HomeClub History

PBA Club History

In the Beginning...

The Plano Bicycle Association (PBA) was founded in 1982 by the city of Plano's Parks and Recreation Department to provide the opportunity for citizens to participate in group rides. The idea was developed by Don Wendell and Jeff Lingo and in the words of Sue Padden: "It was an obvious community interest due to the popularity of the Plano hike n bike trails. We had staff who enjoyed the longer rides and felt the club would fill a niche in our city." The idea was to run the club until such time as it could stand on its own as an independent organization.

The PBA was spun off in 1986 with a membership off between 75 and 100, with one or two rides each week, occasional special rides in other parts of Texas, and a president with a board of directors.

All members, past and present, are indebted to Don Wendell, Jeff Lingo, Sue Padden and others for their instrumental work to conceive of and develop the PBA in its early years.

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Back then club information and ride schedules were published in a monthly PBA Newsletter. View the August, 1983 edition. An entry from this particular issue:

"EVERYONE IS WELCOME! Frankly, the turn out for club rides has been poor; between 3 to 7 riders at best. There are over 75 club members who must enjoy cycling or who want to start. Most members are beginners with some experienced cyclists. But ALL OF US enjoy the fresh air and companionship in these sociable bike rides. It's a different route each week, maps are provided and someone usually carries tools. COME AND JOIN US AND BRING A FRIEND."

Historians have uncovered evidence that the newsletter editor at this period was Susie Mumby. Other evidence (Susie's memoirs) indicate that Susie was in fact the PBA Ride Coordinator during this period of PBA history. But who was the Newsletter editor?

1980's: Riding the Rallies

There were regular rides that were always well received by members and guests alike. Mountain bike trail rides, road bike rides, overnight trips, you name it. A nice variety of rides were offered for all types of bike interests. One of the popular early events was the Stride and Ride Biathalon. Memories include the first cycling event t-shirt, the participation of then 15-year-old Lance Armstrong with his mom and step dad cheering him on, and Sue Padden as emcee calling all of the participants "Bi-athletes" in quite the southern drawl and getting lots of ribbing for that! It is interesting to note that it was Marc Mumby who said of Lance, "we need to watch out for this guy". How prophetic.

Salado, TX ride in the 1980's (anyone you recognize?)

1990's: OAS and Eight O'Clock Ride

Membership stayed fairly constant at around 100 riders. Rides became longer and faster with venturing out of Plano the norm. Rides went year-round weather permitting. On cold winter days, the rule was to ride no further than the temperature. A 16-mile ride comes to mind! Group size was usually 10-20 riders.

Two club rides dominated the 1990’s: The 8 o’clock ride, so named because it started at 8 o’clock am, and the OAS ride, which became the official name of a ride started by two runners (Mike Boyle and Rusty Nail) who rode at sunrise, calling themselves the “dawn patrol.” They rode as fast as they could for as long as they could, thus freeing up the weekend for other activities (such as power naps). One of their wives called the pair “old and stupid,” and the name was immediately adopted.

Few women ventured to join the PBA and ride with the men. Those that did were exceptional bike handlers and brought an increased level of calmness and safety to the rides.

A summertime weekend of PBA cycling could easily involve 125 miles of pedaling with rolling averages of around 20 mph.

Summertime mid-week rides in the evening were introduced. These were like the week-end rides, just shorter, so they were usually faster.

A Short History of OAS

OAS is a ride started sometime in the early 1990's. It was the club's signature ride (and only ride until the Eight O'clock ride came along). But what does OAS really mean, anyway? And how did it get started? There are a lot of unanswered questions around this ride. However, one fact is known: It has had a grand total of two ride leaders in its 20+ year history: Mike Boyle and Alan Hasty.

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Mike Boyle and Alan Hasty share OAS stories

2000's: PBA Blossoms

A newly elected PBA president wanted the club to grow, in terms of the number of rides, the number of members, and the number of women riders.

