r i d i n g circles

i just like to ride my bike.

introductionThe following pages are an exploration of what bike riding is to several East Tennessee riders. These accounts were gathered from informal interviews and are conversational in nature. Though these accounts are very different from one another, they show how ingrained riding is in some people’s lives. These riders are at home on two wheels, and have found a place amongst the riding community.

Each rider has different riding experiences, from road to mountain biking, to fixed gear riding, bike touring to cyclo-cross, and even riding unicycles; no matter the bike, these people simply love to ride. My hope is that someone will get a glimpse of how important this interest is, and have a deeper understanding of what it means to these people.

08/09

i ride he rides We ride

Stephen Guertin. Give him anything

with wheels. Mountain biker. Diabetic.

Bike shop mechanic. Architecture student.

tephen and his dad have been riding together for a significant portion of Stephen’s young and adult life. Stephen first began to show a love for riding after he and his dad began to ride through boy scouts. On one of the first overnight bike riding trips for boy scouts that the duo went on together, Stephen’s dad realized that this might be something that they could do together, on a more frequent basis, simply over the fact that they enjoyed the trip so much. Sixteen bikes and numerous great riding experiences later, Stephen and his dad still try to ride together whenever they get the chance.

Both Stephen and his dad have different takes on riding together, however. Paul Guertin said that riding was something he could do with Stephen as a friend versus going out riding together as a father figure. Their rela-tionship somehow changed when they were out riding and they could enjoy each other’s company as comp-anions as they rode down trails. Stephen looks at their riding experiences as something that he does with his dad, as a dad, contrary to anything his dad might say. It is a father-son activity in his eyes.

Stephen would get his first serious mountain bike around the age of twelve, right before he was diagnosed with diabetes. Stephen said that one of the first things he did after getting out of the hospital was go ride his bike. Life was simpler on two wheels and his new bike prob-ably came at the most opportune moments.

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S

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E m p t y yet full

Since he rode with his dad so much, bike maintenance became an important element to their riding routine. One day, his dad brought him into the bike shop and asked the mechanics if they could simply teach Stephen how to fix something after a miner crash. The shop owners were surprised when Stephen’s dad continued to talk with them as Stephen figured out how to fix his bike with an ease that was unusual for such a young one. Though he was only thirteen at the time, Stephen would continue to go into the bike shop learning what he could. A year and a half later, they would hire Stephen. Eight years later, Stephen still works at the bike shop.

Stephen rides pretty much anything with wheels, though he mainly mountain bikes. In addition to all of his mountain bikes, he also has a road bike, and a unicycle. It is funny to see Stephen smile as he talks about how he got into Unicycling. For Christmas, one year, he got

more of a toy unicycle, and was able to ride it around the drive way by the end of the day, much to his parents amusement. He would eventually get a bigger unicycle to ride on mountain bike trails. At first he would go with his parents and ride along side them as they went on long walks through the woods around Knoxville. His dad road rides a great deal more than he does and used to ride with a group of other friends on occasion.

This pair loves to just ride. Stephen put it best: No matter the bike, riding is riding. When he goes out on his bike, he doesn’t think about anything. It’s about being in the moment, just riding, and having fun.

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Andrew Veenemen. Traveler. Atlanta

native. Bike Shop Mechanic. Engineering

student. Into bike tours.

ndrew Veeneman is a Senior in Engineering at the University of Tennessee. Originally from Georgia, this out-of-state student has been riding a bike since he could barely walk. When asked about how he discovered riding, Veen explained that his parents taught him to ride at the early age of three, and he has done everything but stop riding since. His family has always been into riding, especially his dad, which had much to do with staying involved with riding at such an early age.

Being supportive, his parents got his first entry-level bike around the age of eleven. Veen laughs at the fact that it was definitely a bike he would grow into, but nonetheless it was a real bike that fit his needs better, even if it did not fit his size perfectly.

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a

Riding bikes became something that he was able to fall on when he moved away from Atlanta to become a student at ut. Veen explains that he didn’t know anyone in Knoxille and riding was truly how he met a lot of his friends. He remembers going on his first utop bike ride and how it was a good feeling to have something in common with other fellow riders and outdoor enthusiast. The community aspect of riding was a crucial support system while so far away from home.

Now Veen is probably more involved with riding than ever before. He now works at utop servicing bikes, and runs the group rides on Fridays. These rides are open to any skill level and are still enjoyable even when the not so experienced riders take interesting tumbles.

Veen would go on to discover dirt bikes and even had a small dirt bike trail set up in his backyard, much to his advantage. This area would also become a haven to goof off on his bicycle, literally in his very backyard. Friends’ influence to further explore dirt bike riding, and rowing practice six day a week, would come to swallow a good amount of his time, yet he still was somehow able to ride when he had the chance. His sophomore year of high school he got his first job at a bike shop called Cycle Works and by the end of his first year working there, he was able to make his first employee purchase and get what he would consider his first real mountain bike.

