Five members of the San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club earned the California Triple Crown Jersey in 2006. The winners were Rod Atkinson, Juliana Austin-Olsen, Jay Carroll, Mike Curren and Robert Davis.
Four of these riders–Rod, Jay, Mike and Robert–joined the Gold Thousand Mile Club by riding five doubles and supporting at least one additional DC as a volunteer. Only 73 riders in the world accomplished that and San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club has four of them. We are a great club.
I have wonderful memories of my rides this year. It rained on us during Butterfield in February and I wondered what was I doing out there. Then the sun came out, I was pedaling along the seashore of San Onofre drying out and having a great time and I was happy to be on my bike.
On the next ride in March, my handlebars broke two miles from the finish and I rode from Buellton to Solvang with one hand on the left handlebar and the other grippin.jpg)
g the top of the stem and the headlamp pointing off somewhere to the right and no brakes and a front wheel that wobbled back and forth across the shoulder. But I finished and got credit for the ride.
I did Hemet two weeks later with a brand new bike that I had never ridden before. For our first loop, we went around Lake Elsinore and back to Hemet. For our second loop, we went around Lake Elsinore and back to Hemet. Rod and Juliana passed me a hundred yards from the finish and Rod whooped "I passed Red Davis." I didn’t tell him then, but Rod, you’re not the first person to do that.
In September we rode from Vacaville to Knoxville, a place I’d never heard of and still don’t know where it is, and back to Vacaville. The route was unique in that it was uphill in both directions. It was dark when I started and dark when I finished.
The next Saturday we rode the Tour of Two Forests, re-routed because of the Day Fire, from Santa Clara to California City and back. The first hundred miles were into a 25 mph Santa Ana headwind with 40 mph gusts. I rode down Oak Creek Canyon past the big power-generating windmills into Mojave at 12 mph.
Coming back it was a tailwind AND it was downhill. What a way to finish. Gail was there to greet me, as she was for all of the rides.
Four of these riders–Rod, Jay, Mike and Robert–joined the Gold Thousand Mile Club by riding five doubles and supporting at least one additional DC as a volunteer. Only 73 riders in the world accomplished that and San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club has four of them. We are a great club.
I have wonderful memories of my rides this year. It rained on us during Butterfield in February and I wondered what was I doing out there. Then the sun came out, I was pedaling along the seashore of San Onofre drying out and having a great time and I was happy to be on my bike.
On the next ride in March, my handlebars broke two miles from the finish and I rode from Buellton to Solvang with one hand on the left handlebar and the other grippin
.jpg)
g the top of the stem and the headlamp pointing off somewhere to the right and no brakes and a front wheel that wobbled back and forth across the shoulder. But I finished and got credit for the ride.I did Hemet two weeks later with a brand new bike that I had never ridden before. For our first loop, we went around Lake Elsinore and back to Hemet. For our second loop, we went around Lake Elsinore and back to Hemet. Rod and Juliana passed me a hundred yards from the finish and Rod whooped "I passed Red Davis." I didn’t tell him then, but Rod, you’re not the first person to do that.
In September we rode from Vacaville to Knoxville, a place I’d never heard of and still don’t know where it is, and back to Vacaville. The route was unique in that it was uphill in both directions. It was dark when I started and dark when I finished.
The next Saturday we rode the Tour of Two Forests, re-routed because of the Day Fire, from Santa Clara to California City and back. The first hundred miles were into a 25 mph Santa Ana headwind with 40 mph gusts. I rode down Oak Creek Canyon past the big power-generating windmills into Mojave at 12 mph.
Coming back it was a tailwind AND it was downhill. What a way to finish. Gail was there to greet me, as she was for all of the rides.
