Joel
08-31-2012, 11:30 AM
In 1974, at the age of 14 I got hooked on this sport. Riding a small Peugeot which my mom and dad graciously upgraded to a PX-10 shortly thereafter.
Joined American Youth Hostels (AYH) and did scheduled rides all over the midwest. The next year completed a double century in 15 hours. And found out about this thing called the Tour de France.
Ran a copper wire out my bedroom window to a big tree and attached it to a shortwave radio – all to try to listen to a couple of minutes of updates on this race in France. BBC Worldservice; Voice of America; Radio Free Europe any all of them to get a snippet of the results.
Late 70’s racing with the St. Louis Cycling Club. Anxiously awaiting my turn to getting passed down issues of International Cycle Sport a month or two after the race to see some of the pictures. Shots of the impossible looking Alps passes on the other side of the world. Riding with the guys contemplating ‘how cool it would be to ride those someday’.
ABC Wide World of Sports; Velo News; Winning Magazine; NBC; Versus; now live internet and TV – all over the years brought sooner and closer to the action. College; Graduate School; Married; Family; Job – I kept riding - yet every July wondering and wishing… ‘how cool it would be to ride those someday’.
In 2012, now at the of 52, still hooked on the sport – I’m off to France in the morning, to at long last, find out ‘how cool it will be to ride those’!
Joined American Youth Hostels (AYH) and did scheduled rides all over the midwest. The next year completed a double century in 15 hours. And found out about this thing called the Tour de France.
Ran a copper wire out my bedroom window to a big tree and attached it to a shortwave radio – all to try to listen to a couple of minutes of updates on this race in France. BBC Worldservice; Voice of America; Radio Free Europe any all of them to get a snippet of the results.
Late 70’s racing with the St. Louis Cycling Club. Anxiously awaiting my turn to getting passed down issues of International Cycle Sport a month or two after the race to see some of the pictures. Shots of the impossible looking Alps passes on the other side of the world. Riding with the guys contemplating ‘how cool it would be to ride those someday’.
ABC Wide World of Sports; Velo News; Winning Magazine; NBC; Versus; now live internet and TV – all over the years brought sooner and closer to the action. College; Graduate School; Married; Family; Job – I kept riding - yet every July wondering and wishing… ‘how cool it would be to ride those someday’.
In 2012, now at the of 52, still hooked on the sport – I’m off to France in the morning, to at long last, find out ‘how cool it will be to ride those’!