Twenty Seven Experience McKellips Wind Tunnel.

What a great morning, aaahhh, Fall is in the air, I just about went back to my truck for leg and arm warmers. OK, not that cold, but it was nice. I want to welcome several new riders today, Dean, Dan, and Reese, hope you can make it again. We had 27 riders today make the modified trip up McKellips. Modified means more miles, which we did for about 50. Once I explained the map (light color looks great until you photocopy it black and white), we made our way. Up and over to McKellips was nice and easy, then we experienced the wind tunnel. At least we got a good workout today.

Next weeks ride, more miles....do you see a pattern here?

Sunday 10/6 let's do the Harrah's Turnaround. Breakfast at Harrah's, which is half way (I'm hoping for cool weather for the trip back) Mileage of 45 pretty flat and wide open miles with little stop lights...Let's get that double pace line working...

Sunday 10/13 - Time to do a few hills and miles with the Tour around Mummy. Mile options of 35-40 miles with slight hills to more bigger rollers. Breakfast at Pete's Grill at Rolling Hills Golf Course.

Hi All!

"Red sky at morning, sailors take warning." OK, how about-- "Lightning at dawn, cyclists go on." We had 57 riders brave the elements for what turned out to be a gorgeous morning for a pedal. We headed out of the parking lot, after helping newbie Jane Durr deal with her little car being run over by a very large truck in the park parking lot. (We got bored with bike crack ups, so we're moving up to car accidents!) A head wind challenged both the standard riders and the fast pack, toss in a bit of road construction-- just your typical Saturday morning jaunt! Jack not being present at breakfast left the responsibility of serious bacon consuming up to some of the other riders, but Fletch and Paul Krasner did their part to keep up our pack reputation!

Coming up..

Saturday 10/5/02 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Off to Ahwatukee we go. Mileage options 24 miles with no climbing, 34 miles with moderate climbing, or follow the fast pack for whatever. Breakfast is Perkins, northeast corner Chandler Blvd & 54th St.

Saturday 10/12/02 7:00am Kiwanis Park. If you are not headed to the north end of the valley for the Memorial Ride For Safety, then head to the park. We are off on a loop to the south by way of either Queen Creek or Riggs, 25 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast is Bruegger's Bagels, southeast corner Rural and Chandler Blvd.

Saturday 10/19/02 7:00am Kiwanis Park. If you are not headed to the Tour de Farm, head to the park. (Yes, it is the fall, and yes, there are many, MANY rides to participate in!) We'll do our own little mini version of the farm thing with a loop over to Lehi. Mileage options 27 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast is IHOP, Apache & College.

Tid bits...

The same message we have uttered many times, but it needs repeating. All of the large rides that are being offered up can only happen because of a vast army of volunteers. If you've been riding in the line for awhile, how about taking a pull? On Sunday October 27th we have a calendar conflict. The Palo Verde Nuclear Century over in the west valley and the City of Tempe's Tour de Tempe at Kiwanis Park are both taking place on this date. If you are not riding in or working for the Nuke ride, how about volunteering to assist with the city ride? We need a few riders to work before the ride-- airing tires, getting helmets on right, etc. and assisting with flats, etc. during the ride. This is a 12 mile community family ride and is great fun to participate in. You would need to be at Kiwanis Park a little before 7am (the ride leaves at 8am) and there is a free t-shirt in it for ya! If you can assist, contact Jay Stewart.

To our road warriors who are headed to Prescott for the state championship road race tomorrow, you're our champions already!

Ride safe.

The Hill!!!

Eighteen Riders made their way to South Mountain, and 18 made it up. We'll done! While there was a little oxygen deprivation once we reached the top doesn't matter. Glad to see Noel decided to do a few extra hills just for good measure. Dave Lehnen takes the polka dot jersey for Sunday as well as pulling down baseline, what a stud.

Our trip down was the usual rattle your teeth, bike, and anything else experience, with Dave's eyeglasses getting the worst of it at the Raven. At least that is his story and he's sticking to it. He probably couldn't see and the reason why he was king of the mountain, he didn't realize how big that hill is/was.

Meanwhile back at the Ramada, there were stories of riding snakes, especially big snakes at the South Mountain Coral (did you know there was a Coral at the Ramada?). Even of stories of blowing and making things hot, had to be the weather knowing our mild manner group. Let's just say that Carter turned red during this exchange.

Sunday 9/29 We'll take a modified McKellupe route with some extra miles to get ready for the fall. Mileage of 40-50 and breakfast at Crackers.

