Building a Bicycle Infrastructure

Ride for Heather

Please join Team Fond du Lac/Oshkosh Cyclery for a fundraising ride on Sunday, August 31, 2008 in the Fond du Lac area. The goal of the ride is to raise funds to help Heather and Joe Shanahan with their mounting medical expenses as they battle Heather’s recurrent non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Heather, a Ripon native, is 30 and undergoing stem-cell transplant treatment in August.

Rain or shine, rides will include a 5-mile and 15-mile bicycle path ride for kids and casual recreation riders. There will also be a 30-mile ride and a 62-mile ride on the back roads of scenic eastern Fond du Lac County. Expect scenic, rolling terrain. Sag support will be provided for the three longer rides.

A spaghetti lunch will be provided at the Taycheedah Town Hall (just off the HWY 151 N wayside) about two miles north of Fond du following the rides. Great prizes, including a Trek T1 fixed-gear bike, will be awarded to the rider collecting and turning in the greatest dollar amount of pledges.

For more info visit rideforheather.com.

Take a Step Back in Time

If you want to participate in a truly unique event that remains the same today as it was 18 years ago when it began, give the Louis Reed Time Trial in Ripon a try.

It takes place Sunday, July 13, beginning at 8:15 a.m. at Barlow Park on the south side of Ripon. It is a 10-mile time trial. There is no entry fee.

Organized by Eric Westhagen, the Louis Reed Time Trial pays tribute to Ripon's bicycle hero of more than a century ago. Ripon hosted the state bicycle meet of the Wisconsin Division of the League of American Wheelmen in 1893 and 1894. The tournament was held on a horse track where Barlow Park is now located. Louis Reed, a Ripon College student, captured four state championship titles and broke a world record time at the 1894 state tournament.

According to Westhagen, the Louis Reed Time Trial is truly "the race for everybody, young and old, and of all abilities and equipment."

For more information, contact Eric Westhagen @ (920)346-8228 or mktquant@centurytel.net

Super Week Coming to Ripon, July 18

Ripon College will host Stage 9 of the Point Premium Root Beer International Cycling Classic bicycle race Friday, July 18. Commonly known as Wisconsin Super Week, this year’s race — the 40th annual — promises the best in professional and elite amateur cycling with men and women competitors from across the United States and more than 20 foreign countries.

Racing on a 0.6-mile course that circumnavigates the historic college campus, participants will be challenged with four corners and two short climbs on each loop. The Ripon College Red Hawk Criterium is the ninth race in a series of 18 that begin Friday, July 11 and end Sunday, July 27.

Members of fashion mogul Michael Ball’s controversial Rock Racing team, as well as racers from Australia’s Virgin Blue squad and the Hong Kong Cycling Team, are anticipated to race, according to Michael Garrison, director of marketing for race promoter Breakaway Event Productions of Milwaukee. Garrison said several Olympic athletes from various countries will also be in attendance as they prepare for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to be held in August.

Racing will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the Category 4 & 5 men and culminate with the top professional racers who will compete in a 100 K event at 4:45 p.m.

“Ripon College has a rich history in the sport of cycling dating back to the 1890s,” said Ric Damm, head coach of cycling at Ripon College. “The College, through its Velorution Project and the establishment of the new Red Hawk cycling team, hopes to create a renaissance of the bicycle culture on campus. This race is a part of that effort.”

Additional race sponsors include Tracy Porter Inc. and Alliance Laundry Systems.

Ripon’s Main Street Inc. encourages spectators and racers alike to remain after the final race to enjoy the sounds of the Beatles tribute band, The Britins, who take the stage at the Village Green from 7 to 10 p.m.

For more information, visit the International Cycling Classic Web site at www.iccsuperweek.com.

Tentative Red Hawks Cycling Schedule Unveiled

I've been working on putting together the schedule for the inaugural mountain bike season of the Ripon College Red Hawks. The itinerary is based on the tentative Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference schedule. In an effort to minimize travel time and related expenses in this first year, I've included some non-MWCCC alternate races that are closer to home. So here is what the schedule looks like as of today...

Aug. 24
@ Wisconsin Off Road Series Race #9: Border Battle

Aug. 30 & 31
@ University of Missouri

Sept. 6 & 7
@ University of Illinois

Sept. 13
@ Chequamegon Fat Tire 40

Sept. 20
@ Minnesota State Championship Series Race #10: Revolution's Single-Track Escape

Sept. 28
@ Wisconsin Off Road Series Race #11: Wolf River Rendezvous

Oct. 4 & 5
@ Butler University

Oct. 11 & 12
MWCCC Regionals @ Purdue University

Thank You

I would like to extend a sincere “thank you” to everyone who made the 2008 Wisconsin State Criterium Championships successful. It was wonderful to see bike racing back in Ripon after a long hiatus. In addition to the race’s many sponsors — most notably the Ripon Restaurant Group — I’d like to thank the following:

• The City of Ripon, who in spite of dealing with serious flooding issues city wide, did its best to meet our race needs — from ensuring the recent utility construction on Watson Street was finished and the street paved in time for the race to the phenomenal job done clearing the course streets of all debris Saturday morning.
• Craig Tebon, executive director of Ripon Main Street Inc., and Paula Price, executive director of the Ripon Area Chamber of Commerce, for their help with many logistics.
• Ripon Area Builders for providing barricades to block off streets.
• Tom Walker and the Alliance Laundry print shop for helping with Road Closed signs.
• Doug Kelm and Graphic Sign and Letter for the banner that hung across Watson Street, and Oshkosh Tent and Awning for repairing the banner when storm winds tore it.
• The Ripon College Physical Plant for use of vehicles and assistance in hanging, removing and re-hanging the banner.
• Brian Azinger, Dan Garcia, Chris Schattschneider and Ripon Medical Center for on-site first aid and medical assistance.
• The downtown shops and neighboring residents for their support.
• The Wisconsin American Legion and Badger Boys State for adjusting their plans to accommodate the race.
• Charles Oberweiser of Ripon College's Office of Community Engagement for his work with the Kids Fun Race and Imagineers Screen Printing and Sports for the donation of a gift certificate to the "winner" of the kids race.
• John Rohde at Custom Team Apparel who delayed his vacation plans until our race volunteer shirts arrived Friday afternoon.
• The race officials and all of the volunteers who worked registration and helped move traffic while keeping the racers and spectators safe.
  

On behalf of the LAPT Cycling Club and the Ripon College Red Hawks Cycling Team, thank you again to everyone mentioned above and to those who I may have forgotten to mention.

The Crazy Men (and women) of Cycling

When one of your friends does something that you're not really sure is good for them, do you support them? What if that something is racing a bike across the country. Dave Haase is attempting his fourth Race Across America (RAAM). He's twice finished in fourth place. This year, he's determined to win.

Dave is a great guy and a great ally for cycling in general. He owns and operates Attitude Sports in Fond du Lac, Wis. RAAM is not for the weak bodied or willed. Dave certainly has a strong will and he's proven his body can withstand the torture as well.

I truly wish him the best. He's just one day into the race, with about eight more to go. A lot can happen in those nine days. You can follow all of the action on the RAAM site or Dave's own Web site. The latest posting on Dave's site says he took a wrong turn last night and "almost got taken out by an owl."

Here's a good pre-race interview with Dave: