Coastin’ February 2002
Our next two club meetings will be 6:30 p.m. on Monday, February 4, & Monday March 4, 2002, at Alfred & Charlie’s, 815 S. New Hope Rd, Gastonia.
Newsletter Updates: Contact John Price at 704-867-2669, at coastineditor@yahoo.com, or by mail at 681 Niblick Dr Gastonia NC 28054
Ride & Run Schedule
Sunday (ride) 1:30pm, Forest View High School, routes available of 25, 30, 40 & 50 miles.
Tuesday & Thursday (run) 6:00pm,
Food Lion (next to Ashbrook High )
South New Hope Rd,
Gastonia, 6 miles with shorter options
Membership Report
As of January 31st, 2002, the Gaston County Cyclists has on its roll 93 members that have paid their 2002 dues. This is very good! Thanks to all those that have paid the membership fee. We still have about a dozen 2001 members that haven’t renewed. Most of these are not from the immediate Gaston County area, but we still invite you to remain members, & we appreciate your support.
New Members
Steve Watson, Mt. Holly; Joe Price, Concord; Bert Hull, Clover, SC.
Polar Bear Report
Photo courtesy of Terry Herrington.
A big turnout and excellent support made the 2002 Polar Bear Ride a big success. Eighty riders registered for the 50 mile event which was run in mild winter weather on January 13th, 2002. Reese Wilson organized the event, and providing SAG were Frances Scott and Leanne Dow. Melissa Magee gets credit for both riding and helping with registration.
Besides local riders, participants came from Charlotte, Cherryville, Kings Mtn, Rock Hill, and Shelby.
The following is a complimentary note sent to ride organizer, Reese Wilson:
Hi Reese:
I took part in your 50 mile Polar Bear Ride on Sunday, January 13 and just wanted to
congratulate you on such a fantastic ride. I've been riding just over a month now and have
never taken part in an organized ride. My biggest fear was that I would get lost. I can
tell you I really appreciate the way you had the course marked, it was very easy for me to
find my way.
Keep up the good work! I'm looking forward to future rides you put on.
Best Regards,
Gary Brown
Despite the flat course and mild weather, not every rider was 100% confident in his ability to finish. A certain rider, who shall remain nameless, and known for his stubborn, hard driving efforts, listed his emergency contact as seen in the following scan …
(editor’s note: When reviewing the registration forms for membership renewals, this popped up and I about fell out of my chair laughing so hard. I still chuckle when I think about it.)
Race & Event Results
The Frosty Dash Mtn Bike Race, January 12, 2002
Carl Andersen 3rd place Men's Beginner 30+ 36:09
Troy Bush 7th in Beginner Men
Margot Rott 1st in Beginner Women
Charlotte Observer Run for Peace Marathon and Marathon Relay
Conditions for this marathon, held on January 19th, were epic (miserable), as rained poured down for most of the day and the temperatures never climbed out of the 30s.
Results for the Marathon: Ronald Hutchins 3:06 (time qualifies for the Boston Marathon)
Paula Weant 3:52 (first in age group)
Relay: Ronald Hutchins also used part of his effort as a relay with Suzanne Clemmer. Their combined time got 3rd place in the relay division.
Editor’s request: If you’ve participated in any events, runs, walks, rides, please communicate these to me at 704-867-2669, by e-mail at coastineditor@yahoo.com, or by mail to John Price 681 Niblick Dr Gastonia NC 28054. Please note, not everyone can run a marathon or ride 100 miles. Others would still like to hear about your participation in and opinions of various events.
Upcoming Events
Multiple Sclerosis Walk in Gaston County, Saturday April 13, 2002.
Mark your calendars for this event to be held at Lineberger Park, Gastonia. The Gaston County Cyclists will have a team again this year so please let me know if you are interested in participating. We have had the largest club/ organization team for the past two years and we need everyone’s participation to keep the title. Paula Weant at 704 865 6193.
