2,600 bicyclists roll in dam tour

After his doctor told him he was pre-diabetic and would have a heart attack and die if he didn’t start taking care of himself, Jeff Wittig got on a bike.

He weighed 500 pounds back then and wanted to survive and feel better.

“You don’t want to go through life taking pills and shots,” he said.

Wittig of North Little Rock has been biking regularly for a year and a half now, and on Saturday, the 44-year-old finished the 50-mile ride of the Big Dam Bridge 100.

He’s now down 150 pounds and three or four “Xs” in shirt sizes.

The Big Dam Bridge 100 bike tour featured five trails of five lengths - 15, 25, 50, 62 and 100 miles - in three central Arkansas counties - Pulaski, Perry and Faulkner.

Mo re than 2,600 cyclists pedaled from downtown Little Rock to the Big Dam Bridge and ended up in downtown North Little Rock after their respective routes, streaming smoothly through the finish line as their names and hometowns were called out.

Little Rock, Fort Smith, Fayetteville.

Rose Hill, Tenn.

Denton, Texas.

Louisville, Ky.

Participants were children, adults and senior citizens.

Event manager Fred Phillips said the ride featured “well over” 20 states and multiple countries in its eighth year.

The tour had 1,100 riders in its first year.

Phillips said the popularity of cycling as a sport in recent years and the support of sponsors and law-enforcement officers patrolling the roads have all contributed to increasedparticipation in the ride.

Tim Moore, a racing cyclist from Memphis, said he averaged about 24 mph Saturday, something he believed was only possible because of the partial street closures and patrolling of police officers.

Moore and two of his friends from his 901 Racing team completed the 100-mile ride in four hours and 12 minutes.

While Moore has been riding for a decade, many of Saturday’s participants were like Wittig and have been riding considerably less time.

James Galloway, 38, rode the 62-mile trail with a few co-workers from Union Pacific, completing it in a little more than four hours. It was Galloway’s second Big Dam Bridge 100 tour since taking up cycling three years ago.

Like Wittig, his doctor had warned him about his health.

Now, Galloway rides three to four times each week with a few co-workers, going 20 or 30 miles each time.

Sisters Heather Dumas and Trina Perguson, both of Fayetteville, started riding two years ago and completed the 50-mile ride Saturdayin a little more than three hours.

Dumas, 45, said having the bike tour to look forward to gave them something to work toward and helped them train.

“We have the confidence to do the 100 next year,” Dumas said.

Coreen Frasier rode the 100-mile route during the first Big Dam Bridge 100 and finished dead last.

“They were tearing down the tents when we came in,” she said.

But Frasier, who just turned 70, has returned every year, trying out different distances, and having better and better experiences.

“I’m really honored to be here at age 70,” she said. “I hope I can ride another 10 years,” she added.

After the ride, bikers could relax and grab food, drinks and shade under tents along Main Street in North Little Rock.

Galloway sat on the curb after the race, eating a hot dog and drinking chocolate milk “only because they don’t have a cold beer.” After 62 miles, he said, his legs were sore and he didn’t want to walk to the end of Main Street where the beer was.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 19 on 09/29/2013

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