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I came to Athens in 1985 and liked it so much I decided to stay. I still ride on and off road in Southeastern Ohio. The riding here is better than ever with more mountain bike trails and paved roads than ever before. |
John William Lefelhocz |
Contact: janos1@frognet.net |
Resides: Athens, Ohio |
Occupation: Artist |
Years in Athens: 1985 - Present |
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Athens...so many fond memories of the people and place that shaped my life. Life-long friends met there: Jim Schulz, Chip Krieg, Gary Schmitt, Phil Miller, Don Harse, John Doherty, Peter Fromm (the original OU bike guru), and many others.
Best memories? "Strawberry Phil" falling over on Terrace; Schmitt falling off his bike from exhaustion after 120 miles on Rt 56; Schulz getting a ticket for drafting a truck on Rt 33; meeting Chip for the first time with cigarettes rolled up in his shirt sleeve; discovering Rt 555 with Schulz; 6:00am sprints at the old airport; memorizing every pothole in the county; "teaching" the P.E. cycling classes; riding fixed gear on washboard gravel roads (NOT a good idea); pre and post-ride meals & beers at Casa (a VERY good idea!); NEVER beating Schulz into Amesville!;
More memories: putting on the original Athens Criterium in 1972 with Neal Ricker (up Hooper, down Rock Riffle and back on what is now 33/50); organizing the 4th of July Crit at the fairgrounds wi Schulz; watching the tour of the Hocking evolve from 3 lonely guys to a family affair; pickled eggs in Coolville; watching Schulz push half the tour riders up the hills; pre-tour parties at the Bussman's; post tour parties at the Schulz-Gerl house; wrenching & ogling the girls at the Pedaler and the Pathfinder with Chip; commuting on icy roads with home-made studded tires; the smell of spring; 4 dogs under every trailer; more pre and post-ride meals at Casa.
What can I say? Absolutely the best place to ride with the best people on the planet! |
John Pratt |
Contact: dpratt93@comcast.net |
Resides: Bellingham, WA |
Occupation: Photographer, counselor, part time bike mechanic |
Years in Athens: 1970 - 74, 1976 - 80 |
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My favorite thing about Athens are the rolling hills and relaxed atmosphere. |
Maxine (Max) Rantane |
Contact: rantane@yahoo.com |
Resides: Athens, Ohio |
Occupation: Owner - Cycle Path |
Years in Athens: 1982 - Present |
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So many fond memories of riding with Chip Krieg, Jim Schultz, John Pratt., Buchtel Wall, falling over at the top of Terrace Lane riding a 42 x 21 with old campy friction levers that never held. Pigging out at Pizza Hut's 99cent salad bar after a ride. I can't remember the route that Schultz and I did but it was awesome, I want to come back and do it again someday. Best mountain bike ride with Chip and Marty, had more fun riding in Athen's county than Moab Utah(Moab is a great place to ride at least once, but too hot and rocky for my liking). Taking a cycling class at OU and meeting Chip, John, and Patty, then later teaching the class. |
Phil Miller |
Contact: philmiller_bike@msn.com |
Resides: Louisville, Colorado |
Occupation: Middle School PE and Health Teacher, part time Performance Bike shop mechanic, part time nordic instructor |
Years in Athens: 1976-1977 |
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My fond memories of Athens include slow and easy Sunday rides. All the colorful commentary provided by Chancey and Glouster folks while pedaling through their piece of Appalachian pie. Being able to actually climb a hill as an overly energetic, non-gravitationally challenged, youth. Selfishly sitting on the wheel of a certain un-named artist and then winning the sprint to the green county/city line signs :) |
Josh Yaskoff |
Contact: Joshua.Yaskoff@sumcousa.com |
Resides: Cincinnati, OH |
Occupation: Epitaxial Process Development Engineer, SUMCO (Sumitomo-Mitsubishi), Inc. |
Years in Athens: 1974 - 1994 / 2003 - 2005 |
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Tell us your favorite Southeastern Ohio cycling memory, favorite ride, or what you are up to. Send us your profile. |
Your Name Here |
Contact: you@email.com |
Resides: Everywhere, USA |
Occupation: Living Life |
Years in Athens: Way back when to after a while |
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Sprinting for the green county/city signs, the water spring in Buchtel, Terrace Lane, Glousterville, the 'Rim of the World', all the dogs, Appalachian poverty, 5:30 rides form the shop, and going to races. These are but a few of my favorite things I remember about riding around Athens. |
Fritz Kessler |
Contact: fkessler@frostburg.edu |
Resides: Frostburg, MD |
Occupation: Associate Professor of Geography at Frostburg State University |
Years in Athens: 1966 - 1988, still there in thought |
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From Lancaster, Ohio originally, I had the privilege to attend OU from 1996-2000, which was a great time to be a part of the Athens/OU bike scene. I was a member of the cycling team and mt. bike team every year and I was president of the cycling team at least one of those years. I was also part of the crew that helped OU host collegiate road national in 2000 which was THE highlight of my college career. Looking back, those years in Athens were some of the best riding I have ever done. There was a great group of people (many of which stayed after school) and living at the crack house on Central, you always had someone to ride with. We had steller teams every one of those years and qualified for nationals everyone of those years. I got to experience the team from the Shave Dave’s, Niles Love’s, Austin, Angie Harmison days to the Josh Barnett, Chris Skulley, and Jenny Dean days. It was all great fun and I do miss the “glory days” sometimes. I heard through the grape vine that there might be a reunion in the near future. I will gladly make the trip back to OU for it.. |
Michael Dickerson |
Contact: bluetoad@verizon.net; 802-223-4763 |
Resides: Montpelier, VT |
Occupation: Quality Manager for General Dynamics (aka. Corporate Sellout) |
Years in Athens: 1996-2000 |
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