We had 24 riders take on South Mountain Sunday, ok, 23, but I got half way there. Thanks to Neal & Ron for looking after the crew. According to my roving news reporters, here is what I heard from the route today. Larry won the climb-just under 29 mins. Neal second 10 secs behind with Lisa third about 30 secs behind. I guess there were a lot of other riders out there, so good time to make sure you are aware of your surroundings, either going up or down. We also had two out of town guests in Sean and Barbara join us today.

NOTE - Starting next week, start time is 7:00 AM - uugghh.

Ride Schedule

4/2 7:00 AM - NEW START TIME - Tour de Queen Creek. Mileage options of 35, 38, 40, 44, or 50 miles, all flat. Breakfast at Wildflower in Chandler Mall.

4/9 7:00 AM - Head to Sacaton. Mileage options of 37, 52, 58, or 60 miles. 58 & 60 have one hill. Breakfast at Wildflower again.

4/16 7:00 AM - Tour around Mummy Mountain. Lots of great sites, some minor climbing. Mileage options of 35 or 40 miles. Breakfast at US Egg on Mill & Baseline.

4/23 7:00 AM - Ohcotukee Loop. Head to Ahwatukee after some flat miles. Mileage options of 35 or 50 miles, breakfast at Brueggers Bagels, Chandler & Rural.

4/30 7:00 AM - Tempe Mountains - Mileage options of 38 or 45 miles, with a hill on the longer route. Breakfast at Einstein Bagels - McClintock & Guadalupe.

Hi All!

The perfection of an Arizona spring morning greeted the 54 riders that turned out for our romp into Mesa yesterday. The gentle climb out to Power Road, in a bit of a head wind, was rewarded with a rip snortin' crank back into town on McKellips. We managed to dodge most of the ticket scalpers working the streets for the spring training baseball game. The roll through downtown Mesa revealed a new addition to the bronze sculptures on display... with one of them looking incredibly similar to one of our lead riders.

Coming up...

Saturday 4/1/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Note the time change! And note the following route change. The PBAA has posted their route for the Tour de Phoenix, and due to crossing our selected route not once but twice... we're gonna move outa their way. We'll head off in the other direction, for a romp to AhwaFooty, which for once we have to ourselves while all the race dogs are off doing the Tour. Mileage options 24 miles with one gentle climb or 35 miles with moderate climbing. Breakfast, Atlanta Bread Co, southeast corner Elliot & Priest.

Saturday 4/8/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. South Mountain Park, with route options 27 miles with a gentle climb, 40 miles with moderate climbing, or 42 miles with lots of climbing. Breakfast at Atlanta Bread Co, southeast corner Elliot & Priest.

Saturday 4/15/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. The St. Francis Loop takes us on a figure eight romp around town. Mileage options 26 miles or 35 miles, both with moderate climbing. Breakfast at Brueggers Bagels, northwest corner Mill & 11th.

Tid bits

A message from Tom Adams :
"Reed Kempton, the Scottsdale Bicycle Planner, needs a strong showing of cyclists at a public meeting on Tuesday March 28, 2006 at 5:30pm. The meeting will be at Chaparral Park Recreational Center, 5401 N.Hayden RD. The meeting is to discuss continuing the IBW Path on the west side of Hayden between Jackrabbit and Chaparral Roads. This improvement will allow cyclists to avoid two dangerous crossings of Hayden Road. Our attendance at this meeting is needed because this project stands a good chance to be dropped due to neighborhood complaints."

Ride safe.

We had 12 riders that rain, nor sleet, nor hail, nor dead of winter could stop today. Ok, the hail did stop us temporarily, man that hurt. We even had a rider show up all suited up and didn't ride at all. The Wimp and smart ones, either left early, went home, or just stayed in bed. However, we did have a few that called their mommy's to come pick them up so they wouldn't get wet. Other than that, just another day of riding in the Valley of the drenched rats.

Ride Schedule

3/26 - 7:30 AM - To South Mountain - Up to the towers, San Juan, or the Ramada. Mileage options of 50, 48, or 42, with a lot of hills on the 50, some good hills on 48, and just enough to get your blood pumping on 42. Breakfast at Atlanta Bread company - Elliot & Priest.

Hi All!