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Veen also has acquired a great love for bike touring. Bike touring consists of riding long distances over a span of several days (or weeks even), with certain destin-ations in mind. One of Veen’s favorite rides was a bike tour with the Jordan’s, the family of several friends that worked with him at utop. The tour was a supported ride from Natches, Mississippi all the way to Nashville. The coolest part was the bus. His friend’s father, who had experience with airplanes, gutted a school bus, setting it up like an airplane with “first class” and “coach” seating. Not only did it have the appearance of an air craft inside but also had bunks, storage space, and enough room for everyone’s bikes. It made for an awesome 400 mile trip with good people.

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Veen has also gone on an 800 mile bike tour from dc down to Knoxville. One year, Veen and his friend broke down their bikes, packed them up, rode the Mega Bus to dc, and went on what would turn into a grueling self-supported bike tour. It was humorous to hear Veen speak about how hard and long they would have to climb hills, only to be rewarded with a brief downhill. They would do it again, and again, and again. There was even a time when the pair climbed a 14 mile hill, in the lowest, easiest, gear possible for what seemed to be forever. Once they reached the top, they got to do a ten-minute 40 m.p.h. cruise down, only to find themselves at the beginning of yet another climb, exhusted. Veen stated he would surely never do a trip like that again without training better and having a better fitted bike that treated his knees better. Riding puts Veen’s mind at ease. He grew up with it, it’s relaxing and something that he’s passionate about, no matter the bike.

Who’s going

to stop me?

Who’s going

to stop me?

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never stop racing

Jonathan Crowson. Owner of a hand

built bike. Likes to Race. Wins some. Sells

bikes. Plays darts. Teaches spin class.

on Crowson, age 24, is an avid cyclist who works at a local bike shop on the front end selling bicycles. This Oak Ridge native first started to ride when he was fifteen, after purchasing his first well-built, more mature, bicycle. As soon as he started riding, he realized that something felt right about it. Riding was something he was naturally good at. He realized that he had the potential to excel at the new sport he had discovered.

Upon delving further into riding, Jon discovered that his real dad was also into riding and fell into it in much the same fashion he had. It was an interesting coinci-dence and, in a way, a reassurance that maybe he found something that was for him. By the time he was sixteen, Crowson started to travel to attend his first set of amateur road races around the Southeast Region.

J His first year of amateur racing was rough to put it lightly. The first racing event Crowson participated in was in Knoxville, with a loop set up around Thompson Bowling Arena. Excited and ready to win his first race, Crowson was lapped before the second turn. It was embarrassing, but he finished. Several races followed with similar results and he realized that a lot more training was needed to be competitive. Even though he didn’t win, or even do well, he kept racing because there was still an under-lying drive to do well. He didn’t want to let his parents down either. They were paying for him to enter and travel to these races, and remained supportive despite his poor standings. So it turned into a puzzle. He wanted to figure out what he was doing wrong and realized that what he thought were long training rides didn’t

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compare what other rider were doing. The following racing year was much better. Crowson would go on to win the state championship for his division and eventually attend college on a biking scholarship.

School and riding was a tough thing to balance though. Crowson had up to this point viewed riding as some-thing he was talented at and a challenge, but his biking scholarship led to riding almost over 40 hours a week training with his team at Cumberland. It was becoming more like work rather than something he did purely for enjoyment and the thrill of being competitive. Crowson decided to leave school and continue racing events.

Jon also had a brief encounter with Cyclo-cross, a sport that includes navigating obstacles in grassy fields as riders race to the finish line. Cycle-cross tests

“it’s just something to have fun with.”

precision and skill, as riders weave their way through obstacle courses. In this sport, bicycle tires are a little wider than road bike tires, allowing for good traction on fields. Crowson explained that these events were fun, especially because of the people he was able to meet. There was a community brought together over a common interest. These Cyclo-cross races were a good way to spend the weekend and hang out after a good day of riding, but eventually he would turn more towards his true love of road racing.

Crowson laughs at the fact that he has crashed the extent that he has. His worse crashing experience was at a race in Atlanta. He describes how a rider went down in front of him, and as he attempted to bunny hop over him, somehow got pushed. Before he knew it, he was headed facedown on top of the already fallen rider.

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The next thing he knew he woke up in the hospital with no idea where he was. Because he had been racing he had no identification on him (there’s not exactly room in spandex) so no one even knew who he was.

After trying to give the nurse a phone number, which took him three tries to remember, he finally got in touch with his parents. Crowson got numerous stitches, many on his face and substantial road rash. Though he crashed so badly, he didn’t think twice about getting back on his bike. He just kept on riding. For Crowson, riding is a lifestyle. Crowson still trains extensively and prides himself being able to ride with anyone, beginners and experts alike. He feels at home with the biking community and couldn’t imagine a life with- out riding.

some things are timeless

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John Myers. Has riden more miles than most

will walk in a lifetime. Former professional cyclist.

