Local Cycling Group Gearing Up for the 'Big Ride'
Richmond resident Tom Saunders and a group of friends are ready to take on the 102-mile course at the first-ever MARTIN'S Tour of Richmond.
By: Nan Turner
Tom Saunders, 60, has done small rides, medium rides, even 75-mile rides, but this Saturday he will do a “big ride.”
Saunders will participate in the Martin’s Tour of Richmond, a Gran Fondo event totaling 102 miles, on Saturday, October 6th. The race covers eight different jurisdictions in the Richmond area, and Saunders will not be going solo, as he will be joined by a group of former co-workers that ride together a couple of times per month.
“After the news came out that Martin’s was sponsoring the event we thought participating would be a great way to support the 2015 World Cycling Championships in Richmond,” Saunders said. “We hope [the Tour] becomes a traditional big thing for bikers, and why would you not want to be involved in the first year? It might become famous and then you can tell your grandchildren one day, ‘Hey we did it.’”
Saunders has been cycling for about 17 years; his love for the sport was rekindled in the 1990s when he went on vacation to Bald Head Island, N.C., a community that uses bikes as its primary method of transportation. It was back at work in Richmond that he met others that shared his hobby, growing it into more than just a Saturday afternoon activity.
Although Saunders is now retired, he still rides with the guys and enjoys the good-natured ribbing that goes on while they ride.
“They used to laugh at me for being the old guy, and I only really have one guy I can call my old peer, the rest of them are about 10-15 years younger than me,” Saunders said. “Now they’re the age I was when they used to call me old. It’s nice to try and keep up with them.”
Tom Saunders (far right) and his cycling group
The group has participated in rides together before. Saunders has done Bike Virginia and the Heart of Virginia bike ride hosted by RABA to name a few. Every year he and his friends go to Washington, D.C., and the Colonial Parkway to get in some miles and see some different scenery.
“Biking is a good hobby because you can do it by yourself, but it’s so much better when you have someone with you,” Saunders said. “It’s better in terms of not just safety, and mechanics, but the camaraderie as well. It makes it more fun if you have a group laughing at each other and giving each other the business.”
As far as the Tour of Richmond is concerned, Saunders admits that part of the fascination with the ride is the challenge it presents. It will be the longest distance he’s ridden, and according to him there’s no better way to find out if he can do it than by, well, doing it.
“This is sort of the cycling equivalent of a marathon,” Saunders said. “A century for a cyclist is the same thing as a marathon for a runner. I’m also excited about the awareness and history angle this could have, and how it can get Richmond publicity for being a cycling place.”
While his goal is simply to finish, the group has done some arithmetic and mile-per-hour calculations, and they estimate that they should be off the course by mid-afternoon.
“We saw in the rules where if you’re expecting to be on the track after dark you have to have lights, so that’s our new goal,” Saunders said. “Because I don’t think any of us have lights on the front. Hopefully we’ll stay together, we ride the same.”
Outside of the actual event, Saunders is more excited about what the Tour of Richmond will mean not only to the riders but the city as a whole.
“I’ve lived in Richmond ever since I went to school here at U of R,” Saunders said. “The city has come an awful long way. Things like this help make that even better, it makes it a finer place to live. As bigger and bigger events are here, it makes cycling more appealing and people not from the area will spend money here and give the city an economic boost and our quality of life here will receive a boost as well.”
Join Saunders and his friends at the Martin’s Tour of Richmond on Saturday, October 6. The ride offers a 102-mile option, 59-mile option and 29-mile option starting at 7:00a.m., 10:00a.m. and 12:30p.m, respectively. Walk-up registration is available on both October 5th and 6th. All of the distances finish at Richmond International Raceway, and the post-race festival will feature a BBQ feast, live entertainment and beverages. Meal and drink tickets will be sold separately for those who did not race. For more information visit http://www.sportsbackers.org/events/tour-richmond/event-details.