The draw of the Mining Country Challenge and also a new Bunion Society charity ride reduced our herd to 40 riders this morning. (Can't remember the actual name of the fund raising romp that was going on... for those not in the know, a BS ride is a generic term for the plethora of rund raisers that go on through out the year.) Our eclectic group included an Ironman or two, a retired Saturn team racer, and a newbie Rosanne who showed she's got the right stuff by completing the standard route on a tank of a bike. A cyclist is born.

Coming up...

Saturday 3/25/06 7:30am Kiwanis Park. Tour de Mesa takes us on a romp to the northeast, route options 29 miles or 39 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at Einstein's, northwest corner Guadalupe & McClintock.

Saturday 4/1/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Note the time change! While the big dogs are off strutting their stuff in the Tour de Phoenix, we'll head out on the kinder and gentler Tour de Lehi. Mileage options 27 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at IHOP, southwest corner Apache & College.

Saturday 4/8/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Considering the recent rains, we'll take another try at wildflower gawking in South Mountain Park. Route options 27 miles with a gentle climb, 40 miles with moderate climbing, or 42 miles with lots of climbing. Breakfast at Atlanta Bread Co, southeast corner Elliot & Priest.

Tid bits

As noted, there are oodles of event rides coming up this year, many of you have favorites locally that you participate in each year. How about adding into the mix a bit of an adventure? Paul and Jerry are heading to the Rosarito to Ensenada bike tour, which is a great one day romp down in Mexico. Details on the ride can be found at a href="http://www.rosaritoensenada.com">www.rosaritoensenada.com.

Ride safe.

Well..... We were blessed with clear skies for the entire ride group- 9 riders. Thanks to the whole gang of being ride leaders - report from Neal. The ride was brisk and the wind from the SW gave us our moments. The scarecrow(Larry) pointed out the snow capped peaks to the North and even the snow capped Estrellas to the South. Dorothy(Marty-adorned in rubies again this week) may have seen them but we are not sure. According to Toto (Neal), Dorothy tried to click her shoes together 3 times last week but forget to unclip before doing so. Apparently that wasn't an issue yesterday. The ride remained moderate and the 9 stayed together most of the ride. The tin men(Charlie, Kurt and the others) exhibited their lack of heart while The Lion (Rodger) and Munchkins kept moving along. No winners on sprints since there was no sprinting.

Ok, enough of the wizard of oz thing, back to your normal spin cycle reports next week.

Ride Schedule

3/19 - 7:30 AM - Tour de Scottsdale - Mileage options of 40 or 44 miles, all flat. Breakfast at US Egg - Mill & Baseline.

3/26 - 7:30 AM - To South Mountain - Up to the towers, San Juan, or the Ramada. Mileage options of 50, 48, or 42, with a lot of hills on the 50, some good hills on 48, and just enough to get your blood pumping on 42. Breakfast at Atlanta Bread company - Elliot & Priest.

Hi All!

Our road warrior awards yesterday, without a doubt, go out to the five riders who braved the late winter storm to pedal to our breakfast meeting. Alan Heft, Mike and Renee, and Roger (who was adorned with enough plastic bags to a stock a grocery store), all converged on Kiwanis Park for the official start and were joined later in route by Dave Babcock on his John Deere (green trike). The first three lived previous lives in climates where riding in the rain is old hat, but not sure what long time desert rats Roger and Dave where doing out there! They were joined by about 40 dry riders (who drove) at the restaurant. Vast quantities of calories were consumed, cycling subjects were discussed in depth, and if you didn't turn out for the meeting, we put your name down to fill all the volunteer slots for the next few event rides.

Coming up...

Saturday 3/18/06 7:30am Kiwanis Park. McKellips Loop for a bit of wind training. Route options 28 miles or 37 miles, one gentle climb on each. Breakfast at Neighbor's, northwest corner Alma School & Guadalupe.

Saturday 3/25/06 7:30am Kiwanis Park. Tour de Mesa takes us on a romp to the northeast, route options 29 miles or 39 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at Einstein's, northwest corner Guadalupe & McClintock.

Saturday 4/1/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Note the time change! While the big dogs are off strutting their stuff in the Tour de Phoenix, we'll head out on the kinder and gentler Tour de Lehi. Mileage options 27 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at IHOP, southwest corner Apache & College.

