ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 7, 1996 TAG: 9605070118
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
NOTE: Below
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on May 9, 1996.
Sascha Henrix's name was misspelled in a story Tuesday on the Tour
DuPont.
SOMEBODY MUST bring up the rear, and Barney Brewer doesn't seem to mind being the signal that today's glory was, indeed, fleeting.
Racers glancing over their shoulders only to see Barney Brewer's smiling face may as well be staring into the face of the Grim Reaper himself.
The white Dodge Caravan, stocked with cool drinks and chocolate bars and hovering ominously at their heels, is a sure sign they're bringing up the rear of the Tour DuPont.
Spectators recognize the six brooms attached to the front bumper of Brewer's van as the universal symbol in the world of cycling that their 30 nanoseconds of entertainment have come to an end.
As the driver of the Tour DuPont's broom wagon, you might say Barney Brewer has a public relations problem. But don't tell him.
With 30 pounds of candy stashed on board for workers staffing checkpoints along the race and a public address system that lets him keep up a constant stream of chatter with spectators, Brewer manages to make hundreds of friends as he cruises along the East Coast at 23 miles per hour.
As the starting gun cracks, Brewer hits a button to start the timer in his van, then cranes out the window to watch the flurry of neon-and-black spandex in the distance.
He rolls down his window and waves to crowds lining the streets of Salem.
"Hi, folks. Thanks for having us. Bye-bye."
As the tempo picks up, Brewer begins pounding out "Shave and a Haircut" on the horn.
"If I'm going over 20 miles per hour, they can't hear the speaker," he explained, "so instead of rapping to the crowd, I just honk."
Brewer has devoted most of his adult life to skiing rather than biking, running a guide and outfitter operation in Breckenridge, Colo. After working with a community group to develop a system of bike paths between Breckenridge and Vale in the early 1980s, he became interested in bicycle racing and soon picked up the job of broom wagon driver.
At the time, the sport was in its infancy in the United States, and there weren't many people standing in line for the job.
"It was usually someone who had time on their hands and a six-pack of beer who said, 'Oh, I'll ride back there.'"
Brewer has polished the position into a profession. He's "broomed" for three Coors Classics, both Tour De Trumps and all six Tour DuPonts. This summer, he'll be in Atlanta to serve as caboose for the Summer Olympics bicycle race.
Most of the caravan mellows after passing through the feed zone at 1:40 p.m., and the roadside is briefly cluttered with bicycles and vehicles making pit stops. Brewer is on the alert, however, to make sure he doesn't pass a biker crouched behind a bush.
At 2:25 p.m., he catches sight of his first "customer."
A quick check of the roster identifies the rider as Scott Price, a Canadian on the American team. He stops, looks back at the broom wagon and pushes off again. Brewer pulls alongside.
"I'm just gonna ride a little more till I don't feel guilty," Price says.
"What he's hoping is he'll catch up to somebody," Brewer explained as he fell back. "Then it's not so bad."
But Price's bike is clattering from a damaged chain, and 45 minutes later he dismounts for good.
"I'm going to have nightmares about the broom wagon chasing me," he jokes as he climbs into the back seat.
Not all of Brewer's adventures have unhappy endings. After picking up a second rider, he keeps German Sascha Hendrix supplied with enough sodas to make it past the finish line.
As he runs the final gantlet in Blacksburg, he yells to the crowd:
"Good-bye folks. That's all. We're history."
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. The broom wagon draws ominously nearby CNBSascha Hendrix in Blacksburg. Hendrix made it past the finish line,
though. color.