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Giving Back |
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Written by Andrew Freye
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Thursday, 07 June 2007 |
 Giving back to the cycling community:
The cycling community does a lot to support pro’s like myself and every other cyclist out there. Back in the early weekends of May I was trail day at Bradbury State Park, home to the best mountain biking in the state of Maine. Since I go to Bradbury often and love riding there I decided I should go and give a helping hand. Wheels and Bikeman teammate John Burns joined me for an early mountain bike ride.
 | | Before the ride, sorry no actual pictures of the clean up, but trust me I was there. Picture taken by Babs Wheelden |
Burns and I met up with a crew out on Fox Trail. There we recognized fellow Bikeman teammate Anders Larson. Burns and I joined in by hunting for fist sized rocks to fill in mud holes. After the specific trail was “fixed” we moved on to where a skidder had torn up a section of forest and was causing some water damage to a section of the Fox Trail. I used my huge arms to lift a bridge (well not really, it took several of us scronny bikers to lift the bridge) to better help with water drainage. After digging some ditches and redirecting the water flow it was time to put the bridge back down. Even though Burns and I could only help out for a couple of hours I think we made a big difference. Hopefully our work (inspired by IMBA) will make a difference in the quality of Fox Trail. I hear Bikeman is now the sponsor of Fox Trail! That is great news because its probably the best trail at Bradbury.
 | | Gov Baldacci, Jeff Miller, and pro hockey player Eric Weinrich talking about how important cycling is. |
On a Tuesday I went to my old high school, Kents Hill School, to go lift weights. There I ran into Wheels who told me about a 7am ride with Maine State Senators and ride with the Bicycle Coalition of Maine (BCM). Our wonderful governor John Baldacci came and spoke to several cyclists who were there to show their support of bicycle safety in Maine. Director of the BCM Jeff Miller was there to speak to the Senators about how important cycling is to Maine. You know health, economic, environment, etc…  | | Wheels and I before the ride. |
After some speeches all the cyclists and the few Senators who joined went on a short bike ride. The ride was maybe 6 miles long with a few stops. The stops were meant for Jeff Miller to explain what was a good cycling road vs. bad etc.. Overall it was well worth waking up at 6am and going on a ride. Even though I didn’t get a chance to directly speak with a Senator I feel my presence was valued because it was about numbers not who is who. A new law is about to be voted on by our state government in regards to cycling. The law would require automobiles to give at least 3 ft of clearance when passing a cyclist, allow automobiles to legally cross a double yellow line when passing a cyclist, and make it illegal to operate a bicycle while under the influence along with many other aspect like requirements to wear a helmet etc… It would be a great success for all cyclists in the state if the law goes into effect.
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; "Before the ride, sorry no actual pictures of the clean up, but trust me I was there. Picture taken by Babs Wheelden")
; "Gov Baldacci, Jeff Miller, and pro hockey player Eric Weinrich talking about how important cycling is.")
; "Wheels and I before the ride.")
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