DUNCAN — Pagon Ballard rides a bicycle about four times a week, and on Saturdays logs 70 to 80 miles. But when the annual Dehydrator Ride & Race begins, Ballard’s “wheels” don’t spin.

There’s no time to ride, because Ballard is too busy helping organize the race portion of the long-time bike event that happens the final Saturday in July.

When the 21st Dehydrator is held on Saturday, July 30, the event will again serve as the main fundraiser for the Duncan High School and Middle School Band Boosters.

Ballard, a member of the Duncan Bicycle Club, is director of the race portion, while Kent Collins chairs the band boosters and coordinates the ride division.

“Twenty years ago, the Duncan Bicycle Club was putting this on,” Ballard said, taking about The Dehydrators’ history. “It was about 100 people participating and it was in the spring.

“Then I moved it to July and it was the only ride in this area during then. It’s been growing steadily since.”

Over the years, other civic organizations partnered with the bike club, but Collins said about 10 years ago it was turned over to the Band Boosters, which proven beneficial.

 “(The boosters) have more manpower than other clubs. It’s a big event,” he said. “Last year we set an attendance record with 539 riders and racers, and 400 is our usual.

“It was an increase of 30 percent over 2009 and 50 percent over 2008.”

Having that kind of attendance means a lot of volunteers are necessary — around 200, at least.

For the 2011 event, the starting time has been pushed back to 7:30 a.m. from the 8 a.m. start of the past. It all has to do with the excessive heat and because many of the riders come in on the morning of the event. Some even pay a $5 late fee to register then, because they keep an eye on the weather until the last minute.

“We have a lot of out-of-town people riding and many of them from north Texas use The Dehydrator as a training for Hotter ’n Hell Hundred,” Ballard said. “Pushing back the time is also a safety factor.”

“With the spring wind and now this hot weather, my big worry is that the riders haven’t been riding and they’re going to show up and not be conditioned,” Collins said.

The chairmen and volunteers, on the other hand, are more than prepared. There are seven hydration stations for the riders, who follow routes that go south from the Simmons Center. Each takes about six volunteers.

The races are held in the area of the Duncan lakes, where the course is very challenging due to hills and rural road surfaces.

“The racers are a different breed,” Ballard said. “This is one of the more challenging races in southwest Oklahoma. It’s 14 miles, with a lot of little hills and curves. It’s a good competition.

 “We have some national champions in the 60 plus age group. They are pretty fast, about 25 to 26 miles per hour, on those curves, considering the terrain they are racing on.

“It’s very competitive.”

 Many of the racers are members of the United States Cycling Federation (USCF), and its not unusual for racers from Tulsa, Norman and Lawton to be involved, along with members of the bicycle program at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls.

“Our goal is to have 2,000 riders, but we need Duncan’s support. We need the stores to donate door prizes for the different age groups,” Collins said.

After the race and ride, volunteers and participants enjoy a lunch, rub down, awards and door prizes at Simmons Center.

For information, The Dehydrator (organization) can be found online and on face book. The first 1,000 pre-registered entrants will receive a free T-shirt and water bottle.