Twenty-two miles into today’s ride my tire made a sound like a .357 going off. Not good, I had my first flat tire on the ride and only my second for the year. Craig Hill has the record for four flats on one fifty mile ride, and he literally blew through five tubes. Russ Meyers comment “You pulled a Craig Hill.” The day started a bit dicey with rain at the start of the ride. As the good boy scout that I am, I came prepared with a long sleeve cycling jersey and my long cycling pants. My body was warm and toasty. The rain came and went as we road through day on and off on I – 90.
As I near the start of the largest hill, the tire blew. The Courage Classic has about seven sag wagons which drive the course helping people with flats, water, and bike problems. The helpful sag driver was Eric Quist. After trying to fix the tire, we tried two tubes then the tire blew again. Eric loaded the bike onto the car and took me up the hill to a waiting mechanic. Old Towne Bike Shop supplies the bike mechanics. The mechanics are outstanding in their service. The mechanic told me to go have lunch, and my bike would be ready when I returned. The bike was ready to go, and when I didn’t have enough money they allowed me to come by later to pay. The Courage Classic treats their riders like no other ride.

Hi, I am Rick Beitelspacher, and I have the opportunity to share my experiences with you concerning the Courage Classic Bike Ride. Craig Hill, one of the real writers, is camping this weekend, so I got the call from the minors to write the blog. The only real writing I have accomplished this summer is a grocery list. During the school year, I teach and coach junior high school students. Hopefully after reading the blog you don’t decide to pull your kids from public school.
I have a bias opinion of the Courage Classic Bike Ride. I LOVE IT. As I packed my bag for the three days of riding, I packed some shirts from previous rides, and those shirts brought back some memories of good times on the bike, hanging out with friends, eating some amazing food, and getting treated by the volunteers like your royalty. The ride is like an old friend. The kind of friend you don’t see for years, but after a couple of minutes of talking, you feel as if you have reconnected.
Craig Hill wrote an article in the TNT on Thursday covering the ride. Money raised from the ride goes toward a program at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. I took the next part right from the Courage Classic website (www.courageclassic.org). The Courage Classic Bicycle Tour was created as a fund raising ride to support the Rotary Endowment for the Intervention and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. This endowment will ensure that the children in our communities and their families will never be turned away from the help they might need in the case of sexual or physical abuse.
Because the riders raise funds for a great cause, the volunteers treat the riders as if they have done something special. I have ridden STP, raced triathlons, and run the Portland Marathon, but I have never experienced anything like the special treatment we receive from the many folks who put on the ride. The volunteers come from the rotaries in the area, the hospital, and folks who believe in the cause. They work many hours to put the ride, food, and logistics together, and they thank us? I told you I was bias from the start of the blog.
I want share with you my experiences, and the ride is the biggest part of the experience. The other part is some time with some good friends. I mostly hang out with Russ Meyers who is another teacher and coach. We ride together except when the hills get too steep then Russ and all of his 165 lbs go up the hill by himself. When he arrives at the top of the hill, Russ waits for me and let’s me know what a “Good Climber” I am. What a joke – I hate climbing hills. Unlike Russ I have forty extra lbs to lift up the hill. I get my revenge on Russ in our many cribbage games. We play around thirty over the weekend at a dollar a game to the winner. This usually means that Russ will be buying me dinner on Monday night. I rarely take less than fifteen dollars from Russ. Yes I do talk smack the whole time we are playing so Russ pays me back on the ride. It works for us.