How did you get into biking?

My wife Sue and I live in North Buffalo, and I work on the other side of town as an instructional coach and AP English teacher at Olmsted.  In addition to family and work, I’ve spent a lot of time coaching both baseball and hockey in North Buffalo.  We all enjoy being active and outside, but after running a marathon with my wife three years ago I developed a bad case of plantar fasciitis.  Not being able to run and looking for another way to exercise outside reignited a passion for riding my bike that I haven’t had since I was a kid racing my little red bike around my block on the Westside.  So, Sue keeps running, and I keep riding. I probably didn’t ride a bike between 15 and 45, so I guess I am reliving my youth!

What’s your favorite bike ride?

I love riding up the parkway on the Canadian side to Niagara on the Lake and back. It’s a great road and a simple route full of beautiful stops and considerate drivers for the most part. There are a few nice hills on the way to the Starbucks in NOTL that make lunch and a coffee okay. I hope the Peace Bridge situation works itself out soon.

For less international rides, I like riding over to Delaware Park, Richmond, Allentown, to the Erie Basin, then out South Park to Hopkins and over the hump to the Botanical Garden, doing a few laps and then head back home and crush the S-Curves. It’s a great ride that makes a nice Sunday in the city.

What’s your favorite thing about Buffalo’s bicycling community?

I love the Tuesday Night Campus Rides and all the fun we have during and after. There are so many good folks involved, and I get a great night in no matter if I ride the A Ride or take the cross bike and go for ice cream. There is lots of variety and lots of great routes.

I also love the BBC races and getting in shape by having those guys kick my butt on the weekends. The BBC membership gives me a whole slew of races and I get lots of great information out of the guys and gals there to help me be a better rider and racer. I train hard to race, and they allow me to get lots of practice. I get a few USAC races in around their season, too.

What are your favorite winter activities?

Indoors, I am a rink rat, and pretty much follow our son around the area for his AAA and prep school season. Hockey is lots of fun, and we share lots of good times as a family in the great hockey towns we get to visit like Lake Placid, Toronto, and Detroit to name a few.

Outdoors, Sue and I are having a blast with our snowshoes. We got to some great locations to snowshoe this winter, and I see us doing it lots in the coming years. Lake Placid was –15 degrees this January, and we loved going out every day we were there. It gives you a great workout with minimal equipment and maximum fun and cool stuff to see.

Why do I coordinate?

Since starting up riding again, I have had a ton of folks who have helped me, especially Ethan, Alex, and the Campus guys. I had so much fun on the Tuesday Night rides, Saturday MTB rides, and the other group rides. I race with the Campus team on the road and for cyclocross. It is such a great environment. I started to put the bug in people’s ears that I would love to be part of the CCC group as well.  I am psyched to be part of the group, and I hope to give back and share my knowledge of cycling to the community…or at least help someone change a flat or two!