How a Great Ride Got an Awful Name:

The Origins of the Muddy, Doggy, Stinky

Picture from a running of the MDS on July 7, 2007 - Photo by Stan Ford


Long ago, in the days of yore, a fellow named, Ed, came up with a new route for the club to try. The night before we rode his new route, it rained, not enough to clean everything off, just enough to make a mess. The light rain also enlivened the odors that came from some of the pig farms in the Mansfield area. By the time we finished the ride everyone was griping about the abundance of dogs, the pungency of the stink, plus we were all plastered with mud spatter. We loved the route, however. The next time Ed hosted the ride, he christened it with the widely known, but little understood title of, "Muddy Doggy Stinky."

One of the features of the ride is the "Heinz Memorial Curve." Heinz is still very much alive, but he'd just as soon forget a certain day when he rode the MDS. The night before we had another one of those light rains. The road was mostly dry, except where it wasn't. Where it wasn't, was a certain sharp curve, just a few miles into the ride. The pack was moving along at a brisk pace, led by a certain tandem. When the tandem went into the curve it slid down, and according to Art, took out the whole club. Heinz sustained a broken hip. The tandem captain was taken away in a police car, but only to hurry back to the ride start to get a vehicle to pick up Heinz.

Heinz was laid out in the grass on the side of the road. But it wasn't just grass. According to Heinz, the hip repair surgery was nothing compared to the poison ivy. Another victim of the poison ivy was Mike Berry, who had laid his helmet in it. Within a couple of days, his face had a whole new look.

Heinz fully recovered, and got back to riding, until he broke his hip again, riding in Europe. But that's another story.

So, when you come to ride the Muddy Doggy Stinky, know that it's not just another club ride, it's a legend.