Lost Maps, Crash, Flats, Broken Spokes, and Wind:
This Is What Cyclists Do For Fun!

Twenty-six riders braved the hazzards of this last day in September. Little did they know the challenges that lay ahead. Everybody has had one of those days when just everything seems to turn the wrong way. Collectively, the Spin Cycle had one of those days. I started out by never finding the folder with all the maps and sign-in sheets. I managed to scrounge one sheet up and was saved by a few veteran Spin Cyclers that brought the map I sent out last week. Next, the restrooms were being cleaned (sorry Valerie). This set up an impromptu stop that Dave mistook for the first regroup. This is only a problem when you make a left turn through a series of other riders that are continuing on a straight line. Bottom-line, Dave should have the soreness gone by mid week.

We want to welcome Woody to the group. He profited from Owen's mechanical expertise and was rigged up to finish the ride despite some spoke problems. Hope you had some fun and become one of the "regulars."

After the regroup, Sue volunteered to Lieutenant the Rio Salado Parkway troups while I assumed my lead from behind position with the Heavy Duty Cyclists. After shooting my mouth off about aspiring to achieve anaerobia, Ron, Gary, Randy, and Jim were most accomodating by running the pace up to 26 while climbing out toward Papago Park. I decided the trailing Heavy Duty Spinners needed my support so I dropped back (its just the kind of caring leader I am ... not to mention I hate gagging in public). Tim soon joined us back on the Lanterne Rouge. We soon split into two groups due to Bill's flat tire. We, unfortunately, never saw Judy, Paul, and one other rider again, may Randy?. We missed you three at breakfast, but rest assured, we did talk about you in your absence. Both the regular and heavy duty cycle routes had the extra challenge of a stiff wind from the north east. Just that little extra bonus to make the morning more memorable (as if it needed help).

Cracker's was most accomodating and 16 of the starters seemed to enjoy the food, conversation, and relaxation. Splintering into the wind, we made our way home with Gary ultimately making a successful breakaway aided by the light at Riggs. He is so lucky that light changed or Craig, Vito, Dave, and I would have eaten him up like cracked crab legs! (... well, maybe Craig, Vito, and Dave ... maybe).

Next week the group takes a spin through nature as we ride northeast on the Tour de Love Birds. Introduction of exotic species are not the best of ecosystem events, but in this case, they are pretty and very interesting to see. The final destination is the McKellips/Alta Mesa area with breakfast at the Painted Mountain Golf Club. The Iowa Cafe is right there, as well, so you might count noses and take a vote on whether the group could fit in. Maureen and Bryan will lead this safari. The map is attached, so you might want to print and bring a copy since I've been a bit shakey as of late. I'll be down in Douglas riding the 92 mile "baby" Cochise Classic, so y'all have a great time. I'd like someone to volunteer and send me some ride info that I can exaggerate for the Spin Cycle Report. I just need a little, and I can make a big deal out of it with no trouble at all!

From Dave Woof, we have some free stuff if anyone can use it: "I have a pair of hardly used Specialized road cycling shoes - size 37 (probably womens size 5?) to give away. Drilled for SPD pedals, maybe can get adaptors for other cleat types, don't know." Contact Dave at dwoof2@yahoo.com

Have a great week, and remember, it is you that makes the Spin Cycle.

Spin Cycle Officers:
Lackey: John Arle
Lt. Kathleen Emmett
Lt. Tom Culp
Lt. Roy Kopel
Lt. Bob Prochaska
Lt. Sue Fassett
Lt. Bryan Bagwell
Lt. Maureen Hall
Lt. Randy Hansen
Lt. Lance James
Lt. Janet James

My personal thanks to all of you that help lead these rides and support recreational riding for everyone. - J.A.