A novice ride was added to the two fast rides. Once word got out, the response from Plano was resounding. A lot of citizens wanted to ride their bike with other like-minded cycling enthusiasts. The novice ride opened the floodgates over the next few years to the creation of rides from beginners all the way up to OAS, and everything in between. 20 new weekly rides were created over a period of a few years. Membership grew from 100 to 600.

The club had to get organized to handle the influx of members. Bike handling safety classes, ride rules and protocols, ride leader training, learn to ride classes, social events, cycling advocacy, and community involvement all took their place as part of the PBA. The nature of the PBA rides was encapsulated in the phrase “The PBAway.” It consists of Fun, Challenge, and Safety. The phrase has dissolved into the club folklore, and with a thriving and inclusive community of biking enthusiasts, one could say that "PByAy" embodies the spirit of our club.

Spring and Fall Centuries

The new president’s goals were exceeded beyond his dreams.

2010's to the Present: Growth

Since the early history of PBA, we now have approximately 1,500 members, 30 different weekly rides occurring on every day of the week except Monday (rest day) and Friday (clean your bike day).

Club Jersey History

The PBA has enjoyed a rich tradition of club jerseys. It has always been important to the club to have a distinguishing jersey as a means to identify club members and promote the PBA.Pre-dating the jerseys, club members rode wearing a PBA t-shirt. Short-sleeved, red, with the word "Plano" on the front. The "o" was enlarged and filled in with spokes to represent a bike wheel. Made the word read "plan zero."

And Through it All We Have Fun

PBA Presidents - past and present

(term start date)

Parks and Recreation (1982 - 1983)

The club was initially managed within the Parks and Recreation department headed by Jeff Lingo, Sue Padden and Don Wendell.

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The Lingos

Don Wendell

Jeff Lingo (1984-1986)

Parks and Recreation divested the club and the PBA was born.

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Jeff Lingo

Joe Ricketts (1986)

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David Cathey (1987)

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Lenny Collins (1988 to May 1989)

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Dave Pero (June 1989 - 1990)

Stuart Nibbelin (1991-1992)

Larry Schwartz

"Larry was an incredible cyclist. He would ride his bike from Plano to HHH, do the century, then ride home. He said he did not like having to clean off all the splattered bugs from his car's windshield." (Chris Mathews)

Larry took biking to a whole new level. In 2002, Larry cycled approximately 25,000 miles! (BikeTexas)

Sadly, Larry passed away May 3, 2003 in a biking accident. The Ride of Silence was started in his honor. It was to be a one time event at White Rock Lake, but took off and is held annually. The Ride of Silence has since then been observed in other cities in the US and even overseas.

Susan Norvell

Katy Trail, Missouri - 2004

Carl Morris

Chris Mathews (2002-2007)

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When Chris became PBA President in 2002 there were no Board member elections: whoever wanted to serve on the Board was usually welcomed with open arms. The club was managed by Belinda and Rusty Nail. As Chris observed, ‘They did everything: Newsletter, membership, finances, website, you name it. They kept the club running. "They were the PBA."

Rusty and Belinda were looking for a new President to replace Carl Morris, who had stepped down. Chris thought about how valuable the PBA had been to him over the first nine years of his membership and he had a few ideas for changes, so he volunteered for the position.

Chris’ first priorities were the following:

Expand the range of rides in terms of number, distance, and speed;
Grow the membership; and
Increase the number of female riders.

At the time the PBA had two rides: ‘Pretty Fast’ (8 O’clock Ride) and ‘Fast’ (OAS). There were 110 members of which six were female.

He started with the help of his Ride Coordinator, Alan Warner, who rolled out the Novice Ride. Once word got around, it became a success with the Plano cycling community. The PBA was on its way! It did not take long for the Novice riders to approach Alan and Chris with the claim that they were no longer ‘novices,’ but rather ‘distance builders.’ And so, the next level of rides was born. The sky was the limit!

As for PBA Board elections, Chris’ usual procedure was to propose at the annual party that the current Board was to carry on for the next year. And if anyone had an issue with that, they were to speak up. Dead silence, every time.

In 2008, Chris ended his reign with 600 members, 10-12 different weekly rides, and over 50 female members. He made way for new president Terry Brcka, who was elected, by the Board.