Member of the Month for April 2012

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Kelly Sile is the new Wheelmen “mapmaker” who is updating some of our older maps to add roads and doing maps for our new routes such as New Berlin. She joined the Wheelmen in 2009 and has been an instructor for Road Riding 101 and 201 and also helped with stay-together rides. Kelly is also very active with Team in Training where she raises money to find a cure for blood cancer.

If you have seen Kelly on a ride you will have noticed her beautiful 2011 Trek Madone with Sram red components (see the photo above). She ordered the frame and had the bike built with components she selected. When the weather is not great she rides her 2009 Trek WSD 2.3 to keep the new bike clean! While she has the road bike she wants, she would also like to have a Kona Mina mountain bike.

Kelly started riding mountain bikes over 25 years ago and has been riding road bikes for about 20 years. She has done six century rides: El Tour de Tucson (twice – 109 miles), Armadillo Hill Country Classic in Liberty Hill (twice), the Outlaw Trail in Round Rock, and the Honolulu Century. She will do her 7th century this June at Lake Tahoe. She has also done the local Tour de Cure and Fiesta Wildflower rides several times and the Conquer the Coast ride in Corpus Christi. She plans to do the Alamo Ride to the River in October 2012. She also did the cycling legs for two Triathlon’s: the Wurst Tri Ever in New Braunfels (no one else wanted to ride Hueco Springs loop!) and the Capital of Texas Triathlon. She used both events as a time trial! In her spare time Kelly leads training rides for Team in Training. Other Team in Training members call Kelly the Mountain Goat because she loves riding hills. When given a choice, she would rather ride hills than flat routes.

Here is Kelly’s description of her favorite ride. “My favorite ride was the 2011 Honolulu Century. It was the most beautiful route I have ever done. The scenery was breath taking and you can’t beat pineapple at the SAG stops and Coconut shave ice after the ride!”

Kelly’s father was in the Air force, so she went to elementary school in England and then came to San Antonio in 1977 and has lived here ever since. She works for an engineering company that does electrical studies for West Texas oil companies. In addition to cycling her favorite outdoor activities include fishing, hiking and photography.

The next time you see Kelly on a ride say hello, get a good look at her bike, and thank her for the new and improved route maps.

Member of the Month for March 2012

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Jose Rojas is an avid bicyclist and the new Wheelmen Executive Vice President. He joined the club in 2007 and has been an active participant in the weekly rides plus has started a number of rides including Rebecca Creek, Kendalia and Comal School. He is currently helping develop the Wheelmen social schedule for this year with plans for a social event every month. He is also leading the Club effort to develop route maps that can be downloaded to GPS devices.

Jose grew up in the Venezuelan Andes Mountains where he enjoyed hiking and fishing with his father. His love of the mountains led to enjoying climbing hills on his bicycle. On the Wheelmen rides he prefers the long, hilly routes. His favorite local rides are ones with hills, especially in the hill country. The more climbing, the better he likes the ride, so among his local favorites are Bullis Park, Comfort, Boerne, and Big Joshua Creek. While there are some good climbs on these local rides, he misses the big mountain passes in Venezuela.

Jose rides a custom made Steel Crown Jewel road bike from Independent Fabrication and also rides a Salsa Dos Niner mountain bike. His loves his road bike, which is only five months old, so he is not interested in replacing it. However, he says there is always room for another bike!

Here is Jose’s description of his riding experience: “I started riding in Caracas the last couple of years of college, back in 1987-88. I started with a borrowed bike from a friend. I used to travel with that bike everywhere. It was all rusty, but I did some minor maintenance and it was ready to go. No high-end components or carbon back then. I even used to ride it without a spare tube. I have never stopped riding for more than a few weeks since then.”

“I mountain biked full-time for many years, that’s when my passion (religion) really developed.  I still ride mountain bikes a lot. Before I moved to San Antonio I bought a road bike, because it was very convenient to ride out of my garage. I love it, it complements off road riding and it’s great for fitness.”

“I’ve done a lot of riding in the mountains back in Venezuela, off and on road. I’ve been to Moab, Utah and also climbed Mount Ventoux a couple of years ago. I have some good plans for this year that include some riding with my wife and also I’m training for an ultra-endurance race in South California that includes bike packing and riding a lot.”

