Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 29, 1995 TAG: 9505010086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BUCHANAN LENGTH: Medium
Residents here know they're bucking the hype by not knuckling under to Tour DuPont.
Sunday mornings mean something here. Worship still is a way of life. And the faithful are reluctant to change their ways, even for America's most celebrated bicycle race.
``It's like the old saying, `One monkey don't stop the show,''' said Vice Mayor Tom Middlecamp. ``Tour DuPont comes here 30 seconds and is gone. Church is here all year long.''
Town leaders knew they'd have problems as soon as the tour's schedule was announced. Sunday morning, the world-class cyclists are scheduled to leave Lynchburg at 9:30 a.m., pump their way to the Peaks of Otter, and drop down the mountain via Virginia 43 into Buchanan.
They are scheduled to pedal their way up Main Street between 11 a.m. and noon, a time when the town's churches traditionally meet.
Residents, some of them elderly users of walkers and canes, usually park along either the street closest to church.
Middlecamp said town officials weren't about to stir up a hornet's nest by asking residents to change their parking habits.
``People take church seriously,'' he said. ``People have real strong ties to their church and Christian values.''
Mayor Rex Kelly said traffic control along the route will be left to the state police and the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office. One side of Main Street will be cleared of parked cars to make way for the cyclists, Kelly said.
Some residents couldn't care less about Tour DuPont and the momentary glitz of national attention it brings.
``Why do they think we should alter our church services?'' asked O.R. Robinson, a local barber and a deacon at Buchanan Baptist Church. ``Evidently, it is a money thing for some people. I guess the Tour DuPont has its place, but it shouldn't come before church. Maybe it should be rerouted so it doesn't interfere.''
The only concession was made by the Presbyterians, who moved their service up to 9 a.m.
Wanda Smith, the town's treasurer, said the thought of the tour coming through town during church hour definitely put a chill in the air.
``Last year, it was a big deal,'' she said. ``This year, I haven't heard that much about it.''
The town plans no official festivities, nor has it been contacted by food vendors wanting to sell their wares along the streets.
Last year, cheering schoolchildren lined the streets on a Tuesday. Town officials and business people competed in a tricycle race to stir enthusiasm for the event. This year, the town plans no official festivities.
Blaine Daugherty, a local pharmacist who helped organize last year's activities in town, said tour officials probably never considered how devoted small-town residents are to their churches."We're probably the only town affected," he said. "I don't think tour officials thought that they would be in conflict with a small town."
Mike Woody, the pastor of Buchanan Baptist Church, said the tour may have simply underestimated the importance of church in people's lives.
"I am glad that the church is going to be a church," he said. "I think it is good testimony. We're not going to alter our schedule for a bike race."
Dorothy Ponton, 69, said the tour comes in a distant second in the race for attendance.
``I'm sorry I'll miss it,'' she said. ``I don't think it is important enough to come out of church for.''
Memo: ***CORRECTION***