Dave Leonard

Dave Leonard learned there's truth to the old adage of "you can never go home again," when he tried to find the home of his childhood in Cedar Falls, Iowa, during this year's RAGBRAI (Des Moines REGISTER'S ANNUAL GREAT BICYCLE RIDE ACROSS IOWA). Dave was three years old when the family moved from Iowa. He didn't remember an address. All he remembered was that he lived in a big white house. All houses are painted white in Iowa. You will find hundreds of photos of Dave standing in front of white houses in his RAGBRAI album.

Dave, who works for the Sacramento Bee, is often mistaken for the newspaper's food or restaurant critic based on his many witty tongue-in-cheek critiques of fare offered at various cycling events. He has gained quite an audience via the Wheelmen's internet mailing list for his gastronomic reviews and cycling exploits.

His latest commentary was on Iowa's "Food Groups on a Stick" that he voraciously consumed during the weeklong mid-West classic and later "hurled", setting personal records, as the heat index of 122 degrees finally did him in. He was actually hospitalized for dehydration and completed the tour ungloriously in the broom wagon.

Dave's real job is the Operation Maintenance Manager for the Bee, and he is responsible for keeping the mammoth plant in smooth operation and the presses rolling. He supervises two departments and has worked there for 24 years. Dave, age 46, met his wife Andrea at the Bee. She is a graphic artist and the Leonards have been married 18 years.

Dave is relatively new to cycling, starting about 4 years ago. What really got him hooked was completing the Sierra Century in 1997, which was his first organized century ride. "I literally had tears in my eyes when I reached the top of Slug Gulch and someone handed me the Slug Gulch pin. It was the biggest thrill of my life," said Dave with great passion. Like a runaway truck screaming downhill, Dave has been unstoppable ever since. In 1998 he completed 10 centuries and all five passes of the Death Ride.

In 1999, he completed four double centuries (Death Valley, Solvang, Hemet, and Davis), 400K and 600K brevets, and in August, he will fly to France to participate in the Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) 750-mile epic. His goal is to finish in the required 90-hour time limit. "I am not fast or pretty when riding a bike, but I have a tremendous will to continue," says a determined Dave when asked about the daunting distance of the PBP.

Dave joined the Wheelmen about two years ago and credits much of his cycling accomplishments to riding with the Club. "The Wheelmen have a reputation as having many good riders and a good bunch of people to ride with. I also hate to navigate on my own and enjoy rides where someone just hands me a map."

"My job keeps me in shape for cycling, and cycling keeps me in shape for work," says the energetic 43-year-old special education teacher who enjoys – no, make that thrives on – one of the most challenging careers in the teaching profession. Mike Durkin is a teacher for the severely mentally disabled in the San Joaquin County Office of Education. He, along with three assistants, teaches basic life skills to a class of 8 young, severely developmentally disabled adult students, who possess no impulse control, cannot talk, and have minds of an 18-month-old child.

Mike says he's on his feet all day long, never sits down, and takes no breaks or lunch over the course of the day. A time and motion study found that he interacts with his students at least 1,000 times on a daily basis.

But Mike thrives at his job and really enjoys helping people who can't help themselves. His interest in helping the developmentally disabled started back during his internship with the University of Massachusetts State Hospital in the late 1970's where he was influenced by the dedicated staff and mission of the hospital, which was nothing like what is often portrayed in the movies of mental institutions.

In 1980, after receiving his degree from University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mike moved to the warmer climate of California. In 1989, he earned a Masters degree in education and a teaching credential from the University of the Pacific. He has worked for the San Joaquin County Office of Education for the past 11 years.

The energy Mike puts into his job also carries over to his physical pursuits. In fact, he says his job keeps him in shape for cycling, or is it the other way around? In any event, it's certainly a unique form of cross training. He is partial to individual sports like golf and cycling. He carries an 8-10 handicap and has been cycling since he was 10 years old, biking to school and all over New England where he grew up.

Mike enjoys mountain and road biking equally and belongs to both FATRACS and the Wheelmen. While he briefly lived in Chico in the mid-80's, he met and rode with Joe Murray, the World Mountain Bike Champion at the time, and piqued his interest in mountain bike racing. Mike enters about a half-dozen races a year and participates in the Napa World Cup, Angwin, Sea Otter, and Knobular Series. He usually finishes in the top 5 of his category. He also enjoys "extreme" biking, competing in the "White Mountain in a Day", climbing to the 14,246' peak from the 2,000' elevation of the Owens Valley in 17 hours.

Mike has been a Wheelman since 1980 and enjoys the diversity of the Club rides and activities. He has participated in three of the annual weeklong tours, having gone on the Crater Lake Tour twice and the Central Coast Tour once. He also enjoys doing century and double century rides.

Mike has been married 11 years to Peggy and credits her for being his support system. "She keeps me from getting too wound up and tells me to relax once in a while." Mike and Peggy have two grown children, Sierra and Kateri, who are both attending college.