Board Profile - Membership:    Ethan Brook

In 1984 I went on my first long distance bike trip. It was a 10 day pannier trip through the Loire Valley in France. Armed with a map, a few bike guide books, we rented bikes at a train station, hooked our panniers onto the bikes and off we went. I remember wearing regular shorts, or jeans when the weather got cool, cotton tee shirts, sneakers, and a helmet. The bike was awful. I missed my 10 speed hybrid. Who knew that I was doing this all wrong. BUT, it was great. I was hooked. It took another 5 years before I bought my 1st pair of real biking shorts. Richard Fine and I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase some real bike clothing. We were still a bit embarrassed about wearing those colorful lycra outfits, so we decided to find a bike shop outside of our area just to avoid bumping into someone we knew. With dark sunglasses, an inconspicuous brown paper shopping bag, we left the store and entered the world as official lycra clad bike riders.

I joined BTCNJ in 1988 so that I could participate in the G.E.A.R. weekend in the Amish country. I was amazed at how many people were into biking. It was the first time I did a group ride. I loved it. As a result I began to get involved in more club activities, and eventually began to co-lead rides with Richard. For a long time he had me convinced that being the sweep was a very important position. I can’t believe I bought into that for so many years.

He said I would meet more women in the back of the ride. I eventually found out that he couldn’t change a tube. I did meet lots of people, and over the years have enjoyed the friendship of many people that I met through our club. Best of all I met Barbara Augenblick on one of our rides. She is my very special significant other. We share a home, we lead rides and trips together, and I thank BTCNJ for making it possible for us to meet.

I do have a non biking side to my life. I was born in Brooklyn, raised in Queens, raised a family in Rockland County, lived in Manhattan, and eventually moved to New Jersey. I have 2 wonderful children, Robyn and Jason, both of whom are married and living in California. Fortunately, despite the distance, I get to see them fairly often. We even keep our spare bikes on the West Coast. I have been in the manufacturing business for the last 38 years and own a company that is probably one of the few manufacturers left in New York City. I’m an avid runner, and have run 8 marathons including the last 4 New York City marathons. Got to go now. I’m in training.

~Ethan Brook