New6letter

OCTOBER 1980

PRESIDENT FRANK wELDON 565-2181
VICE~PRESIDENT STEVE NEWTON 759-3626
THEASURER ELDON STRATTON 588-3438
TOLnING CAPTAIN JIM HEATON 564-0404
RACING CAPTAIN MARK OVERFIELD 565-1124
BICYCLE ACTION MICK COLE 572-5280
NFWSLETTER BRUCE RUSHTON 537-3888

oumo-7nnod

As I rode the Capital City Bicycle Club's Yelm Century last
Sunday, every stretch of road brought back memories of the wonder-
ful times and wonderful people that I've enjoyed with the Tacoma ¥ ~
Wheelmen. And ~he thought occurred to me that sharing these memo- )
aaa with you would answer the question what does the bicycle club
o for me.

The first Yelm Century was the first century the Tacoma Wheel- men ever attempted; harily any of us hai ever ridden as much as 50 miles, a few of us had ridden Mt. Vernon the year before but the thought of actually riding 100 miles and sponsoring a century was pretty scary to most of us, but we tried and it was a *seess. And of the 30 or so people who made that first century a success, Bob Branson, Eldon, Vircinia, Jack, Steve Newton, Steve Perrett, Harvey and Dan Feldhaus are still around.and still making bicycling more enjoyable for all of us. I treasure the friendship of each of these people and I'm thankful to the Tacoma Wheelmen Club for mekine these

friendships possible.

By the next spring, we were raining confidence in our bicycling skills and/or orgsnizational skills. Bob Branson decided to show us how a century should be run so he put on the first Daffodil Century and established a standard of excellence that all of the other cen- turies in the area are judged by. The Tacoma Wheelmen thrived and our reputation as a "can-do" club spread throughout the area.

Now, with the numerous centuries and tens of thousands of miles
under our belts, riding along this road brings back wonderful
friends, wonderful rides and being one with the bike and with na- ian
ture. That's what I get from the bicycle club and that's what I
want to share with yous ,

Frank Weldon
CENTURY SCHEDULE

CENTURY vybee
Saturday, October 4--Seattle Urban Century. Start at R&E Cycles at
5627 University Way NE. 6:30 to 12 PM registration, entry fee $3.
Por more information, call 525-5100.

Sunday, October 12--Cuckamut Century . This is a metric century spon-
sored by the Mt. Baker Bicycle Club. Start is at Fairham Park in
Bellingham. For more information, call 733-2415.

Friday, October 24--Annual Social Meeting LAW. 6:00 PM attitude
adjustment and brewery tour.. 7:00 PM buffet supper and libations
followed by a program by the Genuine Dan Henry including a strip
tease show on rollers. Reservations required 236-0845. $4.25 for
LAW members, $6.25 for non-members.

Saturday, October 25--LAW Ride (everyone welcome) Starts at 10 AM
at south parking lot of Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island. 45

miles. San Michelle Winery, 236-0845. L TI S
_CLUB MEETINGS -

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

Racing Report

A recing meeting is scheduled for October 7 at Singleton's
Cyclery.

Time trials are over now; 4 very successful first year. A very warm thank you goes to Joe and Vicki Ropar and Kirk Kirkland

for making this all possible,

In case you were wondering, Phil Yost didn't fare too well at the Nationals. But the important thing was that we were represented. Don't worry, there 4s next year and we have several strong racers.

Train don't strain,
Mark Overfield

Out of 99 starters, 18 finished the Senior Men's National Road Race at Bisbee, Arizona in August. The Tacoma Wheelmen were repre- sented for 35 miles of the 101 mile race, as I had to withdraw fror the race, according to the rules, after being lapped by Wayne Stetina and Tom Dougnty, who were about 1 minute ahead of the 30 or so re- maining riders at this point. 3.5 miles around per lap, the course featured a two mile uphill and then down at 55 mph, brake for 9 hair- pin turn and do it again. This rider liked the heat, but the rare air coniitions at 5400 feet made me think about starting on a Geri- tol porogzrem or 4 frame-mounted oxygen tank!

Thanks to the members of the Tacoma Wheelmen's for their support. With the proper attitude, I think the club can qualify and help send people to the National Championships every year.

Phil Yost

Age Spouse Age

Name:
Address Zip

Work phone (optional)
FAMILY MEMBERSHIP $12.00

Phone
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP $10.00
New Renewed Total enclosed §

Interested in participating in: wa,
Conditioning (40-70 mi) Competition

Sunday rides
| 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

[ee