May Featured Rider – Mike Knutson
Each month the WBC will randomly select a club member or family members to be our featured riders. Despite working in another city, Mike is an active member of the WBC. He shared some of his bicycling experiences and memories with us:
My first memory on a bicycle involved my dad teaching meto ride. It was the classic trainingsession. He gave me a push and ran alongside, waiting to catch me. It
didn’t take long on that maiden voyage before it became clear that I didn’t need him; at least not until I ran out of sidewalk and ran headlong into the family car because I couldn’t remember how to stop. What happened next is lost to me, but I will always remember the dent I put in that car.
Like most people, I have many fond memories riding a bike as a kid, but my real interest in bicycling didn’t start until after college. Playing football in college had
required that I put on extra weight. As I grew heavier, I swore that I would take that weight off – and bicycling became the means of accomplishing that goal.
Luckily, I received some cash gifts for graduation, and I used that money to purchase my first real bike, a Schwinn LeTour. I’d never realized that a bike could be so light. For several years, I took that bike with me everywhere I went. Unfortunately,little-by-little, I spent less-and-less time on my bike. I hit bottom six years ago, when I only went out for four rides all summer. For the past 2-3 years,
I’ve been trying to reverse this trend.
I joined the Watertown Bicycle Club because I appreciated the efforts the club’s leaders to improve bicycling in the Watertown area. Because I don’t work in the Watertown community, I’m not able to participate in as many rides and activities as I would like. Because of their efforts, however, I put more miles on my bike last year than I have in many years.
I’ve yet to accomplish it, I’ve long dreamed of participating in a bicycling event like the Tour de Kota or the Ragbria. This probably won’t happen this summer, but
some day it will.
