Randy Smith
Since riding a bicycle is an international sport, one that appears in the Olympics, I find it odd that the people in power to make these type of decisions have never added incline riding as an official cycling event. The precedent was set many years ago in Whitwell, Tennessee by a wonderful young soul whom will be called strictly by his nickname......King Bee. You see King Bee was famous for riding his bicycle all over Whitwell. Every day that went by, you could see him riding his bike all over town, usually at the same time each day.
He was never one for the new sparkly racing bikes. You know the ones I'm talking about. The ones with gears, handbrakes and saddle bags. Oh, he might see one that struck his fancy but he would always decide they were too costly, so he would continue to ride his plain old bicycle.
King Bee was famous for riding his bike down the Incline road in Whitwell. Now the incline road was very steep; almost straight down the side of Whitwell mountain. It was made that way for a reason because it led to the coal mines that were so prominent in Whitwell years ago. He would reach amazing speeds, and be able to stay in control of his bike by simply tapping his brakes with his feet. People would watch in amazement when King Bee would ride his trusty bicycle down the incline road.
My wonderful in laws, Louise and Oscar Morrison owned a "junk" store in Whitwell for many years. Out of this store which adjoined their home, they sold used furniture, antiques or anything that people would want or need. Every now and then they would find a used bicycle or two and one day they came upon an almost new, bright, shiny, racing bike. One that was equipped with at least ten gears, handbrakes and a shiny red saddlebag. It was special. And it caught King Bee's eye the day they put it on sale in front of their store.
King Bee passed by every day and just stared in amazement at the new racing bike. Finally one day he came in the store and decided to buy this special bicycle. My mother in law worked out a deal with him which included a trade for his old bike and away he went riding his shiny new bicycle. Now the road was flat until you started up the incline road so he rode the bike slowly while he got used to riding it. When he reached the bottom of the incline he couldn't wait any longer. He began to walk his new bicycle up the incline road, finally getting to the top. He stared down at the beautiful little town that he had called home all his life. Then he started down the incline.
Now you have to get the picture of what happened next. King Bee was an excellent bike rider but nobody ever told him that on a racing bike, you used the handbrakes to slow down or stop your momentum. Foot brakes did not exist on a racing bike. After picking up quite a bit of speed as he headed down the incline, he stated tapping his brakes to slow down just a bit......only there were no brakes. He picked up more speed and began to panic when his brakes were not working. By the time King Bee made it to the bottom of the incline he was still moving fast. Very fast. In fact he may have reached a speed of 60-70 miles per hour or more on his shiny new racing bike.
There was an accident at the foot of the incline that day. That accident was the only reason King Bee stopped at all. He guided his bike through bushes and trees, finally coming to a complete stop when he hit a tree. That collision sent King Bee flying over the handle bars and into a thicket. He was still alive but there were some broken bones, scratches and parts of his skin had been removed by the gravel he slid through. That bright shiny almost new racing bike with the red saddlebags was completely destroyed.
King Bee limped down the street carrying what was left of his shiny racing bike. He returned the bike to my mother in law, telling her he wanted his money back and his old bike back as well. When she asked him what happened, he said, " It ain't got no brakes."
She gladly returned his money and his bike, thankful that he hadn't been hurt more seriously than he was. But the legend was born that day. The day that King Bee rode his bright, shiny, almost new racing bike down the incline road in Whitwell, Tennessee.......and lived to tell about it.
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for 30 years. He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga television for more than a quarter-century. In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith. They have five grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, Mattingly, DellaMae, and CoraLee.