What rolls on 10 wheels for 8,300 miles?
The answer is five bicycle enthusiasts who aren’t satisfied with leisurely afternoon rides around Whidbey Island.
Admitted fanatics, this group of five will travel this summer 8,300 miles through 18 states. They will be in their respective saddles in three different long distance bicycle events, some together and one solo.
South Whidbey residents Michele Bolvin, Gerry Rawlings, Tom Rowland and Joel Shrut, along with one rider from Coupeville, want to find out what “going the distance” really means.
Four of the five — Bolvin, Rawlings, Shrut and Keeler — will do much of their riding in the 1,000-mile, 15-day, Seattle to San Francisco American Lung Association of Washington (ALAW) “Big Ride Pacific Coast.” The ride begins on September 18 and ends on Oct. 2 and travels down the three coasts on a very hilly route along Highway 1 and 101.
For Rawlings, the ride proves that one big ride is not enough. Prior to the Pacific coast ride, he will be heading across the United States in the ALAW Big Ride from Seattle to Washington D.C. Rawlings did this ride in 2003. Fellow Pacific Coast rider Shrut tackled the Big Ride in 2000.
Both men agree riding 3,300 miles in 48 days is an amazing experience.
Rawlings will pause halfway in his cross country ride to meet Freeland resident Tom Rowland in Iowa for a 500-mile ride across that state. Called the “Ragbrai” (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa), it is the longest and oldest touring ride of its kind. This will be Rowland’s sixth Ragbrai.
Rowland, former owner of The Pedaler bicycle shop at Bayview, said he enjoys the scenery and the people he meets along the way.
Rawlings who did the long ride in 2003,was looking for more challenges this year so instead of one ride he is doing three.
“But I promised my wife, Catherine, I would be around the house more next summer,” he said. “But I like the challenge of long distance rides and I am committed to the work the American Lung Association does.”
Bolvin, an instructor at a local athletic club says Rawlings is an inspiration to her.
“I decided after talking to him about his 2003 3,300 mile experience that I would train for the Pacific Coast ride.”
Participants must raise donations to be eligible for the ALAW rides. A minimum of $5,000 must be raised for the ride across the country and $2,000 for the Pacific Coast ride.
The riders say they have all met the required minimums but they hope to raise more than is required.
Watch for this group of committed athletes training on Whidbey Island’s back roads. To donate to the ALAW in their names log on to www.alaw.org and click on “Sponsor a Big Rider.”