Tid bits

With 350 or so club members, we should have plenty people to staff event rides and special activites, but we tend to see the same faces helping out. They enjoy pedaling as much as you do, so how about taking a turn so they can share in the fun? We need volunteers for the following events:

Tour de Cure Saturday March 25th. This is not a PMBC event, but we have been asked to staff a rest stop. If you can assist, contact club prez Jay Stewart.

Tour de Phoenix Saturday April 1st. This is also not a PMBC event, but we have been asked to supply worker bees to assist with registration on Friday March 31st evening and run a rest stop on Saturday April 1st. If you can assist, contact club prez Jay Stewart.

Tour de Payson Saturday May 13th. This is one of our cool (literally) event rides and ride leader Bob Beane needs a few volunteers. Some of the work (like registration) would allow you to participate in the ride when you are done. Contact Bob Beane.

Ride safe.

George Hincapie

Floyd Landis

Levi Leipheimer

Michael Rogers

President's Day weekend, 2006...Was it really a Valentine's gift (a romantic weekend in San Francisco...with a bike race thrown in), or was it the other way around? Either way, it was a historic day in American cycling. It was the first day of the first ever Tour of California. But, before we accelerate down the start ramp of the Prologue, let's set the stage.

For the last few years, there has been one truly international bicycle Tour held in the USA...the Tour de Georgia. That event has attracted a notable field of top tier pro riders, raising the bar a notch from the Tour DuPont and earlier events such as the Coors Classic. Now with the advent of the Tour of California, there would for the first time be two high level UCI-rated events in the USA in one year.

Arriving in San Francisco on Saturday morning, I was concerned about the weather for Sunday's Prologue time trial. It was raining, windy and cold (at least by Phoenix standards). The first bit of good news was that workers were already staging tents and start line infrastructure immediately adjacent to our hotel!!! The next good news was that the weather forecast was morphing into something that at least promised a few rays of sunshine for the following day's 10:00 am start. Linda and I were not able to check-in yet...someone was still in our designated bay-view room at the Hyatt...so we wandered the Embarcadero Center and found "Fuzio" for a light lunch, Italian style...

The delay in our hotel registration actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. "Sir, I've actually got a better room that we could give you" was the reply from the young man at the registration counter when we returned at 2:30. "It's a non-smoking, bay-view on the 16th floor". Sold!!! Not only was it a move up from the 7th floor, it ended up being the room closest to the Bay, with the start line directly below and the Bay Bridge at eye level (out sliding glass doors that opened to fresh air) about a half mile away. After checking in and enjoying the view for a bit, the afternoon's activities included a trip (all the way across the street, in actual rain) to the Ferry Plaza to cruise the Farmer's Market and wine and cheese shops, then, as the weather cleared, a one hour tour to soak in the sights and sounds of the City by the Bay...How do you "soak in the City" on a one hour bus tour? You don't. You have to go by pedicab...

Strolling west on Embarcadero I flagged down George Love of Electric Time Pedicab, who possessed a set of very large calves, no fear of traffic, a machine equipped with disk brakes (essential equipment for the SF down hills, especially when three lives are at stake) and a wealth of information concerning the Embarcadero, Chinatown, and the San Francisco skyline. While Linda and I put on our gloves and wrapped ourselves in a blanket, George pedaled along in shorts, a long sleeve rugby shirt, and a Gilligan-esque cap, as he easily filled the hour with Bay Area facts and history. We learned about the mapping of the Bay by Spanish sailors, the mistaken identity of the current Alcatraz Island, and the real reason for the Golden Gate Bridge's name (the golden late-summer grass that covered the opposing hills at the mouth of the bay).

Along the way, we encountered "Crazy" Reynaldo (another pedicab driver), passed the church where Joe DiMaggio was married (the marriage before Marilyn) and learned that the proper way of giving a gift of duck to a Chinese person requires leaving the head on (if you have doubts, check out the meat shop windows in Chinatown). Our tour also included a brief history of the "Disneyfication" of Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf by developers, a passing of the shrine to chocolate that is Ghirardelli, and photo-ops for the Golden Gate and the SF Skyline. In honor of our interest in cycling, George paused briefly to give us a good look at the Lombard Street climb that would bust more than a few lungs on the way to Sunday's finish in the park surrounding Coit Tower.

