
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, May 9, 1994                   TAG: 9405090019
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ADRIENNE PETTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FEATHERED FLOCK PEDALS ITS WAY UP PARKWAY

THINK OF IT as the tortoise and the hare. The hares will be flying through Roanoke today in the Tour DuPont. The tortoises, who came through on Sunday, took the scenic route - and their time.

The racers straining for victory in Tour DuPont breeze through town today.

But riders who say they're doing the real tour - Tour de Ridge - glided down Roanoke Mountain Sunday afternoon.

"Those aren't tours; those are races," said Sam Jernigan, 55, who started Tour de Ridge seven years ago. "The only thing they see is the wheels in front of them, the roads or the finish line."

In nine days, the riders in Jernigan's group - Wandering EMu Pedal Society, or WEMPS - trek the entire 469 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway from Cherokee Reservation in North Carolina to Rockfish Gap in Virginia, stopping at campsites along the way. Lugging tents, sleeping bags, pots and dirty clothes, they average about 52 miles a day, depending on the distance to each campsite.

Last night, they camped at Mill Mountain Zoo. Normally, they stay at the Roanoke Mountain campground, but it is closed because of ice-storm damage.

The parkway rises and falls, starting at an elevation of 2,000 feet and ending at 1,900 feet. By the time the WEMPS reached Roanoke Sunday, the seventh day of the trip, they had already gone up and down 41,000 feet, counting all the ascents and descents.

Named after the emu, a large flightless bird that resembles an ostrich, the WEMPS take time to appreciate the natural scenes unfolding before them, whether admiring the brillant orange color of flame azaleas in bloom or taking in the songs of hummingbirds and woodpeckers.

"It's a pretty nice thing to do after a long winter," said Mary Hutchinson, 35, the youngest biker. "You see spring at its best."

Bob Richter, 59, who's as old as the parkway, said one of his favorite parts of the ride is Humpback Rocks, overlooking the Shenandoah Valley.

The WEMPS also are members of Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway because of its commitment to protecting the scenic drive.

The size of the group varies, from two the first year to nine last year. Four riders - three men and one woman - are cycling this year.

Most of the WEMPS hail from Newport, R.I. But one of this year's riders is from Champaign, Ill.

"We call the winds our Illinois hills because when you go through the winds, it's like going uphill," said Gary Guardia, 54.

The wind keeps Guardia in shape for the tour. But the Newport contingent, who live in a state where the highest elevation is 900 feet and the winds are relatively calm, joked that they do most of their training during the first three days of the trip.

"When you tell people you're going on a two-lane road with no shoulder for 500 miles, they think you're crazy," Jernigan said.

But the WEMPS said drivers are usually considerate.

by CNB