Help Save the Rover
Last Updated on Monday, 04 April 2011 00:12 Written by Administrator Sunday, 03 April 2011 03:13
So, you may be asking, "Why save The Rover?" Alternatively, even, "What the heck is The Rover?" I hope that I will answer both questions here and, in the process, inspire you to "Help save The Rover!"
My name is Mickey. I am a fairly ordinary guy, married to a fairly ordinary wife, Barbara, who just happens to ride 100 mile bicycle rides for fun. Yep, you heard me, she rides 100 miles at a time, on a BICYCLE, "FOR FUN!" Ok, so she's a little weird. But then, so am I.
When she first started doing these rides, I discovered that many of them lacked any type of road support. Barbara wrecked once, and there was no one around to help her. In addition, Barbara has some strict dietary and medical needs that are difficult to meet while she is on her bicycle. It was because of my concern for her safety that I started following her on the bike rides in our Subaru Forester.
In no time, Barbara quickly graduated to "Event" rides like the Cycle Salt Lake Century, Tour de Cure, MS Bike, Little Red, ULCER and others. Her extensive participation in these various bike rides was a common discussion topic in our home and with our friends. Initially, I just drove from rest stop to rest stop. While waiting for Barbara to arrive, I parked the car and watched Looney Toons and other cartoons on our portable DVD.
After a year or so of my following along and waiting, Barbara started volunteering me to perform official rider support. She claims she was worried about my becoming bored just sitting in a hot car waiting for her. That was four years ago.
At about the same time, a friend of mine offered to sell me his 1990 Range Rover Classic for a ridiculously low price. He presented me with a deal that was impossible to turn down. My friend knew exactly how much I had wanted a Range Rover. He was aware that in my youth I had worked as a mechanic at a British Leyland dealership. From the moment I first saw a Range Rover on the show room floor I knew that one day I would own one. I affectionately tagged the vehicle a "Jeep by Jaguar." Because of my friend's assistance, I finally had the car of my dreams and so began The Rover's iconic journey into Utah's cycling circles.
