Flèche Pacifique
Countdown to 20th Anniversary
by Harold Bridge

2008 should see the 20th anniversary of the Flèche Pacifique.

Looking at the 19 engraved plates on what is now the Gordon Bisaro Memorial trophy reveals the following:

Biggest distance (1998): 654kms
Smallest distance (1990): 403kms
Total wining kms divided by 19 = 507 kms average.
Keith Fraser has his name on there 6 times.
Ken Bonner & Ted Milner have their names on there 5 times
Gordon Bisaro & Peter Stary; 4 times.
(But for Cancer Gordon might have got more).
Manfred Kuchenmuller, Eric Fergusson, Barry Monaghan & Mike Kamps; 3 each
Three guys from USA; Eman, Ohleimer & Rankin; twice each.
And a whole bunch of us on there once.

There have been 3 accidents as far as I know.
In the first year, 1989, Dan McGuire, with June Gallagher on tandem & with Norm Brodie and Deirdre Arscott, were riding I5 north bound toward Bellingham in the dark. Dan spotted a big chunk of truck tyre in time to avoid it. Not so Norm Brodie, who was tucked in behind June. He suffered a broken collar bone. Lois was hauled out of bed to go pick him up. As the tandem counted as one they didn't finish as a viable team. Despite that, I believe Deirdre, June & Dan completed their flèche. Earlier in the present century (2003) Henry Berkenbos was trailing a little off the back of the Terminators as they left Hope on Rte 1 west. Henry was startled by the rumble strips & crashed. Another broken collar bone. This year a crack in the road caused Bob Koen to crash.

I believe the original event in France, The Flèche Velocio, has had lead teams doing in excess of 700kms. Not bad as the event is always at Easter.

May 22, 2007