According to my husband of twenty-something years, I have “issues with authority”.   Other than that, I am a mother of three kids ranging from elementary, high school and  college age. I am also involved in various volunteer activities.

I started riding about four years ago right after my father passed away, and my youngest child started school. Up until then, I had been busy as a stay-at-home mom watching the kids and tending to my ill father. In the same month, my father passed away and my youngest started school, all of a sudden I had extra time on my hands, and I didn’t quite know what to do with myself!   Since lung and heart disease seems to run in my family, I wanted to make sure I did everything possible to keep it from happening to me.  So, I started exercising every morning after I shoved the kids (with love) out the door. I took up Pilates with my neighbors, and then afterwards we would walk the bike trail.  One day, my husband Rick, suggested that I take his bike out on the trail.  I did, and I loved it…except his bike was WAY too big for me.

After many, many weeks of whining that his bike was too big for me…he took me to Target and bought me a hybrid bike for $200.00. (He wasn’t going to spend anymore money on me, because he said that I was “a bleacher”…meaning I preferred to be a spectator when it comes to exercising, rather than actually participating.…and he figured I would drop the whole idea once I had to “sweat”.)  But, boy was he wrong! Since our house is right on the bike trail, I would go out every morning.  It was my escape.  I knew every turtle, baby duck, and crazy dog park person on the trail….especially the ones that didn’t pay attention and let their leashes tangle up the bikes! I started riding by myself, but by summer, my girl friends were riding with me too.

It wasn’t long before we had a neighborhood group consisting of 5 couples, Pam and Brian Spraetz, Charles and Colleen Galles, Matt and Betsy Jacunski, Laurie and John Evans, and Rick and myself that were all riding the trails together.   We would make up silly neighborhood bike rallies and end up either in our pool or a neighborhood bar.  Soon we started going to bike rallies out of town…sometimes even dragging all of our offspring with us….kicking and screaming. Also, being the tight wads that we were, we discovered that if we entered a bike rally as a “team”, we’d get a special discount. Thus starting our team name…Team Cruise and Booze.

We were all totally happy in our own little “Fred Biking World”, until one of our members, John Evans….”wanted more”.  One day, while he was out on his bike, he ran into a PBA group on Spring Creek and started chasing them. He caught up with them at a light and started asking questions.  The next thing I knew, he had talked Rick into joining him on a Tweener ride. Rick kept trying to get me to come along too, but because of my “issues with authority” …I refused to try it out. I liked my “Fred” status quo and didn’t want any parts of an organized biking group!

Eventually I relented, ( I got a real road bike) and have been riding with the PBA Tweeners for two years now.  I absolutely love riding with them and listening to all their stories!  If anyone has any ride stories or trips that they would like to share, I would love to put it in this column!.  Please email me with your stories or ideas to my address:  lori@maucieri.net     I look forward to hearing from you!