Food, Folks & Spokes
a Look Back!
It's already been 2 weeks since the Food, Folks & Spokes race day around Library Park.  The day started like many others for Drivers Club members.  A well paced commute ride into work, only this morning would find more than half the pack not working at the station.  It was a quick return trip home, gather up some last minute supplies and dash down to Library Park for booth set-up.  We, as a group, already had our volunteer assignments, and both Chris and John were already checking in at the volunteer tables at the YMCA.  Our booth went together nicely, and looked rather impressive from the walkway.  Throughout the day, Drivers Club members took turns (donned their F,F&S vol shirts) and performed as course marshals, parking lot attendants, and even rehab room workers.  Lindsey Allemand and Liz Rhode were downtown on behalf of DC to offer their help to this spectacular event.  And help they did, from the moment they arrived they were handing out event flyers, keeping the volunteers fed and hydrated in the rehab room, and for the feature race, they even managed to protect the racers as they marshaled the 'home stretch' in a very exciting Pro 1 / 2 race.  "This is awesome!  I never realized that they went this fast, they're so muscely and strong.  I think I saw one wink at me as he went by? But I still like Spiderman the BEST", said a wide eyed Liz.
The varied assignments were all important to the overall running of the event, and YMCA staff told us how much they appreciated our clubs efforts on this day.  However, the highlight of the work schedule had to be the opportunity to work the infamous 'Turn 2'.  This turn has proven, over the years, to be a hair raising, bone crunching crap shoot.  Marked by padding wrapped around trees, and extra course officials, it's the place where nasty crashes are most likely to occur.  Couple that with a steady rain and it makes you shudder each and every time the peleton zooms through at 25-30mph.  Joey Kool-Aid had this to say while working 'Turn 2', "As the cyclists whiz by, the wind musses your hair, and you hear the riders 'talking' to one another, you get a true sense of just how crowded it is, and how dangerous a race like this can be."
 It seems like yesterday, as Chris Hannes fondly recalls sampling a tasty batch of 'chili cheese fries'.  As for the racing, Chris had this to say, "I admire the level of commitment it takes, on the part of these riders, to perform at their best day in and day out.  It's the same kind of dis-if-plin yat I ave n orrer (mouthful of dilly bar) to be the stoker for the soon to be championship team at Ore-2-Shore this August 12th."
Spiderman drew huge crowds by visiting the Drivers Club booth several times throughout the day.    He posed for pictures with kids and grown ups alike.  He high 5'd passers by, and he was even invited to hand out the medals at the finish of the Big Wheel races by race organizers.  What an honor! Spiderman said, "I would like to thank all my fans who stopped by to say Hi, and have a picture taken with me.  I enjoyed hanging out with the Drivers Club, they are sooo Cool!"
By this time, the podium racers were introduced to the crowd that gathered in front of the stage area and Superweek workers prepared to move on to it's next location.  We tore down our set-up and returned borrowed items that we had used for our display.  It was 11:30pm by the time we were all settled in our homes, exhausted from an amazing day in downtown Kenosha.