We had 21 riders take on the Milk Run - better known as the Options Tour. I actually scouted the route ahead of time and modified it so we wouldn't hit any major construction - so that is a first for this ride. We still had many routes available, and I believe everyone took at least one and some taking their own. Maria gets the quote of the day when I asked her if she got lost, she promptly responded, "we individualized it." That is good. Maria will be out for a while so good luck and come back so we can get some of your famous quotes.

We had two new riders today, Gary and Del, welcome to Sunday Spin Cycle. Gary had a long commute, from Denver. He came here to cool off!!!!! At the start of the ride, Gary announced that there hadn't been any sprints for the last two weeks while I was on vacation, and I told him I wasn't planning on starting any more today. However, I'm told that there was a little sprint up Riggs overpass won by Gary. See, can't trust him for a minute. Everyone made it back in one way or another and enjoyed some breakfast at Wildflower.

Thanks Gary and Ron for leading the group the last two weeks. Now another favor, need you to do it again next Sunday as I head to Boston and do a two day 200 mile ride.

Ride Schedule

8/3 - Germannlupe - Out to Germann and either Lindsay or Higley. Breakfast at Ripe Tomato - ride options of 33 or 42 miles, all flat.

8/10 - Tempe Mountains - Didn't think there were mountains in Tempe - you are right, it's actually Scottsdale, but the map says Tempe so there you go. Ride options of 38 with little or no hills and 45 with some hills. Breakfast at Smoothie King.

8/17 - Tour de Love Birds - What? You'll have to come out and see. Out to East Mesa, all mostly flat miles. Breakfast at Painted Mountain Golf Resort. - Mileage about 50 but can be made shorter.

8/24 - Mummy Mountain - the orginal - Mileage of 40 or 50 miles with slight to a lot of short hills. Breakfast at Pete's Grill in Tempe.

8/31 - Metro Mania - let's do it again. See how many cities we can hit in a day. Mileage of 36 or 45 miles with some slight hills for the long route. Breakfast at Smoothie King.

Hi All!

Our pack of 84 riders this morning bravely took on conquering the challenge of a new route, to downtown Phoenix. (Actually, this is a an old route that we just haven't done for a coupla years.) We enjoyed the cultural diversity of south Phoenix, took in some thorns, pondered the wide variety of building styles in downtown, took in some glass, contemplated the expansive zoning guidelines on Van Buren, took in some nails. Tom Adams suggested a map title for the route as "Six Flats over Phoenix", which seems appropriate cuz our rides sometimes take on the adventure of a theme park ride!

What did you think about today's route? Would you like to add it back into our rotation of rides? Liked it? Hated it? Drop Sue Fassett a note if you have an opinion.

Coming up...

Today, Saturday 7/26/03, if you are reading this posting early, you still have time to get yourself to The Vine for the watching of the Tour de France. The Vine is located on Warner, southeast of 48th St. We'll be there from 11am to 1pm. Go Lance!!

Sunday 7/27/03 The Vine, 11am to noon. The Vine. Final stage of the Tour de France. Come see Lance collect his winnings. (Ya know he's gonna take it.)

Saturday 8/2/03 6:30am Kiwanis Park. We head to South Mountain. Standard riders will take in the cool, shaded bike path along the canal on the way over, while the express train does the dance of the potholes on Baseline. Several mileage options, with a couple of options of climbing or not climbing. Breakfast at 5&Diner, northwest of Baseline & Priest.

Saturday 8/9/03 6:30am Kiwanis Park. It's time for another Tandemania!! We're gonna see just how many tandem teams we can get matched up. If you have a tandem and need a stoker, speak up. If you have legs and wanna stoke, we'll get you matched up with somebody. A nice wide open (no climbing) route to the southeast by way of Lindsay with route options of 29 miles or 36 miles. Breakfast at the Wildflower, northwest of Frye & Price.

Saturday 8/16/03 6:30pm Kiwanis Park. Mary Pierce leads the pack to Ahwatukee (just kidding, Mary). A journey to the foothills with route options of 24 miles with no climbing or 34 miles with some moderate climbing. Breakfast at Perkins, northeast of Chandler Blvd and 54th St.

Tid bits...

Answering a question to all that was asked this morning, yes, you must sign in at the park every Saturday morning that you pedal with us. Member or not, sign in. If you are not a member of PMBC/GABA, you are signing a waiver. If you are a member of the club, by signing in you are bringing yourself in under the insurance that is provided to you for that day's ride. If you don't sign in, no coverage applies. Give us your autograph each week, that way we'll have lots of copies of it to sell on E-Bay when you become a Tour de France winner.

