ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, July 26, 1996 TAG: 9607260045
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
BUT LOUIS TUDOR may be better known as The Biscuit Guy.
Louis Tudor is like many serious swimmers in that his days frequently begin before dawn.
While the competition may be swimming laps, however, Tudor is making biscuits.
If there's any doubt that he takes his swimming seriously, check out the results of the Roanoke Valley Aquatic Association city-county championship, where Tudor will compete for the first time as a 40-year-old.
Tudor had two firsts and two seconds last year, when he was in his final year in the 24-39 age division.
``Father Time's been kind to me,'' said Tudor, whose times are competitive with what he swam for the University of North Carolina in the mid-1970s. ``If I would liken myself to any athlete, it would be [tennis player] Jimmy Connors.
``I feel he had more fun finishing second in the U.S. Open at age 35 than he did winning the tournament when he was 20.''
Tudor has remained competitive despite running a downtown Roanoke business that, for most of the past decade, has occupied him from 4:30 a.m. till 2 p.m. And he has four children under the age of 10.
Erin, 9, and Nicholas, 6, are among the top Roanoke-area swimmers in their age groups.
``I'm trying not to put too much pressure on them,'' their father said. ``But, I figure it would be really neat if she could win an event, I could win an event [and] Nicholas could win an event. I don't think that's ever been done in the city-county. It would be a nice memory for all of us.''
Not long after he turned 40 in March, Louis competed in the YMCA National Masters meet in Orlando, Fla., and had two seconds, a third and a fourth. Only two swimmers in his age bracket have broken 22 seconds for 50 meters, while Tudor has swum a 22.2.
``I'm only a second off my best college time of 21.2,'' Tudor said. ``But, when you jump in the water, it's like you're driving a car and the parking brake's not totally disengaged. You remember what it's like to do 21 seconds, but it's like something's holding you back.''
Tudor stands 6 feet 2 and 180 pounds - the same size he was in college - and his body fat has been measured at 5 percent, which is extremely low.
He has stayed in shape without practicing more than one hour a day, usually at 3 p.m. at the Gator Center or at Lake Drive Swim Club in Vinton.
``You've got to be careful when you get older,'' he said. ``You can have a really good workout but then you're out of commission for the next two or three days because of your age.''
Tudor may be the best advertisement for his restaurant, Tudor's Biscuit World, where specialty items such as the Tar Heel, Wahoo and Hokie are not cholesterol-free.
``I have a very high metabolism,'' he said, ``so, I pretty much eat what I want. I eat three biscuits a day - plain, sausage, ham. When I come in in the morning and make biscuits, I usually eat one or two right then.
``People look at diet as a way to control cholesterol. I think the biggest problem with society is, we don't exercise. I think the reason my body fat is low is that I'm active and I haven't slowed down.''
Tudor makes the first five batches of biscuits - about 150 - and then works the register after the restaurant opens, often with 1-year-old daughter Hannah in a carrier on his back. His wife, Jessica, arrives at 8 or 9 a.m. and he goes home now about 11.
``That's just in the last two months,'' he said. ``She closes the store for me and I take the children. We're sharing the store and sharing the children.''
Tudor was born in Charleston, W.Va., and moved to Greensboro, N.C., when he was 9. After college at North Carolina, where he earned a swimming scholarship as a senior, he worked for several years as a certified public accountant.
Tudor's late father started the Tudor's Biscuit World chain in 1981 and Louis opened the Roanoke store in 1985. Almost all of the 35 Tudor's Biscuit World franchises are in West Virginia, many in small-town storefronts they share with Gino's Pizza.
Tudor is in the process of buying the Church Avenue building he has been leasing and he has given consideration to a second Roanoke Valley location. But, between his family and his swimming, he doesn't know if now is the time to begin a new venture.
``I want my dreams to be their dreams,'' said Tudor, who already has introduced 3-year-old son Shane to the water, ``but, the trick is to keep it all in perspective. If it's not realized, I'm not going to be devastated or point fingers.''
Tudor has served as a part-time swim coach almost since his arrival in Roanoke, although he doesn't know if he recognizes the sport as he has observed it this week in the Summer Olympics.
``There's much more emphasis placed on the kick now than the arms,'' he said. ``When I was swimming in college, the swimmers I idolized moved their arms as fast as they could. They were thrashers. Now, you see Gary Hall Jr. taking as few strokes as possible, but he's got the big motorboat kick.''
Tudor has even tried a few of the new techniques. After all, there are Masters meets for age groups all the way to 90 and above.
``The older I get, it seems like the better I become,'' he said. ``I'm not slowing down that much. It's only an hour a day and, besides, I need the exercise.''
Especially if he wants to keep eating those three biscuits.
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY Staff Louis Tudor (center) hopes he and hisby CNBson Nicholas, 7 (left), and daughter Erin, 9, all will place in the
same meet. color.