Saturday, Jul. 11, 2009

Night riders take to streets: 1,600 take part in Tour de Belleville

BELLEVILLE -- Tour de Belleville organizer Phil Elmore said he looks forward to being able to ride in next year's event, but he was content Friday night just to see the start of the ride.

"Four years and I finally get to see the start of the ride," said Elmore, a Belleville alderman who founded the event in 2006 with his wife, Barb. "I'm riding with my twins next year. I can't wait."

This is the last year the Elmores will chair the event; next year, the city of Belleville will organize the ride.

The fourth annual Tour de Belleville had 1,609 registered participants, an increase from last year. Bicyclists gathered at the Union United Methodist Church and started to ride through city streets shortly before 9 p.m. This is the first year the route included Main Street.

"It couldn't have been better," Elmore said. "Belleville never ceases to amaze me. The economy is down this year, but people still came out. The Tour de Belleville is going to live forever. I have no doubt in my mind."

The ride, a fundraiser for community safety equipment, will allow at least two emergency call-button towers -- for South Side and Hough parks -- to be purchased by the end of the year. The towers cost about $8,500 each, Barb Elmore said.

Phil Elmore added that they may have raised enough money for a third tower. He said he will consult with Belleville police to see what other equipment they need.

Previous events have paid for a portable speed monitor used by the Belleville Police Department, two emergency call-button towers and flashing signals on streets crossed by bike trails.

Police Sgt. Jon Brough was honored before the ride started as a "First Volunteer." He rode in a lime green dune buggy at the head of the ride.

Brough volunteered at the first Tour de Belleville in 2006 as a police officer. In November that same year, he was blinded when he was shot in the face by a double-homicide suspect during a raid.

"Since I've been hurt, Phil has invited me to all the Tour de Belleville events," Brough said. "Since this is Phil's last Tour de Belleville, I'm very excited to be here tonight. I'm hoping in the years ahead, you'll see me on a bicycle too."

Laura Spelbering, 50, and Jon Spelbering, 47, of Belleville, won the bike-decorating contest held before the ride started. This is the couple's second ride, and they planned to complete the 16-mile course.

The couple was adorned with Mardi Gras beads, masks and hats, and decorated Laura Spelbering's recumbent bike and Jon's trike with green, yellow and purple tassels. They plan to throw beads to crowds gathered on the sidelines.

"When I tell people about this, I always rave about the support from Belleville residents who sit on their lawns and cheer us on," Laura said.

Laura Spelbering said she and her husband has been riding their bikes to work for the past two years, and appreciate that the Tour de Belleville is "going green" with reusable water bottles and online paperless registration.

"The bikes won't look like this on Monday," said Laura Spelbering, laughing.

Evan Ely, 22, of Belleville and his 22-member group dressed up as "Bike Pirates." The group of friends and relatives dressed as fairies for last year's ride.

The group explained why they didn't participate in the bike decorating contest in their assumed pirate voices: "We don't need no stinkin' trophy. We're pirates: we're going to steal it!"

Ely covered his bike with paper and painted it brown, and used cardboard to turn it into a pirate ship. He attached a white plastic skeleton to the front, a flag with skulls to the back and a parrot to the handlebars.

Ely, who was wearing a pirate hat and shoes with skulls on them, said the group has gotten bigger every year and they plan to participate as long as the ride is held.