Mosies along. Can throw a mean frisbee.

n old poster has stayed hidden away in the corner of the bike shop. The poster is that of the rider John Myers, with a plastic looking helmet, oldschool cycle, tall tube socks, leaned over with no one in sight behind him.

My previous connection with John Myers had been throwing Frisbees out behind the bike shop or just hang-ing out with a beer in hand. I would even go as to far as to say we were more than acquaintances at this point though our conversations were generally quiet, slow, yet somehow fitting to the both of us. Little things like even coming through the door to just pat me on the head in greeting, no words, and grabbing a beer from the counter was how we worked.

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A

So on a Friday night I made it a point of asking John about the poster. He explained that he had won the race the previous year and stated humbly that he had in fact been a professional rider as hard as that was to believe, even though we all were well aware. When asked what year the poster was from, he was elu- sive, and shy about it at first, embarrassed at his age. He would grow even more embarrassed and laugh at the fact that he couldn’t even remember; it had been that long ago. Then, he got really excited and figured that somehow by using the Saturday, May 17 date on the poster, we could figure out the year by looking it up online. It was comical to see him run to a computer with Gerry, one of the bike shop owners, and start trying to figure it out—it was 1972 and he must have been in his mid-twenties (he wouldn’t own up to anything after that).

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Our conversation lasted awhile, and he spoke about how he got into riding. His eyes lit up as he looked off into the past. He said he started riding late, probably around the time he started high school, and it was around this time that he got his first real bike. He would eventually find himself drawn towards racing.

One day, while he was out riding with his buddies, he decided to time himself on the same lap of a race that had finished earlier in the day, yet still had the setup still intact. He timed himself riding just as fastas the professionals were, and realized he might’ve found something he was naturally good at. He sort of just happened it to riding. It was a talent, and later a passion.

John found himself almost effortlessly falling into the role of a professional cyclist and would go on to race whenever he had the chance. He spoke of traveling to races around the country, and even mentioned going to New York and riding on a fixed gear in the velodrome. It was a different time and age. The culture was way different and they were just riding to ride. He may not have been able to remember the year of the poster but could remember well the speed and the feeling of just being out there on his bike, especially for exper-iences like speeding around the velodrome, which is in its own way almost indescribable. There’s a rush of speed partnered with a sense of adrenaline caused by a controlled sense of fear. Without breaks, one false move can lead to a tumble of riders at high speeds and no way to stop. Quick jumps or careful maneuvers are the only way to avoid a down rider.

“john is the best wheel builder i know.”

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John just kept talking, like he needed to. He has never stopped riding and still rides around five days a week. Sometimes it can be discouraging. He went on a shop ride and got dropped faster than he expected, a re-minder of the body’s limitations. He explained that it’s rough to go from being one of the best, most stra- tegic riders back in his day to struggling to do what was once so easy and effortless. It’s hard to have a passion for something and then not be able to do it like you once were able to, and harder to attempt to still bring that same passion despite everything. Even though he may not be able to ride as well as he could in his prime, he still loves going down this one hill in Hardin Valley. He described it as a huge hill on one of his bike routes he frequents, and by his reckoning, is probably around a 40 m.p.h. downhill. It’s his hill; the place

he still feels the same speed and joy for riding he used to in his younger days.

Opening up about his past with riding seemed to be a relief. John said he didn’t talk about this kind of thing anymore, to really anyone, but the way he talked it all just came out like it’d been their on the surface, ready to be released. It was a hard thing for him to do. Our conversation ended with such an emotional pause that all I could really do was just stand there and look at the rider who had seen such great times from the vantage of his bicycle. After several moments, our conversation ended with an interest in my own passions, and a sincere thanks for listening to “an old mans rambling”.

to look into the past

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Hopefully you have seen a glimpse of what riding is to these people. I was inclined to write about local riders because I’m constantly surrounded by riders who I believe to be some of the best in Knoxville. I struggle to keep up. This semester started out with one of the best and worst rides I have ever been on. I stumbled into a morning ride to see the sunrise at Cades Cove. We encountered a bear that seemed to barely notice us as it frolicked across the road in the morning light. The sun peaked across the mountains to clear the rolling fog that had settled on hills. It was one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen. And then the ride back about did me in.

Out of shape as I was, I struggled to keep up, was almost insulted by encouraging words, and then managed to go head over handle bars, onto pavement, for something that I could not have helped. How did such a good ride turn so bad? I was so thankful to make it back to the car, bloody knees and everything. Yet, I don’t think I will ever be able to forget that sunrise and the feeling of riding there on my bike.

I have a passion for riding more in the sense that I love riding for what it does for the people I love. Do not get me wrong, I love to ride but not to the same extent. I have those moments when it iss just me, my bike and the world, but sometimes riding is so ingrained in peoples’ lives that it holds a deeper place.

So I give thanks to those who have so enthusiastically talked to me about what they love best. I give thanks to good times, good people, and to morning rides.

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closing words

Designed by Anna Simanis

For University of Tennessee//Typography 400 Fall 2012 Content and Photography by Anna Simanis

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