I feel blessed to have such wonderful people in my midst. A ride up the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway not only provides a quiet, traffic-free escape from urban Arlington but whether I plan it or not, I usually meet up with very interesting people with whom I can share a few miles of cycling and free-flowing chat. I was riding the path with my dad yesterday and passed Tom Fortmann and his wife Carla who live in Lexington, literally steps away from where the American Revolution began in a lovely colonial house on the green. Tom, by the way was one of the founders of the Minuteman Bikeway, the most used bike path in the country, and pushed for its creation against townsfolk who were convinced that it would increase crime.
Although he is a retired top executive, as many of our “retired” Ciclismo guests, at a super youthful looking and energetic 67, he is as busy as ever with a plethora of activities. He is a grandfather of three, very active with the Massachusetts Board of Education and recently performed as Paul Revere in Lexington’s “In Their Own Words,” a live performance with key players in the American Revolution.
As busy as he is, I will leap to the conclusion that what Tom loves most is to ride his bike. In the last ten years, Tom has ridden an average of 5,000 miles per year. Luckily he has our complete collection of Ciclismo jersies which he wears regularly. Tom and his wife, devoted Italiophiles are two of our most generous Ciclismo ambassadors; when our Ciclismo guides come to town they welcome and feed them with the requirement that only Italian is spoken
Last week Tom and a friend left me in the dust on a Charles River Wheelmen spring century. This week he will ride from Boston to Provincetown, the infamous “Cape in a Day” ride. Only five months into the year Tom has ridden 3823 miles in preparation for his longest trip to date. In less than two weeks he will embark on a two month ride across the country on Timberline’s Odyssey 2010. Over the past ten years, Tom and his wife (a more leisurely cyclist) have taken our longest Ciclismo Classico tours: Bike Across Italy, Giro d’Italia, Sardinia/Corsica (photo), The Best of Southern Italy and Bike Across Southern Italy. In 2001, he and his Stanford buddies rented a villa and cycled around some of Tuscany’s most challenging roads.
Luckily, Tom has documented most of his cycling journeys on a unique website, Crazy Guy on A Bike
We look forward to following his cross country adventure on this web site
His favorite tour: Our 15 Day Giro D’Italia
His ride. A Seven
His favorite gelato flavor: Cioccolato
Good Luck Tom!