As dawn arrived on Sunday, thankfully with no sign of rain, I wondered what the day's racing would be like. Having been to a number of local races over the years, and having watched more than a few pro events on OLN, I had some idea what to expect, but each race has its own character. Would this event live up to the pre-race hype? Could the Tour of California come down the ramp and on to the Embarcadero like a Grand Prix motorcar, or would it end up being an early-season publicity caravan enacted before a small crowd in dubious weather? Well, if Sunday's Prologue was any indication, there are great things in store for this event.

From the roar of the crowd when Jackson Stewart of Kodak inked his footnote in history as the first rider down the ramp, to the wave of cowbells and whistles cascading ahead of the cyclists at 60 second intervals, the fans pulled each rider along virtually the entire course. The Lombard Street climb looked like a hill in a Belgian spring classic race, with fans four and five deep in spots, urging the riders up to the finish. There were spontaneous cheers from the crowd when the times of Julich, then Hincapie, then Landis appeared on a nearby timing board and on a "Jumbo-tron" video screen near the start line, each claiming a high position on the leader board. With just seconds separating those Americans, only Levi Leipheimer and Michael Rogers, the Australian TT champion riding for T-Mobile, remainded as contenders for the podium spots. Leipheimer, whose form was described as "scary" by one of the other riders, sent the crowd into near hysterics when he took the lead by five seconds with only two riders left on the course. And, when Rogers' mid-course split was unimpressive, it became clear that the top five spots on this historic day would belong to five of the most notable six Americans from last year's Tour de France (only the retired Lance Armstrong being absent from the sweep).

OK, it was just a Prologue. It was only 1.9 miles long with one big climb. Who would get excited about that?

• Nearly 200,000 people, apparently: A mass of fans and onlookers emerged about 9:00 am to visit the sponsor tents, collect memorabilia and swag (the free VeloNews cowbells were my hands-down favorite), and line virtually every meter of the race route. There were people from all over California, out of state (like us and GAGBA/PMBC members Mike and Mary Pierce who now live in Boulder, CO), and even some from out of the country.
• Former US riders: Andy Hampsten (the only American to win the Giro d'Italia) made a visit to the announcer's booth, and former Motorola/USPS rider Frankie Andreu showed up as Director Sportif of the newly formed Toyota-United Pro Cycling team.
• The riders: Pumped up every bit as much as their tires, especially the Americans, the riders had their game faces on. By the time the stage had ended, the top five spots belonged to the USA. (1) Levi Leipheimer (6th in the 2005 Tour de France and the leader of Gerolsteiner), (2) Bobby Julich (formerly 3rd in the Tour de France, a revitalized rider since joining CSC, and clearly in top form again this year), (3) George Hincapie (hands down crowd favorite and a houshold name since winning Stage 15 of the 2005 Tour de France), (4) Floyd Landis (leader of Phonak), and (5) David Zabriske (who led the Tour de France last year, until his crash in the team time trial). Each of these bested World TT champ Fabian Cancellara, the first European rider in 6th place on the day.
• The Governator: Yes, Arnold arrived (to a mixture of polite applause...and not-so-polite boos from the liberal contingent) to hand out the jerseys on the podium.

Writing this while it is still fresh in the memory, and before the remaining stages of the inaugural Tour of California take place, there is no way to predict the future of this event and what impact it might have on the landscape of American competitive cycling. However, as a fan of cycling, and an American, I can tell you that being part of this opening Prologue experience was more than I could have hoped for or expected. As we headed to the podium presentaions, Linda looked at me and said "I've watched the Tour de France with you on TV, but you just have to be at a race to really feel the excitement. This is so amazing!" Thinking back on being within a few feet of some of the best riders in the country, and the world, listening to the cheers, the whistles and the cowbells, literally feelilng the disc wheels whirring by and the growing electric buzz of anticipation as one, and then another, top American cyclist appeared on the leader board, I thought about what message we all would collectively want to convey to the people who were not there with us.

As Levi Leipheimer stood beaming on the podium, with out-and-upstretched arms and leader's jersey on, we could actually feel the energy created by his win in this historic Prologue. The applause, chills, cheers and even some tears that followed gave a resounding confirmation that Linda had captured the feelings of the fans who where there on February 19, 2006, the first day of the first ever Tour of California: Bicycle racing in the USA can be a major spectator event on par with European tours...Be a part of the excitement...Help support bike racing in America and both the current and future stars of the sport...Get a cowbell, go see a bike race and join in the fun!!!