Columbia Crest Winter Mountain Bike Series February 10, 2002.
Renaissance Park, Charlotte, NC
This race series features non-affiliated mountain bike races geared to cyclists of all
abilities. Each race is $12,
$7 for juniors. Medals will be given out 3 deep per category for weekly prizes, but racers
will compete for
$2,700 divided among the different categories for the overall series.
Start Times: Beginner Men 19 - 29 1:30
Beginner Men 30+ 1:30
Beginner Women 1:30
Juniors 14-18 1:45
Juniors 8 - 13 1:45
Expert Men 3:00
Sport Men 19-29 3:00
Sport Men 30+ 3:00
Expert/Sport Women 3:00
For more detailed information see www.charlottemtnbike.com,
or contact Neal Boyd Charlotte Sports Cycling Inc.
2022 Dembrigh Lane Charlotte, NC 28262 Office 704.503.0138 Mobile 704.339.7124 nboyd@carolina.rr.com
Challenge to Succeed, Gaston County Cyclists, April 14, 2002
Ride information will be in next newsletter, and posted on website at www.gastoncountycyclists.org .
Come See Me Criterium, Rock Hill, SC Saturday April 13, 2002.
Patriots Trail Road Race, Brattonsville, SC Sunday April 14, 2002.
Both races sponsored by the Rock Hill Bicycle Club. For information, see our website at www.gastoncountycyclists.org , or contact me (John Price, newsletter editor).
Shelby Criterium, Shelby, NC, Saturday, April 20, 2002. Professional race with national caliber riders gunning for big dollars. Information on how to volunteer will be in next newsletter.
Spring Forward Training Ride Saturday, April 6 8:00 am Registration will start at 7:00 am
Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, Lake Wylie, SC. Cost: $15 pre-registration (received before April 6) $20 day of the ride. See website at www.gastoncountycyclists.org for more info, or contact Angie Forbis 704.588.8447 Adforbis@cs.com
2002 Joann Gaddy Grimes Bike & Walk to Fight Cancer, Saturday May 18, 2002 Hagan-Stone Park (South of Greensboro) 8am – 1pm 25 or 50 mile loop or 5k walk contact Michele Wittman (919-403-3416) or log onto www.Bike4Duke.org
Upcoming Running Events
(courtesy of Paula Weant)Feb 3 – Winter Flight 8K – Salisbury, NC – 704 637 3840
Feb 9 – Myrtle Beach Marathon & Marathon Relay – Myrtle Beach, SC – 843 293 RACE
Mar 2 – Ain’t Hogs Great 5K – Landis, NC – dlfreeze@salisbury.net
Mar 2 – PawPrint 8K – Fort Mill, SC – www.pawprint.8k.com
Mar 9 – Corporate Cup Half Marathon & 3 Person Relay & 5K – Charlotte, NC – www.runcharlotte.com
Mar 23 – Gold Rush Half Marathon & 8K – Concord, NC – 704 786 3312
Introducing … www.gastoncountycyclists.org
The Gaston County Cyclists now have a website, with an easy to remember name. It is mostly informational in nature, as it lists upcoming events, ride schedules, cue sheets for various routes, links to other bike clubs and regional events, and so on.
The site is being maintained by myself (John Price, newsletter editor), and I would appreciate any suggestions for additions, corrections, and so forth. Contrary to what you may occasionally hear about websites, making changes and additions to the website is very easy for me to do, I can do most updates in just a few minutes and hope to get some constructive feedback as time goes on.
Being on dial-up internet service, it’s my intention not to make the format especially fancy in appearance, favoring instead easy to navigate, fast loading pages. You’ll notice that links to pages on our site open in a set frame, and links to other sites open in new windows.
Many pages you might want to print, such as cue sheets and ride flyers. On these pages, I have left the background white so you can print easily by right clicking and selecting <print>.
Eventually, it would be good to get up some cycling or running related photos, and I’ll take these any way you can get them to me. Submissions will be returned.
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