Ride the Drive with Lance Armstrong! 8-29-10

Madison cyclists of all ages lined up this morning to join seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in a massive group ride along the downtown isthmus. Six miles of roads were closed for six hours as part of Ride the Drive.

Check out local news coverage and photos or skip to my photos below!

http://www.channel3000.com/recreation/24804050/detail.html

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/101611658.html?storySection=photo

http://www.fox47.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/vid_926.shtml

http://www.bfw.org/events/index.php?category_id=4384

http://www.facebook.com/ridethedrive?v=wall

me - having fun! center - gorgeous morning downtown! right - Lance was funny, I didn't expect that.

(right - teal shirt) Major Dave Cieslewicz & (center - black shirt) John Burke, president of Trek Bicycle spoke before Lance Armstrong (left - red shirt) took the stage.

(above left) Two guys rode up near me on double-decker bikes, look close, it was crazy! Then the double-decker bike guys were checking out this guy's red/yellow Trek (above right). Cyclists love looking at other bikes--so much fun!

Along the ride I saw:

- unicyclists

- a cyclist wearing some sort of puffy furry mascot costume

- some cyclists wearing very little clothing

- kids on training wheels and some kids who should have kept their training wheels on...

- a tandem with a tag-a-long pulling a burley

- a lady with a dog in her front basket

- a man cycling with a small infant riding on his back in a baby bjorn, the baby was facing into the man's body and the infant's head had an extra wrap holding the head against the man's back.

- most riders wearing helmets

- some riders talking on cell phones and/or taking pictures while riding

- all sorts of ways to transport kids: burleys, tag-a-longs, seats on the back, seats on the front of the bike and a cushion set up over a back tire with two tiny girls riding along on it, no helmets.

photos all by me, even the picture of me.

My video clips (I had the junky camera, so quality isn't great):

- "It's great to be here in this great state."

-"One more bike on the road is a dang good idea in my opinion."

Questions for You:

- What's the largest group of cyclists you've ridden with?

- What's the strangest thing you've seen on a bike or while riding your bike?

Truitt (8yrs) Talks Trek

This week our son Truitt toured the Trek Factory with his classroom. Only one parent got to chaperone per four classes -- and it wasn't me. Maybe next time!

His brothers and I walked to school pickup this afternoon and on the way home Truitt told me about today's field trip to Waterloo, Wis. to visit Trek Bicycles. I told him I might write about it here on IronMakeover.

The conversation went like this:

T: Mom did you know Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France 7x?
Me: Yes.
T: And when he was retired some other guy won.

While on tour Truitt got to hold a bike frame. "It was extremely light," he says. The Waterloo factory just makes the frames and then the frames go to Whitewater, Wis., where wheels and handlebars are put on, he says.

T: They use really sticky glue on the bike. Your finger could get stuck to it.

Truitt liked the conveyor belt that frames hung underneath. "There was a net under the conveyor belt so if the frame fell it goes down the net and slides," he says.

He says they break the bikes to find the weak spots and the bikes also go through eye inspection and testing. Each frame takes about eight hours to make, he says.

Truitt and his classmates had to wear safety glasses while on the tour. Sometimes it was noisy on the tour. He says the workers "probably work 22 hours a day so they have 2 hours at home and that'd be it."

The group was only allowed on the first level, he says. "You're not allowed on the secret stairs unless you have a pass. Sort of like Coca-Cola--they have a secret recipe and they can't tell you either."

He ended our interview he, "This is Truitt signing off."

From reading Trek's web site I also learned:
- They encourage commuting and have a dedicated commuter room with indoor bike parking and full locker rooms. If you ride 12+ miles to work Trek buys you breakfast or lunch, cool.
- Trek provides loaner bikes for employees needing to run errands or pick up lunch, cool.

Questions for You:
- Have you taken a factory tour?
- What's the coolest field trip you took as a kid?

photo by me: of Truitt riding his nonTrek bike.