Well, Wheel Brothers, we had some amazing rides in May, but with June just around the corner, it’s time to get it in gear for the Fire Ant 100k on June 14th! To learn more about this exciting ride, we talked to Laura White, who spilled the beans on everything you need to know about the Fire Ant 100k.
Why join your ride? We feel we offer some of the best “riding trails” in Central Texas, and give a choice of four lengths: 10 miles, 24 miles, 45 miles, and 100K. We get riders off the highway as soon as possible, and onto county roads into the rolling hills of Coryell County, where there is minimal traffic.
How long has your ride been around? Since 1996 – so this is Ride #19 for the Fire-Ant.
What was the motivation behind starting the ride and who benefits from it? This is the Exchange Club’s keystone fund raiser for scholarships for graduating high school seniors. At this time, we offer two scholarships of $1,000 each, and our goal is to increase this amount in the future.
How have they been able to utilize funds in the past? The students use their $1,000 for tuition to the college, university, or technical school of their choice.
Logistically can you give us an idea of how many volunteers, finances and planning it takes to put on this event? Planning is usually underway in early spring. Approximately 50 people will be involved. A team of approximately 10 club members secure sponsorship support; one handles pre-publicity and pre-registration; another does shopping for rest stop supplies prior to the ride; approximately 30 volunteers are involved in the on-site registration and the staffing for the five rest stops that are provided at 10-mile intervals on the routes. It usually takes at least $4,800 each year for us to stage this event, including advertising, mail-outs, postage, the unique commemorative t-shirts (riders tell us it’s their FAVORITE one of all the rides in which they participate), and rest stop refreshments.
Do you have a map of the start facility showing registration, parking, all toilets, water/snacks, start line? Actually we have four maps: one for each route. The registration area is clearly marked; start line is clearly set up. Rest rooms are available at the registration area. In addition, a porta-potty will be at each of the 5 rest stops, where fruits, juices, waters, and HOMEMADE cookies are offered to all riders. (Some riders say they come JUST FOR THE COOKIES, so we call the member who provides them our “Cookie Queen”).
What is the most rewarding experience of hosting this event? It’s exciting to see so many cyclists gathering in their very colorful uniforms, and sometimes families bring their children to participate Their positive feedback (about how much they love our T-shirt, plus the cookies at every “sag station” ) makes us happy that we have provided a top-notch fine quality ride in the gentle rolling hills of this part of Central Texas.
What is the average number of participants? Around 150 – but we’d like to see that number grow AND GROW.
What can folks do to support you and your mission? We encourage riders to investigate to see if there is an Exchange Club in their hometowns, and ask them to consider joining this community service organization. Our mission is to make our communities better places to live. Our core values are family, community, and country. Our programs of service include youth services (scholarships are just one sector of this area); community services in many aspects; Americanism and patriotism; and our national project: the prevention of child abuse. We ask the cyclists to “spread the word” about our June ride.
Last Year’s Sponcers, and back of t-shirt from 2013
Do you ride, and if so, what kind of bicycle do you have? I do not ride; I’m the ride registrar and pre-ride organizer (the one behind the scenes that gets the paperwork started, and keeps up with it – somebody has to attend to those details). However, we do have a few club members who have bicycles and do ride in this event.
Anything else you’d like to tell folks about this ride? We like to say that we are “the Crown Jewel of bicycle tours of Central Texas.” Even though that may sound like bragging, when we get the feedback from riders about how they appreciate our hospitality (from pre-registration, on-site registration, great snacks at the sag stations, the “sag wagons” we provide on each route, and the terrific T-shirts), we’re just reflecting the positive comments we receive every year. One year we thought we’d get rained out, but people showed up anyway, and the moisture finally did go away, so we did have the ride. However, when picking up their goody-bags that morning, some of them admitted they weren’t riding this time, “BUT I HAD TO COME pick up my T-shirt anyway!” Some of these truly dedicated riders had driven 30, 45, or 60 miles (one way) JUST to get their shirts! We call them our faithful cadre!
CLICK HERE – for more info for this great ride!
Hope this is the perfect start to your June that you needed! See you at the race!
