7 am Thursday -- Race Day! The truck is on-site and unloaded. Schuyler is unloading the truck while three of us hustle the bikes to the corral.
The mechanics' tent had to be weighted to keep it from blowing away -- thank goodness those six jugs of kitty litter are heavy enough!!
It didn't take long for the athletes to arrive and the wrenching to begin. Five of the best bike mechanics in Iowa -- read that the best anywhere -- worked nonstop for hours to check over and make every athlete's bike race-ready. Special Olympics is either a bike mechanic's dream OR a nightmare -- absolutely every imaginable sort of equipment is used. This year we worked on old garage bikes, new chain-store models,some very nice name-brand rides, two-and three-wheeled stocks and modifieds, and unique custom-built recumbent singles and tandems from some of the best framebuilders in the business.
Sometimes the line for bike checks was long, but everybody was patient and all the bikes got checked over.
Leanne Lauber of Bike World pumped tires ... and pumped and pumped and PUMPED them. Leanne is a wonder. She made sure tire pressures were correct, made sure the bikes go to the proper mechanics and babysat Tom's little boy.
Tom (left) and James (below), mechanics from Bike World, put in a whole days' work by noon. They inspected all of the bikes, making adjustments and repairs as necessary. The bikes cannot be on the course until these guys certify them as safe. They were later joined by Steve Lauber (not pictured) who hurried over from an earlier appointment.
Sometimes it takes TWO heads to fix ONE bike. Ronn Ritz (Skunk River Cycles) and Craig go to work on a problem. Craig holds the bike while Ronn untangles a stuck chain. We each work according to our talents.
At the starting line, volunteers check each rider for helmet and gloves, and wish each a good race. The volunteers are vital to helping the athletes get fitted up and to the starting point.
The best thing about Special Olympics is that everybody is a winner. A year of anticipation and planning makes just being there a special event, and showing off a shiny new medal makes the day even more special. Parents, coaches, friends and volunteers all work together to ensure that each athlete has a fun, positive experience and that at the Games he or she really is a star performer. The smiles on the faces of proud medal winners makes it clear to everybody involved: the Olympic spirit is alive and well at these games, too.
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