Jose is an Administrator for Atique Orthodontics where he works with his wife Maria Atique- Rojas who also rides with the Wheelmen. They have two sons; Daniel who is 8 and Diego who is 6. Since the Rojas family all ride bikes, we can look forward to riding with the adults on Wheelmen rides and a future generation of hill climbing cyclists!

Member of the Month for January 2012

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San Antonio Wheelmen are ringing in the New Year with Jeannette Burris (on the left in the photo) as our first member of the month for 2012. Jeannette started with SAW in 2006 as a RES class student, preparing for her first event, the BP MS 150. She ended up having a successful and enjoyable 167 mile, two-day ride and soon after, she started helping with the RES classes.

Later in 2006, Jeanette was elected as SAW Treasurer, and continues to serve in that position. Cibolo ride fans recognize her as a co-starter of the Cibolo ride each month, and she has also started the Freiheit and Woman Hollering Creek rides. She assisted with the Easter Hill Country tour when SAW hosted it three years ago and proudly serves as the PB&J queen at the SAW rest stop each year for the Tour de Cure. Additionally she often leads stay-together rides and is frequently heard inviting RES grads to ride. She also volunteered to help with some city events including the kickoff for the San Antonio “B-Cycle” bicycle sharing program.

 Jeanette started road riding in 2006 and mountain biking in 2007. She enjoys the road riding because it lets her chat with friends and see all the many RES students she’s met thru the classes that are continuing to ride.  She also professes a love for mountain biking and the “challenge trying to dodge trees and rocks, sometimes not so successfully.”  Jeanette’s road bike is a 2006 Bianchi Eros Donna, and she is completely in love with it and has no interest in trading it for another. 

The longest ride she has completed was the MS 150 from Houston to Austin, but says her hardest ride was the mountain biking portion of an adventure race at Camp Eagle. Appropriately enough, Jeanette’s favorite rides are the Cibolo ride, because of all the friends she has been able to see each and every month for over 3 years. Jeanette says, “It’s like a social event and that’s what I love about biking.”  Her favorite ride for scenery though, is a mountain bike ride at Camp Eagle in Rocksprings, Texas.

Jeanette is constantly on the move, taking on three to four sprint triathlons, one or two adventure races, and a few kayak or canoe races each year. She likes to mix these up and do races that involve all aspects as well.  She started doing these activities when she turned 50 and feels that this activity “keeps me healthy and definitely happy.”  For her 55th birthday, she challenged herself with a 100 mile canoe race, the Colorado River 100. Jeanette and her teammate finished in 19:53:26 to earn a 3rd place finish, and she notes, “We are proud to say that we were one of 133 finishing teams out of 260+ teams to start the race.”

She and her husband of 36 years, Michael Burris, have three grown children and two grandsons. Although she grew up in San Antonio, she spent 27 years in Alice, Texas. Despite moving back to San Antonio five and a half years ago for her husband’s job, she remains Administrator for the Alice Heart & Vascular Center, commuting for a few days each week, and then working remotely from home on the other days.   

Jeanette says, “I know that taking the RES class in 2006 and then successfully completing the MS 150 gave me the idea that I could do anything with great teaching, some good preparation, and a lot of help from friends.”

Please join us in a tip of our helmets to Jeanette Burris, SAW Member of the Month for January 2012!

Member of the Month for December 2011

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Fellow riders, please join the San Antonio Wheelmen in recognizing Shawn Gordon as the December 2012 Member of the Month. Shawn and his girlfriend, Melissa Mintern, have been active members since November 2010. He is also a Road Riding 101/201 graduate and has been an instructor for several classes this year, usually encouraging our new riders to “stretch their legs” at the close of outings.

Shawn loves riding the downtown San Antonio area, and is the leader of the monthly Urban Breakfast Ride. Companions on these rides have seen him pedaling his current bike, a 2009 Fuji Roubaix, but Shawn will be checking under the Christmas tree for a Orbea Orca (preferably in orange), which is his current favorite.

With about a year and a half riding experience under his belt, he currently is focused on road riding, but would like to expand into mountain biking as well. He took on his first “event ride” this year, completing the MS 150 from Houston to Austin, and now has his sights on the Hotter'N Hell next year as well as Houston to Austin and San Antonio to New Braunfels MS 150's,

When he is not leading rides, Shawn is a sales representative for Lincare Home Respiratory.

Congratulations to the December 2011 Wheelmen Member of the Month, Shawn Gordon!

