Joel Dinda's photos with the keyword: kbc

The Kalamazoo Bicycle Club hosted the 1978 national convention of the League of American Wheelmen (L.A.W.--now called the League of American Bicyclists). We called it Escape '78. The convention's first event was The Great Escape-In, a mass ride from Kalamazoo Valley Community College to the convention's headquarters at Western Michigan University. Dad caught this picture of the group--riders from around the country, some of whom had ridden to Kalamazoo from their homes--somewhere between the two schools. This is probably Drake Road. Yup: I've been playing with the scanner....

Members of the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club take a break during an early-season ride in April of 1977. This photo was taken at the corner of 33rd and Main in Comstock Township by my brother, whose bike is visible on the right edge of the photo. Most of these riders were regulars on KBC rides. This particular ride was memorable because it took place a few days after a tornado had damaged several of the homes on (rural) Main Street. We discussed changing the already-published route before starting the trip, but the riders decided to mix it up with the gawkers. Of course, we were ourselves gawkers. But the tour route was planned well before the twister hit. My proudest accomplishment as KBC's president was our ride schedule. In-season, we offered four weekly rides, from a variety of starting points and for all levels of ability. All rides had maps, and most maps showed options for stronger and weaker riders. I, and the other officers, considered presenting ride opportunities to be our main responsibility, and I think we did it well. The riders, from foreground to rear: Unknown (memory failure, I think), Debbie Dinda, Alvin Holmes, one of the McLains in orange (I think), probably Kevin Kimbrough in the blue jersey, not sure who's stretching, me in the white (BikeCentennial) jersey, not sure in yellow, and Scott McLain in the red/white/blue outfit. Any help will be appreciated.... Camera: Olympus OM-1 Photo by Richard Dinda

Here we find Mom's Beetle pretending to be a sag wagon, I think on the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club's 1977 Distance Medley Tour. (My brother thinks the location was Crum Park, near Galesburg.) Mom's car didn't make a good sag wagon, but it was readily available. And quite recognizable. Camera: Minolta Zoom 110 SLR (or Olympus OM-1) Photo by Joel Dinda (I think--looks like my picture, but looks like Dick's camera)

Once upon a time--I think it was 1983, but don't hold me to that--the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club/Cycle City Racing Team hosted a criterium in downtown Kalamazoo. This is KBC/CC rider Kevin Kimbrough, participating in that race. Looks like this is the right Kevin.... Camera: Minolta Zoom 110 SLR

Another photo from the 1978's Spring Valley Road Series, hosted at Kalamazoo's Spring Valley Park by the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club. I like the way this one shows so much motion. Camera: Minolta Zoom 110 SLR

We revisit the April, 1978 edition of the Spring Valley Road Series, sponsored by the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club at Kalamazoo's Spring Valley Park. The course had one short, steep, climb. The lead rider in this photo has just topped the hill, and they will all be sprinting for a prime a couple hundred yards along the course. Shot with the Minolta Zoom 110 Zoom SLR, of course. Believe it or not, I took these to illustrate a magazine article. Unfortunately the magazine went bankrupt, and the edition, although printed, never made it into circulation. I've always regretted that....

Explored! #224 [October 7, 2013] Thanks! Another photo from the 1978 Spring Valley Road Series, hosted by the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club at Spring Valley Park. Taken with my Minolta Zoom 110 SLR. I was definitely under the influence of Robert F. George, whose wife Barbara was the publisher of VeloNews at the time; Bob liked to focus on a specific rider to show the pack's motion. Think I captured that well, despite the limitations of the camera.

Pre-race activities at the 1975 Spring Valley Road Series, hosted by the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club at Kalamazoo's Spring Valley Park (makes sense, no?). Jeff Smith organized the race; Skip Obermyer served as chief referee. This gorgeous Kalamazoo Gazette photograph was taken by Paul Todd. Unfortunately, it spent part of its life pasted to posterboard for a KBC display.

Aimee--who's grown up since this photo was taken--dropped me a line the other day because she'd found this photo (though I expect she found it here ). So here's another Aimee pic. Probably the same Kalamazoo Bicycle Club ride, and probably taken with my brother 's OM-1. 1976 or thereabouts; unknown location.

