13,000 Go Along for the Ride for County’s 100th

Orange County launched its yearlong 100th birthday party with a celebration in the streets and the skies Sunday, as more than 13,000 bicycles wove through city roads during the day and thousands of spectators watched fireworks at night.

“I think they should do this every year,” said John Papelian of Costa Mesa after completing the 25-mile route of the Orange County Centennial Bicycle Tour, the premiere of some 200 events scheduled to recognize the county’s incorporation on Aug. 1, 1889. “I’m not going to be around for it again in another 100 years.”

With the blast of an air horn and the raising of an orange-and-white arch of helium balloons at the starting line, the centennial celebration took off Sunday morning shortly after 8:30 a.m. During the next half hour, more than 13,000 people poured out of Anaheim Stadium and onto streets and bike trails to begin their 10-, 25-, 50- and 100-mile treks.

Later Sunday, eyes turned to Mile Square Park, where the night skies exploded with fireworks. The fireworks show was produced by the Grucci family, which put on the aerial celebrations for President Reagan’s inaugurations and for the completed renovations of the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.

An estimated 5,000 to 10,000 people watched the 24-minute extravaganza from the park. Hundreds brought lawn chairs and blankets and picnicked on the park’s grassy periphery. The show, sponsored by The Times Orange County Edition and Wisk Laundry Detergent, was synchronized to music which was simulcast on radio station KWIZ for those who watched the show, visible for a mile, from afar.

“Other than complaints from residents about the noise from the fireworks explosions, we really didn’t have any problems,” said Fountain Valley Police Lt. Michael Hanrahan.

Earlier in the day, cyclists atop aerodynamically streamlined bicycles rode alongside (although not for long) parents weighted down with toddlers and toys. Some participants clearly took heart in promoters’ warnings that this was a ride and not a race and said their goal was only to have fun and finish. Others positioned themselves strategically to get off to a good start and speed out of the paths of less experienced riders.

Waved out of the starting gate by Mickey Mouse and Snoopy (their amusement parks of residence, Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, are among the corporate founders of the centennial celebration), the riders immediately turned onto city streets in Anaheim and Orange that had been closed to automobile traffic. The first several miles of the 50- and 100-mile routes were on wide-open streets, and the entire 10-mile route--which was also the first 10 miles of the 25-mile course--gave the cyclists free rein.

“The best part was at the beginning, when they had all the streets blocked off,” said Alan Zolnekoff, 24, of Whittier, who rode a self-built, low-slung recumbent bicycle on the 50-mile route. “For cyclists, that’s wonderful.”

The American Red Cross reported 11 injuries along the route. Two people received broken arms, and one person suffered an unspecified seizure, officials said. Another person had leg cramps, and the rest were scrapes treated on the course. “For the amount of riders, this was probably less (than expected),” spokesman Michael Koegel said.

The 10-, 25- and 50-mile routes returned to Anaheim Stadium, with the sweaty-but-happy riders pedaling back in throughout the morning. The 100-mile route, which attracted about 45% of the cyclists, wound through 19 of the county’s 27 cities, finishing at the Irvine Spectrum business complex. There, cyclists were greeted by a couple hundred cheering spectators and volunteers who offered riders everything from free guava juice to complimentary massages.

No Stopping Them

Coming in first in the 100-mile non-race was Eric Saltzman, a 10-year veteran rider who rode the length of the route in just under four hours without stopping for anything other than traffic signals, he said.

“No one agreed to stop, so we didn’t,” he said of the front-runners.

Back at Anaheim Stadium, the bike ride won rave reviews from casual and serious cyclists alike.

“It was a really pleasant ride. I was impressed by the traffic control,” said Lance Thompson-Hailstone, who rode on the front of a tandem bicycle ahead of his wife, Jean, while their daughters, Rachel and Gemma, pedaled separately.

Spectators along the route through Orange cheered the cyclists on, participants said. Riders repeatedly expressed gratitude about one spectator, a fellow who was watering his lawn and turned the spray on any cyclist who needed to cool off.

Quick Assistance

Several people complimented organizers for the quick assistance afforded to cyclists when troubles occurred. Tom Brayley, 28, of Garden Grove, who was with a team of employees from the Southern California Gas Co., took a tumble when he was reaching for a cup of water and collided with another cyclist. He ruined a brake and his derailer, but repair people from Bill’s Schwinn of Placentia were immediately there, he said.

