We had 17 riders today. Most of the pack was in Tucson for the Tucson Mountain Race, good job everyone representing our club. We had a couple of new riders today, Qwyen, Spencer, & Mike. We, ok, I decided to make it a skills training ride. The first 12 miles was rotating paceline work to the first regroup. Looks like everyone is starting to get the hang of that. Then we did pedaling drills, with high cadence work first, followed by one leg pedaling, followed by more high cadence work. Then as we hit the hills, we put it in the big ring and grinded our way to the top. Great workout today gang. Highlight has to be the helpless young lady with a flat tire & tag hanging from her dress on Galvin Parkway. Being the gentlemen that we are, a few of us decided to stop and offer assistance. I think the high point, or was it the low point, was Anne, Nancy, and Sue watching us watch her, or something like that. Never a dull moment around this crowd.

Ride Schedule

5/7 - 7:00 AM - Tour de Lindsay - mileage options of 40 or 54 miles - all flat. Breakfast at Bogies Clubhouse at Ken MacDonald Golf Course.

5/14 7:00 AM - Mother's Day ride - Germannalupe route - short ride, mileage options of 33 or 42 miles all flat. Breakfast at Wildflower at the Mall.

5/21 - 7:00 AM - Around South Mountain - Mileage option of 50 miles for entire route, but you can choose to turnaround and make it any mileage option you choose - all flat miles. Breakfast at Atlanta Bread Company on Elliot & Priest.

5/28 - 7:00 AM - Tour de Mesa - mileage options of 35 or 45 miles, with some climbing on the longer route. Breakfast at Einstein Bagels at McClintock & Guadalupe.

Hi All!

We had 60 riders turn out for what may have been our last cool Saturday morning romp before the warm days ahead. The beautiful purple blooms on the Jacaranda trees are reminding us that summer is just around the corner. Some of the guys wanted to jump ship on arrival at the park and instead participate in the "Diva Dash" run assembling at the same time we were, claiming they liked the male/female ratio better in the other pack. We eventually managed to get under way and, being a pre-event-ride day for some of the pack (Tour of the Tucson Mountains tomorrow), the pace was kept down to something resembling moderate. On arrival at the breakfast stop we found the number of non-riding members in street clothes who joined us there almost out numbered those that rode today. Hey, the breakfast chatter is the MOST important part of the ride, right?

Coming up...

Saturday 5/6/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. The St. Francis Loop, with mileage options of 26 miles or 35 miles, both with moderate climbing. Breakfast at Brueggers Bagels, northwest corner Mill & 11th.

Saturday 5/13/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Tour de Sue takes us south to one of the few open road romps we have left to play on. Route options 25 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast Atlanta Bread Co, southeast corner Elliot & Priest.

Saturday 5/20/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. The McKellips Loop, with route options of 28 miles or 37 miles, a couple of gentle climbs on each. Breakfast at Einstein's Bagels, northwest corner Guadalupe & McClintock.

Tid bits

Our romp up the pot-hole strewn stretch of 40th Street brought up a conversation later about verbal hazard signals vs hand signals. When the pack is in motion, riding as group... and you call out "hole!"... simply doing so verbally does little good. The riders behind you have no idea if the Grand Canyon that is about to swallow them up is coming up on their right and they should dodge to the left, or the reverse. Also, multiple riders calling out verbal signals just makes for chaos. A road hazard should be pointed out with a hand signal, pointing down to the road on the side that the hazard is approaching on, so the riders that follow know to shift their line of riding away from it.

Ride safe.

We had 38 riders for today's route. Wow, what a crowd. We had Bill & Julie from Cleveland, and also had Dirk Friel - professional cyclist/coach - join us for the ride as part of our two day bike camp. We started the route practicing our rotating paceline skills in groups of 6 to the first regroup. Those skills came in real handy as we headed west down Riggs into the head wind. After a brief stop at Chandler & Priest, we headed towards Ahwatukee for some more wind training and then hills. Needless to say, I believe everyone got their workouts today with a new modified map taking on 5th Ave twice. Dirk mentioned that he thought we had a great group of cyclist, and to keep focusing on your paceline, pedaling, and corning skills. He gave me some things to try, so be warned, we are going to hit a variety of these skills during the first part of our rides.

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.

Below is a new idea, bringing you training, nutrition and other pertinent information about cycling and your body, which are available at http://ultrafit.com.

