Pace Lines  by Kathy Hoke

The weather couldn’t have been better for the 280 bicyclists who participated in Columbus Fall Challenge, Oct. 5-6. Our most challenging tour of the year began with a cool, sunny morning with nothing but gorgeous skies and mild weather for the rest of the weekend ahead. From Lancaster to Marietta and back, participants enjoyed fantastic scenery on lightly traveled roads, good food at snack and lunch stops and good people to talk with along the way. Volunteers like myself heard lots of compliments from riders. Thanks to Eve Holland for putting on another well-organized tour that also goes a long way toward funding our bicycling activities.

CFC reminded me that good events often happen in the same period as really bad events. The tour was just two weeks after the bicycling community was stunned and saddened to hear of the accident that claimed the life of veteran cyclist Mike Schnegelsberger on Sept. 21 in rural Fairfield County during our Tour of the Hocking Hills. News reports said the 53-year-old Schnegelsberger had been riding left of the centerline when he crashed head-on into a semi-trailer traveling the opposite direction around a curve. Our thoughts and prayers go to Mike’s family and friends and the many cyclists who witnessed the crash.

One week later, COP bicycling leader Al Moore was seriously injured in a bike-to-bike crash in Knox County, one day after our Knox County Bicycle Challenge.

Al, who lives in Lancaster County, suffered a crushed pelvis and will have a long recovery. His riding friend, Chuck Shenk of Bexley, suffered five broken ribs. The cause of the crash is not clear.

All of us, myself included, have made mistakes in our riding, but few of us have experienced serious consequences of those mistakes. Let’s keep safety at top of mind. See you on the road.

The following questions were found on the COP Office door white board one morning:

Q? If we cloned Charlie many times and lined them up in a row, would that be a "pace" line?

Q? What would be the average mph of that "pace" line?

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