617 straight weeks of biking through the elements

By Ben Terris, Globe Correspondent

At 25 degrees, with Kendrick Street in Needham framed by icy mounds of plowed snow, the six bikers talked about what a nice day it was for a ride.

This conversation was hardly a joke, considering members of this group, The Saturday Fitness Riders—organized by the Charles River Wheelmen— have been doing this ride, which generally ranges between 28 to 42 miles, for 617 consecutive weeks. If temperatures of -1 degrees in January 2004 or summer days where the thermometer read over 100 couldn't stop the streak, 25 degrees without a cloud in the sky could certainly be considered fairly mild.

Since the April Fools snowstorm of 1997, at least one biker—with as many as 100 on nice summer days— has left from Nahanton Park for a roundabout Saturday morning ride to the Highland Street Starbucks in Needham. It has been such a lengthy streak that a poll of 53,000 people conducted two years ago by RoadBikeRider.com not one member could think of a longer one.

"We are dedicated, committed, and passionate about biking," said Chris Randles, 50, one of the group leaders and Newton resident. "Most people remember you when you first rode your bike down the road and the sense of freedom you had. This group is proof that you can retain that thrill your whole life."

As if it wasn't already obvious, this is a group of serious bikers. One member, Marty "Bruno" Estner, 62, sounds like John McCain talking about his houses when he discusses his number of bikes.

"I really don't know how many I have," Estner said. "Somewhere around 19 I think." To be fair, Estner is also the owner of the cheapest bike in the group, one that he found in the Wayland dump and had fixed up for less than 60 dollars. Some members of the group have bikes that cost more than $6,000.

This ardor for biking has put some members of the group in less than ideal situations.

"After about 100 weeks straight we were sort of stuck with it, there was no way we were going to stop what we started," said Mark Dionne, 58, one of the founders of the group. "Because of this, I have suffered the coldest periods in my life. There is nothing worse, than salted roads at nine degrees. It means your water bottle is frozen, but the melting snow on the road will completely coat you. I call these rides the Ice Cream rides."

Sometimes the conditions are so bad that one person is forced to go out alone just to keep the streak alive. This was last the case for Estner.

"A couple of years ago I had to make my way through a blizzard, and it was like biking through mashed potatoes," Estner said. "Mark [Dionne] saw me off, I asked how far I had to go to keep the streak alive, he told me until I was out of sight. I still claim to have done 19 miles that day, but I guess no one can verify it for sure."

Members of the group claim that it is not weather, but traffic that poses the biggest threat to their safety. Cars cut them off while making right hand turns, or nearly clip them with their side view mirrors on a regular basis.

They are also used to having to stand up for themselves, and remember fondly when one of their own 6' 10" bicyclist chased down a reckless driver to give him a piece of his mind.

Still the group is quick to mention that in the past decade there have been major improvements to bicyclist's safety. Not only have more signs sprung up urging motorists to share the road but also, most recently came the signing of the Bicyclist Safety Bill.

On Jan. 15 Governor Deval Patrick signed this bill, drafted by the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition, in order to improve the health of the state while also emphasizing bike safety. The bill passed after eight years and four legislative sessions and includes a number of safety initiatives from police training on bicycle laws to making instructions on how to best share the road.

With improvements like this, it seems as if the lengthy streak is not in any trouble of dying out.

"This streak will last forever, even if it has to become a wheel chair event," said Randles. "We cyclists enjoy suffering too much to stop. We are seasonal connoisseurs of suffering."