Referee Skip Obermeyer prepares the USCF Midgets (looks like three of 'em) for the start of a race on a rainy day in April of 1978. (Or perhaps 1979.) I joined KBC in September of 1973, and attended my first club meeting a few days later. That meeting was dominated by a proposal from T.J. (Jeff) Smith that the club join the Amateur Bicycle League of America (ABLA--later the United States Cycling Federation) and begin promoting races. The issue was not decided at that meeting, but in the spring of 1975 the club hosted an early-season racing series at Kalamazoo's Spring Valley Park. The series would continue for several years; for most of those years I was the race promoter. Our role on the Michigan USCF schedule was to provide early-season racing opportunities for the state's racers; our objective in Kalamazoo was, of course, to introduce the sport to the community. It was fun, and the riders seemed to enjoy the event, but staging four early-season races can be pretty hard on your volunteers. My notes say the rider in the middle is a very young Frankie Andreu, who'd go on to bigger races as a member of Lance Armstrong's Posties. Spring Valley Park, Kalamazoo. Camera: Minolta Zoom 110 SLR

The Kalamazoo Bicycle Club takes an excursion to Scotts Mill County Park, sometime in 1976. As I recall, the park hadn't yet officially opened, but we found the park system's naturalist wandering the place and she gave us a tour. An interesting day. The building in the background is the miller's home; the mill itself is to the left of and behind the photographer. The fence in this photo is also prominent in the photo I posted a few months back.... This photo may be mine--in which case it's an unusually clear shot from my Minolta Zoom 110--or (more likely) it was taken by my brother (Kalamazoo Richard) with his Olympus OM-1.

Bicyclists lined up at Cork Lane in Kalamazoo at the start of the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club's first century tour. KBC's origins were already lost in the mists of time when I became the club's president in 1975. A group of cyclists who'd already been riding together informally started publishing a ride schedule sometime in 1971, and made their first publicity splash with a century (100 mile) tour late in the season. The label on this battered photograph doesn't mention the ride's length, but the starting place and the turnout make it likely this was that tour. I've a number of old KBC photographs in my collection, and will likely post them from time to time. Several, including this one, were used in club publicity displays in the late 1970s, which wasn't good for the prints. Many of the pix are nonetheless worth publishing. Kalamazoo Gazette photo by John Lacko October 16, 1971

Alvin Holmes and my brother Richard at the sag wagon for a Kalamazoo Bicycle Club event in the late 1970s. The car looks like Sandy Kimbrough's. The things I can't remember about this photograph are pretty annoying: I don't know where it was taken, what event we were hosting, what the date was, or who took the picture. Age and distance seem to have done my memory in.... Camera and photographer unknown.

Members of the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club hit the road for a club ride, sometime in the late 1970s. That's Jan Hageman pulling the trailer, Aimee Hageman in the trailer, and Dave Hageman's just getting started on the side of the road. Can't identify the other riders; any help would be welcome. I'm not really sure where this photo was taken, but other pictures in the set make it pretty clear the ride leader had chosen a local fire station for the starting point. Addendum 9/16/05: Aimee dropped me a line about this photo the other day. She was shocked.... This might be Richard's photo , not mine, in which case the camera was an Olympus OM-1. Camera: probably Minolta Zoom 110 SLR Photo (probably) by Joel Dinda sometime in the late 1970s.

Spring Valley Park, Kalamazoo, Michigan, hosted by the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club/Cycle City (I was the promoter) in April of 1978. Photo taken with a Minolta Zoom 110 SLR .

My brother, Kalamazoo Richard , bicycled from Kalamazoo to Dayton to attend the 1980 convention of the League of American Wheelmen (Bicyclists, now). He was, I believe, accompanied by a couple other members of the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club. This photograph is from that excursion. Perhaps Dick will fill in some details in the comments. ------------------------------- This will be the last KBC photo for a bit. I've got more, and will resume the series at some later date....

A Kalamazoo Bicycle Club rider at Scotts Mill County Park; 1976. Camera: Minolta Zoom 100. (Possibly Richard's, with his OM-1--but I don't think so.)

Annie Obermeyer of the Rapid Wheelmen. Spring Valley Road Series, hosted by the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club, 1978. Camera: Minolta Zoom 100