Cyclists: Single Gear Riding by Patrick McCrann

Single Gear Riding (SGR) is a powerful exercise in learning how to manage effort level on the road. Instead of shifting gears to compensate for terrain changes, SGR teaches you how to use "internal" gears to deal with hills, descents and flats. This year, make it a priority to ride with your bike instead of against it.

After your warm-up spin, simply pick a gear for your main set and stick with it. It's that simple. To be safe, choose the small front ring and a middle gear on the back cog. Stay in this gear regardless of what the road throws at you. This is not a time trial workout; I think of this as a variation on a weekly endurance ride of 2.5 hours or more.

SGR teaches you:

• How to "roll into a hill," using momentum to start the climbing process.
• The nuances of climbing seated regularly or on the back of your seat.
• How to roll into a standing climbing position and keep your momentum.
• How to pedal quickly on a descent.
• How to recruit different muscle groups.
• How to manage your internal gears.

Since you can't shift, you'll learn to moderate your effort based on the terrain, instead of just hammering your way through the ride. Your first attempts at SGR will be a bit rough (shifting is a hard habit to break!), but as you progress you'll eventually erase the dead spots in your riding.

Patrick McCrann, author of Irondistance and Marathon Training Plans for athletes of all ability levels, is a seven-time Ironman finisher and avid endurance runner. He blogs weekly, offers various training tips and free support through the PTS newsgroup. This info is on his Web site: www.performancetrainingsystems.com.

Hi All!

The beautiful but breezy spring morning yesterday brought us 75 riders for our lope to Lindsay. Helping herd the crew around the course was retired pro-rider Dirk Friel. He spent the ride time observing us romp in our usual fashion and then thirty of us gathered at Mike Klein's abode (thanks Mike!) for an afternoon session with Dirk then explaining how we should actually be riding. In between those two happenings, we spent some time lolling about on the patio at Wildflower, dining in the gentle fall of yellow Palo Verde blossoms and watching the birds pig out on people's leftovers. There was a rare sighting of a northern migrating Hawaiian shirt breasted Arle. Huge thanks to Glen Fletcher for creating our weekend of training with Dirk Friel.

Coming up...

Saturday 4/29/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Roundabout Route, mileage options 25 miles or 35 miles, with a couple of climbs on the longer route. Breakfast at Bruegger's Bagels, northwest of Mill & 11th.

Saturday 5/6/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Another attempt at the St. Francis Loop. Mileage options of 26 miles or 35 miles, both with moderate climbing. Breakfast at Brueggers Bagels, northwest corner Mill & 11th.

Saturday 5/13/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Tour de Sue takes us south to one of the few open road romps we have left to play on. Route options 25 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast Atlanta Bread Co, southeast corner Elliot & Priest.

Tid bits

To squelch the apparent confusion regarding the Tour de Payson, which is normally held in May, that club event has been cancelled for this year. To get your pine tree fix this year, sign up for the White Mountain Tour on July 8th & 9th.

Ride safe.

We had 14 hardy riders do our Easter Ride today. Looks like Randy was following too closely to the Easter Bunny last night, and the Bunny must have bitten his tire in return. Kind of reminds me of Marty Pythons Holy Grail and the attack of the killer bunnies, run away, run away. Ok for those that don't have a clue of what I'm writing, rent the movie. Let's see, looks like Carter got King of the hill and sprint points over Lincoln, at least that was the only one I saw. Not sure exactly who won Curry - maybe Marty.Breakfast was entertaining as usual, with the best part getting a ride home to rest my weary bones.

PMBC-GABA Bike Camp

PMBC-GABA is proud to announce it will hold a Bike Camp on April 22nd and 23rd. In alignment with our purpose and charter, this bike camp will concentrate on education, bike handling skills, pacelines, and general riding techniques to improve not only your fitness, but your ability to ride on any terrain and have fun.

Dirk Friel will be here next week giving our entire group pointers and input during our normal Saturday Cycling ride with Sue and Sunday ride at Desert Breeze. In addition, he will host a bike clinic on Saturday afternoon. PLEASE RSVP if you are attending the Saturday afternoon session. Afternoon session will start at 12:30 and last to 4:30. It will be a combination of off bike instruction and some hands on drills. The session will be hosted by Mike Klein.

Please RSVP to Glen Fletcher.