Member of the Month for November 2011

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The Wheelmen member of the month for November almost needs no introduction.  Graduates of the 101 and 201 rider education courses are very familiar with Tom Manning’s friendly instruction and encouragement, both as a training ride leader, and as lead instructor.  Others may know him as a Wheelmen board member and Ride Committee Chair, setting up the ride schedule, and keeping us all in the know.  Tom is also working on being the Director of the Easter Hill Country Tour, which SAW sponsors in 2013.  Keep reading as we highlight some things you may not know about our November member of the month.

Tom has been a Wheelmen member since 2009, and has been an active rider for three years now, (though he wishes he had started years ago).  Most of his rides have been in San Antonio and surrounding areas, but he can also claim the “Bike the Drive” in Chicago and a tour in the Michigan Amish country as accomplishments, and is presently planning a trip to Vermont.

His current bike of choice is the Giant Advanced Defy road bike, although like many of us, he is still looking for the one bike that gets him up all hills effortlessly; might be a long search, but here’s wishing him luck!  “Any ride that starts with a cool morning breeze and finishes in the warm sun.” is Tom’s idea of a perfect ride, as many of us can appreciate.  He also admits to being partial to a ride from Bullis Park to Boerne, because a cappuccino and pastry await him at the Bear Moon Bakery.

Tom grew up in Chicago, graduated from the University of Illinois, and completed his post-grad work at Miami University, Ohio.  He served in the Air Force as a Russian linguist, and recently retired in 2010 as Chief Historian, Randolph Air Force Base.  He is married to Barbara Manning, and when not riding, is busy keeping his wine refrigerator full (or maybe emptying it is a better way to put it), sailing, reading (particularly history), and figuring out his new iPhone. 

Join us in saluting Tom Manning, Wheelmen Member of the Month, November 2011.

Member of the Month for Ocotber 2011

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If you have attended a Wheelmen ride started by Jerry Hyndman you will remember the booming voice and ready whit at the pre-ride briefing. Jerry is a very outgoing person who makes bike rides fun and interesting. Some of us remember the 2009 EHCT where He managed to lock his keys in the car (it may have been running at the time!) and where the Kerrville police issued an “all points bulletin” when he forgot to pay his breakfast bill! To Jerry those were just normal bicycling adventures.

Jerry has been a Wheelmen member for 10 years and has served on the Board as Executive Vice President and Ride Committee Chair. He assisted with the EHCT several times, has been a ride starter, and initiated the Schwapenbike program for the annual picnic. He was also an instructor for one of the early Rider Education classes. He did several special projects for the Board including our early attempts to join the electronic era with Facebook and a Wheelmen Blog. Jerry is always willing to help the Club when volunteers are needed.

Jerry has been a road bike rider for the past 22 years. He currently rides an older Trek 2100 but his dream bike is an Orbea.  He has a done a variety of rides in the U.S. and overseas including Provence, France, the Hill Country River Region Challenge, the Ft. Davis Cyclefest, the Schulenburg Steeple Chase and the MS150 Bike to the Brazos. A highlight of his cycling experience was riding in the Alps and Pyrenees during the ’04 and ’05 Tour de France. His favorite ride was Mont Ventoux in France. He also had a unique experience one morning riding downhill in Westover Hills when an owl swooped down and flew alongside him.

Jerry was raised in Corpus Christi and attended Texas A&M, graduating with the “fighting class” of ’74. He served as an officer in the Marine Corps and is presently employed by Pratt & Whitney here in San Antonio. His hobbies include collecting rhinos (I assume he has a big back yard!) and Star Trek Borg items. Jerry and his wife Judith have been married for 15 Years and have three children.

Member of the Month for September 2011

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Tony Beauford joined the Wheelmen in 2003 and has been a very active club member since that time.  He has lived in the San Antonio area for over 24 years and wishes that he had been riding for that long.  He has been the Wheelmen Vice President,  Membership for the past 2 years and does an outstanding job keeping the membership renewals and records for over 400 members up-to-date.

Tony become a roadie when some of his friends in a spin class convinced him that he should give it a try.  After borrowing a friend’s road bike for a weekend of riding, he decided to buy a road bike and has been an avid rider ever since.  He eventually joined the Wheelmen for the camaraderie and the variety of weekend rides.  Two of his favorite rides are Bullis County Park and Cibolo. He rides to Cibolo, usually does one of the longer routes, and when the rest of us are getting ready for a cold drink and lunch he's riding home!