“They were fixing my bike before I even got up,” he said.

Claire Bunch made it back to Anaheim Stadium with her left arm and leg swathed in bandages. She suffered scrapes when she tried to slow down to avoid hitting someone, and wound up falling down. She had to ride only a few more minutes before she came upon someone who wrapped her wounds in gauze.

“It stings but it’s OK,” she said.

The aches and pains were more intense at the 100-mile finish line. Coming in in the top 15 was Dieter Inzenhofer, 47, of Westminster, who said his finish in 4 1/2 hours wore him out.

“For an old man, I’ve just had it,” the German native said.

Michael Neumann, 15, of Laguna Hills, “hit the wall” less than 100 yards from the finish line and struggled to complete the ride before collapsing into a world of pain.

‘I Gotta Make It’

“I was going just fine and then. . .” he said, writhing on the ground. “I thought, ‘I just gotta make it, I just gotta make it.’ ”

Pat Branch, 19, of Fullerton, fell down exhausted after finishing the 100-mile ride--his first--and clutched his thighs while grimacing.

“It feels so nice to stand up straight,” he said later, after recovering from leg cramps.

Amateur radio operators on the routes kept in constant touch with the bike ride’s command post to alert officials to problems and traffic control needs. They also positioned an amateur television operator with a camera on the back of a truck and sent a signal that allowed the command post to get a picture of the cyclists. The American Red Cross operated 10 vans that leapfrogged along the routes to aid the injured.

Community festivals were planned along the bicyclists’ routes, but some of them received little attention from the riders. At Huntington Center, Dick Dale, granddaddy of the surf guitar, arrived by helicopter for festivities honoring the cyclists. At Westminster Park, a Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce volunteer band and a table with about six people awaited passing riders. As in most stops, the serious front-runners sped by without trying to get water.

Given Sodas, Water

At Taft Library, on Taft Street in Orange, the estimated 5,000 bicycle riders who passed by were given water and sodas by volunteers from the Orange post office.

Rolling into the library parking lot Sunday morning, Ray Cook, 41, of Santa Ana, who bought a $580 racing bike just before the ride, said he forgot to get reinforced tires for the street.

“I’ve blown three tires,” he said. “I’m done.”

The first wave of riders to pass the library sped by without noticing the tables set up for handing out water, said Paskel Brown, 33, of Santa Ana, who worked a refreshment table.

The second wave, he said, clogged up Taft Street trying to get to the water.

“They were like falling on the ground and grasping for water,” he said.

Forgot Child Aboard

One rider grabbed so desperately at the water that he almost took Brown’s watch off. Another rider forgot he had a child on the back and let his bicycle fall to the ground as he went for the water. The child was not hurt, Brown said.

The riders were eventually routed into the library’s parking lot, where a water fight among postal workers riding in the event took place.

Before the ride’s start, cyclists were corralled according to their routes, with the 10-milers leaving last to prevent them from being run over by the more experienced and faster long-distance riders.

Margaret Rendon, 27, of Santa Ana, was at the start of the 25-mile group with her three daughters, who could barely contain their excitement. Two had signs on their bikes--one announcing that it was her birthday, the other offering thanks to a bike ride organizer who waived the entry fees so that the low-income family could participate.

Rendon, a single parent and a student, said she wrote to the bike ride organizers, telling them that her daughters were very disappointed that she could not afford the $15-per-person entry fee, and asking if the fee could be waived.

Girls ‘So Happy’

“Every day the girls waited by the mailbox. The day the letter (inviting them to enter free of charge) came, they screamed and jumped, they were so happy,” Rendon said. “It’s all they’ve been talking about.”

At the end of the crowd of 13,000 riders waiting to start was the Moraitis family--Tom and Terri with son Timothy, 10, daughter Terah, 7, and nephew David, 9--all dressed in white shorts and orange shirts, in honor of the county centennial. Tom Moraitis, who designed the centennial’s “oranges” logo, said he did not mind the starting position.

“It’s exciting to see the first event,” he said. His daughter had only begun riding a bicycle, so they planned to ride slowly, he said. “We’re here for the centennial, and we want to finish this as a family.”