With the sun sparkling off the waters of Uvas Reservoir and an endless blue sky as the backdrop, Scott and Susan Francks alternated sentences. The couple’s voices, along with the occasional squirrel scurrying past, broke a serene, peaceful silence of a perfect morning last Friday. Their words sent the mind swirling and offered imagery complimentary to the setting.
“We are so fortunate to live in this area,” Susan said, palms up raised to the sky. “Once we started cycling we realized how much unexplored territory there was.”
The Francks dipped their feet into the cycling world in 2004 when a friend introduced Susan to the Tierra Bella Bicycle Tour, an annual biking extravaganza that will celebrate its 35th spin Saturday.
“We really enjoy Tierra Bella,” Susan said “It’s what got us into cycling.”
The ride, which begins and ends at Gavilan College, is hosted by the Almaden Cycle Touring Club and includes a contingent of 2,000 riders who explore one of four designated routes – 60 kilometers (34.5 miles), 100K (61.7 miles), 160K (99.8 miles) and 200K (121.2 miles) – through Gilroy and the surrounding South County landscape.
“I was sort of naive about it. I thought, ‘Oh, no problem. I can ride a bike,”’ Susan recalled, noting the casual nature of the previous cycling experiences. “We signed up for the short one – a 35-mile ride.”
Scott, now 64 years old, wasn’t as easily convinced to snap into his pedals.
“She told me she was going on this 35-mile bike ride, and I told her she was crazy,” he said, adding through a coy chuckle that he felt compelled to act as Susan’s liaison. “I realized I’d better buy a bike to ride along and protect her.”
According to Susan, it took 10 miles for Scott to leave her in his wake.
“He dropped us,” she said waving her hand toward him.
The aftermath of that initial extended ride was a bit of a mixed bag of emotions – joy, of course, and some pain, too.
“I felt so accomplished when we finished, but so tired and so sore,” Susan said.
Aches aside, that ride was all it took for the Francks to dive right in and immerse themselves in all things cycling. They joined the ACTC shortly after their bout with Tierra Bella, and have since volunteered and/or participated every year. They will do so again Saturday. Their volunteer work, along with upwards of 250 others, started as soon as last year’s race ended.
“It is one of the best-done and locally supported events,” Susan said. “It takes a lot of preparation and multiple teams at each rest stop.”
Among other duties, the Francks mail registration materials beforehand and remove painted arrows from roadways once the event is complete. Scott, a retired electronic quality engineer who also serves on Gilroy’s Bicycle Pedestrian Commission, has been a Support and Gear team member as well, with responsibilities ranging from fixing flat tires to offering a ride to exhausted participants.
“Our club can’t exist without people like the Francks,” said Karl Laucher, an ACTC member and a volunteer media assistant for Tierra Bella. “They are one of the more perfect examples of people who love writing and who are willing to put in the hours to support it.”
Tierra Bella attracts riders from New York, Oregon, Minnesota and Colorado, Scott said. It is regarded as one of the premier tours.
“The whole thing is to promote the culture of cycling. I know myself, the Francks and everybody in our club are so into the enjoyment and euphoria of riding a bike and, at the same time, being social about. It’s probably the best mix – fitness and socialization. And, add in a third thing, the great adventures.”
After their first Tierra Bella, the Francks realized there was room to grow, and they were anxious to embrace and embark on that road to improvement.
“We were a little bit more laid back (to start). Thirty-five miles was nice, but it killed us. So we figured over the next year we would get in better shape and feel better at the end of the ride,” Scott said. “The 100-kilometer was always our goal. We wanted to make that our objective.”
“And we did it the next year,” Susan chimed in.
But, “It killed us, again,” Scott echoed.
If it sounds like they are hooked on the sport, they do concede to that fact. Scott has three bikes of his own.
The Francks now lead rides during the week through the ACTC. Susan has been the tour guide of sorts on a 100-mile adventure that traces the pavement from Gilroy to Los Altos and back. If they aren’t with the club, they still ride three times per week together at a 30-to-60-mile clip.
“It catches on, you know, and you can’t stop it,” Scott said with another laugh.
And to the Gilroy residents, who take any available opportunity to tout local bike shops, being on those two wheels is a key to a sensory wonderland. Their passion for the road has taken them to different parts of the state and county.
“We went to places that we never knew existed. It really broadened our perspective,” Scott said. “The best place to see any part of the country is on a bike, it really is.”
On their résumé is the Sierra to the Sea, an eight-day event that is 420 miles long and averages 60 miles per day. It starts in the Sierra Nevada, moves through the Sacramento and Napa valleys to the Pacific Coast, crosses the Golden Gate Bridge and ends in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. They are doing it again in June.
Two summers ago, they did Ride Idaho, another weeklong, 400-plus-mile journey.
“These tours are supported tours. We give them our bags at the start, and they bring them to the next point. But at the end of the day, you set up a tent, so it’s a camping experience, too.”
So what motivates them to take on such a seemingly rigorous schedule?
“I think it’s the endorphins – it just feels so good when you are in good shape,” Susan said. “And the social aspect, we have met so many people, and our social world has broadened through the club.
“For the 100-mile ride, it’s primarily for the challenge,” she continued. “I’m 50-something, when I was in my 20s and 30s and so busy, I never thought I’d do things like this.
“Every day of the week there are club rides. You can just find one that meets your needs.”
NOTE: Saturday’s Tierra Bella, which has sold out for the 10th year in a row, gets underway at 7 a.m. with the 160K and 200K. The 60K and 100K launch at 8 a.m. Proceeds benefit a number of bicycle and community organizations, and food not consumed by the cyclists is donated to the St. Joseph’s Family Center in Gilroy, Laucher said. That donation last year was valued at more than $1,500.
On the road with Tierra Bella 2012:
60 kilometer (34.5 miles): A flat route through Gilroy and a big loop out past Uvas and Chesbro Reservoirs. This route makes a good family ride.
100K (61.7 miles): Much of the climbing is done n the morning, starting with a climb to Gilroy Hot Springs. After a descent down Canada Road, riders pass back north of Gilroy before looping around Uvas and Chesbro Reservoirs. It finishes with a quick return to Gavilan College.
160K (99.8 mi, 6375 ft): Opens with a climb up to Gilroy Hot Springs, but that is just the beginning. After descending down Canada Road, riders head north to do the challenging climb up Dunne Ave to the summit at Henry Coe State Park headquarters. Then there is a decent the same roads, heading northwest to Bailey and up to Calero County Park. By this time the northern winds should have picked up to push riders south past Chesbro Reservoir and on to Gavilan College.
200K (121.2 mi, 7747 ft): If the 160K is just not enough, then add a scenic ride out to New Almaden and a climb up to the summit of Hicks Road, before retracing your route back to Calero County Park.
