boone's Lick (pronounced "Booneslick" in "Missoura") was a salt-extraction enterprise by Daniel Boone's sons from the salt springs found nearby. Indian history and the local flint for making arrowheads were prominent.

Friday, we spent some time waiting out an early-morning thunderstorm in an understanding homeowner's garage ("Just close the door when you leave"), and more hills to Lexington MO. We stopped in Marshall MO to view the monument to Jim the Wonder Dog on the way. We had a snack at a Maid-Rite (an Ohio invention of the '50's) while doing laundry in Lexington. Then, we rode to Independence, where Harry Truman was raised, and where the spectacular temple of the Community of Christ Church sits (formerly the Reorganized LDS). On the way, we caught up with the traveling Lewis & Clark road show, complete with the boats, reenactors, and mobile theater/museum.

Sunday morning, we rode as a group through Kansas City to join, coincidently, a money-raiser century ride while we made our way to Kansas at Atchison (home of Amelia Earhart) to camp at Troy, KS. Here, we started seeing a lot of brick streets in the old towns. The Troy courthouse had a curious bust of an Indian 30 feet high on the grounds, and also a little place that made great milkshakes.

We hit Nebraska by way of the river bottoms the next morning, and stayed in Falls City. After that, a rest day in Nebraska City, where we toured the lodge and park started by the founder of Arbor Day. We encountered rough highways, unmarked bike paths and rain going through Omaha to Fort Calhoun (site of the first Lewis and Clark Council with Indians), and the poignant invention of the piggy bank in White Cloud. Nebraska was beginning to show some cattle grazing as well as the usual corn and soybeans.

We passed briefly through Iowa at Sioux City on a bike path, sighting wild turkeys, and quickly entered South Dakota-a state that packs more information in their historical plaques, using finer print, than any other. The flat river valley was very broad clear to Yankton, but the next morning, we had to hoist up to the prairie, where more haying and cattle grazing were encountered.

We stayed at Lake Andes High, then Chamberlain SD, St Joseph's Indian School and Lakota Sioux Museum on our way to Pierre for a rest day. There, we toured the Capitol and chatted with the Governor's Secretary, and saw the South Dakota Cultural Center. The river canyon to Pierre showed a little sage brush and it was clear we were passing into drier country, which has been under three years of drought.

The route took us past the enormous Oahe Dam (the pool was 40 feet low) and over some beaten-up highways to Gettysburg ("Where the Battle Wasn't") and Mobridge. In the former, we saw an extensive private collection of Indian artifacts gathered before it was illegal, and in the latter, we were befriended by a local who drove us to Chief Sitting Bull's monument and grave and to reservation buffalo ranges.

We traversed a lot of Indian reservation prairie with dried-up stock ponds and slightly stressed hay fields. We saw a lot of blue water towers in the middle of nowhere, which our friend in Mobridge told us were part of a Rural Water System of potable water pumped from the Missouri as far as 200 mi. away to serve farms and towns.

We brought some rain to parched northern SD on our last day's (century) ride to Bismarck, where we got back to the river bottom at a state park. Arrangements to ship our bikes out had fallen through, so our bikes are continuing the tour as far as Great Falls without us. We said our goodbyes to the folks continuing to Seaside, Oregon (they hit Umatilla on July 23) and took a motel for the morning's flight out.

It was a great trip, over 1100 miles, no tornadoes, and generally friendly people. The bumpy, shoulderless highways and the headwinds are a rapidly fading memory. You can read about the tour and the tour company at:

http://www.historicaltrailscycling.com

What’s Tackweed Anyway?

Gene Weisskopf

The saga continues. As you may remember from the previous three issues of The Spokesman, I've been having great success with my Specialized Armadillo road tires (700x23). By "success" with these tires, I don't mean in speed or weight loss, but in the number of flats I've had. In short, since first putting these tires on my red road bike in July 2002, I've had no flats-zero.

I started with an Armadillo on the rear that ran for 5,336 miles without a flat, at which point I changed it out for a new Armadillo. That tire now has 2,682 flat-free miles on it. I put an Armadillo on the front in February 2003, which now has 5,657 flat-free miles.

Before switching to the Armadillos, I was averaging a flat tire about every 350 miles. I've now ridden just over 8,000 miles with the Armadillos without a flat, instead of the two-dozen flats I would have expected before. The improvement has been astronomical.

As I've pointed out before, my tires are the previous generation of Armadillos. The current model is called the '04 All Condition Armadillo, and is supposed to be every bit as good as my model. It retails for $29.99 and was available at Markee's bicycle shop until I heard on July 8 that he had run out and wasn't expecting anymore for awhile. No one else sells them locally, but you can find them at the specialized.com Web site.

Living in tackweed country as we do, the Armadillo has proven to be a dream come true. Note that others who are using the new model have reported some flats, so I can't say the tire is invincible. But for me, it has not only eliminated the time-consuming hassle of fixing flat tires, it has greatly enhanced the safety of my rides by eliminating flats all together.

Stuff For Sale

Editor’s Note

Gene Weisskopf

This turned out to be a very special edition of The Spokesman, honoring Bill Painter's record-setting climb up Mt. Rainier. Bill has been a great cycling companion these past ten years that I've been in the club. All that cycling and all those pancakes seem to have paid off for him. I'm proud to be the one putting this issue together.

It's amazing to watch Joe Thurston put together the ride for the Peleton Project from scratch. He'll need plenty of help, so let him now if you'd like to volunteer.

This also seems to be the Lewis and Clark issue, with everyone hitting the trail west or east. As Jim said, what the heck, it's a great excuse for taking a cross-country bike ride. We're also saying bon voyage to those who signed up for the TCBC summer tour down the Oregon coast.. For those of us left behind, let's not forget what great cycling we have around here-dry air, reasonably quiet country roads, and vistas that stretch 100 miles in every direction. No wonder Louis and Clark wanted to come here.

Several people have asked about my Cannondale "Peace Worldwide" cycling jersey. It was given to me as a gift back in 1998. I've always enjoyed its distinctive message, one that's noticeably not related to beer or bicycle components. When I wrote to Cannondale to find out when and why it was sold, their Lori Pahl replied.

The jersey was released for the 1997 Tour de France, to be worn by the Cannondale team at one of the stages. They were trying to convey a message of peace because of the continuing strife in Ireland. But they took a lot of flak from the Tour committee and the team was not allowed to wear the jerseys. Afterwards, the jerseys sold like hotcakes to the general public. Cannondale made several runs of them, but they are no longer available.

The conflict in Ireland seems pretty quaint by today's standards of conflict, and the jersey's message is more relevant than ever.

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