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Regulators Vice President Lamarr Gordon, right, and Lawrence Wilnourn share a laugh before a club bike ride in Florissant on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
Members of the “B” group roll down Eva Avenue during a Regulators ride in Berkeley on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
FLORISSANT — The Regulators ride hard, so try to keep up.
But becoming a member of the north St. Louis County cycling group — which boasts a roster of about 40 active riders and several scores more of casual ones — is relatively easy.
All you need are three things: a bike, a desire to stay in shape and a penchant for talking about bikes.
“I’ve never been with a nicer group of people,” said Arsenia “A.J.” Burnett, who has been with the Regulators since 2019. “They just took me under their wings.”
The club’s combination of kindness to strangers and commitment to cycling spreads from the top down, thanks to the club’s founders.
The Regulators were created by a trio that could be viewed as the Pied Pipers of Pedaling — Gerald Lyles and twin brothers Lamarr and Lamont Gordon.
Ted Williamson, left, and Lamont Gordon lead the “B” group of riders on North Hanley Road during a Regulators ride in Berkeley on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Rest Stop 1: The club is not named for the North Carolina rebels who fought colonial officials before the American Revolution; it comes from the 1994 rap/hip-hop classic “Regulate” by Warren G. and Nate Dogg.
Lamont Gordon said that as the three began turning 40, they realized their days of playing basketball or baseball to stay in shape were fading into their rearview mirrors.
“I guess it was about 2013 or 2014, and we wanted to find a sport that we could do to get healthier and stay in shape,” he said.
The early days of the club were simple, with the three packing up their hybrid bikes and heading to the MCT Trails in Madison County, Illinois.
“The first thing we noticed once we got out there was that everyone was passing us,” Gordon said laughing. “So we ditched the hybrids and bought road bikes.”
Rest Stop 2: Road bikes are unlike hybrids in that they’re not designed to ride off pavement. Tires are thinner, frames are lighter, seats are narrower, they go faster, and the price is steeper. A new road bike will set you back $1,200, and likely more.
So with newer, faster bikes, the three began to ride even more. And the more they rode, the more they talked up the club.
The “B” group starts to roll out after stopping to regroup following a large hill during a Regulators ride in Berkeley on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Now, don’t be surprised to see six or 15 members of the Regulators — in their vibrant blue-and-gold “kits” (cycling clothes) — at any major ride, such as Ride the Rivers, Riding for the Cure, or the Tour de Donut and Tour de Corn.
And in those early days, they rounded up Angela Jason of Hazelwood, who had just fought off breast cancer and met the trio at a cancer fundraising ride.
“Right away, it just made exercising fun,” said Jason, who serves as the unofficial head of the women’s division of the club, which represents about half of the total membership.
Cherita Lashley, front, and Stephanie Hester embrace before a Regulators ride in Florissant on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
“And then we all became like family, a community. We’d go on rides together and then hang around afterwards and talk about riding and about bikes,” Jason said, noting that cyclists crave that sort of support.
“Riders can talk about bikes forever,” Jason said. “But people who don’t ride get tired of that pretty quick.”
One major positive factor in the club’s growth, as odd as it may sound, was the COVID-19 pandemic that reared its head in the U.S. in spring 2020.
“My gym was closed and I couldn’t get there to exercise,” said Mark Lucas, a retired Veterans Administration detective from O’Fallon, Missouri.
“I knew Lamont from church and he invited me out to ride with them,” said Lucas, who regularly now attends the club’s Tuesday night rides.
And now? “And now, I’m addicted to riding,” Lucas said.
The Tuesday ride is the best introduction to the club. Starting at St. Ferdinand Park in Florissant, the club rides a 16-mile route that rolls along streets in Florissant and Hazelwood. It’s usually broken into two groups, with one group taking a more challenging route, which basically means more hills.
Rest Stop 3: According to a People For Bikes survey, 44% of respondents said they were biking more after the pandemic hit; and 4% of the total U.S. population began riding for the first time in years. The study noted that new riders were more motivated by the socialization it offers.
But let’s lap back around to Burnett, who first met the Regulators three years ago near Forest Park, while she was in her car.
“I was on Clayton Avenue, heading up to Skinker by the Hi-Pointe Theatre, and I saw this group of riders just flying up Clayton,” Burnett said. “And I said to myself, ‘Who are these guys?’”
She met them at the stoplight and hollered over to them.
“I mean, I had a bike. But I sure didn’t ride it like they were riding. Watching them go up that hill, it was impressive,” Burnett said.
Burnett gave her number to Lyles, the club president, who had Jason call her to extend an invitation to a Tuesday ride.
Regulators president Gerald Lyles, left, and Cornelius Bowe chat before a Regulators group ride in Florissant on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
“The first thing I realized, even though I mostly kept up with them on a Schwinn, was that I needed a new bike,” Burnett said.
But the club did not leave her alone to do that, Burnett said she talked with Lyles regularly about potential bikes to buy and what type of accessories she needed. And while she decided on a purchase, Burnett said Jason loaned her one of her road bikes until she bought her own.
Along with the budding friendships, Burnett said veteran club members also were eager to pass on riding strategies and explain the rules of the road, cycling etiquette and safety.
“I mean these people didn’t even know me and they were helping me like this,” Burnett recalled thinking. “I just couldn’t believe it.”
So for all of the serious spinning and grinding that the Regulators engage in on a regular basis, and for all the words that could be written about them, the best way to describe the club is stated by their simple motto:
“We don’t finish until we all finish.”
Posted at 6:30 a.m. Friday, July 15.
Regulators president Gerald Lyles wears a jersey with the group’s motto on it before a group ride in Florissant on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
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Joe Holleman is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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The “Iron Riders” of the 25th Infantry will be celebrated at a series of events at Missouri State Parks and on July 24 in Forest Park.
Regulators Vice President Lamarr Gordon, right, and Lawrence Wilnourn share a laugh before a club bike ride in Florissant on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
Members of the “B” group roll down Eva Avenue during a Regulators ride in Berkeley on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
The “B” group starts to roll out after stopping to regroup following a large hill during a Regulators ride in Berkeley on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Cherita Lashley, front, and Stephanie Hester embrace before a Regulators ride in Florissant on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Ted Williamson, left, and Lamont Gordon lead the “B” group of riders on North Hanley Road during a Regulators ride in Berkeley on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Regulators president Gerald Lyles wears a jersey with the group’s motto on it before a group ride in Florissant on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
Regulators president Gerald Lyles, left, and Cornelius Bowe chat before a Regulators group ride in Florissant on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
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