Reno's Cycling Heritage
by Chérie L. Turner
Eclectic, athletic, off beat, Reno boasts a road cycling scene that is as wonderful as it is rare. While the bike world is oftentimes divided into distinct camps—road racers, mountain bikers, those who tour, ultra-distance riders, triathletes—Reno's bike scene is all-inclusive, extending even to a larger diverse social group. Bonded by a love of the two-wheeler, the sport's many divergent groups form a community that acts rather as a portal to some of the best the area has to offer, geographically and socially.
Bikes are an ideal way to explore the abundant natural beauty surrounding Reno. But cycling is also part of the city's character, with a long illustrious history.
Every cycling fan can tell you about Reno's most famous son, Greg LeMond, the first American to win the Tour de France, but how many can recite the exploits of the Reno Wheelmen, champions of the Pacific Coast and social glue of the city two century-turns ago? Now bike culture is again prominent in town, with a wellloved national-caliber bike race, small but successful cycling industry and modern champions like Bobby Julich, as residents. Interest in the sport ranges from those who race to riders of antique high-wheelers, to bicycle frame builders. They all contribute to the larger social network that embraces and is embraced by the cycling scene.
"The Reno scene is friendly, down to earth," says Alex Candelario, professional road racer for the Jelly Belly pro cycling team and one of the nation's foremost sprinters, who was embraced by the Reno cycling scene last year when he competed in the Tour de Nez—the multi-day race that is also a general cycling festival extravaganza held in and around Reno in June. "People aren't so concerned about types of bikes you are riding just so long as you're riding a bike. It's a smaller community than in other areas, so it's easier to stay closer knit. There aren't a lot of sects of cyclists."
The social hub of Reno's road cycling scene is undoubtedly the Deux Gros Nez, a character-rich second-story café near downtown. Opened in 1985 by self-professed "bike geek" Tim Healion, this funky eatery serves as a sort of clubhouse where cyclists, both local and visiting, congregate. A bike hangs in the stairwell. Walls and even ceilings are covered with autographed cycling jerseys from some of the most successful racers to ever show up at a starting line, most of the garments gifted to Healion by the athletes themselves who make it a point to patronize the Deux while in town. Among the many cycling-related activities that take place there, the café is headquarters to the Tour de Nez, which Healion founded and directs. The Deux, however, is not the first of its kind in Reno.
In 1896—when cycling was one of the most prominent sports in the United States, having been introduced from Europe in the late 1860s—the Reno Wheelmen was formed in response to a racing challenge put forth by a Carson City racing club. The team was immediately popular, and around them quickly formed a larger social club. "... the Reno Wheelmen became Reno's most prominent social organization within a year of its founding ... ,"said Wheelmen historian Phillip I. Earl, in a 1988 Reno Gazette-Journal story. To accommodate its popularity, the organization built Wheelmen's Hall, which included a weight room, pool tables and a room for social gatherings.
In 1900, four years after its inception, the team won the Pacific Coast Championships—they would repeat this glory eleven times. In a 1966 Nevada State Journal story recounting the homecoming of the racers from their first such victory, reporter Jack Stevenson stated that " ... practically the entire citizenry of Reno turned out to welcome home a victorious crew of bike riders ... the railroad depot was festooned with bunting, as was most of Virginia Street, and a goodly throng of politicians, civic leaders, club members, and citizens were on hand to welcome the heroes home."
Keeping stride with the growing popularity of the team, Wheelmen's Hall relocated to what is now Arlington Avenue in 1903. According to Earl in a 1983 article in the Las Vegas Sun: "The new facility included a heated swimming pool, a fully equipped gymnasium, a large reading room and an expansive dance floor... from the day of its opening, Wheelmen's Hall served every conceivable social and cultural purpose." Though all things Wheelmen spurred from cycling, numerous other athletic teams originated from the hall: basketball, football, water polo and baseball. Trainers were made available to boxers and wrestlers, and matches were hosted. Women were also welcome; they had their own trainer and also joined the men on club bike rides. Time was set aside for them to use the gymnasium and pool. The club sponsored drama groups, lectures, chautauqua performances and dances—the New Year's Eve bash was a highlight of the social season. The Reno Wheelmen even boasted their own band and housed the city's only library. In 1906, the hall housed many San Franciscans displaced by the earthquake.
