He and his wife recently moved to Montrose after retiring as principal at Eagle Valley High School in 2004 and working with his son’s log home business in Eagle the last four years, “fully retiring” last September. Most of his teaching and administrative career was in Scottsdale and Tempe, Ariz.
But his real passion is cycling, and to that end, he is excited about his first participation in the upcoming “Wandering Wheels” coast-to-coast ride. The ride, which will run from Carlsbad, Calif., to Brunswick, Ga., covers 2,600 miles and is scheduled to last from March 20 to April 30.
 Nelson Gould with his bike at his home in Cobble Creek. (Bruce Grigsby / Daily Press) Advertisement |
DeJulio, the assistant pro at Cobble Creek, has gotten to know Gould and his wife as local residents and golfers. “We talked about his bike trip, and I thought it was pretty cool. What really impressed me was how focused Nelson is on the trip this spring, and I thought about how much carryover there is in that focus to golf,” DeJulio said.
The golf coach then invited Gould to talk with his players about his focus as an example for them to apply to both their game and their lives. “Nelson definitely wants to make it worthwhile for somebody beyond himself,” DeJulio said of Gould’s upcoming bicycle trip. Gould approached DeJulio with the idea of helping the golf program, and they jointly came up with the idea of people making donation pledges.
Gould, 70, became interested in “Wandering Wheels” in large part because it was originated by his friend and football coach, Bob Davenport. Davenport, an All-America football player at UCLA, was also Gould’s football coach at Taylor University in Upland, Ind. Gould was not only a four-sport athlete there, but also earned all-conference honors as a running back. He subsequently had his No. 20 jersey retired by the university and was inducted into Taylor’s athletic Hall-of-Fame in 2004.
Gould, who graduated from Taylor in 1962, served as head football coach there from 1969-1973, where he had the honor of replacing Davenport.
Upon settling in Montrose, Gould was pleased with his inclusion into local bicycling, particularly by the welcome he received from Alan Ardizone, owner of Cascade Bicycles, and Fred Matheny, a record-holding cyclist in his own right and noted cycling writer.
“I know that he’ll have a good time and also enjoy some challenges. He’s a rookie rider but a good athlete, so he should do fine,” Matheny, a veteran of several transcontinental rides, said of Gould. Nevertheless, Matheny stressed that the challenges will be significant.
The “Wandering Wheels” program began in 1964, according to the organization’s Web site (www.wanderingwheels.org), as a means “to strengthen young people’s understanding of God’s place in their lives...Even though our participants’ average age has grown older, the original motivation is still the same. We use churches for much of our lodging and fellowship along the way.” The strong spiritual underpinning of the program is a big part of the organization’s history and clearly evident in Gould’s enthusiasm for the upcoming ride.
The six-week trip will start on the West Coast north of San Diego and take riders across southern Arizona and New Mexico to Dallas, Texas. From there, the ride will continue across the South through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, arriving on the East Coast at Brunswick April 30.
Average daily rides are set for 75-80 miles with one day off per week. There are three tent camping nights scheduled for the riders with the rest of the nights to be spent in churches, schools, and motels along the route. A factor in the ride, for which Gould has meticulously planned, will be elevation variations, including rides up to 9,000 feet above sea level.
“Living and training here in Colorado will be a big plus,” Gould says as he shows his chart, plotted with mileage distances and elevation changes for each day of the ride.
With the start of the ride five days away, he is eager to begin. He is planning to send updates of his progress to the Daily Press during the ride.
To make a pledge to support the golf team, contact a member of the MHS golf team or DeJulio at 240-9542 or 209-1495.
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