I can hardly believe it! It’s been five years since Mark Dionne and I started the Saturday
Morning Fitness Ride. Let me say at the outset that these rides have been a
blast to be part of. Otherwise, they
probably would have stopped long ago. And, it looks like they are going to
continue for as long as we old guys can still pull the spandex on. So, although we try to keep a low profile,
we thought we should check in every couple hundred rides or so.
The ride began in September, 1995. At this writing,
we have led about 265 rides. (Do we qualify for those ride leader t-shirts
yet?) Skeptics said that Fitness Rides would not work, that nobody would show
up to ride a fixed course more than twice.
But, little could they imagine that riders would show up hundreds of
times!
“THE STREAK” began after the April Fool’s Day storm
in 1997. Since then, a ride has taken
place for 187 consecutive weeks! Three New England winters could not kill the
streak. I would be remiss not to thank Peter Cole, and the recently departed
Paul Miller, both of whom helped the streak survive a couple times. I predict
that when the streak does end, the cause will almost certainly be black ice.
But who knows, there are always those studded Nokians.
Let’s get some statistics out of the way. Mark is nearly fanatical about collecting
these numbers so I had better report them.
If anyone doubts the direction the club has gone,
consider this. Attendance at the
Saturday Fitness Ride has increased every year despite the fact that club
membership has declined somewhat. In fact, attendance has more than
doubled. When I first joined the CRW in
1970, the club had a strong “touring” personality. I still have the old panniers to prove it. As fitness became a lifestyle choice,
especially in the 90’s, more people began to ride bikes simply to stay fit,
rather than to travel to a destination. The numbers for the past five years
tell the story:
Year 95/96 96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00
Riders 694 953 969 1418 1557
If you add to these numbers the riders at the other three weekly Fitness Rides, you probably have the majority of current CRW activity.
Our busiest month ever was this past July with 260 people participating. The average ride over the last 52 weeks had 30 participants. The total mileage for the five years is around 195,000 miles.
In 2000, we recorded two rider accidents out of a
total 55,000 miles ridden. Fortunately, neither of these was serious. Essentially that is equivalent to one
accident for every 8.5 trips across the United States! In my book, that makes our fitness riders
some of the safest anywhere. This may jinx us, but Mark and I have never taken
a spill on one of these rides, and we have ridden in almost every imaginable
road condition. I would ride behind
Mark any time.
This year we saw a major increase in riders doing
the longer 42 mile loop, perhaps another fitness trend. One day this past September we had 33 out of
35 riders do the 42 mile loop. Also, a
new scenic 50 mile option was added by Fran Corrado this year. Maybe in the
future that will become the standard!
Over the years, we have adopted two unofficial
sponsors. Timex is the Timekeeper of the Saturday Fitness Ride, and is
responsible for hundreds of punctual starts. Starbucks brews the liquid
refreshments. Although we basically take over the Needham Starbucks at the end
of each ride, they don’t seem to mind. We make for a most colorful clientele,
plus we leave lots of coin behind.
Over the years, I have fielded many phone calls from
new members, most of them asking what a Fitness Ride is. I tell them that it is an opportunity to
ride with others for fitness and to improve their riding skills. Then they ask if they can keep up. I tell them that if they can’t at first,
they will be able to if they keep coming. Actually, we can accommodate riders
of almost all speeds. The routes are arrowed and there are usually enough
people so that you have someone to ride with.
Some special awards are in
order:
Best Looking Old Guy in
Spandex- Fred Kresse
Most Likely To Succeed- Pam
Fernandes
Winter Clothing
Advisor-Peter “Ice Bike” Cole
Special Correspondent-Jose
“Pinarello” Martinez
Political Action
Committee-Neil Baron
Course Designer- Pete “The
Flag” Knox
Free Legal Counsel-Marty Estner
Most Improved Rider-Rick
Hardy
I would to thank to Pete Knox, Peter Mason, Mel Stoler, and Ted Lewis for making their Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday Fitness rides equally successful. The four rides have a synergistic effect on each other. And, thanks to Fred Kresse for doing a great job with the “Intro Rides”. We are all very proud of Pam Fernandes for winning both gold and silver medals at the Paralympics in Sydney. Plus, she set a new world record in the process!
I am somewhat amused that the club is always looking
for a Saturday Ride Coordinator. I
always thought our ride was the Saturday ride?
Nearly 6000 riders can’t be wrong! Let’s see, we have hills and hollows,
apple blossoms, horse farms, an ice cream stand, fall foliage, an amazing
display of day lilies, a waterfall, 18th century homes, and a tour
of the Charles River. Why would anyone need another ride?
Easily the best part of this ride has been the many
friends we have made. Some have moved
away but still drop in to ride with us when they are in town. These Fitness folks are among the best
people I know. I am proud to know them.
Feel free to join us any Saturday at Nahanton Park.
The route is always the same, we always go counter-clockwise, and we still
leave at 8:30 sharp. Just look for the
old guys in tights.