Initial contest

The second annual Sandy Springs Biathlon was scheduled on July 20, 1985, at Southside Park in Mauldin, South Carolina. I signed up to begin fueling my competition side, which now included running and cycling. The event, sponsored by the Greenville Spinners Bicycle Club, was 5k of running, followed by 40k of cycling, and another 5k of running.

As my first event, the thought of keeping the data results of average speed, or how many competitors entered, and how I finished was not considered. Also, tribal knowledge of pacing did not exist, and during the second 5k run, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to continue to run or begin walking. The never give up principle instilled by my father's upbringing kicked in, and I did not walk.

The completion of this biathlon began the search for other events. As a newbie, 10k runs were easy to find, and I did not know how to find cycling events or group rides.

Return to Belgium

The decision to have a Flanders road bike with disc brakes was made, and I contacted Ronny Assez to order a new frame. In the past, each time he had a new frame for me, he would only send it when someone he knew was traveling to the States and was willing to bring it. The past two times I needed a frame, they were brought in by Paul. He happened to live in St. Augustine, so I would simply drive up and pick them up each time.

My plan for this frame was for Ronny to pack it, and I would make arrangements for UPS to pick it up for delivery to the States. I shared that information with Ronny along with the frame, size, and color I wanted. As he gathered information to prepare the frame, he never commented on my idea for UPS to ship it to me. He then asked if I was coming to Belgium, and I thought, why not, as long as he could find a low-cost place for me to stay.

Thirty-four years have passed since my last visit to Oudenaarde, Belgium, and I don't think I've flown since the inception of TSA in 2001. The flight I booked with Delta went from Orlando to Atlanta to Brussels, and the layover was long enough for my bags to make the transfer to the plane for Brussels.

Boarding began for Atlanta, thunderstorms were building, and after pulling away from the gate, takeoff was put on hold. After 15 minutes, the pilot announced a return to the gate. Everyone was asked to unboard, and departure for Atlanta was delayed three hours.

Knowing that I wouldn't make the flight from Atlanta to Brussels, I wondered how soon I would be booked on another flight to Brussels and if my bags would be transferred properly. The next flight to Brussels was scheduled to take off in seventeen hours from Atlanta to New York, and then a connection to Brussels. I immediately began moving around the different gates, trying to sleep in chairs and on the floor. Fortunately, I found a seat cushion that worked as a pillow. As the departure time for the flight to New York approached, a delay was posted, and worry set in again as the arrival time was 6:05 p.m. and the departure for Brussels was 6:55 p.m.

Take off was fifteen minutes past the scheduled departure, and as we approached our landing in New York, I knew I needed to disembark quickly. My seat was three-fourths of the way toward the rear of the plane; fortunately, I was in an aisle seat. As soon as the plane stopped, I stood and rushed down the aisle, letting others know I needed to catch a connecting flight. Reaching halfway, the aisle was full, and the wait for others to disembark began. I made sure I knew the gate I needed to go to for my connecting flight.

Moving walkways allowed me to quickly travel past 38 gates for the departing flight to Brussels. When I approached the gate, I was cheerful to see a line for my seat section. Knowing I made the flight, I began to wonder if my bags made it as well. While in flight, the Fly Delta app allowed me to discover that my bags were not in the cargo hold. I was also able to see that they were scheduled for the next flight to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Brussels.

My flight landed in Brussels at 8:45 a.m. After disembarking, I immediately went to the lost/delayed baggage area and learned my bags would arrive at 3:30 p.m. for me to pick up or that I could have them delivered. I immediately opted to pick them up, but then said I'd like them delivered. When I learned delivery might not be until the next day, I stayed with the pickup decision. Anxious to see Ronny and knowing the train depot is at the airport, I contemplated taking the train to Oudenaarde and returning in the afternoon for my bags. After converting enough dollars to euros for a train ticket and purchasing a ticket, I decided a better decision was to stay and wait for my bags.

The desire to ride today prompted me to immediately start looking for my bags at 3:30, even though I

knew it would take time for my bags to arrive at the claim area. At 4:30, I saw my bike box. Asking and being told the carousel I needed to go to for my bag, I was able to board the next train for Oudenaarde, leaving at 5:12.

