volunteers showcase: group 3

With nicknames like "Take Me Home", Group 3 includes a SAG wagon driver as well as a couple with a combined 30 years of supporting the tour. Read about these characters and other volunteers below:

Name: Derek Johnson
Nickname: Woody, Take Me Home
How long have you been volunteering for RTR? 9 years.
What roles have you played as a volunteer? Banner Truck, Aid Station, Aid Truck, Water Truck, Marshall
What is your favorite RTR memory? The Estes Park Sag.
Why do you keeping coming back each year? GREAT people (riders and staff!).
What piece of advice would you offer a first-time RTR participant? Relax, have fun.
What do you do in your spare time? What do you need done?
What Colorado town is your favorite? Golden.
Name: Peg Lamin
How long have you been volunteering for RTR? This will be my fifth year.
What roles have you played as a volunteer? Road Marshal and Aid Station.
What is your favorite RTR memory? I love all the beauty of Colorado.
Why do you keeping coming back each year? Fun group to work with and a great way to see Colorado.
What piece of advice would you offer a first-time RTR participant? Riding can be challenging, but worth the time and effort!
What do you do in your spare time? I like dancing, hiking and biking, reading.
What Colorado towns are your favorite? No favorite, I look forward to a new town each night.
Names: Anastazya Lencz
How long have you been volunteering for RTR? This will be year 15.
What roles have you played as a volunteer? Road Marshal, Aid Station, Executive Liaison, Baggage and SAG.
What is your favorite RTR memory? Too many.
Why do you keeping coming back each year? Camaraderie of the volunteers.
What piece of advice would you offer a first-time RTR participant? Join in the fun.
What do you do in your spare time? Bike, sew, volunteer at food banks, golf tournaments, library book sales. Paddle in dragon boat, visit friends.
What Colorado town is your favorite? Cortez.
Name: Richard Miles
Nickname: Rich
What are you most excited about as a first time volunteer? Experience the support side of Ride The Rockies and how it compares to other tours I have led.
How did you get involved in Ride The Rockies? I have ridden RTR 4 times (86, 87, 92 and 06).
Have you ever done an event like this? I was staff on two Cycle Oregon tours adn nine Adventure Cycling Association tours.
What do you do in your spare time? Bike, hike, and rock climb.
What Colorado town is your favorite? Estes Park.
Name: Dan Bruene
Nickname: Driver Dan aka SAG 2
How long have you been volunteering for RTR? 20 years.
What roles have you played as a volunteer? SAG driver.
What is your favorite RTR memory? Following Denny in at the end of the day. Driving across the Royal Gorge Bridge.
Why do you keeping coming back each year? One Big Family - Family Reunion.
What piece of advice would you offer a first-time RTR participant? Relax, enjoy and you will get it done!
What do you do in your spare time? Be outdoors.
What Colorado town is your favorite? I love them all.
b>Name: Katie McManus
How long have you been volunteering for RTR? 6 years.
What roles have you played as a volunteer? Aid Station Attendant and Road Marshall, Candy Store.
What is your favorite RTR memory? Sitting by the pool in Rifle, CO with the volunteers, applying tatoos, being a road marshall on a country road, walking along the river in Durango.
Why do you keeping coming back each year? To spend a week with my family (who ride) and to see parts of Colorado I haven't seen.
What piece of advice would you offer a first-time RTR participant? Relax, you have all day to get to the next town, be safe.
What do you do in your spare time? Babysit my granddaughters, shop.
What Colorado town is your favorite? Ouray.
Name: Katie Kaszynski
Nickname: KK
How long have you been volunteering for RTR? First year for the week, I was a finish line volunteer last year.
What roles have you played as a volunteer? I handed out certificates at the finish line last year.
What is your favorite RTR memory? Watching my father, cousin, aunt, uncle and friends cross the finish line!
Why do you keeping coming back each year? I love being outdoors and my whole family (including extended family) is involved in RTR.
What piece of advice would you offer a first-time RTR participant? Enjoy your time on the ride, meet new people and appreciate the hard work and dedication it takes to be a rider on RTR.
What do you do in your spare time? I love to cook, ski and spend time with my family and friends!
What Colorado town is your favorite? Beaver Creek and Crested Butte!
Name: Ed and Sue Roberts
How long have you been volunteering for RTR? Sue for ten years and Ed for nine years. Ed rode for two years before volunteering.
What roles have you played as a volunteer? Aid Stations, Road Marshal when needed.
What is your favorite RTR memory? Sue – First year doing Worm’s Rookie Review and working at the Aid Station at the top of Trailridge. It was so beautiful with snow around and herd of Elk just below us; Ed – Loading bicycles onto semi trailers in Estes Park.
Why do you keeping coming back each year? The friendships made with the other volunteers and the feeling of accomplishment at the end of each day when all of the riders are in. Working at an Aid Station gives us a chance to visit with the riders and hear their stories about getting there. The excitement the riders display always lets us know how well the ride is going. It’s fun!
What piece of advice would you offer a first-time RTR participant? It’s not a race. Enjoy the beauty of Colorado and the fun each town offers to the riders. Train, train, train. Learn to love the climbs. It will make the ride fun and you will be able to enjoy the scenery, the towns, and the other riders. Ride safely for yourself and the other riders.
What do you do in your spare time? We live in the mountains where there are a lot of hiking trails. In the spring it is beautiful! In the winter we go to Tucson where were volunteer on rides sponsored by GABA. We have a lot of visitors and that keeps us pretty busy. Sue volunteers twice a week at St. Mary’s Hospital and workings in their Thrift Shop. Ed rides his bike mornings and hikes every afternoon in Tucson Mountain Park with our dog, Apache.
What Colorado town is your favorite? Leadville, Crested Butte, Durango, Chama, NM.
Name: Tom Marucco and Bobbi Shupe
How long have you been volunteering for RTR? Fourteen years each – Tom missed 2006 because he crewed for a RAAM rider.
What roles have you played as a volunteer? Tom – Marshal, Aid, Baggage, AM Signs; Bobbi – Marshal, Aid.
What is your favorite RTR memory? At the risk of sounding too sappy – meeting each other.
Why do you keeping coming back each year? So Tom can ride and have a place to stay at the end of the day, not to mention that it’s a week with a great group of people.
What piece of advice would you offer a first-time RTR participant? From Tom – Ride conservatively the first 60-90 minutes of each day.
What do you do in your spare time? Road and mountain biking, horses, teach water aerobics, hunting, fishing, hiking.
What Colorado town is your favorite? Gunnison and Crested Butte.