Pedaling Past Retirement

Alan Bazard ’79 is a retired communications engineer who worked for 31 years with Shell Oil Company. However, Bazard has not been idle in retirement. In fact, the energetic Bazard organizes and manages group bicycle trips that cover hundreds of miles and take days to complete, and the participants also contribute to worthwhile charities in the process.

“I’m having so much fun doing these events,” says Bazard, who lives in Spicewood, Texas, located near Austin. “It’s hard to consider myself retired. I get the satisfaction of pulling together all the logistics to create a safe and fun ride for the participants. They have a good time, and the fundraising goes to good things.”

Bazard runs numerous bicycle events during the year through his company, ASB Cycling. Last May, his group completed an annual six-day trip from Houston to New Orleans called “Tour Du Rouge.” Each year, 50 to 100 enthusiasts participate in the 530-mile journey. At the end of each day, the cyclists stop for the night at hotels along the route. Support vehicles and personnel accompany the riding team, and the riders take breaks every 20 to 25 miles. Buses return the group to Houston after the event. In addition to co-directing the event, Bazard usually rides each day’s distance.

“This event has fewer riders, and we have a terrific rolling crew, which gives me the flexibility to ride,” Bazard adds.

The next “Tour Du Rouge” will take place in May 2025. Participants are asked to contribute $3,500 to The Arc, an organization that assists persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. There are also shorter versions of the “Tour” available.

Bazard has been a serious cyclist since the early 1990s. He has ridden a number of cross-country trips, including from Portland, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina. There was a north-to-south trip from Kalispell, Montana, to El Paso, Texas, as well as a ride from San Diego, California, to Savannah, Georgia.

In the Austin area, he has taken over directing the Rosedale Ride, Texas Mamma Jamma, and the LBJ 100 ride in Stonewall, the home of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Each of these rides takes months of planning and coordinating with local agencies and involves 500-1,000 riders, raising over $100,000 for the nonprofit organizations.

In 2001, Bazard was recruited to help train new riders for a 100-mile ride around Lake Tahoe, which benefited the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This led to a second career in coaching cyclists. For the past 20-plus years, Bazard has continued to train and coach cyclists of all ages to complete the ride around Lake Tahoe, called “America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride.” This year, Bazard was contacted through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to help organize and direct this ride. There were over 2,000 cyclists, and they raised over $2 million.  

Bazard says, “It was an honor to be able to help direct this ride, which has been a big part of my life for the last 20 years.”

The initial coaching for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s “Team In Training” program led to more study and obtaining a Level 2 Coaching License from USA Cycling. Recently, the event management part of his business has grown significantly, and Bazard has stepped back from coaching to focus on event planning.

Since retiring from his engineering job, Alan Bazard '79 has put his time and energy into planning and organizing multi-day and single-day bike rides for nonprofit organizations.

Bazard built satellite, microwave, and radio communications to support Shell’s exploration and production operations. He moved to the company’s Internet technology and refining management before retiring in 2010.

“My engineering background has served me well with organizing bike events with hundreds of persons,” says Bazard. “Each event is like a project with hundreds of tasks like route planning with a focus on safety first, permits, coordinating with law enforcement, rest stops, and food and beverages.”

Bazard, who celebrates his 45th class reunion this year, graduated from Trinity with a bachelor’s degree in engineering science in 1979. A member of the Trinity Engineers, he also worked for the Department of Communication on the television and audio crews and participated in remote broadcasts, such as Fiesta parades.

Bazard remembers the engineering professors had the students design and work on special projects. One example was a three-wheel pitching machine for the baseball team in the mid-1970s. He also enjoyed taking Tucker Gibson’s political science class, where he learned how political campaigns were managed.

Bazard was active in intramurals and officiated a number of events, including flag football. He especially liked working with the late Jim Potter ’63, M’67, Trinity’s legendary director of intramurals.

So, how did Bazard get to Trinity from Houston and Cy-Fair High School in the fall of 1975?

“All my friends were going to either A&M or UT,” Bazard says. “My parents took me to visit Trinity and A&M at the same time. The first thing was I fell in love with San Antonio. I also picked up on the smaller class sizes and more individual attention. I always felt like I made the right choice.”

Bazard and his wife, Melani, have been married for over 38 years. They have two married adult children, Austin and Jennifer, and a “terrific granddaughter,” Mackenzie.