As the family station wagon limped along, an 8-year-old Jeffrey Reynolds imagined himself cutting up the sidewalk on a fancy new 10-speed bike, his head tucked, and accelerating. He pictured himself shifting through snapping gears and leaving his opponents in the dust.

When Reynolds turned 9, he got his wish. It wasn’t exactly the brand new bike he had dreamed of. It was also way too big, but it was a 10-speed, something he could speed, weave and dream with.

Ironically, Reynolds lovingly rode that old bike into the ground without ever actually having entered an official race.

It wasn’t until a friend in college introduced him to organized competitive cycling that Reynolds finally began to compete, and quite often, win big. In his first pro/am contest, he trounced the field by a full five minutes.

In the span of just a few years, Reynolds had risen from bottom-rung racer into the upper echelons of a highly competitive sport. But the bottom dropped out of Reynolds’ racing career after 10 years, when constant racing aggravated an untreated hernia.

One race in particular changed everything.

The Mount Tabor Criterium in Portland was one of his favorites. The run of loops, climbs and quick descents intoxicated him. But even though Reynolds had often mounted up against professional racers in the past, he felt suspiciously nervous that day.

The riders were packing up at the starting line, but Reynolds had to visit that restroom, again. He knew it was the hernia.

Derek Liu, 22, left, Kevin O’Reilly, 22, center, and his twin brother Connell, 22, all of Vancouver, B.C., gear up to keep heading south. After replenishing supplies at Bikes & Beyond in downtown Astoria, they hope to make it to Santa Cruz, Calif., in a couple of weeks. ‘It’s nice to have this shop here,’ said Kevin. ‘It’s the first one we’ve seen in a while.’As he struggled with his bike over the slick floors of the bathroom, he could hear the racers outside clicking into their cleats. Reynolds bolted, but crashed hard to the ground.

“At that point I realized I was just pushing myself too hard,” says Reynolds, who scraped himself off the floor, finished the race respectably, but never entered another.

And although Reynolds’ racing dreams may have faded, his love for cycling never would.

He learned some things that have stuck with him.

High-tech global positioning systems can now be mounted to a bike for pinpoint travel directions, wherever you happen to end up.”Even though it seems really daunting, it’s actually possible to do things, and get places with a bicycle,” says Reynolds, who has made countless trips up and down the coast and over to Portland.

Now a professional musician by trade, Reynolds recently schlepped both violin and self to Cannon Beach for a concert and street gig, all on two wheels, and all the way back home.

On recreational rides, Reynolds prefers to steer clear of heavy traffic areas when he can. When he can’t, he makes sure his bike is well lit with reflectors and quality lights.

One of his favorite rides is a route over the Astoria Bridge followed by a loop that runs clockwise from Fort Columbia. That’s one Richard Fencsak showed him.

Fencsak’s legacy clearly lives on in the memories of local riders. It also thrives at Bikes and Beyond, the cycling shop he created in 1988.

Lee Clark of the Prom Bike and Hobby Shop in Seaside shows off his fleet of Italian-made surreys. The shop has one of the biggest selections of bikes in stock on the North Coast and offers rentals for the weekend crowds.Fencsak recently passed away after a battle with cancer.

“We’re just keeping the spirit going,” says Scott Lee, manager of Bikes and Beyond.

Lee says it was Fencsak’s dream to have a top-notch, full-service bike shop in Astoria.

Friends recall him as a man who always promoted fitness, cycling and the healthy lifestyle.

“That was his vision,” adds Lee.

Cycling doesn’t have to be strenuous. Jeffrey Reynolds, left, and Kris Daehler take a leisurely approach to Astoria’s riverfront.Fencsak was one of the founding members of the Great Columbia Crossing, the yearly foot race over the Astoria-Megler Bridge. He wrote the Mouth of Columbia dining column for The Daily Astorian and also penned a fitness column.

