Peter Verheyen in an unknown race in 1984
I first became infected by the cycling bug while a junior in high school, Breaking Away was fresh in all of our memories through a teacher at Boys’ Latin in Baltimore who had raced. On prom night following graduation I left Baltimore to embark on what was supposed to be a 6 week, 1000K bicycle tour of Germany visiting relatives and exploring a country I had often visited with family. Unfortunately the cycling part of the trip was cut short on week 5 when I discovered that my bike had been stolen on the morning that I was to depart from Freiburg Germany to Mulhouse, France to watch Bernard Hinault win one of the time trials of the 1981 Tour de France… Firmly bitten by the cycling bug I resolved to get a new and better bike when I returned and to continue cycling. While intrigued, I didn’t consider racing until I arrived at Hopkins to start classes that fall.
As a local I knew the area roads and found myself showing classmates around Baltimore, mostly heading north along Falls Road, into the still verdant Green Spring Valley and beyond, alternatively we headed around Loch Raven. During that fall we all learned about the annual race around Lake Montebello from Mark Choi, ’83.
Mark Choi, Class of '83
Others were Ken Nakata, ’84, and Patrick Liu, ’85 who would quickly become the standout among us. Who won at Montebello in ’81 (I believe the race was held in the early fall then) escapes me, but I was hooked. Baltimore being generally mild we all rode through the winter, hooked up with other local riders, learned about the Chesapeake Wheelmen (CW) and their club races as well as other local clubs like Esquire that ran the 4-race series at Druid Hill Park that was one of my favorite local courses. The “club” existed, and was very diverse in terms of attendance on rides. The pace while variable was gentle and the idea was not to drop (too many) riders.
Those of bitten by the race bug started riding with more of the local racers, mostly leaving from Mt Washington Bike Shop, then managed by Joe Carey. This mix of JHU and local riders formed Charm City Velo Club and started participating in USCF races sporting stylish pseudo-harlequin jerseys designed by Patrick Liu. These races were in addition to the CW club races. With only the one JHU race (first at Montebello, then at Druid Hill) we never did get JHU jerseys, or even t-shirts preferring our nice wool, then lycra pro-team jerseys. I favored the Renault Elf Gitane, Ken Nakata usually sported TI-Raleigh Creda to match his bike, and so it went on. I still have all those old jerseys, holes and all. In almost all races, especially criteriums, Patrick was a local standout, winning the National Capitol Open in his first appearance in ’83 and winning it again in ’84. Patrick and I stayed in Baltimore during the summers and so riding with the local riders and in the regional and club races became very natural and filled with competitive camaraderie. For many, the club races were more than enough offering racing several times a week through the season – circuit race at Druid Hill, points races at Lake Montebello, road races at “Hydes” north of Loch Raven, time trials south of BWI towards Annapolis and occasionally northwest of the city, and a criterium around a high school near there as well.
Pat Liu winner of 1983 National Capitol Open
While Pat and I were the principle JHU racers of the day, there were others. Ken Nakata joined us for many rides but running was his first love. Kozo Shimano and his brother also attended JHU at that time, with only Kozo seemingly interested in riding. He was never sighted on the road preferring his rollers but telling us about the keirin scene in Japan. Ken Ono, still in high school and a “faculty brat” like me joined us in ’84 along with some other junior riders. Other local riders of note in our circle were Frank Russo, Howard Chilcoat, with Joe Carey also always a presence. Charm City Velo Club became Team Baltimore in ’85 with sharper jersey’s and more comprehensive sponsorship for the top riders including Pat. I did finally win the JHU annual race at Druid Hill in ’85, my other win having been the overall at Druid Hill in ’84 with three field finishes and a 3rd. What happened to the club thereafter is unknown, but we left them with the set of rollers and a nice Park wheel building stand that we had inherited.
While not JHU related, Baltimore played host to the first two US-Pro Criterium Championships that drew top notch riders, including many international riders we would get to know in the Tour and other grand tours. These were in addition to the US based standouts like 7-Eleven and Raleigh. The second race (1984) even attracted Laurent Fignon who would win his first Tour a few short weeks later. Took lots of pictures of those races and still remember the huge crowds they attracted to the Inner Harbor.
After graduation in ’85 I left for Germany to apprentice in hand bookbinding towards becoming a conservator and continued racing while there – a real culture shock as no races were less than 100 kilometers and fields for some were 200+. Most races were challenging circuits or road courses, the pace brutal and attrition the name of the game. Think spring in Flanders… Despite the rough transition I managed to find a groove and learned to keep up. Interesting was the preponderance of fixed gear riding in the off-season something that really helped develop a fluid style. My time there ended after 2.5 years in southern Switzerland where I treated myself to the Lukmanier Pass and the Lakes of the Tessin – a piece of heaven. Returning to the states in late ’87 I moved to Chicago for my first job, joined the Turin Club in Evanston and ran into Ken Ono then a student at University of Chicago on a training ride. Almost like old times. Ken was quite serious at the time and we ended up going to many of the USCF races in the area together. He would later join the Pepsi-Miyata as a Pro, long enough to race the US Pro Cycling Championship in Philadelphia and had things to say about Greg Lemond trying to get back on after a flat…
Touch was lost with most of the riders from the day with Patrick Liu settled in Scottsdale, AZ as an MD, and apparently still racing at a Masters level. I am glad for the occasional contact with Ken Nakata (now in Seattle and still riding time trials and running). I continued to ride for a few years more in Chicago and New Haven, but stopped when I moved to Ithaca to work at Cornell. Dealing with the FSH-MD I had been diagnosed with in ’87 had made things to hard and unsafe, also explaining some of my erratic performance and why it became harder and harder to keep in shape. I still follow the sport and look back fondly on the days when times were good, or as Laurant Fignon wrote titled his autobiography, “we were young and carefree.”
