7/30/05
Saturday morning found a number of local IOOK'ers at Young's Dairy near Springfield, Ohio in preparation for the MC-150 Bike Tour (Multiple Charities 150 mile). As you can see, the IOOK logo is prominently displayed on the T shirts and Bike apparel for the ride. Several charities receive funds as a result of the ride. Bill, KA8ZBW is the IOOK coordinator for this annual event. The two day tour takes place on the back roads between the Springfield and Columbus with an overnight stay at the midpoint. The IOOK's duty was to provide communications and assistance regarding safety for the event.
Prior to the beginning of the race N8KXM dropped his tailgate and offered a seat to WA8ZWJ and N8DRM. The gate held with WA8ZWJ on it but when N8DRM's weight was added to the tailgate , the support straps broke! Yes, both of them! It seems that over the years the straps had rusted and were not up to the necessary weight tolerances for the IOOK! You can only imagine the surprise on all our faces! Needless to say, timing is everything and I was in the wrong position to get a good picture of the start of the ride! The support vehicles for the riders are called SAG vehicles. I wish I knew what SAG stands for. I have been doing bike races and rides for many years now and have NO CLUE what SAG means! :-0 Bill and Dave have very professional looking signs that promote Amateur Radio Communications for the event!
As you can see on the map below, there are a number of rest stops along the way for the riders. Some of the more athletic riders take extra laps around the "Power Loop" to earn extra miles for their sponsors to pay in their support. The picture in the lower left below is of one of the rest stops.
N8DRM's Large Mouthed Bass trailer ball cover finishes the series of snap shots for this event! What a hoot! I am not sure how happy the State Highway Patrol will be with it covering most of the license plate! Good luck Dave! Thanks to all the folks who volunteered their time and efforts to make this a successful event!
73, Keith, WA8ZWJ
