Hangin' out with 450 bikers!
Well, not those kind of bikers. Not the ones with engines between the wheels. These bikers are the kind with people power and 10 or 16 or 24 speed bikes.
Several times a summer, an organization called Two Bicycles and a Map, Ltd, based in Madison, WI, provides bicycle riders an opportunity to take a guided tour of some section of summertime in Wisconsin. The company generates a route, provides places to stay overnight (most of the rides last a week), provides services like transporting the riders luggage from stop to stop and even arranging for some meals. They provide for the safety of the riders by providing water stops along the route and ham radio operators to provide communications for the route. If a rider has an equipment failure or comes down ill, ham radio helps to solve the problem.
Now you can see where this is going, right? I have helped out on bike tours previously starting back in the '90s when the American Lung Association used to do fund raising rides in Door County and New Glarus. A couple of years ago when my wife got really interested in taking biking a little more seriously, she decided to try a tour with Two Bicycles and a Map, Ltd. Because they were looking for radio operators I decided to help out for a couple of days. You don't necessarily commit for the whole week. You can pick and choose the days you can help out. It turned out to be a lot of fun. The requirements are minimal for operators: you bring your radio and you talk on it.
The fun however, is helping out at the water stop you are assigned to. Providing water to the riders and talking with a few hundred different riders who are REALLY enthusiastic about what their doing and REALLY enjoying it is a ball. There are people out there just enjoying the camaraderie with other like-minded people, or just having fun looking at and taking pictures of Wisconsin scenery. Some are seeing if they can really travel rapidly, making the ride into something more like the Tour de France. There are singles, marrieds and families. A great cross section of people. They come from all over the US because we live in a state that is particularly gorgeous in the Summer.
I had a great time, the weather was beautiful, the riders are fun and the company does the best job I have ever seen of taking care of riders. And it includes doing something significant using ham radio. Does it get any better than that? Well, yes it does. You get a breakfast and dinner too.
August 2008
Richard K9RWE