Ps. Looking at pictures from 25 years ago, I realized how fresh many of these memories were. That said I did try to confirm dates and apologize in advance for any errors.
As a local I knew the area roads and found myself showing classmates around Baltimore, mostly heading north along Falls Road, into the still verdant Green Spring Valley and beyond, alternatively we headed around Loch Raven. During that fall we all learned about the annual race around Lake Montebello from Mark Choi, ’83.
Mark Choi, Class of '83
Others were Ken Nakata, ’84, and Patrick Liu, ’85 who would quickly become the standout among us. Who won at Montebello in ’81 (I believe the race was held in the early fall then) escapes me, but I was hooked. Baltimore being generally mild we all rode through the winter, hooked up with other local riders, learned about the Chesapeake Wheelmen (CW) and their club races as well as other local clubs like Esquire that ran the 4-race series at Druid Hill Park that was one of my favorite local courses. The “club” existed, and was very diverse in terms of attendance on rides. The pace while variable was gentle and the idea was not to drop (too many) riders.
Ken Nakata - unknown location - 1983
Shawn Downing (left) and Pat Liu, (Charles Street Classic?) criterium at Mt Vernon Sq, Baltimore, 1983?
I spent most of my energy on training and racing, but there were also more gentle touring rides that appealed to the more casual riders in “the club” and headed around Loch Raven, through Green Spring Valley, to Annapolis, DC, or Frederick and back. The latter three were more unusual but still fun. These rides also tended to be more mixed gender wise. We did suffer a tragic loss in ’83 when one of our group, a student from Minnesota whose name I cannot remember died tragically while riding in the city.
Pat Liu winner of 1983 National Capitol Open
While Pat and I were the principle JHU racers of the day, there were others. Ken Nakata joined us for many rides but running was his first love. Kozo Shimano and his brother also attended JHU at that time, with only Kozo seemingly interested in riding. He was never sighted on the road preferring his rollers but telling us about the keirin scene in Japan. Ken Ono, still in high school and a “faculty brat” like me joined us in ’84 along with some other junior riders. Other local riders of note in our circle were Frank Russo, Howard Chilcoat, with Joe Carey also always a presence. Charm City Velo Club became Team Baltimore in ’85 with sharper jersey’s and more comprehensive sponsorship for the top riders including Pat. I did finally win the JHU annual race at Druid Hill in ’85, my other win having been the overall at Druid Hill in ’84 with three field finishes and a 3rd. What happened to the club thereafter is unknown, but we left them with the set of rollers and a nice Park wheel building stand that we had inherited.
While not JHU related, Baltimore played host to the first two US-Pro Criterium Championships that drew top notch riders, including many international riders we would get to know in the Tour and other grand tours. These were in addition to the US based standouts like 7-Eleven and Raleigh. The second race (1984) even attracted Laurent Fignon who would win his first Tour a few short weeks later. Took lots of pictures of those races and still remember the huge crowds they attracted to the Inner Harbor.
After graduation in ’85 I left for Germany to apprentice in hand bookbinding towards becoming a conservator and continued racing while there – a real culture shock as no races were less than 100 kilometers and fields for some were 200+. Most races were challenging circuits or road courses, the pace brutal and attrition the name of the game. Think spring in Flanders… Despite the rough transition I managed to find a groove and learned to keep up. Interesting was the preponderance of fixed gear riding in the off-season something that really helped develop a fluid style. My time there ended after 2.5 years in southern Switzerland where I treated myself to the Lukmanier Pass and the Lakes of the Tessin – a piece of heaven. Returning to the states in late ’87 I moved to Chicago for my first job, joined the Turin Club in Evanston and ran into Ken Ono then a student at University of Chicago on a training ride. Almost like old times. Ken was quite serious at the time and we ended up going to many of the USCF races in the area together. He would later join the Pepsi-Miyata as a Pro, long enough to race the US Pro Cycling Championship in Philadelphia and had things to say about Greg Lemond trying to get back on after a flat…
Touch was lost with most of the riders from the day with Patrick Liu settled in Scottsdale, AZ as an MD, and apparently still racing at a Masters level. I am glad for the occasional contact with Ken Nakata (now in Seattle and still riding time trials and running). I continued to ride for a few years more in Chicago and New Haven, but stopped when I moved to Ithaca to work at Cornell. Dealing with the FSH-MD I had been diagnosed with in ’87 had made things to hard and unsafe, also explaining some of my erratic performance and why it became harder and harder to keep in shape. I still follow the sport and look back fondly on the days when times were good, or as Laurant Fignon wrote titled his autobiography, “we were young and carefree.”
Ps. Looking at pictures from 25 years ago, I realized how fresh many of these memories were. That said I did try to confirm dates and apologize in advance for any errors.