Fifty-eight hours had passed since I left Ocala, and I was now at the Oudenaarde train depot. Texting Ronny that I had arrived, he responded that the shop closed in about 20 minutes at 6:30, and he would pick me up.

Cycling was absent during high school as my focus was on football and a desire to earn a football scholarship. Several schools were interested, one of which was Furman, which needed a replacement center for field goals and punts. They stayed in contact with me more than other schools, so Furman was the only school I applied to. Being accepted, I was to report weighing 215 pounds, bench pressing at least 300 pounds, cleaning 225 pounds, running a quarter mile within 70 seconds, and a mile within seven minutes. I exceeded the weightlifting requirements and was the fastest lineman in the quarter mile and the mile.

Unfortunately, within a few weeks, I was hauled off the field and taken to the doctor due to back pain. X-rays revealed my L4 and L5 discs were degenerative, which ended my football career. I was offered to stay on as an athletic trainer, and that would allow me to keep some scholarship money. I began running and playing basketball against the other trainers, and I started losing weight. The perks were nice, but I was missing out on athletic competition.

The 16th tee of the Furman golf course was a 400-yard walk from my dormitory. Even though I hadn't played since I was in my early teens, I pulled out the clubs and began hitting the links. I stopped being an athletic trainer at the end of my freshman year and turned my focus to earning a spot on Furman's golf team. My sophomore year, I was nowhere close to making it, and my junior year, I missed it by three strokes. That was the end of my trying out for the golf team.

I had been running approximately three miles every other day, but I also began swimming during my junior year and improved to the point where I would swim a mile every day during lunch. Mountain biking caught my interest, and I asked for an MTB for my birthday. On days I didn't run, I'd ride my MTB to the top of Paris Mountain and end up with at least a ten-mile ride. When time permitted, I began riding a bit longer, and I soon found out about triathlons.

As the interest in triathlons grew, the Spring of my junior year was the time to get a road bike. Sunshine Cycles set me up with a Bianchi, toe clip pedals, shoes, and a helmet. The group set was Shimano 600EX with 42-52 chainrings. Ride distances increased, and I continued to run and swim. My senior year, I participated in an organized ride from downtown Greenville to the top of Paris Mountain and back. Every registered rider was entered into a drawing for a Raleigh road bike equipped with double brake lever handles. My name was drawn, and I now had three bikes. Staying in a single dormitory room, I laid one of the bikes on my bed each morning and stood another in the closet so I had room to move about. When one of my professors, Dr. Powell, found out about the Raleigh, he asked if his wife could try it out. She liked it and now had a bike to begin doing triathlons.

My path to cycling began on a tricycle in Citra, Florida, when I was around 4 or 5 years old. The only memory I have is riding circles around a copperhead snake coiled up in the center of the carport.

When I believe we lived in Live Oak, I advanced to two wheels. Reluctantly, I rode without shoes and routinely scraped my big toe on the curb.

A few months later, we moved to a house in Ocala on the west end of what is now Florence Moore Turnipseed Park. I met Jimmy Chambliss, who lived a few blocks away, a few houses from what is now Walker Park. Living only a few blocks from each other during a time when parent monitoring relied on trust and open communication, our bikes provided endless freedom and adventure.

The two standouts of this time were the technology of Jimmy's bike and a crash, resulting in the fear of future crashes. The crash occurred during the fall when oak tree leaves would collect on the road. Going down a hill on 13th Avenue and immediately turning left on 7th Street, the leaves caused me to fall, and the left side of my body slid across the road. Jimmy's bike was a Schwinn Sting-Ray. Standard features of this bike are a banana seat and ape hanger handlebars. The unique features were a spring loaded sissy bar for a "floating seat" and 2-speed automatic kick back rear hub.

During high school, feeling the freedom behind the wheel of a truck was paramount. However, for some reason, I got a Schwinn Varsity. The only two purposes that come to mind are having a bike for when I left for college and aiding my training for college football. The one standout was going on a ride with Randy McDaniel to Belleview and returning home.