HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Reflections of R.
Bradley (Dr. Spoke) on the early years of the MTCC*
The week after completing one
of the toughest TOSRV’s (Tour of the Scioto River Valley – Columbus, OH to
Portsmouth, Oh – 110 miles Saturday & Sunday) on record, - cool temps and
35 mph headwinds both days, I was invited to the wedding reception of Barber
Harper, my barber at the time.
I eagerly attended, as in those
days I was always looking for a party.
As fate would have it, I met George, Dickey and John Fuller. I knew of Dickey from the neighborhood; South
High standout and Buffalo Bills
running back – he had street rep. As the
evening progressed we talked about cycling and George shared his tale of woe
with respect to riding TOSRV. He and
John had a rough 1st time ride to Portsmouth. On the other hand Michael Henderson and I had ridden it 4 or 5 times
by then. I remember Mike and I were in
the infamous Swick Lounge getting our party on after 8 p.m. when 2 cyclist
appeared at bar’s door seeking directions, it was George & John. I remember thinking those guys are in
trouble.
We continued talking about
cycling, Fuller espousing his beliefs and limited expertise. I shared that I had just replaced my Schwinn
Continental with a Trek for $450.00. They
invited me to accompany them on a 70 mile ride to Mt. Vernon, OH
and back the following morning. I agreed
and the infamous ride to Mt.
Vernon was on. I kinda
took it as a challenge. They had no idea
they were dealing with “The Mad Dasher” (many stories have been told regarding
this nick name).
The next morning I met up with
George, John Fuller and Dickey. I
noticed George was carrying a back pack.
I questioned him about it and he told me that they had all agreed to
share carrying it. I said I’d help and
took the 1st leg. I put my stuff in and
off we were…. Very Big Mistake… After carrying it 15 miles and up the only
climb on the ride (the top of Smothers
Rd. hill). I took my stuff out of the pack and
gave it back to George. At this point I
realized these guys were novices. However,
we made it to Mt.
Vernon without incident.
On the return ride from Mt. Vernon
a challenge was issued to me by John Fuller.
It had something to do with coasting down hills vs. hammering down and which was faster. Fuller was a Physicists, among other things,
and he and I had a lively point counter point discussion. We had been at it all
day regarding who knew what about cycling. The only thing left was to take it on the
road. The terrain was nice rollers…. The
gauntlet was thrown…. I simply road away from John. Did not even bother to look back (much like
Jed does now). Off the front and out of
sight…. Rollin. Until I realized I did
not know the way home… Where was I?? I
turned around and waited for the crew.
No more discussion was needed on the subject. However, to this day the word is “Don’t
follow Brad”.
Following this epic ride to Mt. Vernon
we continued to ride together along with Mike Henderson, Bill
Willis, Jr., Dr. E.J. Hopkins, John Tolbert and Danny Cunningham. George, Bill and John T were designated officers. George made a hook-up with the brothers from
Cleveland, the “Easy Riders”. We were
really impressed with these guys. The
boys rode Italian and were Campagnolo only. Kenny Harper (the Holy Man), Joe Bay,
Raymond, Levi and Whisper. We learned a
lot from these guys and developed a more than 20 year relationship. The Cleveland
connection still exists but the Easy Rider club is gone.
We agreed to name the club in
honor of Marshal W. Taylor – Major Taylor because of his accomplishments in
cycling and his overall character. World
Champion Cyclist.
The following TOSRV ’79 were a
club the Major Taylor Cycling Club.
George went to our local discount store, Schottenstein and bought our
first jerseys. We were becoming serious
cyclist. We road the weekend tour rides
and chased FBCI... We were all the
buzz. Oh, the Major Taylors. It felt good.
In 1980 I moved to New York City after accepting a fellowship to Columbia University. I went to Central Park
and fell in love with the Boathouse.
That is where the cyclist hung.
That is where I would sit for hours and listen to all the bike talk. Italian
was the Holy Grail. The Boat House is
where I met Steve Smoke, current President of the New York Majors (Iron Riders). Steve took me under his wing and to the
infamous 9W. Smoke convinced me that I
could ride with the boys in Central Park the “Century
Road Club”. I joined and loved it. I was so impressed with Steve’s friendship
and cycling knowledge that I gave him my copy of Major Taylor, Fastest cyclist …
Joe Straughter was in Brooklyn during this time. I would ride the bike and meet Joe at the Jazz
Mobile each week at various spots throughout the City. Joe was just getting into cycling. My friend Richard and I took Joe on his 1st
roll up 9W… He was hooked…. Joe got Stan hooked. The NY connection was forged – Mel Corbett, Gene Bailey & Miles all came to
ride TOSRV. Then Joe’s brother Stu got
interested, resulting in the “Beasty Boys” (Stewart George, Walter Manning,
Carl Henry and Bryon Henry).
I bought a Gios Torino – Campy
Record, from Roy’s Sheepshead
Bay (Joe still has great rapport with
shop), and retuned to Columbus.
Unknowingly this purchase would change
the direction of the MTCC…Thereafter, it had to be Italian; it had to be Campagnolo….
The rest is history.
TOSRV was the magnet, the
highlight of our year. John T got his nephew Ken Ashton hooked on TOSRV,
resulting in the D.C. connection. Next
came Gary Johnson, from Houston and Dwayne Summers from Chicago and George
called in Kerry from Colorado.
During the early years MTCC was
embraced by Mike Gates, owner of Cross County Ski & Cycling. Mike often donated jerseys and other stuff to
our club. It was at his shop that we met
and developed relationships with a bunch of guys, some of which we still roll
with today. Among them Bob Luce and our
very own VP Jed Rumor (he was a young kid in college with a full head of hair).
Back then (late 70’s early 80’s)
FBCI (Franklin Bike Club Inc.) was the local racing bike club (they had the
knowledge). They laughed at us. Initially, rightfully so. We were learning the ropes… the how to of
cycling. We learned fast. Soon were riding with them on their weekly
rides. They knew tactics …. We watched
and learned...Now FBCI no longer exists; we on the other hand are in our 35th
year... Long live MTCC~!
* This account has not been
fact-checked by any authoritative body; however the events and individuals described
herein are true to the best of the author’s ability to remember.