Ride safe.

Hi All!

The cicadas singing loudly enough at sunrise to wake the roosters was probably a hint that it was going to be a tad warm today. We had 79 riders brave the weather for our journey across McKellips. A number intent on doing the long route decided heading straight to the well airconditioned breakfast stop seemed like a much better plan, and they worked up a nice chill holding us spots at the tables. Mike Litecky earned our top honors today for doing the most elegant Dance of the Rear Tire Stuck in Rut ever seen. Mike, for a big guy, you have some smooth moves!

Coming up...

Saturday 7/26/03 6:30am Kiwanis Park. We head to downtown Phoenix, route options of 35 miles or 45 miles, with a moderate climb on the long route. (That short route can also be made shorter for the mileage-challenged.) Breakfast is Bruegger's Bagels, northwest corner Mill & 11th.

Saturday 7/26/03 11am to 1pm, The Vine. (Warner, SE of 48th St) If you missed today's installment of the Tour de France, you missed some great road racing. Get yourself to the Vine for our last Saturday gathering to cheer Postal on.

Sunday 7/27/03 Tour de France Finale Party! OK, you know we can't miss the last day. Location and time for this gathering is pending, stay tuned and look for details in next Saturday's update.

Saturday 8/2/03 6:30am Kiwanis Park. Some sick puppy would like us to go to South Mountain in August. We'll go with that, but keep in mind there is more to the park than the death march to the Towers. The standard route that turns around at the Stonehouse (bathrooms) is a great summer ride and the ride to San Juan gives kinder, gentler climbs than the pull to the Towers. Route options 28 miles, 40 miles with moderate climbing, or 42 miles with "you better not do this route unless you are really heat acclimatized" climbing. Breakfast is 5&Diner, northwest of Baseline and Priest.

Tid bits...

Jerseys!! Our re-order of jerseys has appeared. If you didn't pick yours up today, you can either pick them up on a Saturday morning or contact our harding working treasurer Kathy Hendricks to arrange to retrieve yours from her direct.

Ride safe.

Hi All!

The call of the mountain tour reduced our home pack to 50 heat lovin' desert rats this morning. Gettin' sweaty just standing around in the parking lot before leaving gave a hint that the day was gonna be a corker. We made our way through the ballet of the barricades along Brown, not once but twice for good measure. Part of the standard pack stopped in Lehi to check out the bell tower. Ken offered to climb up and ring in it honor of Janet's 40th birthday, but she declined (happy b-day, Janet!) Though we had several new riders out with us today, we also welcomed home with a prodigal son. "Preacher John" Hahn who left us to venture out into life 6 years ago, re-appeared in the pack today, and says we can now officially call him preacher. Welcome back, John.

Coming up...

Saturday 7/12/03 11:00am to 1:00pm, The Vine, Warner southeast of 48th Street. Go Postal! Come on down and cheer our boys in France as they go into the climbing stages.

Saturday 7/19/03 6:30am Kiwanis Park. The McKellips Loop. Yes, wind training. It's good for you. Builds character. Route options 28 miles or 37 miles, a little gentle climb on each. Breakfast is Neighbors Cafe, northwest of Guadalupe & Alma School.

Saturday 7/19/03 11:00am to 1:00pm, The Vine. One more Saturday post ride bash. Come watch Lance join the ranks of 5 timers.

Saturday 7/26/03 6:30am Kiwanis Park. Our 4th of July ride to downtown Phoenix got revised to a different route due to, uh, "technical difficulties". Since we have 100 route maps to downtown Phoenix hanging around, we might as well use them! Off we go to downtown, route options or 35 miles or 45 miles, with a moderate climb on the long route. (That short route can also be made shorter for the mileage-challenged.) Breakfast is Bruegger's Bagels, northwest corner Mill & 11th.

Tid bits...

Lots of talk amoung riders about light weight equipment. How much frames weigh, switching to lighter rims and tires, cutting ounces and grams on pedals and what not. While all of that is good, keep in mind for a recreational rider the biggest difference you can make is often right in front of your eyes, in the mirror. : -) If you are more than 5 or 10 pounds over ideal body weight for your build and height, dropping a few pounds of body weight can make a significant improvement in your performance on the bike. And it will make all your non-cycling friends (if you have any of those) envious of your physique.

Ride safe.