With the advent of the automobile, the popularity of cycling began to wane. By 1908, Wheelmen's Hall was being rented out to a theatrical company. The next year, it burned to the ground. The Wheelmen in all its forms ceased to exist.
In the late 1960s, a small but passionate group of racers decided to resurrect the Reno Wheelmen. Upon its re-creation, the organization, now almost strictly a racing club, again began turning out notable competitors. Junior racer Dan Brown twice won the prestigious Nevada City Classic and twice placed in the top ten of the Junior National Championships. Brown continues to be part of the local cycling scene, putting on club races, working with the Wheelmen and through Bicycle Bananas, his bike shop in northwest Reno.
Roland Della Santa began racing with the Wheelmen in his teens and not only did he prove a strong force in the national racing scene in the sixties and seventies, he has gone on to create highly sought-after custom bike frames through the company that carries his name. Since he started building frames in 1970, Della Santa has made bikes for some of the best cyclists in the world; former Reno locals LeMond and Inga Thompson among them. He also made the first several hundred bikes for the company that bears LeMond's name. Employing age-old techniques and hand precision, Della Santa's frames are as much art as they are sporting equipment.
Undoubtedly the most famous cyclist to emerge from the Reno racing scene is LeMond, who, among many other notable victories, was a three-time victor of the Tour de France. Thompson had been a competitive runner and only began riding while recovering from an injury. Six races and three months into her cycling career, she made the 1984 Olympic Team. Over the next ten years, she competed in two more Olympics, won the prestigious Women's Challenge stage race in Idaho two times and twice placed third in the internationally acclaimed Tour Feminin, the now-defunct women's Tour de France. When Thompson found herself without sponsor support one season, winnings from slot machines with her likeness placed in local casinos helped finance her racing. Della Santa provided her bikes to race on.
Reno also boasts 1989 national criterium champion, Matt Newberry, and was home to and training ground for Tony Cruz when he became the 2000 Olympic Road Trials champion. A standout not only for his accomplishments but also for his longevity in the sport is Jack Hartman. Hartman started racing as a junior in the early 1950s in the San Jose area, then became multitime national champion and Olympian before he moved to Reno in 1971. He has been one of the nation's premier master racers ever since. Hartman, who will turn 69 this year, is likely the only person to have won a national championship in every age category.
Geographically, Reno is an almost ideal place to train for racing; the high altitude and endless variety of terrain allow racers all necessary options to prepare for even the most brutal European courses. That is one of the aspects that drew current resident Bobby Julich to Reno in 2000. Arguably one of the foremost road racers in the world, Julich, who races for Denmark-based team CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation) has, among many other accomplishments, placed third in the 1998 Tour de France, won a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics time trial event and, earlier this year, placed third in the first ever Tour de California.
"I'm surprised there aren't more cycling pros living here," says Julich. "Reno is the ultimate outdoor playground." It is also an exceedingly enjoyable place to be a cyclist. There are groups for every caliber of rider. For racers, there is the Wheelmen as well as a few smaller teams. University of Nevada Reno also fields a team that races throughout the West Coast; the team receives the active support of another passionate member of the local biking community, Randy Collins, through his shop, College Cyclery.
For the more casual/social rider, there is the Procrastinating Peddlers. The club holds weekly group rides and regularly offers first-timer rides for those interested in how to cycle in a group setting. "We offer beginner rides to attract ordinary people to the club," says club president Terry McAfee. "I led the last ride, and we had 40 people show up. It was a great time."
As Reno continues to grow and attract a new active workforce, more and more people appear destined to discover the joys of riding in Reno and the richness of the area's diverse cycling culture. For 110 years and counting, Reno's bike culture has been part of the city's social fabric, fueled by the inspirational feats of racers and straightforward passion for this simple machine.