PO Box 7286 • San Jose, CA 95150 • www.actc.org

The Black &

Blue Bottom

Almaden Cycle Touring Club, Inc.

September 2007

Getting to Know Nancy Kenny Joanne Mitani

ACTC Membership

When she returned to the Bay Area in 1998, Nancy was looking for

a bicycle club to join and discovered ACTC from a Black and Blue

Bottom newsletter at a local bike shop. She has never enjoyed a

club as much as she is enjoying her involvement in ACTC.

ACTC Activities

In 2000, Nancy rode in her first ACTC tour, Sierra to the Sea and

had a great time. Since then she has SAGed twice for Sierra to

the Sea as a driver and has participated in many biking/camping

events, including the Russian River Rally, Del Valle, and Lupine

Loop. She has been a student and staff member for the ACTC

Academy, and a four-time Tierra Bella volunteer in various posi-

tions: as a SAG driver, at Anderson rest stop (before the route

changed), and as a parking attendant the last two years. She is

a two-time chair for the Russian River Rally, first in 2006 and

again this year when she co-chaired with Pat Stenstrom.

Cycling Background

At age 14, Nancy purchased her first ten-speed bicycle with money

earned from doing a newspaper route with her brother. It wasn’t

until 1996, while stationed in Portsmouth, Virginia, that the cy-

cling bug really bit her. Looking for a way to meet new people, she

joined the Tidewater Bicycling Association (the ACTC of Virginia

Beach) and purchased her first serious touring road bike.

Although she joined ACTC in 1998, Nancy’s rotating swing shift

(3–11 pm) work schedule did not allow her to do many club rides

initially. After a job/schedule change she was able to ride more of-

ten. In addition to ACTC activities listed above, she has ridden Cy-

Tour Tested

Rick Madden

Recently, Sarah and I signed on for our very first paid cycling tour.

Led by Adventure Cycling, the largest cycling advocacy organiza-

tion in America, the tour was called the Underground Railroad

Celebration. The ride began in Buffalo, NY, and culminated at the

Emancipation Day Celebration in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada.

A few ceremonial events were planned in tandem with our ride,

and we were told the entire group could participate in these. The

combination of history and cycling sounded like a winner to us. So

along with 87 other riders, we plunked down almost $700 each,

expecting a seven-day “Cadillac” tour from a tour operator with 31

years of experience. Two Adventure Cycling board members and

the executive director were going to ride the route with us.

The ride description was listed as “beginner plus,” which I would

probably equate to an ACTC LM ride. The average daily mileage

was to be 54 miles, with one rest day. Adventure Cycling prom-

ised a “varied and tasty hot breakfast,” rest stops approximately

every 25 miles with energy drinks and bars, and a “delicious and

varied dinner buffet” at night. This was a camping tour (with

motel options); the literature promised camping on large, grassy

lawns, with bathrooms and hot showers at each stop. Adventure

Cycling also stated that if access to indoor facilities is unavailable

or insufficient, they may supplement the facilities with portable

toilets and/or a shower truck. Well folks, don’t believe everything

you read. A successful tour involves preparation, planning and an

ability to make changes on the fly.

Day 1 did not involve any cycling except a short tour around some

historical sites in Buffalo. We met for an orientation meeting late

in the afternoon, had dinner and listened to knowledgeable speak-

ers give us some background on the Underground Railroad. We

slept on an athletic field at a private school that was about 200

yards from a very busy railroad track; Sarah counted six loud lo-

comotives pulling a load through during the night. I slept through

all but one. The showers were scalding hot, and it took quite a few

complaints before the school moved us to another gym.

Day 2 started with a nice breakfast in the cafeteria and headed

for the U.S.-Canada border, about five miles from the school. Ad -

venture Cycling did a great job of getting us across the border

smoothly, not an easy task these days. Route markings left a lot to

TUESDAY 4th SEPTEMBER 7PM

First Congregational Church

Leigh & Hamilton, San Jose

Fast Freddy Markham

Winner of the Dupont Prize in 1986 for riding

the Gold Rush OVER 65 MPH!

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