Newsletter

MAY, 1980

PRESIDENT FRANK WELDON 565-2181
VICE PRESIDENT STEVE NEWTON 474-8090
SECRETARY NANCY CLEMENS 759-8019
TREASURER ELDON STRATTON 588-3438
TOURING CAPTAIN JACK WILLIAMS 627-1931
RACING CAPTAIN MARK OVERFIELD 565-1124
BICYCLE ACTION MICK COLE 572-5280
NEWSLETTER BRUCE RUSHTON 537-3888

Meeting Destination Tour
Place Miles Leader

Westgate Mall Parking Lot Spanaway Area Bruce Rushton

25 miles 537-3888

Sprinker Recreation Center Yelm, 32 miles . Eldon Stratton

588-3438

Swasey Library Paulsbo, 85 miles John Clough

564-1871

24th and Pacific Breakfast Ride Jack Williams

23 miles 627-1931

Thursday Night Rides

These are easy 6-8 mile rides which are excellent for

berinners.
ice cream.

DATE
May 15

May 22
May 27

June 5

All rides start at 7 PM. Bring change for

START LEADER
Jafco Plaza Steve Newton

Manley’s at Fircrest Mark Overfield

Villa Plaza Eldon Stratton

40th and Bridgevort Frank Weldon

THE TACOMA WHEELMEN'S CLUB
4005 South Warner, Apt.8 Tacoma, WN. 98409

Sunday, March 30. I was surovrised to see a good turn out of twelve
riders on what was to be the longest official Sunday ride our club has
ever had--except centuries of course. The morning was fair and clear,
ard led by our able leader, Mary Hall, we left Swasey Librery. As we
crossed the Narrows Bridge, we could see Mt. St. Helens far to the south,
with a towering column of steam and ash billowing from the summit.
Crossing the Narrows Bridge on a bicycle is an experience in itself.
There is a narrow, although well-protected sidewalk on which to ride,
but the cars racing by a foot from your elbow are a bit unnerving for

the uninitiated.

As a 75-mile ride attracts gung-ho riders, the pace was moderately fast as we headed out Highway 16 to Bremerton. The new highway has a nice smooth wide shoulder and gentle hills. There used to be good scavenging along here, put the best I picked up was a small worn towel.

On the way through Bremerton, I saw Randy Davis and Ken Neukom
scrambling for a dime in the gutter. I) think Randy came up winner.
There's little chance for me to find anything with these guys picking
the pavement clear ahead of met

At Bremerton we boarded the ferry for Seattle. Fare was $1.30 for bike and rider. It was warm enough to sit on deck and enjoy the trip. It ts about an hovr ferry ride. We ceme out of Sinclair Inlet, past Bainbridge and Blake Islands, Alki Point, and on into Seattle, docking near Ivar's Acres of Clams. We had lunch of their delicious clam chow- der and famous fish and chips, at very reasonable prices, I might add.

On leaving Ivar‘s, we found the treffic was very ligcht and we rode right along First Avenue through downtown Seattle and out Marginal Way. At Southcenter, Mary led us along a new bicycle trail that follows the _ old Seattle-Tacoma Interurban right of way. This follows the Green River in some places and goes straight through the middle of the valley

in others, ending at Auburn.

After a refueling stop at an out of the way restaurant near Auburn, we pedsled back to Tacora by way of Sumner and Fife. This was a great ride and everyone enjoyed it immensely. All the credit goes to Mary Hall for planning such an enjoyable day. Do {t again Mary--and soont

Club meetings sre held on the third
Wednesday of each month at 7:30 at
the Fircrest Community Center, which
is located at 555 Contra Costa.

10 SPEEDS ~ mMoTo°%X’
SALES SERVICESSPARTS
10 AM - 6 PM

MONDAY THRU SATURDAY
564-1921

SOUTHWELL'S
Schwinn Cyclery

SC HW iy Ni ®TACOMA, WASHINGTON 98409
GR 2-1374

What a terrific day for the Daffodil Century. If you were on the ride, you'll probably know the TWC racing team manned the first check- point. We were the ones with the orange and white parachute over our heads. Speckinge for the team, I want to espectally thank Stuart Curry for bringing end putting up the chute. I would also like to give a big thank you to the racers for the cooperation in manning the checkpoint. I hope you 41] had as an enjoyable day as I did.

Tom Johnson of Visual Imagery did an ovtstengine job on the tear
photos. The pictures and order forms are at Singleton's Cyclery. All
orders must be placed by May 12th. You'll pay for t7e pictures when
you vick them up.

Some race results. Tim won the junior race at Volunteer Park and Steve Curry won the road race and got 2nd in tre time trial for Cat. 2% at Richland. Phil got Sth overall at Pilchuck, and Gary and Tim are winning and placing up at the track. Congratulations men.

No riding tip this month as I want you around next month. My subject this month is helmets. Even thoush there is controversy over which helmet is best, any helmet is better than no helmet. Alot of hair or cycling caps do not count as helmets. A crack in the shell is just that; it won't make any difference whether you got it ona train- ing ride, racing, or ride ride. Enoveh said.

yee Road. Start on the

Time trials every Tuesdsy on the North Le
May 6th is the starting

east end at 6:30 PM. These are open to all.
date.

Train don't strain,

Mark Overfield

Racing Report

The 1980 track season is under wey and if qualifying sessions were
any indication, this year should he bigcer and bet*er than ever. The
Wheelmen now have a total of seven track racers, although we don't all
have our hikes together yet.

Besides being fun for the racers, track.racing is one of the most enjovable and exciting forms of bicycle racing for spectators. Instead of seeing the competitors whiz by once every five minutes as in a cri- terium, the track fan sees the whole race, which is usually a corbination of Indy 500 speed and Grand Prix daring and skill.

There seems to be ro end to the variety of races which are hel@ on the track. There may be as many as eight different kinis of races in one action-packed evening, from the *ll-out mad dash of the sports loop (where the first man across on the first lap takes first, first man a- cross on the second lap takes second, etc.) to the complex tactics of the match sprints, where speeds may approach forty miles per hovr in the fin- al sprint.

So if you're looking for a sport with a1] the tactics of a chess
game and the exciterent of a horse race, track racing is for you. The
racing team goes up to the track every Friday and we're more than heppy
to bring slong a few spectators (it's always nice to have a few people
cheering you on). For more information, call Singleton's Cyclery at

474-6590.

Bruce Rushton

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May 11 to May 18 1s Puget Sound Bicycle Week! Watch the News
Tribune for special articles and features on bicycling. Also,
be sure to attend all the Bicycle Week rides and special events,
including a May 12 repair clinic to be held at Singleton's
Cyclery at 6:30 PM and a commuting seminar to be held May 14

at a yet undetermined time and location. Information on the repair clinic can be obtained by calling Singleton's Cyclery, while information on the commuting semirvr can be had by cal- ling Kirk Kirkland at 597-8629 during th day

HERE HE HEHE HEHE HE TE HEHE HE HE TE HEHE HE HEHE HEHE EAE SE HE SESE HEI HE HE HE JE IESE JE HEHE SE SEE HE HE HEE HEE JE Ee SE SE He HE a HE SE SE EE ae a aE a

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP DATE:
Name: Age____s« Spouse Age
Address Zip
Phone Work phone (optional)

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP ($5.50Y___~FAMILY MEMBERSHIP ($6.00)
New___s-Renewed ss Total enclosed $

Interested in participating in:

Sunday rides ss Conditioning (40-70 mi) Competition

Touring Camping Centuries Other
Club affiliations: L.A.W. U.S.C.F. Other
Return to: Eldon Stratton, 5408 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, WA 98409