The Sacramento Wheelmen
ANNUAL TOUR - 2007 REPORT

Bob Shultz,
Member, Sacramento Wheelmen

As a “first timer” on the Club Tour I was initially not very excited. The thought of riding all day and sleeping on the ground did not sound very appealing to me. However, with the encouragement of my brother Dick Shultz, who offered to provide the camping gear and the offer of a car pool by Neal Bos, my defenses were overcome. Since I already knew many of the Sac Wheel boys and girls that were planning to make the tour I figured it couldn’t be that bad. I sent in my money and finally became a member of the club after riding as a guest for the past several years.

The initial communication from Tim Koch, our fearless tour leader, was very helpful in understanding what was expected of me and what I could expect from the tour. I quickly recognized that this is a well tuned adventure that has had the benefit of several years experience. The list of what to bring and what NOT to bring was exceedingly helpful. Finally the day arrived, our drive to the KOA campground in Gold Hill, Oregon was complete and so the tour began.

As is the custom of every overnight Sacramento Wheelmen event that I have attended, every ride is immediately followed by the beverage of your choice. That usually seems to be considerable quantities beer or wine. This tour was no exception. Forget post ride stretching or recovery drink preparation. It was straight to the goodies that had been put out in advance of our arrival. Happily it did not matter if you were a fast rider or a slow rider; there was always sufficient refreshment for us when we arrived in camp.

Each evening began with the assigned cooking crew getting the gear out of the truck, preparing dinner for the group and serving it in the appropriate red aprons. Each dinner had its own special flare and was always well received by the hungry riders. Deserts were also imaginative concoctions that always pleased the bunch.

Of course, refreshment remained high on the agenda of the non-cooks until meal time arrived. However, once dinner was complete, a few ride stories were shared and the Huffy was heaved (more on that later), it was off to our tent, sleeping bag and air mattress. Few seemed to be self conscious about calling it a night before it was really night. Nine o’clock seemed to be about as late as anybody could handle. After all, tomorrow was going to be another wonderful adventure.

Each evening Tim Koch reviewed the details of the next days ride and announced the place for the Huffy heaving contest. The object, as you can imagine, was to heave a small child’s Huffy bike as far as possible. The various styles and methods of heaving the Huffy were hilarious.

Mornings came early to our camp of anxious warriors. A breakfast of cold or hot cereal, fruit, snacks, etc. prepared us for our day. We also could pick up snacks for the day as well as make a sandwich for lunch. One by one, the tents came down, the bags were packed, the riding gear appeared and we were ready to go. My brother and I were usually the last to leave the campground and we were always gone by 8:30. Some rode directly to a restaurant for a more substantial breakfast and some rode on with anticipation of brunch or a big lunch at the place of our choosing.

Each day has its own unique memories with fabulous scenery of mountains and rivers, climbs that were exhausting and descents that caused a grin from ear to ear. The weather was fantastic all week long, in accordance with Tim’s direction. He simply would have it no other way. I especially remember the 16 mile climb on the second day. It seemed that it would never end with its relentless upward pitches. When we finally made it to the top of the most difficult part, there was Annie Slade, one of our wonderful SAG’s, ready with water, food and encouragement. She told us we only had 8 miles to go before the climbing stopped and the 17 mile descent to Agness RV Park began.

I was pleased to find that most of the next 8 miles were pretty flat or even some downhill. However, to reach our goal we had to overcome a pitch at the end that required most to be in their lowest gear. Once the summit was conquered, it was a short coast into the rest area. And there was Nancy Fish, our second wonderful SAG all dressed up in her finest outfit for the occasion. We even had people from outside the tour group stop to see what Nancy was up to. It seemed like she had something for everybody as we ate our lunch.

The third day was a short ride to Gold Beach and then the long anticipated jet boat ride. What a delightful experience it turned out to be. We left in mid-afternoon, traveled up the Rogue River for 32 miles, had a delicious buffet dinner, and traveled back down river as the sun was setting behind the shear cliffs. We had the pleasure of seeing many different bird species (George Koch kept the tour guide honest in his bird sightings), having our picture taken by Dave Clifton and Mike Dodson who rode their bikes back up to a narrow, one lane bridge and finally getting quite soaked from the many spins that the jet boat pilot put the boat through.

The end of the forth day found us back in California. We came down the coast to Crescent City and set up camp on the football field of Elk Middle School. We were a bit surprised that there was so much youth football activity going on. Well, it turns out that they were surprised that there was so much camping going on in the middle of their football field. As you would expect, a few discussions between a football coach, the school principal, the district administrator and our fearless leader Tim solved the problem. That is except for the alcohol. When that appeared to be a problem that was not going to go away easily, we simply made the stuff disappear. It was a wonderful testament to the inventiveness of a bunch of roadies and their SAG’s. We awoke the next morning to wet tents, slate gray sky and anticipation of making a quick get away to the higher elevations and clear skies. We were not disappointed.

It would be hard for me to overstate the impact that Tim and his truck driving crew of Randy Fish and Don La Page had on the success of this tour. No detail was overlooked or seemed trivial. Ride directions and maps were provided by Rich Percival. They even included recommendations of restaurants along the way and notes to keep us safe. The SAG’s were a special delight. First, because they did their jobs so well and second because they added so many special memories. Nancy deserves an Oscar for Best Costume Design that will forever be preserved in our highlight pictures.

When the end of the tour came, I think we were all ready for it. Six days and almost 400 miles in the saddle were enough for me. And, I learned a few things along the way. 1. Oregon, I will be back to see you again. 2. The Sacramento Wheelmen are the finest group I have ever ridden with. 3. Riding all day and sleeping on the ground is not so bad after all.