 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|
||
 | |||
 |
 |
||||
|
|||||
 |
|||||
| Find us on your favorite sites: | |||||
|
|||||
| Add bookmark to: | |||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
 |
|||||
Participant Profiles
Gary GardSports Enthusiast and New Dad: Gary Gard
During the workweek, Gary Gard is a jeweler who owns the Chicago Diamond Exchange in Oakbrook. During his leisure time, Gary is an avid bicyclist who teaches spin classes in the winter and goes on several organized bicycle rides during the warmer months. He bicycles about 3,000 miles a year!
In 2000 Gary volunteered and rode at the head of the pack at The L.A.T.E Ride. In 2001 he intended to do the same, but when volunteering at the Packet Pick-Up in Lombard got a call from his wife saying it was time for her to go to the hospital and give birth to their first child. So he volunteered for about five minutes, left for the hospital, and saw his baby son for the first time after about 13 hours of labor. As a new father he learned that he needed to take advantage of sleep when he could, so he missed the ride last year. But he vows that he will be back this year, maybe even with his year-old son!
Gary started volunteering at the Lombard Packet Pick-Up because he met the director of The L.A.T.E. Ride at a Chicago Bike Show and learned that by volunteering he could ride with the first wave. He had heard about the ride at other events and from friends, and knew he wanted to be one of the first riders. In 2000 he went to Buckingham Fountain at about 5 p.m. and had a tailgate party with four other vehicles in the parking lot next to the Adler Planetarium. At 1:00 a.m. they bicycled over to the Fountain and took off in the front row.
They rode a little too fast and got ahead of the police escort. Then they slowed down. His favorite parts were Lincoln Avenue, where "everyone was screaming," and the lakefront path, where he "highly recommends a headlight." The rest stops and breakfast offer "more food than you can possibly eat." "Riding at night is a whole different experience," he says. "You can't miss it."
In addition to The L.A.T.E. Ride, Gary rides on R.A.G.B.R.A.I., the ride across Iowa during the last week of July, with Team Gourmet, a group of about 40 people who bring their own chefs. Cool, huh? A total of 15,000 riders take part in R.A.G.B.R.A.I. He also spends a week each September mountain biking in Colorado.
Gary's most memorable ride happened in Northwest Illinois, when he and his friends cut through a field on their mountain bikes and found themselves in a herd of charging steer! They were able to get over the fence in time, then two deer running from hunters ran right in front of his bike! We don't think he will have to run from or dodge animals on The L.A.T.E. Ride, but do watch for cars and pedestrians!
<< Back to the Special Participant Profiles