Riding + Free Food = 48

Desert Breeze Park, Chandler, AZ - Combine a cool fall morning, free food, and cycling, and you'll get a new attedance record for the Spin Cycle. Forty-eight riders took to the south and west following the "Ohcotukee Loop" that passed through the communities of both Ocotillo and Ahwatukee. Following a weaving warmup to the southeast, the peleton broke into several groups. To find out who was serious, the lead group accelerated to 28 mph heading westward out Queen Creek Rd. Motivated by the first sprint bonus points, Rob broke out from the pack as they closed on the first freeway overpass. He quickly realized he had forgotten his invisible clothes and all he had done is push the pace up a couple miles an hour, pull several riders with him, and go anaerobic in the process. The sprint dogs took it from there. Dave, Carter, Gary, Mike, Glenn, Randy and a cast of thousands, left a "con trail" as they smoked over the first climb. Mike successfully defended the polka dot socks for yet another week.

Streaking into the distance, the group continued their high speed ways. Rob, Glen, Owen, and several others, exercised their better judgment and established a trailing group at a much more reasonable high speed. Meanwhile, the conversational peleton continued on their way solving many of the world's problems as only cyclists can do while pedaling along and enjoying the morning sunshine.

None of today's riders need worry about personal weed outcroppings. All of us were treated to a free crop dusting as we rode westbound on Queen Creek. Does anyone know what "Agent Orange" really smells like?

The foothills produced its usual array of routes. Some took Desert Foothills (like the map showed, I might add), some went to the end, some took 32nd Street back to the north, while others stayed on Chandler all the way back to 48th St. Just another day in Ahwatukee.

Eventually everyone made their way back to the Country Harvest Buffet for our club breakfast and meeting. Rob McClure did a wonderful job leading the session. Reports from Pat Ware, Bob Bean, and Mike Litecki were all very well done. Clearly, as a cycling club, we're doing great.

For those of you that may not have joined, as yet. Here's a link to the membership application. For $15 you get a lot of cool riding information and discounts on all the upcoming major event rides. This is as close to a free deal as you can get! Be sure to check off Phoenix Metro.

It's time to turn our eyes to the plethora of fall events and make certain we're in shape to take our pick. Next weekend the Spin Cycle rides to the north and east on the McKellupe Loop (McKellips + Guadalupe, get it?). Breakfast is at Crackers & Company Cafe in Mesa. We'll have the back room to ourselves. I was going to pick up the check for everyone but they said they could do individual checks. Who am I to argue, so I agreed to let them. The ride map is, once again, attached. Sorry racers, no sprint points on this one, so you'll just have to find your own battles. The route cuts through Tempe and east across the reservation into Mesa. Hey, pretty good place for a sprint!

Thanks to everyone for the huge turnout today. It is YOU that makes the Spin Cycle. See you next weekend.

(just to prove I type my own reports, and yes, those are stuffed animals on my monitor)

32 Riders Head to South Mountain.

Desert Breeze Park, Chandler, AZ - The Spin Cycle set a new attendance record today, when 32 riders made their way toward South Mountain from Desert Breeze Park. Suffering a bit from "large group syndrome" the group moved toward its final destination employing a number of routes. Ultimately, 29 of the group arrived at the "stone house" to begin either the trek out San Juan or the ascent to the towers. New to this list, and I believe to the group, were Carter, Rick, Dennis and Jim. I'd like to officially welcome you. I hope you had a good ride with us and will be back in the coming weeks.

On our way, Paul came uncomfortably close to a rather aggressive van. Paul accurately identified the driver as a male and decided to identify, by name, one particular part of his reproductive anatomy. Even though I was quite nearby, I was unclear whether Paul was making a functional statement to the gentleman, or possibly referring to size, or the lack thereof. Regardless, the driver moved on seemingly unperturbed by the cycling swarm around him.

The brief meeting at the stone house served notice that Marty and Ryan are desperately needed on these rides to quell some of Connie's more aggressive tendencies. So as to maintain the reputation as equal opportunity abusers, the boys decided to include Connie in the degrading banter and take the appropriate beating in response. Conversation, however, was clearly impaired on the ascent as Connie pointed out, "how .... .... can .... .... you .... .... talk .... .... while .... .... climbing .... .... this .... .... mountain?" Good point. I decided to drop back forty yards so I could dry heave in private.

