April 1, 2016

Adventure Cycling Association’s new founders, named at the annual board of directors meeting last week, are Johnny and Melinda Watercress of Boring, Oregon. They were chosen in a most creative way. “We knew we’d never find anyone more experienced at cycle touring than the Siples and Burdens,” said board president Bentley Ramsey, “so we decided this would not enter into the formula. Instead, each of the ten board members thought of a one-digit number, wrote it on a piece of paper, and dropped it into a bicycle helmet. We drew the numbers one at a time and strung them together to form a phone number. We then dialed that number — (503) 386-2999 — which, as it turned out, rang up the cell phone of Melinda Watercress.”
“We’d never even heard of the Adventure Cycling Association,” said Johnny Watercress, “but we were honored all the same. We’re even talking about picking up a pair of mountain bikes to ride around on.” Incidentally, the male half of Adventure Cycling’s new founding team works maintenance at Milo McIver State Park, while Melinda is a veteran hairdresser at the Git Yer Dander Up salon in Boring.
When asked how he felt about being replaced as the organization’s founder, Greg Siple was characteristically pragmatic. “June and I have a couple of ‘founder’ irons in the fire,” he said. “For instance, I heard the American Celery Promotion Board is looking for new founders.”
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Greg Siple photo.
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Feeling foolish? Well, we’re not fooling when we tell you about our 40th anniversary. Big things happen in 2016:
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