Bike Race

Kiley Miles and Casey Rutherford

Chance Greer, probably

Twelve PRA cyclists pedaled their legs like pistons around the Kansas Speedway on May 25th and May 26th. Nine cyclists scored division points by strong performances in their gender/age group, causing PRA to earn 8th place of 17 companies and 10 Corporate Challenge points! Our total number (12) of cyclists was 5th most in our division. We were represented previously by a maximum of one courageous cyclist, including our 2010 high performer, Walt Rutherford.

Expressing our camraderie, six of us (Vicki Hugo, Erica Terry, Walt Rutherford, Wim Tamminga, Rickey Pack, and Chance Greer) shared a bike that Rickey brought. While less fancy and heavier than many of the bikes other cyclists used, four of us still scored division points.

Every participant contributed a point to our company total for the Corporate Challenge competition!

High Performers (place in gender/division)
Elizabeth Growney (2nd) - the veteran triathlete
Wanda Marrero (2nd)
Vicki Hugo (4th)
Casey Rutherford (4th)
Wim Tamminga (4th)
Ben Cronk (5th)
Andrea House (6th)
Kiley Miles (7th)
Walt Rutherford (7th) - our Corporate Challenge Bike Meet veteran

Other Participants

Chance Greer

Rickey Pack

Erica Terry

Wim Tamminga is a blur at the finish.

Erica Terry, our first competitor, and the first to work so hard that her legs literally trembled at the end. She did not appear happy to my eyes after the race. Some minutes later, she felt very good and vowed to race the speedway again next year.

Andrea House, who had not ridden a bike in years. Andrea wondered during the pre-race practice why the gear-selector was so hard to use. She soon learned that the pit boss (see Walt's entry below) had mistakenly instructed bikers to use the handlebar shifter when the bicycle actually employed a thumb shifter. Andrea went on "as-needed" status soon after this race so that she could be with her family in the northeast. She will be missed by all of us in the KCI office.

Walt Rutherford, who biked well despite what we might call a "mechanical malfunction" or "pit error". A number of us rode this bike, bought used by Rickey Pack, and in its transition to Walt's possession, the derailleur was shifted to a middle gear. Rickey had asked the bikers to not shift the gears in hopes of avoiding the use of this mildly irregular gear. Walt pumped his legs like crazy, frustrated by his lack of speed. The pit will perform better transitions next year. Watch out for Walt!

David Mullins, whose bike suffered a severe mechanical failure - the derailleur snapped off. He was not injured. David kindly allowed me to take this picture as a symbol of the challenges PRA athletes overcome. His wife and parents were in attendance and were happy to see he was safe. David would strike again during the Track Meet's 100 Meter Run and Men's Shotput.

Vicki Hugo and Elizabeth Growney, hangin' before the race.

Elizabeth Growney and children are all smiles after her dazzling finish

Vicki Hugo surprised herself
Kiley Miles, a champion of many sports
Do not stand in front Chance Greer at the finish line.

PRA's Jessica Terry (woman in red), member of the Kansas City Corporate Challenge Board of Directors. She volunteered during the Bike Race along with Corporate Challenge Ambassador, Jamie Holmquist.