Craig was busy struggling in his big gear in an exercise he later labeled as questionable, and subsequently dropped to the small chain ring. Clearly, the mountain was offended by the mere suggestion he'd try this act, so it (the mountain) kept his sunglasses upon his departure, and then flatted his tire when he returned to reclaim them. Heck, the darn thing filleted his finger somewhere in the process so his tire looked like like a crime scene by the time he was done changing it. Craig, I am sorry you ended up riding back alone, but in our defense, sudden outbursts of colorful language are neither that uncommon, nor that descriptive. :-) Seriously, however, we should speak up in these situations and someone will go back with us.

Dave helped cheer the climbers by ingraining the "I'm coming out" tune recently made common by the singing navels commercial. Being catchy, none of us could get it out of our heads the whole darn time up the mountain. I'm still humming the obnoxious little ditty.

Rumor has it, Queen of the Hill honors went to Maureen. She attributed her success to her aerodynamic form and the little flapping bows on her cycling shorts. She added, "I have a matching top, but it shows just too much flesh." Never missing a shot at the obvious, Ron pointed out that there's no such thing as showing too much flesh! Alrighty then!!

Glen won the Towers Lanterne Rouge award as he crested and wrung about two quarts of water out of his helmet. I never knew those little pads could hold that much sweat!

The Raven was the usual wonderful host. Good food and company was had by all. Speaking of food, don't forget next week's ride, the Ohcotukee Loop (see attached map), travels south toward Ocotillo, west toward Ahwatukee, and ultimately to the Country Harvest Buffet for the quarterly club breakfast. Club member's breakfasts are covered by the club, but everyone is welcome. This is the PERFECT time to pay those steep $15 dollar a year dues and immediately recover about half of it on breakfast. You'll get three more free feedings in the year to come, enjoy discounts on the GABA and ABC ride events, and get a really cool newsletter that has my name and email address in it several times! It just can't get any better than all that!!

If you're not a member, here's a link to the membership page. We're not just a another good looking group on bicycles, we're actually an eating group with a cycling disorder!

I hope to see you all next weekend, and remember, its you that makes the Spin Cycle.

Twenty-seven riders took to the southeast in, what seemed to be, the first actually COOL air of the fall. Let's hope we've seen the end of the sweltering temperatures. We want to welcome Cori, a new rider to the family. We hope to see you had a good time and become a regular. Speaking of regulars, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, JEFF!

Our only flat (tire) of the day happened in the parking lot placing the eyes of twenty-seven riders on Rob as he demonstrated how quickly a tire can be changed when under pressure. Following the warmup, the lead group hammered east on Germann with their eyes on those sprint bonus points to be earned by the first rider to reach Higley. Randy served as the setup man pacing the group toward the final sprint. The three man breakaway was ultimately won by Ron as he rounded the corner to the cheering crowds lining the streets. (Ok, fact is I cut off 3 miles earlier and never even made it out to Higley, but I'm certain that this athletic exhibition should have had ESPN2 coverage.) Nice job Ron!

The peloton stayed in good shape to Queen Creek but then started fragmenting. Bill and Paul became lone riders (sorry guys) feeling their way around the SE valley. Paul made his way to the Ocotillo regroup just as Glen and I were doubling back on a search and rescue mission. Bill found an alternate route and beat everyone back to the Bruegger's. My apologies to both you guys. When the five of us shortcut on Lindsey, I figured the lead group would whip past us. I should have stayed trailing the pack to pick up riders that drop off. My sorry!

The long-riders headed west on Queen Creek with another sprint trial to the freeway overpass "summit." Ron was determined to score back to back victories. Randy again paced the group out. Terry was poised for the quick break away but was unfortunately trapped back in the line. Mike, however, found himself in perfect position to slingshot out from the line and win the three man spring to the top of the hill. Clearly, a tie breaker had to be found so the group sprinted again on the 56th/Maricopa overpass. Mike, again, crested first scoring back to back "King of the Overpass" victories. He dons the polka dot socks held the past two weeks by Gary. See what happens when you don't show up to defend, Gary! Of course, the yellow jersey goes to Bill who had the street smarts to beat everyone back to Bruegger's. Way to show up the hammer gang, Bill! (Pure milage is over-rated!)

