Just wanted to put out some post-ride notes.
First… WHAT A GREAT RIDE! We received nothing but positive feedback about the new routes highlighting the Maumee River this year. Also, some have commented on actually seeing a heightened police presence out on the roads. Kenneth Shaw was able to coordinate this with the various municipalities that the routes went through as well as ODOT. AND… hopefully some of you saw the two big ODOT signs informing motorists that bicyclists would be out on the roads prior to MARR and the day of the event!
I wanted to send out some special thanks, first to my fellow members of the MARR Planning Committee and other key volunteers for the event:
- Kenneth Shaw: CO-Director of the ride. The new routes this year were from him thinking about how do we showcase the “River” part of the Mad Anthony RIVER Rally. He also came up with the string bag with the various freebies inside.
- Sarah Lee: Coordinator of IT/Website Activities, (she put together a great MARR webpage)!
- Joe Connelly: Coordinator of Volunteer services. GREAT JOB on that Joe! AND… two days prior to the ride, Joe went out with a high-powered gas leaf-blower and blew off the gravel for ALL ROUTES! Those of you who identified problem intersections, Joe made sure to find those. THANK YOU JOE!
- Rick Metcalf: Coordinated our SAG support. We had a few mechanicals, and some individuals needed transport back to the starting point, BUT… we are very thankful that there were NO INJURIES or ACCIDENTS, and no one reported any run-ins with motorists.
- Mark Maxwell: Safety/Traffic monitor at the Grand Rapids rest stop.
Special thanks to all those who volunteered, those who helped with set-up in the days preceding the event including registration: Debbie Tassie (who provided the bike stands at the Shelter House), Sharleen Suico, Ron Wells, Tyler Smith, Bob Kayden, and those who helped with lunch and kept our beverages cold including John Lee and Connie Benning, all our volunteers out at the rest areas making sure everyone had cold water and/or Gatorade and plenty of snacks, THANK YOU! And for those who helped with the tear-down after everything was done, (many who rode in MARR), including Dan Riley, Dan Marsalek, Rick Metcalf, and many others.
I wish I could thank you all by name, but please know, your efforts contributed to a great ride.
We had riders from Akron & Cleveland, some from Columbus, Detroit, and Fort Wayne. All of them had nothing but praise for MARR and expressed that we put on a top-notch ride, and they all look forward to coming back next year.
I am very proud of the effort that went into this ride. The “Old Guard” passing on their knowledge and best practices to the new. This was OUR RIDE, Toledo Area Bicyclists, and so I wanted to say a special thank you to all TAB members who volunteered and/or rode. By participating, you ensure that MARR will be around for many more years to come. For those members who did not ride, I urge you, PLEASE ride next year. MARR is always on the 2nd Saturday of August. Again, this is OUR RIDE. MARR funds all the club’s expenses that membership dues don’t quite cover.
Finally, I wanted to put out some special recognition.
First of all to our very own Hubert Backes, a long-time TAB member. He rode the CENTURY route without STOPPING at any of the rest areas. At 85, (soon to be 86), he was the oldest person to ride the Century Route, (he was the oldest person in the ride)! And came in with a time of 7:10:58, and somehow, he managed to log in the most miles at 104. Thank you to all our dedicated rest area personnel and SAG drivers who kept an eye out for Hubert!
Additionally, we had a woman ride this year, Ellen, Columber, who never rode bikes too much, she was an avid runner, goes to the gym frequently, but this past February, experienced a setback, she felt excruciating pain in her back one day that only worsened. Eventually, she ended up seeing her doctor who referred her to orthopedics. Long story short, she ended up having back surgery that left her unable to run, her doctors told her she’d be lucky if she could even walk for long distances. Her Physical Therapist told her, “hey, there’s some kind of bike ride coming up in August, they’ve got a 30 mile course, I think you could do that!” So that was her goal, with the help of her physical therapist, she worked on the stationary bikes for a while and then transitioned to her bike, started out small, but worked her way up, and she did it! She rode the 32-mile route for MARR this year! We hope to see Ellen for some of our club rides.
It doesn’t matter whether one’s fitness level is elite, (we had 10 finish the CENTURY route sub-5), or if you’re a Meanderer who likes to ride at a slower pace taking in the beautiful scenery around. TAB has a ride for you! And we welcome everyone to join us. Please check out the TAB website at https://www.toledoareabicyclists.org/ and find a ride that suites YOU!
We hope to see you at a future club ride!
AND…
We’re already under a year till next year’s MARR! Mark your calendars, the next MARR will be on Saturday, August 10, 2024!
Click <HERE> for timing results
Click <HERE> for pictures from the ride (Thank you Sue R. & Hugh B.)
One last thing... Eric Hammon won the Wahoo ELEMNT Roam Bundle pack. He left for home after his ride, but when I called him, he said that was worth driving back to Whitehouse for. Congratulations Eric, hope you enjoy the new ELEMNT ROAM.
