NEAL BOS

"I plan my life around the Wheelmen Ride Schedule", says one of the most energetic and active Club members. Neal, age 56, a retired Kodak executive who resides in Elk Grove in the winter and Lake Tahoe in the summer, plans his weekly routine around the Club ride schedule not wanting to miss out on too many rides. He often drives down from Tahoe to join the Wheelmen for the Tuesday and Thursday breakfast rides and selective weekend rides. You can always count on Neal to be ranked in the top ten for the annual mileage awards.

Neal was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands and moved to the U.S. when he was 14 years old. He was raised in Rochester, New York and received his B.A. degree in Chemistry from the University of Rochester. He worked for Kodak Corporation for 28 years and retired in 1991 as a Regional Manager for their Clinical Products Division. Neal and wife, Linda have raised three children - Scott, Wendy, and Greg, who have families of their own and are proud grandparents to four grandkids with another shortly on the way. Neal's interest in cycling goes back decades having raced for the Genesee Valley Cycling Club in Rochester during his mid to late 20's. He took about a 20 year hiatus from cycling to raise his family when Linda told Neal it's either the bike or ME!

Neal moved to Sacramento in 1988 and retired in 1991. He got back into cycling as a means of training for winter skiing. One day he wandered into the Rest Stop and saw the Wheelnews and noticed the mention of the Thursday Breakfast Ride. He laughingly recalls his first Club ride to the truck stop on West El Camino, trying to draft behind the Rehwalds' tandem and barely hanging on. Gassed but not discouraged, he continued to show up for the weekly rides and got to know more of the Wheelmembers. He officially joined the Club in 1993 and over the years has become one of its most active members. Besides leading numerous weekend rides, Neal leads the annual Big Sur Zodiac Ride which has gone from a three to a five day trip down the Coast, and in the last two years, has led a small group overseas to tour Holland. Neal has volunteered to take over the job as the Sierra Century Director for 1999. He credits the previous Century Directors for laying the foundation and the small army of volunteers for making the Sierra the premier Century ride in California. His goal for next year, its 25th Anniversary, is to maintain its fine reputation and increase rider participation. He plans on creating a custom designed 25th Anniversary Jersey and taking advantage of Bicycling Magazine's recognition of the Sierra Century as THE RIDE in California to solicit a major sponsor.

His active involvement in the Wheelmen is giving back to an organization that gives him so much pleasure. He really enjoys the social aspects of the Club, the advanced level of riding, and the competitive, yet friendly spirit of fellow riders.

SARAH LIN-AAMODT

Inspired by her tri-athlete husband, Carl Aamodt, Sarah started running in 1995 and ran the California International Marathon in December of the same year with an impressive time of 4 hours and 2 minutes. Unfortunately, leg injuries ensued the following year which prevented this effervescent budding athlete from any further training. Like most active people, and runners particularly, she became terribly depressed from this sudden forced inactivity and was in a state of prolonged "funk" until Carl bought Sarah her first bicycle, a Trek 1220, and a new passion was born. She began with short rides on the American River Bike Trail and fell many times until she became more proficient with her bike handling skills. Frustrated from walking home after getting flats and not knowing how to maintain a bicycle, she took a 3 day course on bike maintenance taught by Gordon Ong from City Bike Works. She progressed to riding 10 to 20 miles and joined the Sacramento Bike Hikers to further hone her cycling skills and to ride with others in the cycling community. Desiring to ride faster and farther, she joined the Wheelmen in November 1997 and started attending the Thursday morning breakfast rides on her days off. Now you will find this friendly and smiling face riding with the "A" Group and taking an occasional pull.

Sarah was born in Taiwan and resides with her husband Carl in a newly purchased home in Fair Oaks close to the Bike Trail. Educated at U. C. Riverside, Sarah graduated with a degree in Entomology and worked with "bugs" for 15 years on the east coast, primarily in New Jersey and New York. Upon her return to California in 1992, she changed careers and became a cardiac surgery nurse and has worked at Mercy San Juan Hospital for the last six years. Landscaping and gardening occupies her non-cycling times. Having decided that cycling is a long term commitment, Sarah rewarded herself and bought a custom built Innerlight with a 9-speed Campy racing triple from Kimo Tanaka in May. She participated in this year's Death Ride and would have completed all five passes if she had remembered where she put the key to her locked bike. She spent 1½ frustrating hours trying to find her misplaced key and missed the cutoff time to the fifth pass as a result. She vows this will not happen next year.

Bicycle touring in Alaska and a foreign country are in her future plans. She really enjoyed this year's Club tour of Crater Lake and was truly impressed with its organization, scenic route and great food. She finds the Wheelmen full of friendly members who offer straight talking good advice, and the Club has become an "extended" family of sorts.

Katie Girimonte

Katie Girimonte is known by a number of different names among her fellow Club members. Le Kannibal, she says, dates from a time when her yearly mileage was a bit higher. She shares the nickname Wonder Woman with fellow Wheelmen member Thanh Marchello. In addition, she is known by a few of her cycling cohorts as Katie G. A mutual friend has suggested that this is a result of her relocation to Sacramento a few years ago as a part of the Federal Witness Protection Program, leaving behind a life of international intrigue and daily contact with strange, unsavory individuals typical of other cycling clubs (this explanation may more likely be the result of experimentation with volatile solvents on the part of our mutual friend, ed.). Katie is an Analyst for the State of California, and one of her goals is to commute to work at least 50% of the time. When she is not on her bike, she enjoys traveling, camping, rollerblading, racquetball, alpine and XC skiing, watercolor and photography. She currently owns three bikes: a Scapin, a Colnago Master and a Specialized Rockhopper. Katie has been involved in cycling for nine years, and a Wheelmen since 1993. She says her initial involvement was as a result of "being tired of walking a mile to school". To quote Katie on cycling, "It's a great way to see the country without relying on car keys. Life does not seem to pass by as quickly as compared to looking through a car window at top speed. It's a great chance to catch up with people/friends I see less off the bike, as well as getting a great workout without waiting for the gym to open. It's a part of my stress management program". Katie notes three of her most memorable adventures. In 1988, she cycled in Hawaii on a fixed gear road bike, and in 1993 she had the opportunity to ride and talk with Greg LeMond. She also noted a trip to the east coast at the height of the fall colors, and wished she had brought her bike. She cites her most notable achievements as averaging 20 mph on a fixed gear in the rain on the Foxy Fall Century, and single-handedly shutting down the Fair Oaks "Eat Your Vegetables" franchise. Her favorite century is the Grizzly Peak, and she enjoys following the Tour De France. It is her goal to one day cycle abroad, and wants "to be a kid again" when she grows up, "having more time to ride than the average Tuesday or Thursday morning Club Member".
(Nov 30, 1995)