(Editor's Note: Following the Prologue, through Fiday, February 24, the race lead has moved from Leipheimer to Hincapie to Landis...Haedo of Argentina and George Hincapie have both won two stages, and the event is expected to set an all-time attendance record for any event in the history of California. European and Australian riders in the peloton, and their coaches, are talking about extending training in CA next year in advance of the 2007 race. In short, the "buzz" on this event is very positive. Your Editor is thinking about a GABA "road trip" bus next year...Stay tuned...)

We had 18 riders for this wonderful route today. No flats two weeks in a row. Tour de Lindsay seems to be a good route for everyone, except for the construction on Lindsay, but soon that will be a great road. Let's see, we had Dorothy and her (I mean his) red shoes today, followed by the Tin Man (this could go to any number of you without a heart), followed by Larry the Lion, and oh so many scarecrows without a brain. The wizard kept everyone in check today, using the wind to blow him to breakfast. Only thing missing was the Wicked Witch of the West, but we did have a few good witches with us today.

Ride Schedule

3/12 - 7:30 AM - The Original Mummy Mountain - Mileage options of 35 or 45 miles. Breakfast at Einstein Bagels - McClintock & Guadalupe.

3/19 - 7:30 AM - Tour de Scottsdale - Mileage options of 40 or 44 miles, all flat. Breakfast at US Egg - Mill & Baseline.

3/26 - 7:30 AM - To South Mountain - Up to the towers, San Juan, or the Ramada. Mileage options of 50, 48, or 42, with a lot of hills on the 50, some good hills on 48, and just enough to get your blood pumping on 42. Breakfast at Atlanta Bread company - Elliot & Priest.

Hi All!

We had 65 riders decide the cool overcast morning was perfect for a pedal. We were joined in the park by the Gabriel's Angels group (pet therapy for kids) who were hosting a fund raising doggie walkathon and during the course of our route we also crossed paths with the America Heart Walk (mostly people, not doggies) not once, but twice. The Heart walk resulted in a detour for the pack, giving us an up close inspection of the demolition of roads north of Town Lake as the light rail makes its presence known. Thanks to Senior Olympics gold medalist Neal Thomas for volunteering to ride swipe on the first section of the route today.

Coming up...

Saturday 3/11/06 7:30am Kiwanis Park. FREE FOOD!! Our quarterly membership ride breakfast meeting is upon us. The Research to Oak route takes us around town with route options of 31 miles with no climbing or 38 miles with a couple of climbs. Brreakfast is at HomeTown Buffet, northwest corner of Scottsdale Rd & Bellview in Scottsdale. Eats are free for all PMBC/GABA members, $8 for non-members. Ride to the gathering with SatCycling or if you are joining us just for the get together, meet us there at 9:00am. Still time to join the club if you are not a member.

Saturday 3/18/06 7:30am Kiwanis Park. McKellips Loop for a bit of wind training. Route options 28 miles or 37 miles, one gentle climb on each. Breakfast at Neighbor's, northwest corner Alma School & Guadalupe.

Saturday 3/25/06 7:30am Kiwanis Park. Tour de Mesa takes us on a romp to the northeast, route options 29 miles or 39 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at Einstein's, northwest corner Guadalupe & McClintock.

Tid bits

We have a growing pile of "free to good home" gear that various club members have donated. If you can make use of any of the following items, please zip a note to Sue Fassett.

Ladies... we have a brand new, still in the package, Canari long sleeve cycling jersey. Women's size X-Large, "stained-glass" pattern, blue.

Guys.. with big feet... we have a brand new pair, still in the box, of Specialized Rockhopper mountain bike shoes. Size 47 (which translates to about US size 13), black and gray. Comes with an equally new pair of WTB mountain bike pedals.

And not so new, but still free, a 1985 Schwinn Voyageur SP touring bike. Steel, medium sized frame, maybe 52cm? Shimano 21 speed, triple ring. Bar-end shifting. Wolber Super Champion wheels. Recent repaint, midnight blue (looks black). Has frame mounts for panniers front and rear. Needs pedals. Has been in indoor storage for 5 years, needs some TLC and probably tires.

Ride safe.