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Sunday, June 13, 2010
Two wheels and four paws
Some folks carry spare tire tubes and an air pump when they cycle. Mike Gaudion totes his toy poodle.
Oleta, a poofy white, 15-pound bundle of energy, rides on a specially rigged padded platform attached to the top tube of Gaudion’s bike, ears whipping in the breeze as her master pedals down country roads and gravel trails.
“She absolutely loves it,” Gaudion says.
Gaudion adopted the 7-year-old dog from his mother about a year ago and quickly realized the pup hated to be left alone. Oleta whined and cried so much when he wheeled away on his mountain bike that he tried taking her along. He tucked her in a sling, but she wriggled in annoyance.
Eventually he outfitted his bike with a padded platform and fashioned a safety harness that attaches to his body to hold his canine partner steady.
Team Oleta was born.
Oleta soon became a fixture on the hike-and-bike trail around Lady Bird Lake, where she watches for squirrels as Gaudion, 44, pedals away. (Gaudion, by the way, has lost 60 pounds since taking up cycling 3 years ago.)
Oleta loves speed, so Gaudion bought a lickety-split carbon fiber road bike and equipped it with a dog-friendly platform, too. When they’re going fast, Oleta puts her paws on the blue foam pads on top of the handlebars, in what Gaudion calls the “arrow dog” position.
“She does not like getting passed,” says Gaudion, a retired boat mechanic who now drives school buses. “Someone passes and she looks up at me like ‘Come on fat guy, let’s go!’”
Last October, Team Oleta entered its first official group bike ride, the Livestrong Challenge. They logged 20 miles.
Since then, they’ve participated in cycling events throughout Central Texas, including the LBJ 100 Bicycle Tour, the Pedal Power Wildflower Ride, the Red Poppy Ride, the Armadillo Hill Country Classic, the Atlas Ride and the Real Ale Ride.
Their longest ride to date has been 65 miles, but Gaudion says a century ride is in their future.
Soon Oleta will have her own helmet. A friend has carved a tiny prototype out of foam and plastic, but the design isn’t quite right yet.
Oleta, for the record, doesn’t wear Spandex shorts.
Team Oleta does, however, have its own FaceBook page, with a few dozen online admirers.
(Photo at top shows Gaudion and Oleta at the Real Ale Ride last month, where they rode 65 miles. Photo by Ami Larson. Smaller photo shows Team Oleta at the Armadillo Hill Country Ride and was taken by Mary Beer.)
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