VELO BIKE CLUB HITS OPEN ROAD; MANY MEMBERS RIDE THREE TIMES A WEEK

Summer months are good for long, lazy drives. With sunglasses on and air conditioners blowing, we head out to find sunny and green countrysides.

One Cape Girardeau group, however, hits the open road but leaves the car at home.

The Velo Girardeau bicycle club and its 55 members enjoy the freedom of riding three times a week.

"I like the exercise and it's a great way to meet people," said club member Judy Pulley. "It makes me feel good when I accomplish something, like finishing a long ride.

"When you're in a car, you never really get to see things because you're going by too fast. I can take my time and watch things when I'm riding."

Judy's husband, Gene, has been president of the club for two years. Gene said that in the four years they have been in the club, they have traveled approximately 3,000 miles.

"It's a motivator," Gene Pulley said of the club. "If you're in a club, you push yourself more to ride than you would individually.

"I'm really lazy on exercise. I hate aerobics and exercise bikes are just too boring. Biking keeps me in shape for softball and I like it because there are always different destinations to go to."

The club holds rides on Tuesday and Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons.

The Tuesday and Thursday rides start at the Rose Garden in Capaha Park at 6:30 p.m.

"The length of these night rides," said Ann Bartlett, co-tour director of the club, "all depends on how far we really want to go that night. Sometimes we'll go seven miles, sometimes 10."

The Sunday rides, said Gene Pulley, usually cover 30 to 50 miles.

On June 1, the club joined 400 other riders in the annual "Bikes and Buggies" ride. This ride took them on a 45-mile trip through Amish country near Arthur, Ill.

On June 16, the club traversed the Katy Trail in St. Charles for the first time since the trail was built. Bartlett said that the group had been eagerly waiting to ride this trail.

"The trail was really nice to ride on," said Gene Pulley. "It was a leisurely ride. Naturally, there was no traffic and the trees overshadowing the trail kept it shady.

"Another thing I liked about the trail is that it was run by the Missouri Department of Conservation. They had a parking attendant there that worked for the department that watched the cars and was available for questions about the park."

The club has Sunday rides planned all the way up to October.

The next three Sundays the club has planned three 25-mile-plus rides. They are: the 30-mile Trail of Tears Warped Circle tour on June 30, the 35-mile Oran Run on July 7, and the 25-mile Greensferry Ride on July 14.

The month of September will be one of endurance for the club as they embark on what members call their Century Month.

"The month is set up," said Gene Pulley, "that we start out riding 25 miles the first Sunday, 50 the next, 65 on the third week and then finally a 100-mile ride on Sept. 22."

Bartlett said that club dues are $7.50 for singles and $10.00 a year for families. She also said that even non-members are welcome to participate in the bicycle trips.

Interested persons can obtain more information about Velo Girardeau by contacting Bartlett at 335-1741, or Steve Dain at (618) 776-5668. Then, get ready to hit the open trails.