I mentioned our one flat TIRE on the day. Paul was riding on three hours sleep so he wins the flat RIDER of the day. I kept having to nudge him awake as we pedaled in to Brueggers. Paul now carries the Lanterne Rouge as Janet and Lance rode away in the distance. (They brought it up at breakfast) As we pedaled through the "Pennington Neighborhood Pass", Glen came across a family on bikes and dropped off to join them. He said it was his wife and kids, but Paul and I had our doubts. Well, ... Paul was so tired he was struggling for balance and didn't notice, and I'm just generally skeptical about everything!

Next week, the climbers hammer it out for the real "King of the Mountain," as the Spin Cycle makes its first assault on South Mountain. The rest of us will spin up at 4 mph or take the option of riding out San Juan to the vista of downtown Phoenix. Breakfast after is at The Raven. Haven't been there? OH MAN, you gotta show for this one, The Raven is AWESOME, baby! If the weather stays like this, we'll eat out on the patio and you just can't beat that with a stick!

Remember, its you that makes the Spin Cycle. See you next week.

Sprints, Stop Lights, and White Flies, OH MY!

Desert Breeze Park, Chandler, AZ - The Spin Cycle entered its third month with 25 riders completing the "Tour" series of rides with a quick 35 mile spin down to the historic community of Lehi. This is a great city ride but it is somewhat plagued with stop lights that seem to be timed to stop cyclists at every intersection. The group held together through the warm-up run through the Bullmoose/Carriage neighborhood pass and then spread out a bit on the run through Lehi and return run south on Horne.

Feeling the pressure to defend the polka dot socks, Gary tore up the 100 yard climb on Horne, only to realize there was a false top followed by another short hill. Naturally, there is only one thing to do when faced with going anaerobic in these situations; go into oxygen debt and hope the "dark twinklies" and "tunnel vision" doesn't blind you completely before you reach the top of the hill. Gary was successful in defending the hill climbing honors and will, for another weekend, wear the coveted polka dot socks.

Terry suffered the only flat on the tour and was a shining example of quick road repair. You know, those darn European bikes just seem to suffer more than those of us that ride American.

For the second straight day, the white flies were out in force supplying a whole new protein resource. The swarms often made one wonder how many white flies you could aspirate before they became problematic. Inquiring minds want to know!

Neighbor's Cafe was its usual wonderful host. We had group seating in their back room with 15 of us stopping AND being joined by Glen's family. His kids were a welcome addition since I had heard rumblings of a food fight and fortunately the presence of innocent children seemed to be an effective deterrent.

Glen, feeling the juice, started a sprint for the finish. I closed but was immediately passed by Marty who was immediately cut off by van turning left in front of him. After Marty provided a brief (one word) review of anatomical body openings, the three rider break away faded only to be passed by hard charging ... come on, guess, ... Gary, once again sprinting to his first Sunday Spin Cycle stage victory! This was impressive enough to leave everyone laughing at the tail end of the ride.

The breakfast group voted to support Spin Cycle rides on days when PMBC/GABA are having their fall event rides. Palo Verde Nuclear Century is October 21st and the Heart of Arizona is October 28th. I plan to ride both of these events so I will need some volunteer help to lead the Spin Cycle on those days. I'll prepare the ride maps, we'll just need someone to handle the sign-up and make certain everyone gets through. I appreciate Tom stepping up for today's ride (even though I bailed on the Blue Loop and showed up anyway). We'll need more help in October. Let me know if you're willing and able by email.

If you haven't joined PMBC/GABA, you really should. Our club breakfast is only three weeks away. For $15 you get free breakfast (a $7.00 value!) four times a year! You can't beat that with a stick! You also save some entry money on the event rides, and there's a bunch of them throughout the fall and winter. Here's a link to the membership form. Our chapter is Phoenix Metro.

Next week we spin back to the southeast for the wide open roads of Germann, Lindsay, and Hunt Hwy. Gary, you better rest up. This route can be fast and I've heard talk of some challenges for the "yellow water bottle." For me, I ride assured that the Lanterne Rouge hangs from the back of my bike!

I hope most of you are riding again on the Labor Day Special Edition of Saturday Cycling. The group departs from Kiwanas Park at 7:00 AM for the counter-clockwise route around South Mtn. See you there.

It is you that makes the Spin Cycle.