Club members share memorable moments
Grin & Bear it
Octobearfest | Tailwind Archives
You never quite know what Felix Cartagena will come up with when he planned a ride and the Octobearfest ride was no exception. Five minutes before the appointed hour, he arrived in grand style. Decked out with a long sleeve tuxedo T-shirt, he arrived with two small Teddy bears in bags on his front rack and a 9-foot bear named Maximillian riding in a bugger bike trailer. Since the majority of the riders were non-club members, they immediately felt relieved that this wasn’t going to be a very fast ride. After gathering around Maximillian and holding up their teddies for a group picture, the ride commenced.
Less than a mile into this 5-mile ride, Felix had a flat tire and was able to demonstrate his technique for changing tubes for the many novice riders present. Needless to say, as this strange entourage wound its way through the neighborhoods of Newark, many heads were turned. It was as if they had never seen a 9-foot Teddy bear in a bicycle cart and 13 other bikers festooned with Teddy bears. This was one ride that was as much fun for those who watched as it was for those who rode. The ride ended at Friendly’s for ice cream, but will long be talked about by those who rode it . . . and those who saw it.
Cold as Ice
Icicle Metric | Deanna Cain
Keeping Up, Cramping Up
DoubleCross | Ronald Baldwin
One year, I did the DoubleCross with a friend who was much faster. He routinely did centuries in 5 hours. I rode with him and it felt good; so I continued. I was surprised at the food stop because I still thought I could keep up with him. He tried to be gentle with me, but with about 10 miles to go he dropped me as I pulled over with a severe cramp in one calf muscle. I finished. Many stops to massage that cramping muscle. And I still finished in just under six hours.
Happily Back On The Road
E-Bike Promotes Togetherness | Shorefire Century Archives
Do You Feel Lucky?
Roll the Dice | Wally Hertler
A variety of innovative WCBC club rides in the early years. For example, Brian “Croupier” Hanson led a Roll the Dice ride in 1975 in which the roll of the dice determined the route. Like it or not, Brian rolled eleven thus condemning the group to ride the infamous “Hills of Delaware”—a 52-mile route that climbed every major hill in northern New Castle County.
Calling the Pigs
Savage Century | Wally Hertler
One of my most memorable experiences in the Savage Century occurred in 1977. As I was leading a group down a hill on a rural road in the Oxford area enroute to the major climbs along the Susquehanna River, a large dog came onto the road ahead of us. So we shouted at the dog and made noises to scare him off the road. This worked, and the dog retreated. But, three small pigs, mistaking the shouts as pig-calls, ran onto the road from the left. I hit the first pig and fell. Eric Conrad hit the second pig and also fell. The third pig made it across the road safely. Eric was unable to continue riding. But I just suffered some road rash and continued on. But the chest discomfort while climbing indicated that I had cracked a rib.
Crossing the Canal
Double Century | Nancy Waddell
For my first Double Century in 1986, we used Summit Bridge to cross the canal since there was very little traffic and very little in the area below the canal. There was no food or water at the halfway point nor along the first 100 miles. There was a person at the halfway point who checked you in. The food stop was on the return leg at Killens Pond SP. The Haymans manned that food stop; and it was stocked with water and sugary treats, plus PB&Js. Then the route headed over to Rt. 9 for the lonely black fly-infested return. [There was] a quick stop at John’s Deli in Port Penn before heading over Reedy Point and up Rt. 72 back to Newark. I started at 5:00 am and rolled back into Hollingsworth parking lot at 8:45 [pm].
To share your notable ride, please email publicity@whiteclaybicycleclub.org