Pedal to the Metal for GRLC

Written by T. Lyle Ferderber, Treasurer for the Glade Run Lake Conservancy

Some of my earliest two-wheeled memories involved grabbing a fishing pole, digging for worms placed in a cup and assembling a simple tackle box, and pedaling my Schwinn the three miles to the lake for a pre-teen adventure. There was a row boat rental and food stand at the old Weinel barn next to the lake and that is where I first rowed a boat with my younger brother who was a partner in this childhood fun.

Story author T. Lyle Ferderber

Later, in my teen years, I spent time at the lake courting a young lady who loved the outdoors like I did. We would pack a picnic meal and spend evening date nights there. We knew Officer Soergel, the Middlesex Police chief, who would stop and talk to us as other carloads of kids slunk away. He was a good man and friend of the family and what he didn't know about what we were doing made us look like the upright kids we weren't, but we shared snacks and homemade food with him on one occasion as the three of us watched the sun go down and we joked about the other kids who were uncomfortable in his presence. That young lady and I have been married for 47 years. Those early days formed our love for the lake and we were some of the last folks standing in the room when the question was asked, "Who will do something about our drained lake?"

In our early years as parents, we grew up humbly, working the farm and flour mill, and one of our first fun purchases was a brand new Coleman plastic canoe. We took our son, then our son and daughter, to the lake with the canoe and learned to paddle as a family. Later on, we bought kayaks and we still have them and the trusty canoe that bumped along the Buffalo Creek bed a number of times when the water was high enough after a summer rain.

So, when we learned that the lake was to be drained, we were reminded of the line in the Joni Mitchell song, "You don't know what you've got till it's gone". I posted signs in local businesses asking folks to attend the meeting where this would be announced and explained. Mr. Weinel had been to some of them already, posting similar notices. The meeting was the largest ever at the township building and the citizens were angry and not mollified by the Fish and Boat's explanations nor by the assurance of Representative Metcalf that nothing would be done to fix the lake. The state and nation were in a challenging economic time and fixing our lake, or any of the other lakes that were drained, was simply not a spending priority.

These early days, that included creating our non-profit from the ground up, formed a resolve to help the situation as best we could. Someone had to do it and we were some of them.

Born and raised here, I have loved to run and ride my bike on Middlesex Township roads since I was a teen. I've run local 5K's to marathons and competed in road bike races, one held here in the township, and triathlons. I keep to the backroads and have been treated relatively well by drivers and conceived the idea of riding my age, both as a checkmark for my health and to raise some funds for the lake in a personal way. This is the seventh year I have ridden and though the first couple of years were done around North Park's lake, it was only right to ride on the roads in our township. Our son has ridden for up to 20 miles to support me as well as Betty (my wife) and two of our grandkids. For this 67-mile ride, I avoided most of our township's memorable hills (like Truver Road, or Sandy Hill by the kennels, or Steiner Bridge from the bridge or extension...) and stuck to rolling roads east of Route 8. I stopped a few times to take some intersection pics and focused on pacing myself to accomplish the goal.

Thanks goes out to our community of lake lovers who have contributed money and support over the years. Thanks also to the local businesses that have helped us by sponsoring events we have had in the past or who contribute yearly. And thanks to the GRLC Board, whose younger members have created the website and wonderful educational and kids' series, and to the elders, who were the last ones standing in the room when the question was asked about who would step up and do something.

Above: Story author T. Lyle Ferderber captures photos from his 67-mile bike ride this summer on roads in Middlesex Township.