Tyler's dad off for spin
Hamilton rides in charity event
Yes, his last name is Hamilton and he's from Marblehead. But he's not Tyler Hamilton, who raced in seven Tours de France, won a stage in the 2003 Tour with a broken collarbone, won a stage in the Giro d'Italia, back-to-back Tours de Romandie, and is an Olympic gold medalist in the time-trial race.
No, this time we are talking about Tyler's dad, Bill Hamilton, who rides (not races) for fun, and for charity.
This morning, he and about 1,400 cyclists will meet at Marina Bay in Quincy and set off on the 150-mile, two-day Great Mass Getaway that finishes in Provincetown. The riders, who must raise a minimum of $400 to enter, are sponsored by the New England Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Riders are housed and fed at the halfway point at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and taken back to Boston from P-town on a chartered ferry.
Tyler had been representing the MS Society on New England rides, and has since formed the Tyler Hamilton Foundation to raise money for MS. But by 1999, he decided he was getting too busy with his European racing and training, so that Christmas he asked his father to take the charity-ride mantle.
"I had to laugh and said, 'I have not been on a bicycle in 20 years,' " Bill said. "We did ski and sail, but the last time I rode a bike, it had a bell and a basket.
"I said, 'I don't have a bike, a helmet, shoes . . . how can I possibly do this?' " said Bill.
The next day Tyler told his father to come to their barn.
"So I went out, and there was his 1999 Tour de France bike, shoes, helmets, jerseys, everything," Bill said. "He said, 'Now will you do those rides for me?' Well, what was I going to do?"
Bill Hamilton started training that winter, entered the Great Mass Getaway by himself, and met and joined the group he has ridden with ever since, the Jagerdogs . He figures he has raised more than $70,000 for charities.
The elder Hamilton also has ridden the Mt. Washington Hill Climb every August. But again, he stresses he's not a racer.
Tyler finishes in about 50 minutes, and has broken his own record, and his brother Geoff finishes in about 1 hour 5 minutes. "Me, I just survive," said Bill, who rides it in "2, 2 1/2 hours."
As for Tyler, whose career was interrupted by a two-year suspension for blood doping, which he has long denied, Bill only sighs and shakes his head.
"The world of cycling has not been good to him the past few years," said Bill Hamilton. "He's in limbo now. But he's bound and determined to come back and pick up where he left off, and then he may retire. But not until he's gotten back."
Susan Bickelhaupt can be reached at bickelhaupt@globe.com. 
