MAKE WAY, LANCE, FOR THE BIKE MAN OF BURBANK.Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer BURBANK - Bob Wong Robert Charles Wong (born April 27, 1941 in Fort Erie, Ontario) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1990, serving as a cabinet minister in the provincial government of David Peterson. was 54 and a year away from retirement as a Lockheed engineer when he took up bicycle riding for his health. Now, nearly 28 years later, Wong has clocked 338,000 miles riding the streets of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, - each mile logged religiously into a diary that records his daily five-hour treks. ``He's a phenomenal person,'' said Richard Wedeen, 68, a retired electrician from North Hollywood, who has been riding with Wong since 1980. ``He's a lovable lov·a·ble also love·a·ble adj. Having characteristics that attract love or affection. lov Energizer battery - he just keeps going and going and going. At 81, Wong is known as the Bike Man of Burbank. Most mornings find the man with the horn-rimmed glasses
Merckx bicycle through the quiet streets of Burbank and Pasadena. ``I do it just for exercise,'' Wong said. ``I go out five days a week, sometimes six, seven days. Usually I do 50 miles. Normally I try to take off two days. I break up the riding. I need a day for shopping.'' Wong grew up in Portland, Ore., and served in the Army during World War II. He attended what was then known as Oregon State College on the GI Bill, earning a degree in electrical engineering electrical engineering: see engineering. electrical engineering Branch of engineering concerned with the practical applications of electricity in all its forms, including those of electronics. . He moved to the East Coast after college where he met his wife, Daisy, in 1955. A year later, the newlyweds settled in Burbank. Wong worked for Lockheed, taking early retirement in 1979. A few months later, he went back as a contract engineer through 1991, when Daisy died of cancer at age 67. ``She was a runner,'' said Wong, who has two sons, ages 50 and 43. ``She was in better shape than I was.'' Today, riding is his top priority. He awakes without an alarm clock at 4 or 4:30 a.m., and eats two frozen waffles and a banana before pulling on his leg warmers and riding shorts, jacket and shoes. ``My shoes take about five minutes to lace them up,'' he said. He hops on his bike - he's now on his fourth - equipped with a headlight and a flashing red taillight. He fills his water bottle half full and usually has enough at the end of the ride to water his bromeliad bromeliad, common name for plants of the family Bromeliaceae (pineapple family). bromeliad Any of the flowering plants of the order Bromeliales, containing a single family, Bromeliaceae, with almost 2,600 species. plants near his front porch. Thursday's ride was typical - a 50-mile round trip from Burbank to Pasadena, where he did five laps around the Rose Bowl. By Friday, his weekly mileage totaled 170 - short of his goal of 200 because he'd had to cut short a ride to make a doctor's appointment. ``He's an inspiration to people,'' said Maria Lewis, the vice president of membership for the 512-member San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. Bike Club, a club Wong joined in 1979 before it was an official club. ``He gives the rest of us hope.'' Jason Kandel, (818) 546-3306 jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Bob Wong, 81, has logged 338,000 miles in 28 years - and keeps going. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer |
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