Last year, Tony had an opportunity to take one of his dream vacations.  He went to France for the last two weeks of the Tour de France where he rode a number of the climbs and got to see the race up close.  While the climbs were challenging, he never once got off his bike--even if he was only going 8 mph!  His favorite climb was the Col du Tourmalet. Those who watch the Tour regularly will recognize this as one of the most challenging climbs on the Tour. He would love to take a similar trip during the Giro d'Italia. 

He currently rides a Cervelo R3SL with SRAM Red components.

Tony also enjoys participating in a number of charity rides each year.  One of his favorite charity rides is the Tour de Cure.  He likes to hammer during first day with the front pack and then ride with his team on the second day.

He  has been in the telecommunications industry for the past 20 years.  Today, he helps companies build service provider networks.  His team was involved in bringing Wi-Fi service to airline flights.  He now enjoys using that service during his flights around the country.

Join Tony for the next ride in Cibolo!

Member of the Month for August 2011

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John Yoggerst has been a Wheelmen member since 1989 which makes him a senior member of the club. He served the Club as treasurer and has been a prolific ride starter/leader and participant in special events. He currently serves as the economic development member on the Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee.

Club members who do the monthly Boerne ride (Is This the Last Hill) will recognize John as the ride leader for one of the most popular Wheelmen rides. John developed the Boerne ride and has been the ride leader for the past 18 years – that has to be a record. He does an outstanding job keeping track of road conditions on the various Boerne routes and occasionally provides SAG support for the ride. The great scenery and roads on this ride mean a large turnout every month in spite of the numerous hills.

John rides an older model Trek 5200 that has seen too many miles to count. His choice for a new bike would be a newer Trek 5200. However, he and the current bike have done countless rides together and he still enjoys riding it. His favorite ride on the Trek is leaving his house and riding from Camp Bullis to Scenic Loop and then to Toutant Beauregard then back home via Scenic Loop. He says it is close to his house, no gas wasted driving to a ride start, and he gets 35 hilly miles. He does nearly all of his riding in the San Antonio area. He likes to ride because: “It makes me appreciate a cold beer after the ride”.

John and his partner Diana have been together for nine years. He is an Illinois native who attended college in St Louis and has lived in San Antonio since 1974. John does real estate development and also does financial restructuring and assists clients in the sale of their business. He is currently working on a small hotel conversion. John is currently a member of the Texas Credit Union Commission and a former member of the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality.

Join John for the next monthly ride in Boerne.

Member of the Month for July 2011

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Edmond (Ed) Shadrock is a native of San Antonio. He grew up on the banks of the San Antonio River and rode frequently on Mission Road (river road) from King William's Roosevelt Park to Bergs Mill at Mission San Juan. He joined the Wheelmen in 1985 and for the last three years has been the ride leader for the quarterly Elmendorf ride. Those who do that ride are familiar with his friendly, helpful attitude. He is a great riding companion.

Ed formerly rode a fluorescent orange Italian Tomasso (all iron and vintage Campy) bicycle. He recently upgraded to a black and gold GT Series, which may not be as classic as the old bike but sure looks great. He was a strong rider on the old bike, but is even stronger with the new bike. In the 1950's, Ed worked a downtown shoe-shine route on a knee-action Schwinn with two inch knobby's! He has come a long ways as a rider since those days.

Ed has been active in a variety of San Antonio bicycling activities for a number of years. He helped plan and conduct the MS Society's first charity ride from UTSA to Fredericksburg. Over the past five years he organized and led rides for Chain Reaction, the Cyclones, the Hill Country Bicycle Touring Club and the Wheelmen. He helped organize and develop routes for the first LaVernia Hammerfest Ride which has become a very popular annual event enjoyed by numerous area riders. He has also promoted Southside cycling by publishing a webpage of area-specific route maps

While Ed also has a competitive streak. In 2006 and again in 2010 he competed in the San Antonio Senior Games. In the 2006 Games, Ed took second place in the 20k and 40k road races. In the 2010 Games he took second place in the 10k time trial.

Join Ed the next time the Wheelmen ride at Elmendorf. He runs a great ride and you will enjoy the experience.  Even better, ride the 44 mile route