BROCKWAY, Pa. (EYT) – Terry Maher is a dedicated race director. For the past 15 years, he has been involved with the Tour de Brockway Bike Race, going to municipal meetings, giving everyone he meets a countdown, filling out paperwork, marking out a race route, and promoting the over-30-year-old race.
Currently, he is in a spin class to make sure he’s in shape for the 21.5-mile race on July 4.
“You have to be in shape for the Tour de Brockway,” he said at the DuBois YMCA during a break from spinning. “Riders have to be willing to put their bodies through miles of climbing and rolling terrain. Most riders know if they have the physical capabilities of finishing a race like this.”
Brockway police escort the 2017 Tour de Brockway Peloton Parade.
Maher started as a competitor in the race 17 years ago. When the directors decided to hang up their helmets, he found Paula DuBois of the YMCA to mentor him as he learned about putting together a race.
“It was a lot more involved than I had any idea,” Maher said. “I had no race experience at that time. One of the first things I had to do was get more visibility. The race route was a 12.5-mile race course and it basically started at the high school, went past the post office, up Horizon Drive, then Game School Road. This was a self-contained course with no one really seeing it other than the cyclists. So we redesigned a race course that went downtown and hit Horton, Washington, and Snyder Townships. The riders wanted it longer and more challenging.”
An advantage of the new route is the support of the Brockway community. Several homes that have parties on the Fourth of July, so the residents and partygoers wait for the riders come by their houses so they can ring cowbells and cheer.
The 37th Annual Tour de Brockway now starts and ends at Brockway Area Junior-Senior High School. Gingerbread Man Running Company sends four timers to keep track of the race. They use a chip timing service that also has a camera backup in case of a photo finish, which happened once. In the years since Maher came on board, he has taken the race from just road bikes to having categories for tandem bikes, mountain bikes, and hybrid mountain bikes. He has also added winning categories for men, women, and young people. 34 companies from the Tri-County Area sponsor the race and help him put together a gift bag for every rider.
“We do a t-shirt, a commemorative pin for the race, and we’re doing a bumper decal,” Maher said. “That’s becoming very popular over the years, like all the OBX stickers you see, so we’re doing a TDB bumper sticker this year.”
Two years ago, the race hit 100 riders. Riders from up to seven states have competed and people from all over Pennsylvania pour into the small town of Brockway to compete.
“Billy Palumbo does a super job at Trophies and More in Reynoldsville, so we have awards to give out,” Maher said. “We have 50 trophies and medallions, so half of the riders go home with something beyond the bag they get when they sign up.”
The long race means that Maher needs cooperation from every municipality he rides through as well as state and local services.
“We have a whole lot of municipalities involved, and they are all helpful and supportive,” Maher said. He has to go to each community and get signatures from the council members and supervisors to complete his PennDOT application for the race. “It really sends a positive message that cycling is an evolving sport and it’s welcome here. At one time, we were the only race around. Our popularity has kicked off races all over the area.”
Years ago, the race was called “The Star-Spangled Fourth of July Firecracker Race.” Along with being a mouthful, the race needed to be connected to other races.
“We renamed it to the Tour de Brockway to associate in people’s minds with the Tour de France,” Maher said. “Now, other municipalities are doing the ‘Tour de’ naming. Since we changed the name, the popularity of the race has increased. We were listed in a biking magazine’s list of great patriotic races from all across the country.”
Another key to the success of the race is the relationship the Tour has with the Brockway Area School District.
“I didn’t want the race to become one of those port-a-john races,” Maher said. “The high school opens up the locker rooms for us. People don’t have to drive for hours in their biking gear and they can get showers before they go home. The school district has been very good to us.”
The school’s involvement also brings in more younger bikers. Maher says that more and more young riders join up every year.
“The riders are the best people I know,” Maher said. “We have a good relationship with them. That’s one of the things that really attracted me to riding. I’ve seen a lot of shy young people coming to the races, and we got them to come out of their shells. I’ve had parents come up and thank me for what I’m doing. They said their son or daughter is more involved the community because of their involvement in the race.”
Aside from being his workout routine, spinning has added more riders to events like the Tour de Brockway. Maher says that it gives them confidence, but there is nothing like riding a bike outside.
“Spinning and riding outside are closely associated, but they’re much different,” he said. “It’s a whole lot different outside because of environment – stop signs, red lights, weather, traffic. But it’s freedom being outside on a bicycle.”
A big race like the Tour de Brockway has a lot of environmental hazards to contend with. That is where Maher’s relationships with local and state services come into play.
“The riders have called it the safest race they have ever been in,” Maher said. “The Brockway fire department leads the local volunteer companies to monitor the route. They’re volunteering their time on the Fourth to road marshal. We don’t have to worry about crossing major highways or stopping at stop signs because they’re at those places to stop traffic. The police department is heavily involved in making sure we’re safe.”
Maher checks out the route every year and if he sees any major problems, he calls PennDOT to have them fix it. The biggest new challenge is a construction and a one-lane bridge on Rattlesnake Road. But that obstacle has been figured out with the Tour’s community partners.
“My goal every year is to have the riders have an enjoyable experience and a fun time,” Maher said. “PennDOT runs a sweeper truck on the whole course to make it clean. They’re also helping out with patching the road just before the race.”
With the paperwork done and the track mapped out, Maher takes some time to train to compete in the race.
“Because I have such a great committee, I get to compete on the Fourth as well,” Maher said. “It’s a truly great experience and an adrenaline rush.”
On July 4, Maher will be wearing his Captain America riding jersey and lining up for the Peloton Parade of Riders through downtown before kicking it into gear for the race.
Registration begins in February on the Brockway Fourth website at www.brockwayfourth.com, but the race director and his committee work all year to make sure they have a safe race. On race day, registration starts at 9 a.m. at the high school. The online preregistration price of $25 runs until June 27. Race day registration is $35.
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