New York's Lesbian and Gay Cycling Club

Dwight took this picture of us just off the plane, waiting to load our bike boxes on a bus we rented to take us into town. Dwight took pictures of everything we did! From left, Mary Arce, Gerry Valentine, Maynard Yost, Bob Nelson in glasses, Alex Acevedo and Paulette Meggoe.

A few of us went out to the beach the night we arrived, where Team Munich was supposed to be having an all-night barbecue and dance party. We never found Team Munich, but the North Sea sunset was beautiful indeed. From left, Dwight Sholes, Bob Nelson, Gerry Valentine and Maynard Yost.

Dwight Sholes, Mary Arce and Paulette Meggoe relax on a bridge over the Amstel River in Amsterdam. Who's afraid of doing a big bad bike race??

Alex Acevedo, our mountain biker, was a bit surprised that drugs were advertised so openly in Amsterdam. Too bad they weren't performance-enhancing drugs!

Here's one of several finish line shots, with the announcing stand in the background. In back, Bob Nelson, Maynard Yost, Marten denBoer, Jay Hill and the ever-campy Dwight Sholes. In front, Paulette Meggoe, Jen Silverman and Mary Arce.

Here's the team that didn't win the gold in the team time trial. Why do we have a picture of them? They are Jay Drwal, an American living an Australia, Maynard Yost, Jay Hill and Wayne Lerch, who came over with Team DC Velo but quickly became an honorary Fast and Fab member.

Cees de Roy, organizer of the Gay Games cycling competition, right, presented Maynard Yost with his bronze in the individual time trial. All the guys on the team were salivating over Cees (pronounced "case").

Jake Price, the photographer for the New York Blade, came over to cover the Games and showed up for the medals ceremony where the team time trial team got our gold. The Blade actually printed a story about Marten's showing in the criterium, and used the photo that Jake took here to illustrate it.

Paulette Meggoe and Bob Nelson, co-chairs of the Fast and Fab. That is an expression of elation on Bob's face, a result of what Bob has around his neck.

The official final shot, taken by a photographer for a Belgian newsmagazine who graciously allowed us to have copies. Paulette Meggoe, Jen Silverman, Mary Arce, Jay Hill, Marten denBoer, Bob Nelson, Maynard Yost and Dwight Sholes; Brian Grundstrom is in front with the bikes.

Jay Hill and Bob Nelson at Closing Ceremonies. We've developed our neck muscles just so we can stand upright with all this jewelry.

The Fast and Fab team marched with our well-traveled banner at Closing Ceremonies at the Amsterdam Arena. From left, Maynard Yost, Marten denBoer, Alex Acevedo, Dwight Sholes, Bob Nelson, Paulette Meggoe, Jay Hill and Jen Silverman. Hey New York, we done you proud!

After much planning and sending of e-mail, Fast and Fab sent 10 moderately experienced cyclists to the Gay Games in Amsterdam in August 1998. We were Alex Acevedo, Mary Arce, Marten denBoer, Brian Grundstrom, Jay Hill, Paulette Meggoe, Bob Nelson, Dwight Sholes, Jen Silverman, Gerry Valentine and Maynard Yost. Dwight convinced his employer, Auto Europe, to sponsor the team, and those funds paid for our airfare and for rooms in an inexpensive hotel in southeast Amsterdam. Derek Liecty, a member of the Federation of Gay Games board, was in Amsterdam a month early and was an invaluable resource, sending us e-mails about the cycling venue, hotels and preparations for the Games.

All the road bike events were held at the Wielerbaan Sloten, a 2.5-kilometer (about 1.5 mi.) cycling track that winds through a park in Sloten, a suburb southwest of the city, about a 10-mile ride from our hotel. The road bike events were Monday through Wednesday, Aug. 3-5, and Alex rode in the off-road competition was held the following day, Thursday, in the Amsterdamse Bos, the city's largest park. Several cyclists in our group - Jay, Gerry, Bob and Maynard -- also did the triathlon, held Tuesday morning in the Bos. What with the Canal Parade on Saturday, various welcoming events for cyclists, runners and triathletes and all the other sports we wanted to see, it made for a busy and enjoyable week. Opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Amsterdam Arena, home of the Ajax, the city's soccer team. The ceremonies were a real chance to bond with queer athletes from all over the world, as we did the wave around the stadium numerous times and chatted each other up on line for food and restrooms. . A romantic interlude between two women showed the first same-sex kiss ever seen on the arena's big-screen TV! And a spectacular closing number, "It's Raining Men," featured about 150 buff boys in sailor outfits, who stripped to the music, down to their skivvies. Both opening and closing were televised on a local cable channel, A2000, a sponsor of the Games.

Most of us found the sports events to be the highlight of the Games, in spite of a couple of organizing snafus, such as Amsterdam's failure to obtain Dutch sanctioning for the figure skating competition. Women reported that some of the dyke parties were fun, but those of us who had bought advance tickets for the Black Party and for the Docklands Party were disappointed. The venues were loud and jammed, and there wasn't much quiet space to have conversations. The promised headliners for the last night at Docklands, Jimmy Somerville and Grace Jones, didn't come on until 5 a.m. - the time some of us normally get up to work out!

But Amsterdam put on its best face for the visitors, with a week of sunny, warm weather. Queer athletes walked arm-in-arm all over the city, often taking over a tram car or subway. Both the athletes and the locals were open and friendly, and it was a wonderful opportunity to learn about queer jocks from other countries. Language was never a problem, but it was handy to have Marten denBoer on hand for the occasional mysterious road sign or newspaper headline. (Marten translated word-for-word a newspaper article about the executive director of the Games committee in Amsterdam, who apparently had engaged in voodoo accounting and resigned from the committee as the Games were happening!)

Our group met late at night on a couple of occasions for dinner together, and found an excellent Indian restaurant and an Indonesian place. The queer neighborhoods were absolutely thronged every night, and the local bars moved their serving areas outdoors to accommodate the crowds. Yes, a couple of us did go to the marijuana bars - but only after our events!! And yes, there were those very short, very intense Gay Games romances, captured only in memory.

In spite of the sanctioning problem, the figure skating was spectacular, with the competitors clearly doing their utmost to please a supportive, upbeat audience. And as usual, the physique competition drew a sold-out audience that wasn't ashamed to voice its desire for the muscleboys and musclegirls on stage. Cycling drew a handful of spectators, partly because of its remote location away from the city. But other cyclists were always on hand to cheer as the pack came around the finish line. More than 100 spectators came to see the triathlon, which does, after all, feature a good deal more nakedness than cycling does, and was also in a park closer to the city center.

With little coaching to speak of, our cycling time did extremely well. Maynard Yost and Marten denBoer took age-group places in the individual time trial, and Marten also won a surprise third in the criterium. After nearly dropping out with a broken spoke on his front Spinergy wheel, Marten was able to hop back in the race with a wheel that Wayne Lerch of DC Velo provided at a moment's notice. This is what sportsmanship is all about!

But the real shocker was when our time trial team - Dwight, Marten, Brian Grundstrom and Bob Nelson -- took the overall gold. We did enjoy the advantage of having worked out together before, while most of the other teams were formed on the spot, although the Sydney Spokes fielded a team that took third. They will certainly be the team to beat when Sydney hosts the next Gay Games in 2002.

We learned a great deal about bike racing. Dwight will never again lead a criterium for the entire race only to be outsprinted in the final quarter-mile. Paulette Meggoe now knows what it feels like to come in a place away from a medal. And all of us know that Gay Games competitions are not second-rate - they are the real thing.