Safe and Sound
So far so good, in terms of injuries.
The Sea to Sea Bike Tour is finishing its third week of a nine-week trek from Seattle to New Jersey this summer with no major injuries or accidents to date.
That’s a good sign, says Ed Witvoet, Operations and Logistics Manager for the tour. “I feel very good about [our safety record]. The longer the tour goes, the better the riders become and the less falls occur. At the beginning, some are very anxious and unsure, but by now they’re settling into a good rhythm.”
He agrees with cyclist John Pierce of Kincheole, Mich., who said he felt “like the entire tour was protected at night and while we’re on the road.”
Witvoet said he has appreciated the riders’ compliance in wearing the mandatory safety vest every day and their general concern for their own safety and that of others on tour. The key, he says, is not to get casual about it. “We have to be smart and take precautions, continue to think safety first.”
Supporters at home, too, are asked to continue to pray for the tour and its safe passage to Jersey City, NJ, on August 30.
Witvoet, 45, of Ancaster, Ont., is accompanied on tour by his wife Denise and two children. Together, they also crossed Canada when he managed the tour that went across Canada in 2005.
This week in their blogs, cyclists have been praising Witvoet’s diligent leadership.
“I want to give acknowledgement to Ed Witvoet. His work never stops,” writes Cynthia Aukema, of Chatham, Ont. “He is constantly on the phone or computer every evening making sure that the (Department of Transportation) and police know we are coming through. So far the daily routes have been fantastic. I know it has taken Ed a long time in planning to come up with the route and it shows. So, three cheers for Ed. We all appreciate all the work you’ve been doing.”
Barb Mellema, of Sioux Center, Iowa, concurred in her blog.
“We’re having a great tour because Ed takes us places from a biker’s perspective,” she writes. “Ed puts out fires—when a State Trooper wasn’t informed he came and found Ed but Ed whipped out the correct paper work. When the sprinklers go off during the night it’s not because Ed hasn’t made those arrangements, they just weren’t carried out by the locals. And still, I haven’t seen him lose his cool… but he’s in camp to help decide where the kitchen and gear trucks go and in the evenings he explains the route and/or if there’s changes due to road construction for unforeseen instances.”
For Thursday’s ride, Witvoet has mapped out an 86-mile, 138-km trek from Burley, Idaho to Snowville, Utah, situated in the Curlew Valley. It will mark the fourth state, out of 14 states and 1 province, through which the tour will travel.
Today’s ride is the longest so far, but riders are already concerned about Saturday’s 95-mile, 153-km ride through Salt Lake City that includes almost 6,000 feet of climbing.