We had 30 riders come out and join Spin Cycle on it's second birthday. Although it was a little hot (ok, it was darn HOT - right Gene?), we did end up getting 45 miles with the standard pack getting in 35. I would also like to welcome three new riders, Les, Rocky, and Stan - welcome. We took to the streets with our new route - Metro Mania - hitting 9 cities or metro areas. Here they are in order - Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Lehi, Scottsdale, Tempe, Phoenix, Guadalupe, and Ahwatukee. We even went through an unmapped neighborhood in honor of Spin Cycle roots.

Our adventure took a little turn as we started a slight sprint up Horne lead by Sue when Mike got unclipped and did dirty dancing with his top tube. While he managed to stay upright, his chain ring got the better of him, so after Sue patched up his leg, he headed home. We made our way to the first regroup where we encountered our first flat by Les, at least this one was at the regroup so we could have water and shade. Then we headed towards Lehi where Gary got the second flat. While he was changing his tire, the other Mike commented that Gary's bike bag looked like a purse with all of his stuff in there. After the laughs, we were off for a good 3 seconds when Mike flatted - see what happens when you harass a man and his purse.

Off we went again, enjoying the gentle breeze at our back going down McKellips. It's so nice to go with the wind on that road. After making our way along the new route, we stopped at the second regroup where Mike flatted again - that purse thing is going to get you. So we took off again, and heading over the Guadalupe bridge when (you know who) flatted again. After waving down another bike not in our group for a new tube (he was scared Gary was going to go in his purse again), we replaced the tube and headed for breakfast. Mike - you are flat head of the week!

Most of us made it back to Smoothie King for some cool refreshment, only to hear Valerie has a new job at Horne & Broadway. Aaahhh, the things cyclists do to make a buck. That's all for now, I'll see you in two weeks while I head to Wyoming for some COOLER weather. Gary and Ron will be leading the group the next two weeks, so take it easy on them.

Ride Schedule

Sunday 7/13/03 6:30 Desert Breeze - Time to do the Tour around Mummy. Mileage of 35 or 40 miles with some climbs and one big hill if your interested. Gary and Ron are tag team ride leaders for the next two weeks so be gentle - aaahhh heck - give them a hard time. Breakfast at Pete's Grill in Tempe.

Sunday 7/20/03 6:30 Desert Breeze - McKellupleloop - Down to McKellupes with many loops. Mileage of 34, 39, or 50 mostly flat. Breakfast at Crackers since it is Ron's favorite.

Sunday 7/27/03 6:30 Desert Breeze - Milk Run - or better known as Options Tour. Mileage of 36, 38, 40, or 44 miles - all flat. I'm sure there is construction as well, but we'll figure it out. Breakfast at Wildflower at Chandler Mall.

Hi All!

The temptation to get outa Dodge (OK, the valley) for the long weekend reduced our pack to 53 riders today. Those brave souls were greeted with a gorgeous red sky sunrise and a bit of welcome overcast for the first part of the adventure. (Just how did one little cloud give us cover for that long?) The advanced pack enjoyed one of the few open roads left to us with a spin along Riggs while the standard pack conversed their way across Queen Creek and popped out onto McQueen just in time to catch the express train as they came by. Einstein's was excellent, and close back to the park, which gives it high marks for a food stop in the summer!

Coming up...

Saturday 7/5/03 11:00am to 1:00pm. The Vine. Yes, it's that time again. Following today's ride we gather at the Vine in Ahwatukee for the traditional watching of the opening day of the Tour de France. The Vine is located on the south side of Warner, east of 48th Street.

Saturday 7/12/03 6:30pm Kiwanis Park. The Tour de Lehi takes to the cool green roads of one of the oldest comunities in the area. Mileage options 27 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast is Bruegger's Bagels, northwest of Mill Ave & 11th.

Saturday 7/12/03 11:00am to 1:00pm The Vine. Yup, back we go to cheer our boys in the TDF on!

Saturday 7/19/03 6:30am Kiwanis Park. The McKellips Loop takes us to the northeast, by way of McKellips (duh!) Road. Mileage options, 28 miles or 37 miles, a little gentle climb on each. Breakfast is Neighbor's Cafe, northwest of Alma School & Guadalupe.

Saturday 7/19/03 11:00am to 1:00pm The Vine. One more time to Go Postal!!

Tid bits...

One of our riders made the unfortunate decision to toss an empty gel packet over his shoulder in the express line this morning... while riding directly in front of your pack leader. A not so gentle reminder-- we leave no sign of our passing except tire tracks. No trash, no spent tubes, no CO2 cartridges along the road. Ride tenderly on the earth. That we know of, it's the only one we have.

Ride safe.