Silverado couple master long-distance relationship

By Jared Harmon

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008 | midnight

Husband and wife Don and Michele Shafe have a long-distance relationship.

The Silverado-area residents have been biking in one form or another for 25 years and are currently training for the 118-mile RTC Viva Bike Vegas ride through Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas and Summerlin on Saturday.

The Shafes compete in about three centuries, or 100-mile rides, per year but Don Shafe said the RTC Viva Bike Vegas will be their longest yet.

"Our longest ever was 105 miles so we're excited to see how it goes," Don Shafe said. "The sense of accomplishment (in centuries) is incredible. The beginning is exhilarating and by the end you're pushing just to get over the finish line."

Michele Shafe, 44, and her husband, 54, have been training with spinning classes and weekly rides of 60 miles with the Green Valley Cyclists, a local cycling club. While they take the preparation for the ride seriously, she said it's not about where they finish but rather the ride itself.

"We ride more for completion," Michele Shafe said. "We enjoy the ride and the outdoors. The scenery is great. This race takes us by Lake Mead and into Red Rock. We're really looking forward to it."

Hosted by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, the inaugural RTC Viva Bike Vegas ride is expected to draw between 700 and 1,000 riders, with more than 500 already pre-registered. The event offers three separate distances — 118 miles, 50 miles and 25 miles — with all rides starting and finishing at the commission's office at 600 S. Grand Central Parkway.

"This event is part of the RTC's vision to improve and promote alternative modes of transportation," said Allison Huntly, the commission's public information supervisor. "We wanted to create a challenging course that would offer the best of what Las Vegas cycling has to offer."

The Shafes have not competed in a century since mid-June when they rode in the Los Angeles River Ride.

"We were tired obviously but we both finished and felt pretty good," she said. "We finished somewhere in the middle of the pack but we weren't dying at the end either. We were able to hop in the car and drive right back home."

Don Shafe said he and his wife try to keep their speed between 15 and 17 miles per hour — a strong, steady pace that allows both of them to stay with the group of five or six friends who often enter the rides with them.

He said competing with his wife has been another way for the two to spend more time together and despite the race-like atmosphere of most rides, he said the they never get competitive.

"We never really race each other," he said. "I don't really like to go that fast to begin with. Just keeping at 15 mph the whole way will be a pretty grueling day. She 10 years younger so sometimes if we're at an incline she'll pass me to make me feel old, but mostly we just enjoy ourselves and try to push each other."

Jared Harmon can be reached at 990-8922 or [email protected].