From: “The Jersey Project”
Most folks who bought my book, “The Jersey Project,” now out of print, (Thank you) thumbed through the pages to look at all the jerseys and remenisce. Then it was put on the coffee table. The next few posts will be the text that came with each page of jerseys, starting with the Introduction. In […]
J P chapter 1 “The Jersey Effect”
In Europe, kids grow up puttingon local club cycling jerseys,just like kids in America grow upputting on Little League uniforms.Bicycle racing is ingrained in theEuropean culture, and it wasexpected that these youngsterswould spend time being racingclub cyclists as they passedthrough life.But for those of us Americansgrowing up in the 1960s and early’70s who had somehow […]
Club Jerseys
Around 1972, in officialrecognition of the naturallyimpoverished state of Americanbicycle racers, who were notallowed to race for cash, theAmateur Bicycle Leagueof America finally allowedcommercial sponsorship ofsanctioned regional clubs. Bicyclebrands were now encouraged tothrow in a little cash along with theequipment they ordinarily gave tovarious clubs.At first, only the club name withclub colors was allowed to […]
Hand to Mouth
New talent and unknown localswith different jerseys werealways lying in wait, on startinglines from Greensboro,N.C., toFitchburg, Mass. Cyclists whotraveled the Eastern Seaboardfrom Florida to Quebec racedwhere the strawberries werealways ripe while following therobins north.They knew what jerseys to lookout for in each town and citythey raided for prizes and cash.These road warriors would oftenpool their […]
Regional Club Sponsorships (jerseys)
The sponsor’s name acrossthe front and back of thecycling jersey was the significantdifference between us as racingcyclists and the mainstream teamsports in this country. It gave us,a loose-knit group of individualswho didn’t always work and playwell with other kids, an identitythat would fuel our passion inthe unceasing struggle for thatEuropean connection. Moneywas never the issue. […]
The Boys of Summer
The Boys of Summer Friday, September 16, 2005 My son Ian and I just this minute got out of the lake. We swim every night when I get home, if he is not playing with friends. We started this ritual last fall. He would get off the school bus from kindergarten and say, “Let’s go […]
Precious Time is Slipping Away
Precious Time is Slipping Away I lost two friends this week. Two friends from back in the day at my old prep school in Maine back in the 1960’s. I had not seen either one of them in over 40 years, but they were friends never the less. Guys that I figured would always be […]
53 Years Later
53 Years later my son is at Bridgton Academy By Bill Humphreys Do the math and my classmates could’ve had their grandchildren already pass through BA by this time. So I was a late starter, let’s just leave it at that for now. I had been back to the chapel to address the student body […]
Typical Day Behind the Wheel
Over the Road Driving A Typical Day Up at 3:30am to see snow and sleet had been coming down for a few hours while I slept at a truck stop in Eastern Ohio. I made a quick breakfast in the truck with my coffee maker and micro waved oatmeal before hitting the road towards Louisville, […]
Me & the Donkey My current form on the Bike
Me and the Donkey My current Form on the Bike I’ve been riding up the Town Woods Rd hill at the beginning of my rides for 47 years and each time up feels different. There was a time, maybe 14 years ago when I could keep it in the big ring and dance all the […]