Sunday 10/6 Let's do the Harrah's Turnaround. Breakfast at Harrah's, which is half way (I'm hoping for cool weather for the trip back). Mileage of 45 pretty flat and wide open miles with little stop lights. Let's get that double pace line working.

glen

The Feeding of the Masses

Hi All!

See? You just mention the words "free" and "food" in the same sentence, and look what happens. We had riders out with the pack this morning that hadn't been seen in months... actually about three months... since our last free breakfast! Our group riding out from the park held about 65 riders, and another 10 or so joined us after for the breakfast meeting. The ride itself went OK with the exception of numerous flats, but the express train still set a land speed record chugging around the course to be first in line for eats. Thanks to all who helped with set up and clean up for the feeding of the masses.

Coming up...

Saturday 9/28/02 7:00am Kiwanis Park. A loop to the southeast with mileage options of 25 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast is Home Town Buffet, Evergreen and Warner.

Saturday 10/5/02 7:00am Kiwanis Park. We head to the hills (Foothills, that is) of Ahwatukee. Mileage options 24 miles with no climbing, 34 miles with moderate climbing, or follow the fast pack for whatever. Breakfast is Perkins, northeast corner Chandler Blvd & 54th St.

Saturday 10/12/02 7:00am Kiwanis Park. If you are not headed to the Memorial Ride For Safety (which is a most excellent ride!) then get yourself to the park for the Tour de Sue. A loop to the south by way of either Queen Creek or Riggs, 25 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast is Bruegger's Bagels, southeast corner Rural and Chandler Blvd.

Tid bits...

So many rides in the fall! See the association's website at www.sportsfun.com/gaba/ for a complete list. If you don't want to spend the bucks to ride, how about helping? All of these rides need an army of volunteers to make them happen. For the Memorial Ride on Sat 10/12 we are in need of two more warm bodies to staff a rest stop. Contact Bob Beane if you can help.

Ride safe.

Hello all, glad to be back in Arizona....We had 20 riders take off today for some MILES!!!! We did 50 today, and I might say, it felt like 65 with that wind....Welcome Noel and Michael to the group, hope you can be regulars. Nothing too exciting for today's ride, but Carter did mention that Randy was great to draft behind with those long pulls (way to go Randy!!)

Next week we head to South Mountain for some hills, bring your legs and lungs as we make our trek (no pun intended) to the towers.

Next Sunday, 9/22 Let's take a tour to up to South Mountain, time to make those hills count. Mileage options of 42 to 47 miles, with some light hills to get off the seat and let's hammer....Breakfast at the Raven......

Remember, Saturday, 9/21 is our third quarter association ride/breakfast/meeting. Saturday Cycling is hosting at Kiwanis Park after the ride (9:15am in the park following the ride, but I know you all will do the ride, right?). If you are not a member, a good reason to join, not only getting that free breakfast, but gets you discounts on future PMBC rides for the year. Check out the web site for more details or contact yours truly.

Sunday 9/29 we'll take a modified McKellupe route with some extra miles to get ready for the fall. Mileage of 40-50 and breakfast at Crackers.

Sixty Four Riders Challenge the Mountain

Hi All!

The challenge of the mountain today brought us 64 riders. The snarling, slathering portion of the pack took the high road (Dobbins) over while the, eh, more moderately paced riders took the scenic low road (the High Line multi-use path). Both groups were surprised by the sudden leap forward the developments in the area have made. Now if they would only re-develop Baseline road to handle the increased traffic flow we would have it made!

Coming up...

Saturday 9/21/02 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Saturday Cycling hosts our third quarter association ride/breakfast/meeting. Breakfast will be served starting at 9:15am in the park following this ride and is free to all PMBC/GABA members. Our association meeting will start at 9:30am. Non-members can join us for eats for $4. The ride route will be north bound on a loop into Scottsdale, 27 miles or 34 miles, both with some moderate climbing. Haven't joined yet? Sign-up Saturday morning ($15 annual fee) and start eating your money's worth!

Saturday 9/28/02 7:00am Kiwanis Park. We head to the southeast on a loop that ends us up at the Home Town Buffet, Evergreen and Warner, one of the last buffets that we have not eaten out of business! Mileage options 25 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. (But riding back to the park after eating at the Hog Trough can be a bit of a challenge!)

Tid bits...

To our riders who head tomorrow to take on the challenge of the Mt. Graham Hill Climb race, best of luck and do us proud!

Lost and Found-- We found a home for the gloves (dang it) but now have a pocket baggie containing a spare tube. It's a long zip-lock bag, yellow on one side, with printing "McMaster-Carr" Supply Company. The tube looks like the right size to fit your ride leader's tires...

