SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – Some retirees play golf and others meet at McDonald’s before sunrise to solve the world’s problems while drinking too much coffee.
And then there are the Bikin’ Brothers.
They meet on Tuesday morning and go on a 55.5-kilometer bike ride.
I’m a year younger than the youngest member of the Bikin’ Brothers, but that didn’t stop me from going for a ride with them this week.
The Bikin’ Brothers rode the full 34 miles on Tuesday morning, this reporter only rode about 13 miles. But it was a lot of fun hanging out with these guys on the LaSalle Trail between South Bend and the Michigan state line.
On a sunny Tuesday morning, a line of neon-clad cyclists rode single file along the LaSalle Trail between South Bend and Michigan. These guys have dubbed themselves the Bikin’ Brothers.
Carl Esch, a Bikin’ Brother, made great jackets for everyone.
“Our wives always went shopping on Tuesdays and we decided to do something different. At first it was just the two of us, Bill Kercher and I,” said Lynn Kauffman, co-founder of Bikin’ Brothers.
The two Bikin’ Brothers have now grown to almost twenty members.
That summer morning I rode with them; they were eleven men strong.
When you ride with the Bikin’ Brothers, you get lost in conversations about training, fitness and nutrition. But what comes out of those conversations is what is really important to this club, and that is camaraderie.
Gary Miller, a Bikin’ Brother, loves riding bikes with friends.
“I always rode alone. And until I met them, what I enjoyed most was the camaraderie. We stick together and help each other, especially when there’s a problem,” said Gary Miller, a Bikin’ Brother.
Miller said that you’re safer in a group. I mean, who between the ages of 65 and 80 wouldn’t see a bright fluorescent line pedaling?
Some of the brothers have e-bikes, i.e. bicycles with electric drives, and there is some speculation about this.
Jim Marks, a Bikini Brother, said everyone enjoyed the banter.
“Their bike doesn’t have a motor. Some people have e-bikes. Is there tension between those who have a motor and those who don’t? Uh, you say tension? I say it’s a challenge. Sometimes I can beat an e-bike uphill, sometimes I can’t. I’m what they call a ‘non.’ ‘Non’ means non-electric and then there are the e-bikes,” Marks said.
Marks is sure that one day he will get an e-bike because he knows that his Bikin’ Brothers will have no problem with it.
Whatever it takes to be on the track on Tuesday morning.
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