Pedal to the mettle
Hundreds of adult cyclists in Butler County race, train and bump along narrow rugged trails. They ride for fun, they ride for sport and they ride on the highways that minivans and SUVs have staked claim to.
For Chris Carlson of Prospect it was a desire for recreation that brought him back to his bike in 2004.
He remembers cycling as a teen while growing in Carmel, Ind.
"Back when I was a kid, there were no soccer moms or minivans. If you wanted to get somewhere, you either walked or rode your bike," said Carlson.
When he was 13 years old, he rode with a 40-member Christian group on an 11-day, 1,100-mile trek from Cocoa Beach, Fla., to Indianapolis.
In 2004, he got back into the habit of cycling.
"I remember enjoying it so much, I wanted to get back to it," he said.
Now he rides in annual events such as the MS 150, where hundreds of cyclists ride from Cranberry Township to Meadville, then continue to Conneaut, Ohio. In 2006, he was among 1,600 bicyclists who raised more than $1 million for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society during the event.
He also volunteers with his son, Eric, 13, in the Tour de Cure, an annual event where bicyclists take 20- and 100-mile trips beginning at Seneca Valley High School. Carlson's wife, Jamie, rides in the event, which raises money for the American Diabetes Association.
Between events, he rides during his lunch break about once a week, when the weather is warm. He takes his Jamis 30-speed from his office in Seven Fields east on Route 228 to Mars, then up to Evans City on the Mars-Evans City Road.
Safety is a concern on the roads, but he finds on Route 228 drivers are pretty cautious since there is a lot of traffic.
"It can be worse on the country roads," he said.
As more bike-friendly programs such as the Rails to Trails Conservancy are completed, more adults are riding.
Jeff Rapp of Rapp's Bicycle Center in Butler said bicycling has seen many trends. He said he used to sell most bikes to males between age 6 and 16, but now he sees more adults coming in.
"These trails have been a big thing. Even if someone gets sick of one trail, they have others to choose from," said Rapp.
Jim Sidney of Cranberry also rides recreationally, but he doesn't stick to roads. Nor does he limit his rides to warm weather.Sidney and his neighbor, Ed Martin, have been riding mountain bike trails in the snow for 10 years. They go to Moraine State Park and to North Park in Allegheny County once in a while, but mostly they ride trails behind a housing development off Rowan Road in Cranberry."These are a lot of fun back here. Almost nobody knows about them. It's me and Ed, and I think I've seen one other set of tires back here," said Sidney on a recent frigid day on the trail.He said the snow has frozen, so it is hard going. He rides a mountain bike with clip-in pedals, thick treads and strong shocks, and wears layers of riding clothes and a facemask.Sidney said the winter challenges are different than those of summer."Ice under leaves in the winter. That's pretty interesting," said Sidney with a smile.He faces not only the cold, but rough terrain along trails and slippery snow. The trails have been there for more than 25 years, and are not maintained.It takes more energy to pedal through the snow and it's harder to turn.The cyclists share the Cranberry trails with quads and dirt bikes."We give enough room for each other. We use our small and winding trails, and they use the wider ones. It's a good relationship," said Sidney.While he enjoys riding with Martin or a small group, he does not ride competitively."To me, every day at work is a competition. I want to ride to get away from that. We push our own limits out here, but mainly it is relaxed," said Sidney.
Henry Dimmick Jr. of Butler is the opposite. He has embraced competitive cycling for 25 years."Every weekend there is a race happening somewhere," said Dimmick.Dimmick enjoys some cyclo-cross events in which racers ride on different surfaces and over obstacles. But most of the year he is racing with a team he started in 1997, called the Ag3r/Cannondale team. The team has several sponsors including the company he works for, AGR International in Butler Township, and Indiana Cycling in Indiana, Pa.The team's members are also in a club Dimmick created in 1995 called the FoxVelo Cycling Club.He trains year-round with the team between four and six days a week from 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. The team races in between 30 and 35 events a year. The team has traveled to Ohio and upstate New York for events.Although half of the FoxVelo Cycling Club's membership is from Butler, there are no events in the county. Dimmick would like to see that change. He thinks there could be time trial events, in which each cyclist races against the clock.That is different from road races and criteriums, which are races on a smaller track. In both of these events, the teams are all on the same course vying for first place. They are fun but can be dangerous."It's like NASCAR. You've got a lot of people going very fast, inches away from each other," said Dimmick, who has broken his collarbone and sustained burns from hitting pavement.Team road racing takes strategy. One racer will lead the team to take the brunt of wind resistance so a stronger or more rested racer can hang out behind and break away closer to the finish line."Everybody has a role on the team. Sometimes you sacrifice your energy so someone else (on the team) can save energy," said Dimmick.He began cycling regularly in college in 1980 to rehabilitate from a hyper-extended knee.He has been president of the Allegheny Cycling Association, a Pittsburgh-based racing club, for two years. While with the 150-member association, he has helped organize the Senior Olympics in North Park in 2005 and the USA Cycling National Championship at Seven Springs last summer."I'm very competitive. I love organizing things, I've been essentially doing (it) all my life," he said.Along with Dimmick, Ray Sielski of Butler is a member of the FoxVelo Cycling Club. He enjoys cycling events, such as the MS 150 and other long-distance trips.He began cycling 10 years ago for exercise."I enjoyed it more than the alternatives, like racquetball or other sports. The ability to perform at that long-distance level, it's a great challenge," said Sielski.He cycles with small groups at North Park and on roads throughout the county. He met a lot of cycling buddies through bike shops.Sielski rides about 25 miles three times a week, then another 50 to 75 miles each weekend. He does events in Pittsburgh, Columbus, Ohio; Virginia and Phoenix.What keeps him cycling?"Early morning sunrises. Climbing a mountaintop you could not ride up before. The camaraderie among friends," he said.
