MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C.(March 1, 2005) — White knuckles on the handlebars, the mountain biker hits the trail like a projectile flying from a sling shot. His shoulders, back and arms ache from jacking his front wheel over obstacles and debris. He intently scans the terrain ahead, searching for the smoothest path.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joseph Baes, the Heavy Equipment officer of Marine Wing Support Squadron 274, 2nd Marine Aire Wing, is good at this game of endurance, strength and finesse, and it’s no wonder why.

The president of the Down East Cyclists Club, Jeff Leblanc, said, “He’s got his Marine Corps time, but when there’s time off, he’s in the saddle.”

Baes, who co-founded DEC with the late Maj. George Thurmond in 1994, has been “in the saddle” since 1989, when he began taking his bike on 26-mile round trips to work while stationed at Camp Lejeune. Three years later there, he competed in his first mountain bike race and placed second.

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