At the finish of the Elite Tour 2005, Tybee Island, GA
Rieks Koning, age 50
Currently living in Haarle, The Netherlands
(About 1.5 hours -by car- East of Amsterdam)
- Number of years riding: Over 45. Every child here learns to ride a bike as a means of transportation. As a hobby, I’ve been riding since 1975 or so.
- First Bicycle: Hand-me-down from the girl next door, I don’t know the brand but it was orange. First racing bike was a Peugeot UO8, orange too. A sign of things to come? This bike was marketed as being designed for the US market, with a triple in front. So I had 15 gears when 10 or less was the standard at the time.
- Favorite Bicycle: My Seven S8 and my 1990 Specialized Stumpjumper (Currently none of my bikes are orange, by the way.)
- Favorite snack while riding: On PAC Tours, Stoker Bar (Chocolate), over here we mostly bring our own sandwiches.
- Favorite post-ride recovery food: On intense multiday rides Recoverite or Born Supple+ (Dutch equivalent of Recoverite), on other rides typically beer. As far as solid food goes I would have to say pasta and salad.
- One accessory on your bicycle you would never ride without: Assuming that a saddle is not an accessory, I would have to say my pump and seatpack with spares. Even so I did get in trouble some weeks ago when I forgot to stock up on tubes after a flat, only to find out my only spare left was a flat too! Fortunately I was able to borrow a tube to get me home.
- Favorite section of road to ride: In the US- West-Yellowstone to Bozeman, Montana along the river and Ouray to Durango, CO over Red Mountain Pass etcetera
- Most extreme event / experience on a bicycle: Racing and finishing RAAM in 2000
Finishing RAAM in 2000
- Best ride of your life: Furnace Creek 508 in 1998, because the race went pretty much as I had planned it, but on top of that it is where I met my wife Molly (somewhere near Kelso) after she joined my crew after another crew member got dehydrated and had to be hospitalized
- What do you enjoy most about riding a bicycle? Being able to ride pretty big distances in relatively little time enabling you to see many different things. Being outside, staying in shape.
- What do you enjoy most when NOT riding a bicycle? Reading and when I have a chance, downhill skiing.
- Most memorable PAC experiences or days: My first PAC Tour as a whole. I was able to remember every single stage for many years afterwards. We had a pretty bad first week, weather wise. I still remember when it changed in the Rockies and we suddenly had a great view of the mountains, with sun on the snow that was on the peaks.
- Another one is June 17, 1998 when we got snowed in on top of Douglas Pass. That morning we started out in the rain and when we climbed the pass, we saw snowplows coming down, which in hindsight was very strange. Then rain turned to wet snow and real snow. On the top of the pass everybody huddled into the PAC Tour trailers. It was dangerous to keep riding and the vehicles couldn’t get through, because a semi was blocking the road on the other side just below the top. When the road was clear those that wanted to keep riding were first shuttled down right to the point where sleet turned to rain (thank you, Lon). I rode the remainder of that day with Carl Clogston into Vernal, UT where we got in pretty late as I remember (of course we did have a flat or two to fix).
- What keeps you coming back? Camaraderie, friends, great support.
- Tip for a PAC Tour rookie: Train hard now, so you are able to enjoy your tour, not just survive it. This is actually the tip that was given to me by my first PAC Tour roommate Bill Phillpotts. It was true then and it is true now.
Inclement weather on top of Douglas Pass, Ridge of the Rockies 1998
Ridge of the Rockies 2004
Near the Mississippi River, RAAM 2000
Rieks and his wife Molly, Ridge of the Rockies 2004
PAC Tour Log:
1993 Northern Transcontinental
1994 Central Transcontinental
1995 Ridge of the Rockies
1997 Elite Tour
1998 Ridge of the Rockies
1999 Elite Tour
2004 Ridge of the Rockies
2005 Eastern Mountains
2007 Elite Tour
pactour 