The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

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June 13, 2007

Mike Pound: Riders’ choice: 110-mile trek or Tour de Beer

By Mike Pound

Globe columnist

I’m a trained journalist, so an important question occurred to me the other day when I was talking to Tracy Cope and Steve Cooper about folks who like to take 100-mile bike rides.

“Why?”

That’s what I asked Tracy and Steve. Why would someone spend eight hours or so on a bike to go 100 miles when you can easily cover the same distance in a car in under two hours, and with much less chaffing? When I asked “Why?” — which, by the way, I figured was a pretty good question — Steve didn’t hesitate to answer.

“To say you did it,” Steve said. “For the same reason rock climbers or marathoners do what they do. It’s a challenge.”

“It’s like having a baby,” Tracy added.

I need to point out that Tracy didn’t mean riding a bike 100 miles is literally like having a baby. That would be silly. Riding a bike 100 miles is WAY worse than having a baby. Ha.

No, what Tracy meant is that after you ride a bike 100 miles, and after the feeling returns to the lower half of your body, you think to yourself, “Hey, that was fun. Let’s do it again.”

That’s what she meant when she said, “It’s like having a baby.”

So as you can clearly see, Tracy and Steve are crazy. Ha. Again, I joke. No, Tracy and Steve just like to ride bikes — a lot. For Steve, riding bikes sort of comes with his career choice. He’s the owner of Spokes & Spandex Bike Shop at 531 S. Main St. For Tracy, riding a bike ... well, come to think about it, Tracy really doesn’t have a clear explanation why she likes riding a bike for obscenely long distances. She just does.

Tracy and Steve are members of the Joplin Bicycle Club, which has a pretty big bike event coming up on July 7 (or as they like to say, 070707): the first ever Tornado Alley 110.

Essentially, the Tornado Alley 110 is chance for Tracy, Steve and other like-minded bike folks to get together and spend the day touring the Four States on bicycles. So far, 260 like-minded bike folks from seven states have registered for the daylong event. It’s really a pretty cool deal. First of all, there is the challenge aspect. See, most big bike events cover 100 miles, but Steve said the Joplin Bicycle Club decided to raise the bar a notch and set its bike route at 110 miles.

Also, the bike club is offering some alternatives for riders who might not be quite ready to tackle a 110-mile ride. There is a ride of 65 to 70 miles offered and a more family-friendly ride of 25 miles.

And for folks who are hovering around my bike-riding level, there is something called the Tour de Beer. Tracy explained that the Tour de Beer is a ride that will cover roughly two miles. The beer route will run from Joplin High School (the official starting point of the Tornado Alley 110) to the official Tornado Alley 110 beer garden.

Tracy told me that a woman by the name of Becky King will be the grand marshal of the Tour de Beer.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because it was her idea,” Tracy told me.

“Oh,” I said.

Also, at 6:30 p.m. on July 6 and again at 7 p.m. on July 7, Joe “The Metal Cowboy” Kurmaskie — a noted author and avid cyclist — will speak. Steve said Joe is your basic bicycling legend, and his shows have garnered rave reviews all over the country.

You can find out more about the Tornado Alley 110 and register online by dialing up www.ta110bike.com. If you want, you can register at Spokes & Spandex. If you register by June 30, the entry fee is $35; after July 1, the fee will be $45.

Registration will begin at 4 p.m. on July 6 at Joplin High School. The rides will kick off at 7:07 a.m. on July 7. The only exception is the Tour de Beer, which will get under way around 2 p.m.

Oh, if you’re reading this and you’re not sure which bike ride you should try, Steve said you’re not ready for the 110-mile ride.

You might, however, be ready for the Tour de Beer.

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