The Maumee Valley Wheelmen is a bicycle racing club based in Northwest Ohio. It was founded in 1968 by four guys living in Bowling Green, Ohio and is still thriving in much the same form 56 years later. It is also the club where I got my start racing bikes as a 14 year old in 1982 and, in my opinion, it is the quintessential grass roots bicycle racing club. Since its inception through present day they hold a USAC sanctioned race every week ($8 for members and $15 for non-members) from early spring through the end of summer as well as hosting weekend social group rides (free). Unlike many local race series in other areas of the country that race on the same course week after week, the Wheelmen races are held on a variety of different road and criterium courses that they rotate through during the season. They even have a time trial course. In fact, a few of those courses in use today are the exact same courses that I started racing on over 40 years ago including the one where I did my very first bike race – the criterium course at Oak Openings Industrial Park (affectionately known simply as OOIP). They have been crowning a club champion every year since 1974 and every year’s champion gets their name engraved on a trophy that they hold on to until the end of the next season – yes, just like the Stanley Cup. In addition to a season champion they also crown a season Sprint Champion and Time Trial Champion each of which also have a rotating trophy with names engraved on it as well as naming a “Wheelmen of the Year”.
A few weeks ago a bunch of us old Wheelmen from “back in the day” got together over a weekend for a reunion. The weekend included a couple of rides on routes that connected a number of the old race courses as well as a night of pizza, beer and catching up. In spite of the unseasonably damp conditions for that part of Ohio at the end of September, it was unanimously declared a huge success. Getting to ride and chat with guys that I haven’t done either with in nearly 40 years was fantastic. One of the big highlights for me was on Sunday riding a lap of one of the old road race courses out near Tontogany which hadn’t been used in over 30 years. I and a handful of old Wheelmen who had actually raced on this course 30+ years ago engaged in a little “soft attack” at the tight uphill right hander that had seen so many similar attacks back in the day. Seeing the grin on Scott Gerken’s and Mark Hsu’s faces as we rolled through and off, guys who haven’t turned a pedal in anger in probably three decades – well that was pretty special.
Another bonus of the weekend was the chance to meet a number of the “new” members of the Wheelmen – you know those that joined the club only 20 years ago or so. I also had the opportunity to get to chat with guys that I have been acquainted with over the years but never really got to know all that well. Guys like Mike House who as a junior back in the early 2000s qualified for the Cyclocross World Championships. Money was tight for Mike back then so the club took up a collection in order for him to attend.
The idea for a reunion came from a conversation a few years ago between myself and one of my oldest friends, Neal Carter. Neal was also a member of the Wheelmen and someone I met through the club. As Neal told the story he and I “met” when one of the older club gurus at the time, Clif Mueller (whose nickname in the club was “God”) told (not asked) Neal that he had to drive my 14 year old ass home from a club race – which made him late for a date that night. All I remember was how cool his Plymouth Barracuda was as well as whatever music was blaring from his tape deck which was probably Devo or the Talking Heads or something of that ilk. And thus began a 40+ year journey down a path of alternative sports, music and a slightly different view of the world from most.
As the weekend progressed just about every single one of the old crew who made it came up and thanked me for organizing the reunion. Now for whatever reason praise has always been something that has made me uncomfortable (I have been told as much by more than a few close friends) – but the gratitude of those guys got me thinking about why organizing the reunion and making sure that it was a success was so important to me. Important enough to get Castelli to create a throwback jersey specifically for the reunion (they did a hell of a job BTW), important enough to hunt down old members that I had not spoken with in over 30+ years, important enough to put together rides that would visit some of the old race courses and important enough to make phone calls and send emails and text messages to make sure that all of those guys would be there. Thinking it through I realized that it was because my introduction to the club came at a pivotal moment for me and it and the people that I met through it had a big impact on who I am and what I do today. Both the club and the bike offered me my first taste of independence and the opportunity to be around a bunch of older guys as a teenager trying to figure shit out – well that was huge. And although I for sure made some missteps along the way I would say overall the doors opened by the club over four decades ago turned out to be overwhelmingly positive especially because many of the individuals that I met as a kid getting into racing with the Maumee Valley Wheelmen became some of my longest and closest friends.
So thank you Maumee Valley Wheelmen. And thank you to all of the OGs from back in the day that put up with this geeky teenager trying to find my way. You are a big reason for who I am and what I do today.
I also want to thank Castelli for always returning my calls and supporting whatever crazy idea I come to them with including creating a spot on replica of the original Maumee Valley Wheelmen club jersey. They even included the original manufacturer logo from the 80s, Good Stuff out of Cleveland, Ohio. I will be opening up a second store soon for reorders.
And lastly, a big thank you to Rita Carter who followed us during the rides and took a ton of photos (including all but one on this post).
