For many years the tour kept track of the oldest and youngest finishers, but not every year.
I had recently heard that 12-years old was the record for the youngest rider. Published articles show that Alfie Roberts (12) set the record in 1981 (Times-Standard, May 18, 1981, page 11), followed by Ian Kramer (9) in 1982 (Times-Standard, May 19, 1982, Page 12).
Is age 9 the record or was this a typo in the paper? Has anyone tied or broken this record in recent years? If you know please contact me or add a comment in this blog post below.
On a separate note, Andy Shaffer broke 6-hours at age 15 (5:53) and in 1983 was second to Jim Allen in 5:29 at age 16. Now those are impressive times for a teenager!
UPDATE: Yes, Ian Kramer is the youngest finisher at age 9. For more information see the comments below.
DISCLAIMER: I published this information for curiosities sake. This is a record I would rather not see broken.
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6 comments:
My heartfelt comment is that I will always remember May 18, 1981 when I rode the Tour with my wife Jude and my daughter Alfi, who at 12 years old was the youngest person to ever complete the Tour. She rode through 2 inches of rain, sleet and exhaustion. As we stood at the top of the Wildcat looking out across the ocean, Alfi said, "Gee Daddy, we can't get any wetter than this!" Then she got back on her bicycle and finished the Tour - intrepid, strong and courageous - WOW!!
Jerry,
That is a really inspiring story! I'm sure we can learn a lot from her courage.
Ian Kramer completed the 100 mile Tour at age 9 (nine) in 1982 just ahead of me.He was originally scheduled to ride only the first 50 miles,but would not stop at the Petrolia Park for his sag wagon.He could not be dissuaded from finishing even though I was exhausted.
John W.Kramer
YES, the mystery has been solved! The youngest finisher was Ian Kramer. Thanks to John Kramer for the great story.
Jim Robbins
This is an inspiring story. My son Isaiah and I got into cycling about a month or two before the tour. We did and finished the 20-mile ride. He is 5-years old and loved it we will be doing the 50 next year or maybe the 100, who knows? :-)
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