Emmett standing over the San Francisco BayTwo days before the bike tour I had a phone conversation with my brother. We discussed how worried my mother was about the trip and whether it would be worth it to put her through the stress. My brother wasn’t sure I should embark on the journey because I hadn’t ridden my bike once to train for the tour. I was bitter because the WPH was promised bikes by a sponsor who respectfully bowed out three days prior, and I also didn’t know how on earth Dave Fink was going to manage the long and tumultuous trek across the states. So as my brother and I talked about his point of view, my mother’s worries, and my own personal reservations about the trip, I silently began to go over the reasons I signed up for the tour. I stopped my brother mid-sentence and told him, “I am doing this for ball. This is not about me, this is about the growth of the best sport in the world.” It was then that I knew I had to set out on the journey no matter what pitfalls or setbacks I was to encounter.
DF came into Berkeley two days before we were to leave. We were incredibly nervous. The only thing that kept us going was the knowledge that we were about to embark on the biggest promotional campaign handball had ever seen. When Dave Vincent came in with Marv Burke and the two Toyota Tundras, DF and I were ready. We jumped on our bikes without any fuss and started riding.
DF standing over the SF Bay: Day 1 (May 19, 2008)
The first 3 days were the worst. DF and I battled through rain, snow, and a 7000ft incline. It was not easy. I personally didn’t mind the cold weather but DF was realistically about to die. Next time we will purchase long sleeve shirts and pants for the more extreme weather ☺
After the Sierras and the first week of riding, everything seemed to get easier on the bikes. When we met up with Joe Garcia in Reno and saw the groundwork for JoGo, the multi-court super-center he is building, we had more incentive to pump up handball to the rest of the states. The ride never really seemed to drag at this point. The loneliest Road in America (Highway 80) became somewhat of a meditative experience rather than a workout. When we finally got to play handball on a Fronton court in Elko Nevada it energized us further and made the next part of the trek even easier (well maybe not for DF who threw a tantrum on the court because he lost 7 straight games to me ;)
Salt Lake city was one of the best stops. DV later told me when reminiscing about Salt Lake that he had the greatest time of his life there. We met some wonderful people…the Stalsberg family, Jason Jones, Kevin Price, Michel Fendrick, Dom, Britt, Russell, Brocolli, Richeal, and many others. My favorite part of this adventure was when DV put on a two hour professional comedy routine at Lonnie Stalsberg’s house in front of 45 people. He took over the entire party and actually made one person flat out piss their pants. By far the highlight of the trip.
From there we went southeast to Grand Junction Colorado. We were interviewed for the local news and newspapers. DF somehow bruised his leg during an outdoor Fronton 3-Wall game by slamming his gloves on the ground (no big deal). He had a lump on his leg that swelled up to the size of a softball, so he was unable to continue with the clinic and exhibitions. That, however, didn’t stop us from getting a few new juniors in the court to explain the game to.
Just after Salt Lake City, the team stop for a water break
After we completed a pass in Veil, we stumbled into one of the most structured clinics on the tour. We road our bikes for six and a half hours the day we road into Denver, it was really ruff getting our bearings because DF and I were utterly exhausted. Jed Siegel was a wonderfully generous host. He let us take an hour nap at his house before we suited up for our exhibitions. DF and I thought we were going to play some singles and put on a clinic for a few old timers, but upon entering the DAC we found that we were playing doubles against the state champion Bear Merring and his partner the former state champion Mark Hammond. We were announced on loudspeaker and played in front of an audience of nearly one hundred fans. The fans cheered on Bear and Mark as they jumped up to a 12-1 lead, however DF and I were somehow able to work together to pull off the victory 21-15. It was not an easy day. The best part of the trip was putting on a three-hour clinic for juniors, novices, and players just looking to improve; we even had Jo Shattuck, the number 7 women’s racquetball player in America in attendance. From what I saw there is going to be some top players coming out of Colorado in the next few year.
Emmett and Bear stop for a pose in Colorado
The bike ride trough Kansas was both tiring and LONG. We were battling winds (luckily mostly tailwind), and extreme humidity (which DF didn’t have a problem with). As DF just cruised along with his shirt off, I was simply struggling. When we road into Wichita and stopped off at the house of the alway smiling Clyde Creed and his wife Anita I immediately passed out cold. I woke up early only to play exhibitions and clinics with some of the hardest hitting handball players we had encountered at a local club so far. It was a lot of fun but a very draining experience.
After the Nationals in Kansas City, we got to relax a bit in St. Louis at David and Debbie Chapman’s house. We got to play handball and party before we set out for Nashville. We also picked up the young and impressionable Suhn Lee from Chicago as another addition to the tour. The first night there we put on a clinic to some locals and stayed at John’s multimillion-dollar house with his wife and three kids. We taught his two sons Grelynn and Conner how to play handball as well as beating them in chess and tennis ;) The next night we stayed at Joel and Tina O’Conner’s house. They cooked some delectable vegetarian dishes, to which we gorged for four hours straight. We put on three full clinics in Nashville and then we set off for Chattanooga.
Upon entering Chattown, DF and I were pinned to play the former pros Scott Kelly (who beat Chapman in his prime) and Rob Peirce; we didn’t know what to expect. DF and I had a bit more energy left over from the eight-course meal at Joel’s house a few days earlier and closed out two quick games (not without struggle I might add). The best part of this adventure was when Rob took DF, DV, Suhn, Smoke (a local handball legend), and me out whitewater rafting on the Ocoee. Dave Fink never stopped crying the entire time. I told our rafting guide to make sure he got DF wet, so he plowed the raft head on into a major rapid and fell straight out of the raft. I had to rescue the guide by pulling him back in the raft right after the raft almost capsized (mainly because of DV I might add; who somehow remained in the boat and was the only dry one out of the seven on board)). DF was tackled and pushed in the ice-cold water by three separate people at three separate times. After he cursed us in front of a raft of a church group we decided not to push him in anymore. The best was when Rob Pierce tried to tackle me into the water. I am The Rock! I dodged him and he flew over the top of me head first into the river. Thanks for the memories Rob.
DF and EP in sunny California
The journey to Pittsburgh was extremely easy. The exhibitions at the JCC in Pitt were simply entertaining. DF knows how to put on a show…that’s all I will say. I want to thank Andrew Joseph for setting up the clinic. I also want to thank Rodney Fink for his generosity. Not only did he teach his son everything he knows, but he also managed to be my favorite person at the party. That joke is for Rodney.
The ride from Pitt to NY went at a rapid pace. We knew we were almost finished. He hustled the last couple legs of the tour and managed to get into NY for the Mayor’s Cup. Even though we didn’t do as well as we had hoped, we did get to see some headliners and spend some time on the one-wall courts. I want to thank NY Monster for putting us up, Albert Apuzzi for giving me some tips, Billy O’Donnell for beating me, and Paul Williams for running a great tournament.
It seemed like it all happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to absorb everything that happened. I am both happy that I don’t have to bike anymore but sad that the adventure is over. I want to thank all of our hosts, pledgers, new members, and contributors. I know that I made some lasting friendships on this trip and I will always remember the love most people have for handball.
Again, if you would like to pledge or committed to a pledge, please contact David Vincent directly at davecvincent@cs.com, call him at 707-628-7510, or make checks payable to:
Dave Vincent c/o WPH
Box 208
Rough and Ready, CA
95975
-Emmett "El Rock" Peixoto
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