This Tuesday evening (9/17) from 6:30pm to 8:30pm, MAG (Maricopa Association of Governments) will be holding a public meeting regarding Northwest Area Transportation Study. The meeting will be at Glendale Community College, Student Lounge, 6000 W. Olive Ave, Phoenix. (Northwest corner Olive and 59th Avenue). Though this is out of our normal riding area, we have a number of members who come over the west side. The purpose of the meeting is to receive public input on transportation issues, which includes bicycles. Get yourself there and let your voices be heard!

Ride safe.

A Learning Day

Hi All!

The severe weather from last night gave way to a gorgeous morning for a pedal, with just a few puddles for our 58 riders to dodge. It was a "learning day" for many in the pack. First we reviewed the hand signals to be used while cycling. (A number of riders mentioned that we did forget to demonstrate the hand motion used when a car makes a right turn on top of you, but we'll leave that one for another day!) Shortly after we got underway, Court learned that it's easier to pedal if your pedals stay attached to the crank arm. Then Val learned that drafting only works if you can keep up with rider you are trying to ride behind. Then Shane learned that changing a tire with a very exuberant small dog licking the salt off your legs can be a challenge. Then we all learned that patience is a virtue when we take 25 people in to a restaurant for breakfast! Hey, you didn't have anything better to be doing with your time, did ya?

Coming up...

Saturday 9/14/02 7:00am Kiwanis Park. We head west bound to South Mountain. Mileage options of 28 miles with gentle climbing, 40 miles with moderate climbing, or 42 miles with lots of climbing. Breakfast at the Raven Golf Course, north side of Baseline between 32nd St & 40th St.

Saturday 9/21/02 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Saturday Cycling hosts our third quarter association ride/breakfast/meeting. Breakfast will be served starting at 9:15am in the park following this ride and is free to all PMBC/GABA members. Our association meeting will start at 9:30am. Non-members can join us for eats for $4. The ride route will be north bound on a loop into Scottsdale, 27 miles or 34 miles, both with some moderate climbing.

Ride safe.

Labor Day Bike Path Cruise

Hi All!

We had 36 riders take up the challenge of our bike path cruise this morning. Actually, that was 35 riders and one skater, as Gary strutted his stuff on his blades and everybody figured out why we call him "Skater"! What an adventure. We saw interesting (?) public art projects, the rowers doing their thing on the townlake, and followed the twists and turns of the Greenbelt (which lived up to it's name with lots of grass, trees, and bushes). We jumped off the path up north and came back by way of the Cross Cut Canal way which is a little more "rustic" but just as fun.

We cruised, we talked, we laughed, we gawked at things not usually seen. Enjoyed the day and the company. Thanks to all who participated.

To those sharp-eyed readers who noted that the Saturday update this week was missing next week's ride, sorry. (That was a test to see if anybody actually reads these things!) Here is the schedule for next Saturday. See ya then:

Saturday 9/7/02 7:00am Kiwanis Park. September is your time to train if you are looking to do some of the big rides in October and November. We'll start it off right with our favorite wind training ride, the McKellips Loops. Mileage options 28 miles or 37 miles, a little climbing on each and probably a head wind! Breakfast is Neighbors Cafe, northwest of Guadalupe & Alma School.

Ride safe.

Rides Happen

By Sue Witha View (Fassett) (She wrote it, I didn't! - J.A)

Desert Breeze Park, Chandler, AZ - Spin Cycle left the park with an impressive 31 riders this morning plus two more picked up along the route. Apparently the later start time of 7a.m. was not late enough for Owen and Al, but plenty late for Terry Kane and Bob Culbertson who appeared bright and early for a 6:30am start! We had a little international flair with Siep, who is originally from Holland, joining us.

Our motley gang headed northbound with Mike Litecky and Val being dubbed sweep crew by way of the pack cranking it up and leaving them in the dust. We were glad to have the "designer" of the Mummyback Loop, Bob Beane, amidst us to keep us headed generally in the right direction. The winner of the King of the Mountain seems to be in question as the riders leading the line at the top of the killer climb were having trouble seeing clearly thru their oxygen-debt red haze.

Downhill sprint specialist Sue conned Jim Marshall into giving her a lead out on 68th as we headed south to Curry, in the hopes of getting the jump on the guys as we came around the curve. This tactic worked for about 2.7 seconds before the snarling, slathering hounds of the fast pack went by at light speed. Not sure who won the sprint, all those whippet lean fast guys look the same from behind. :-)

Breakfast at Pete's was good as always. Carter headed up the table's discussion, which focused on political and environmental issues prompted by a bill board we had seen earlier in the ride advertising free samples of pharmaceutical products. Our conclusion was a mission statement for the day:

Free Tibet...
Free the Whales...
Free Viagra.