And although Astoria never became the cycling utopia Fencsak may have dreamed of, the town does hold a unique place in cycling tradition.

“Not only is Astoria a stop on the Oregon Coast Bike Route, it’s the beginning and ending point for the Transamerica,” explains Lee.

In fact, hundreds of folks a year send the pieces of their two-wheeled rides to Bikes and Beyond, where staff makes them road-ready. The cyclists then fly and finally bus into Astoria to begin their journeys.

Kris Daehler, left, and friend Jeffrey Reynolds practice their riding skills and get in a climb above the Astoria Bridge on Skyline Drive. Reynolds raced bicycles for several years and now rides for recreation and travel up and down the coast and sometimes to Portland. Daehler hopes to open his own bike shop in Astoria soon.”We heard this was the place to ship our bikes to,” said Candice Bain, 26, a former prison guard, who along with best friend, Adrienne Zoller, 25, a former insurance saleswoman, reunited with their freshly-assembled touring cycles at Bikes and Beyond.

The two Ohioans are shooting cross-country, “propelled by a mid-20s crisis,” as well as a more serious cause. Together they have raised and donated more than $1,500 for the American Cancer Society’s fight against obesity.

As the two readied their gear and stretched their legs, Lee peppered them with advice, encouragement and a generous bit of cycling lore.

“Just put your back tire in the ocean at Seaside,” urged Lee, “and off you go!”

The best friends hope to complete their journey in just a little over two months.

When they reach the shores of Yorktown, Va., they’ll poke their front wheels into the Atlantic foam.

The two women definitely had the right gear, even a Global Positioning System mounted to one bike. (Zoller preferred an old-fashioned map.)

They were also fit and ready to ride – something Lee says is absolutely critical for the touring cyclist.

“You don’t just come into the bike shop and buy a $2,000 bike and expect to go,” says Lee. “There’s a lot of preparation and training involved.”

Lee recommends building up distance and speed slowly over weeks, or months if possible.

Having the right gear, he says, is also important. Quality rainwear is probably at the top of the list, followed by sleeping bag, tent, gloves, a saddle that fits, a good helmet and proper lights.

“A lot of people pass through at various levels of preparation,” says Bikes and Beyond mechanic Brandon Massey. “Sometimes we have to do a little training.”

Massey easily recalls an example of the ill-prepared.

“I remember one time three guys came up from southern California and it was pouring down rain. They had one rainsuit between them, one tarp and no tent,” said Massey.

If you do end up buying a touring bike as well as new gear, be prepared to pay more for quality.

But Lee says it’s also important to remember that “bicycle touring is not just for the credit card crowd.”

You can do it on a budget, he insists.

A $350 hybrid bike with minimal gear can pretty much get you going, says Lee. Drop $125 for a pair of high-quality Axiom saddle bags and you’re really in good shape.

Lee remembers two local students who graduated high school and made it cross-country on $50 used bikes.

“They spent a lot of time here,” says Lee. “We helped them a lot. They were fit riders, and very prepared.”

Extra tubes, a multi-tool and a good bike pump should also never be overlooked.

And if you’re going to be on the road for some time, fundamental bike maintenance skills like changing flats, repairing spokes and replacing brake pads are also essential.

But of course, not every bike trip has to be a whopper. There are tons of great local rides right out the door and just around the corner.

Lee says some folks will even hop on the local bus, take it down to Seaside or up to Raymond, Wash., just for a change of scenery.

“The north shore of Willapa Bay is probably one of the prettiest rides in that state,” says Lee, and is quick to add, “It also happens to be nice and flat.”

The Prom Bike and Hobby Shop

622 12th Ave., Seaside

(503) 738-8251

Bikes and Beyond

1089 Marine Drive, Astoria

(503) 325-2961

Johnny’s Bike Shop

1328 Hillila Road, Seaside

(503) 717-0670

Mike’s Bike Shop

248 N. Spruce St., Cannon Beach

(503) 436-1266