BIOS...

Dave Thomsen, Roe Erlandson, Dr. Dick Schindler, Jerry Ulwelling and Terry Fox

                        Support driver – Julie Thomsen

BIOS

Dave Thomsen, age 71, of Austin

   Started running at age 40 after surgery from a skiing accident.  He has been active ever since.   He has completed full ironman triathlons, many marathons, and 24-hour bike challenges still holding a record of 403 miles in the age division 65 to 69.

    He also has competed in 11 World Senior Games in St. George Utah, and raced for a team out of Madison, Wis., for 8 years until retiring last season.

    He still loves to train for his own personal enjoyment. 

Roe Erlandson, age 68, of Madison, Wis., former long-time Austin resident

   My wife Dee and I moved from Austin to Madison, Wis., five years ago.  We spend winters in Tucson AZ.  I retired in 2004 after 38 years with Hormel in the corporate office.

I got started biking in my 40's when I started doing triathlons.  I've done 60 triathlons over the years including 4 ironman distance races.  I'm also a runner.  I started running when I was 35. 

   I've done 15 marathons and 17 ultramarathons - endurance runs of 31, 50, 62, and 100 miles.  I enjoy the challenge of endurance events and I continue to do triathlons and ultras.  I'm a big fan of cross-training.  A typical week for me includes a 10 mile run, a 50 mile bike ride, a one mile swim, a couple aerobics, weights, or yoga classes, and a couple rest days.  In Tucson, I enjoy hiking and biking.  I've always believed what Dave Thomsen has preached - you can keep your performance as you age if you work at it.  I am, however, admitting to slowing down a little.

   We all really appreciate that Julie is giving us a chance to live our dream.  She has selected a route through some gorgeous country and what a great way to soak up the scenery! 

Dr. Dick Schindler, of Austin

   I hung out in a junk yard as a teenager in my hometown of Barnesville. When I was 13 or 14 the owner let me dig through the bike parts in the yard and put a bike together. It was a single speed without brakes. Track racing was big then at the park or fairgrounds, round and round in the dirt. Fun. Kept that bike through college and the first two years of medical school. On my way to my neuroanatomy final at the U of North Dakota I threw the chain, tore up the spokes in the rear wheel. I got up, threw the bike in the ditch (probably still there) and stomped off to class in my whites (quite dirty at the moment). I then traded my prized shot gun, a basketball and something else for my younger brother's British 3 speed bike (narrow tires and all). I rode that while in medical school in Iowa, then Air Force in Mississippi and Colorado. Brought it here and used it until someone stole it.

   Running was the dominant sport for me with several triathlons and bike centuries each year. My goal for each event has always been to have a good ride and enjoy the day.

   I have gone through several bikes, each a composite of several put together to my style of riding.

I gave up running a couple of years ago and now do predominately biking or roller skiing.

   One can never have too many bikes. I have a folding bike, a time trial bike, a mountain bike, a couple of road bikes, a single speed.....

   Dan Ulwelling talked about a ride across country years ago. With that goal always in the back of the mind.

   A few years ago my son, Erik, and I planned to take our bikes over to France for the tour and ride the route ahead of the team. Things didn't work out, but when Dave and Julie Thomsen started talking of the ride this summer, I was in....

Jerry Ulwelling, age 65, of Austin

   I have lived in Austin, Minn., all of my 65 years. I’m married and have four grown children. I also have six grandchildren.

   I played sports in high school and basketball in college. I have run in 43 marathons and over 50,000 miles. The highlight runs were Boston, New York, Chicago and TC. My fastest marathon was 2:45.

   I got into biking partly for the fitness but mostly because my cousin Dan Ulwelling opened Rydjor Bike Shop in 1973. He was the “Greatest” and really motivated a lot of us into biking.

Terry Fox, of Austin

    I am a 64-year-old from Austin, Minnesota. I have enjoyed being active most of my life whether exercising, playing tennis, softball or rollerblading. My interest in bicycling didn’t begin until I joined my son, his friend and a neighbor on  a ride from Austin to Blooming Prairie and back.

    In 1982, I joined the Bike Club of Austin, SMBC, which took me on rides across Minnesota towns. In 1986, I and three friends biked and camped in Minnesota, and in 1987 we biked and camped in Wisconsin.  I am a 12-year veteran of Ragbrai, an annual trip through Iowa, and have participated in two Minnesota “Boarder to Boarder” bike, run and canoe competitions. When it comes to riding a bike, there is not much I have not done except ride across the country.  A trip I have envisioned ever since I picked up the sport.