Born on the West Side of Chicago, Jerome moved to Elmhurst when he was 3, where he rode bikes from the get go, delivering papers just South of the then-new Illinois Prairie Path, and learning to wrench on bikes and more from his Dad and Mr. Russell Stemple at Stemple’s Cycle Center, the local Schwinn shop. He’s a lifelong camper whose first bike camping trip was out the IPP to a South Elgin backyard at 13 and featured flying a friend’s uncle’s small plane. He’s been captaining tandems with lots of stokers (blind and sighted) since the early ‘90s, and riding RAGBRAI and BRR in Iowa for about 10 years now. You’ll find him leading from the back of many local group rides while flying a Chicago flag, fixing flats and other bike issues to keep things rolling.
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Started as a participant in 2019, and became a guide, a big ride guide, and eventually a board member in 2022.