Monday, August 20, 2012

High Wheels and Charity Rides







"Hey Tom can you get Greg LeMond set up on a bicycle tomorrow....?" 

This question was posed at the end of an extremely busy week.

"Sure, sounds fun."

This past weekend was huge (and extremely busy) for cycling! The Tour de Frederick kicked off the weekend with a 3 day charity bike ride benefiting the Frederick Boys & Girls Club and 1 in 6. About 200 riders participated this year including cycling legend Greg LeMond. In the morning I grabbed my road bike, made some fit adjustments, and sent Mr. LeMond him on his way. What a surreal experience. I found the 3 time Tour de France winner to be surprisingly good humored and friendly. 

That evening huge crowds cheered on as High Wheel bicycles raced through downtown Frederick in the Clustered Spires High Wheel Race. After the race I got the chance to speak with one of the most experienced contestants. While he has competed in high wheel races across the world, he told me that Frederick drew a bigger crowed than any race he had participated in!

The otherwise perfect day was tainted however with an accident that sent racer Alison Torpey to the hospital. Sadly accidents occasionally happen in any sport and we wish Alison a speedy recovery. 

Pixels by Jeff- thanks Jeff

1 comment:

Jon Tomas said...

Wow. I want to have this one. I will biking around the city everyday