Where the Metal Meets the Mud.
…or words to that effect, were on the shirt of one of the fearless cyclists who participated in the Road Apple Roubaix on Saturday, March 3, 2018, starting off from and ending at Slim & Jumbo’s on Main Street, Garrettsville.
To say the least, it was colorful. Who knew that spandex came in so many shades? Fluorescent anything—yellow, green, pink, blue, for starters—was complimented by major shots of sinister black, in shoes, shirts, trunks, whatever. Helmets were another preen/protect statement as well. There was one style that so reminded me of a hair style popular during my misspent youth; it was known as the “D.A.”, referring to a particular feature of a duck’s anatomy. Seeing it in screaming orange was too, too funny. There were assorted styles of bikes and the tires thereof. Also, the random movements of the bikes and/or riders, either on High St. before the start or inside Slim & Jumbo’s made me think of a term from high school biology (or chemistry, who can remember?), Brownian motion(pedesis), the random movement of particles suspended in a fluid, bumping into faster-moving liquid atoms. People were just moving about, going from the registration tables to the available liquid refreshment to the tables holding the Chinese auction array of items up for raffle (More about that later), to various friends throughout the room (Some of the movements were more liquid than others). Nice bunch. Very Brownian—couldn’t tell who was atom and who was particle. There were even interesting masks and glasses, , mitten-type covers for hands on handlebars and a rear fender to avoid splatters.
The auction tables were full of cool stuff, most of it supplied by the sponsors of the event. These worthy folks included The Bicycle Hub, Reed Financial Services, Blue Sky Bicycles, Mountain Road Cycles, Bike Ohio, Velodrome Cleveland, Right Path Fitness and Massage, Spin Cycle (not about the laundry), Road ID, Brew Mentor, Double Wing Brewing, and, of course, Slim & Jumbo’s. The things on offer included a Norway pine from Jimmy’s Trees, a helmet, a beer basket, every kind of bike paraphernalia, a Matco stool (for use while making repairs?) from Tom Pereces, and a pizza cutter in the shape of an old-fashioned velocipede, one of those with a high front wheel, which made a perfect blade. Energy sources and substances for combatting serious chafing were also available. There was also a well-used PBR—Pabst Blue Ribbon—sign, destined for somebody’s back-of-the-bar, no doubt.
To make it all official, there was Ranger Shepard of the Portage County Park District (The Headwaters Trail made up part of one of the three possible routes), Garrettsville’s Finest leading out the opening pedal-off, Lisa Pilsko of Burton sang the National Anthem and selfies were being taken all ‘round—somebody got a shot of the historical marker behind the James A. Garfield Historical Society attesting to the village’s contribution to the maple industry.
The after-race crowd at Slim & Jumbo’s was loud and cheerful, chili-stoked, relaxed and happy. It was a good day—especially considering that we’d had six-to-eight inches of the fluffy white stuff the day before. In like a lion, eh?
