Read about “Ask the Athletes – CYCLING – in preparation for the panel, each panelist was asked to provide a short bio…. Enjoy meeting them.. Lots of fun info here.

SYLVIA MAAS - I am a Native. I played with Kirsten Cummings, San Diego Senior Games Director, on the first girl’s travel team in high school. Played basketball in college, also got into cycling in college. After college, I biked a lot on and off for 30 years. I rode across the country and did many other long bike-packing trips.

About 7 years ago, I learned more about ultra endurance cycling (events 200 miles or longer) and began riding in a few events. I discovered that I enjoyed this type of event and have been riding ultras now for the past 7 years. My partner, Kristi, is my crew chief, and a few of my closest friends have also been involved in crewing.

I still play basketball, and in fact, have won 2 Golds and 1 Bronze in basketball at the Senior Games.

I look forward to many more years of participating in biking endurance events and I am soon going to delve into helping to create a new Cycling event out of Borrego Springs.

TED HUANG is a mental performance coach coming to the field of sport psychology with thirty plus years immersed in elite/professional level sports. Ted began competing in windsurfing at age twelve, culminating in the 1996 and 2000 . Wishing to further challenge himself with something more aerobically challenging, Ted took on cycling, because how hard could it be? He then went on to co-found successful men’s and women’s professional road cycling teams from 2002 – 2010 while also racing at that level as well. His Team contributed directly to four of its riders going on to represent their countries in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. Ted is currently pursuing his life passion of helping others to achieve their aspirations and ultimately, more satisfaction with themselves, through mental performance coaching.

BARBARA GICQUEL - I’ve been involved in the States and National aspects of Senior Games since 2002 when I first competed at the HWSG, Utah’s State Games. Since then I’ve been able to participate in all but one of the State Senior Games, and all the National Games as well. I was 62 when I found out about Senior Games, and was hooked by them right away. Fun and hard work on bikes not only filled my need for exercise but also gave me camaraderie that would otherwise be difficult to find. I competed in Arizona’s State Senior Games annually in early March to motivate me through the Winter months, and California’s State Games got me prepared and qualified for Nationals where I got to test my mettle with and against a much larger number of women in my age group. It also gave me a reason to travel to many other States to compete and then play tourist. I’ve done well in my Sport of Cycling and have covered the walls of my hobby room with ribbons and medals. These experiences also increased my sense of capable independence while warding off old age disorders and the proverbial rocking chair.

I was athletically involved all my childhood but then after graduation from high school I took up smoking and continued to hurt my bronchi for most of the next 30 years while I raised two children and worked. I finally gave smoking up once I got involved with horses but by then I had done irreparable harm to myself. My Pulmonologist diagnosed me with COPD several years ago after multiple bouts of severe Bronchitis each year. He advised me to continue to work my lungs as hard as possible every day that I can. That has become a prime motivator to continue to get me out and ride hard. I haven’t had a Bronchial infection for the past three years now, and I continue to test at 85% of normal for my age in breathing capacity. I’ve been seeing clients in my CAMFT Private Practice for 41 years now, and do not plan to retire any time soon as I exercise my brain and help others that way. I have two pups that loved Agility Trials, and Simba and I competed in the Masters Division before he, and therefore we, needed to retire from that Sport about four years ago. Now I content myself during this Pandemic year with long walks with them hunting Wildflowers and then making Shutterfly books, and seeing Clients and keeping in touch with family and friends virtually.

TOM SIMPSON - As soon as he got out of the Army, Tom knew exactly what he wanted to do - go on a honeymoon without having to report for duty every day at 6:30 am since 1972. And when he was touring around the hot hot hot south of France near Montpellier in 1974 he noticed every road intersection had smartly uniformed police officers putting on their white gloves. "Cool, the President of France is driving through here!" Wrong, buddy - it was more important than that - it was LE TOUR! And seeing that pass by with its cycling circus he decided on the spot - that's for me! Not the racing - that only lasted a few years before he had to get a real job and take care of the babies he already had. He got within a few placings of upgrading to Cat. 2 but no farther but in 1976 started event organization with the Burlingame Criterium and the rest was history (or hysteria). The SAFECO Women's Stage Race in 1983 gave Marianne Martin a big sendoff when she left for France and the Tour de France Feminine, then a 20 year career on stages calling criteriums (and further damaging his hearing), working around the world with Rick Sutton of Sea Otter fame in Haiti and a MTB Stage Race, boatloads of international events as a spectator picking up ideas that could be incorporated into his own events (if budget allowed!) and finally in 2002 his own promotions company with his co-partner Alec when they created BASP - the Bay Area Super Prestige CyclocrossSeries. He also worked with Rick Sutton presenting the San Mateo County Parks Foundation's "Tour de Peninsula" family fun ride and in 2007 started a long relationship with the Bay Area Senior Games and Anne Cribbs.

DOROTHY “DOT” WONG - Dot is an advocate, race director, bike educator, and formerly elite-pro rider, competing in mountain, road and cyclo- cross bicycle racing. She directs the TEAM, an Altadena-based nonprofit that promotes bicycling among women and young people. As director of Southern California Cyclocross, she used her personal passion for cyclo-cross racing to get more women across Southern California involved in bicycling.

And for her work on the ALTADENA TOWN COUNCIL BIO, she included some additional information – Dot was born and raised in Hawaii then moved to Los Angeles in 1983 to attend college at Loyola Marymount University earning a Bachelors degree in Communications and Business Administration in ’88. Dot worked in Hollywood for 20+ years as Live/Multi-Camera Television Production Associate Director, Production Supervisor and is an active member of the Directors Guild of America. Her production skills translated easily to community organizer specializing in bicycling advocacy, recreation and sport, bringing world class bicycle racing to Los Angeles and to all of Southern California for well over a decade organizing and supporting over 200+ bicycle events to date.

Her love of sport and dedication to hard work, Dot reached the elite level of bicycle racing earning the gold medal in mountain biking at the in 2005. She has taken her expertise to the community as an experienced bicycling and pedestrian safety educator certified by the League of American Bicyclists in Washington D.C. She is a lead instructor working with local advocacy organizations: LA County Bicycle Coalition, People for Mobility Justice, Active SGV as well as with Walk ‘N Rollers Bicycling- Pedestrian Safety programs across Southern California. She also currently serves on the Executive Board of the California Bicycle Coalition 2016- present.