Kiwanis Club hosted BAM! 2012 Century Ride | Community Spirit

GRAVES COUNTY, KY (KFVS) - The Mayfield Kiwanis Club held their 5th annual charity bicycle tour on July 4.

The event, called “BAM!” for “Bike Around Mayfield,” attracted riders from throughout the four-state region. The event drew triple the riders compared with last year’s ride. BAM! features four routes around Graves and Calloway counties; a 15-mile, 30-mile, 60-mile route and a true 100-mile or “Century” route to Calloway County and then to Camp Beauregard and Bayou de Chien south of Mayfield, then back to the city.

The Club says that it’s trying to make BAM! one of the preeminent events of its kind in the region, eventually attracting 1,200-1,500 riders. BAM! coincides with the city’s Glory Days Festival and also takes place during the opening week of the famed Tour de France bike race.

Kiwanis member Sonny McMannus was emcee for event. Mayor Teresa Cantrell address the crowd and Dr. Randel Gibson, also a club member, gave a brief lecture on warning signs for excessive heat exposure and tips on avoiding dehydration. The group was then led off by Randie Baldree, Ride Captain for the Patriot Guard motorcycle team, and was escorted by Mayfield police to the Golo Road turnoff.

The Century route, in its first year of BAM!, attracted a small group of strong riders who braved the heat to complete all 100 miles by early afternoon. The Perrys, a father and son team from Jackson, Tenn. rode their first Century at our event. The son is leaving soon for a year of study abroad and wanted to share this achievement with his father before leaving. Most notable among the Century riders was a young couple, Laura and Joseph Kelly from Louisville, who completed the route together. Joseph is an experienced mountain bike rider. Laura is a schoolteacher who has been training for this, her first Century ride, for the past several months. Despite the heat and riding an hour in the rainstorm that blew through the area, she completed the ride by early afternoon, becoming the only woman to complete the Club’s first Century route. This was a notable personal accomplishment and a fine demonstration of courage by this young rider.

The Club expresses its appreciation to area motorists for taking extra caution around the cyclists. Proceeds from the event help fund Kiwanis Park, the R. Wayne Morgan Scholarship program for deserving high school students and other programs that benefit area youth. Beyond the proceeds generated by the event, the Club says that it holds this annual tour to offer avid bicyclists a safe venue in which to participate in a supported ride, and also to attract visitors to our beautiful city.

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