Ride Schedule

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 gathering of 6,000 particpants in the Tillman Run on the same route as our scheduled romp this morning, resulted in a slight detour. Like we headed in the other direction... to the beautiful streets of Ahwatukee... which were being prepped for an Easter parade. We did attempt twice to be an entry in the parade, but were too early on the first pass through and on the way back they wouldn't let us out on the route. Our impromptu tandem call brought us a half dozen or so teams... with the Kirks debuting on their gorgeous, fresh from the factory, Santana. The new steed rode like a dream... but had a few squeaky bits. Mike insisted it was not his knees making the noise.

Coming up...

Saturday 4/22/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. The Length of Lindsay route takes us to the southeast with options in the range of 25 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. This ride will include special guest Dirk Friel. Breakfast at Wildflower, northwest of Frye & Price at the Chandler Mall.

Saturday 4/22/06 12:30pm to 4:30pm. PMBC hosts a bike camp with professional cyclist and coach Dirk Friel. This non-riding afternoon session will be held at Mike Klein's abode. To RSVP and to receive directions to Mike's place, email Glen Fletcher.

Saturday 4/29/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Roundabout Route, mileage options 25 miles or 35 miles, with a couple of climbs on the longer route. Breakfast at Bruegger's Bagels, northwest of Mill & 11th.

Saturday 5/6/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Barring any unforeseen gatherings of thousands of people on the road with us, we'll try the St. Francis Loop again. Mileage options of 26 miles or 35 miles, both with moderate climbing. Breakfast at Brueggers Bagels, northwest corner Mill & 11th.

Tid bits

The bike camp we are holding is in conjunction with Valley Bike Week. Lotsa bike themed activities to choose from in the next week. Tempe is hosting Bike To Work and School Day on Wednesday April 19th. For a free t-shirt (as long as they last) and free eats, hit up any of these locations between the hours of 6am and 8am that morning:

Whole Foods, northwest corner Rural & Baseline.

Wildflower Bread Co, southwest corner McClintock & Guadalupe.

Berning's Fine Jewelry, southwest corner McClinotck & Warner.

Bruegger's Bagels, northwest corner Mill & 11th Street.

IKEA, northwest corner Warner & Priest.

Also on Wednesday April 19th, join in on Tempe's Community Bike Ride. Start time is 7am, departing from Whole Foods (northwest corner Rural & Baseline) and ending at Bruegger's (northwest corner Mill & Priest).

Ride safe.

We had 21 riders take on Sacaton today. We had 3 new riders in Lisa, Karen, and Karen, while also sporting our relocated rider Mike from Kentucky. For all of you wondering, Mike says they do have running water and toilets there. Overall, a great day of riding, was a little warm at the end, but just about perfect weather. A good majority of us made it to breakfast discussing the meaning of life or something nearly as important. Oh, I also heard that Sue's mom reads these posts as well, guess I need to keep them clean..

Upcoming Event - Do you want to get better bike handling skills, ride stronger in a paceline, and learn pedaling and breathing techniques to make you go faster? We'll if you do I have an event for you, and if you don't, then you probably should attend to learn what you don't know!

PMBC-GABA Bike Camp

PMBC-GABA is proud to announce it will hold a Bike Camp on April 22nd and 23rd. In alignment with our purpose and charter, this bike camp will concentrate on education, bike handling skills, pacelines, and general riding techniques to improve not only your fitness, but your ability to ride on any terrain and have fun.

To help us with this endeavor, PMBC-GABA has enlisted the help of professional cyclist and USCF coach Dirk Friel. Dirk's coaching style developed from over five years of European racing experience, and 25 years of world-class coaching knowledge passed down from his father Joe Friel, author of "The Training Bible" series of books. Dirk is a co-founder and Director of Business Development at Training Peaks, author of "Workouts in a Binder for Indoor Cycling", and is USAC-certified.

What you will learn:

- Riding skills: relaxation, pedaling, cornering, climbing, sprinting, workouts to improve skills, and riding in traffic.

- Pacelines: Why we create pacelines, details of a proper paceline (placement, rotation, speed, directional changes, etc.), different types of pacelines, chasing, etc.

- General knowledge/education to improve your experience on the bike.

Cost:

There is no cost associated with this event. However, it is open only to current PMBC-GABA members from beginner to advanced. If you are not a member and wish to attend, you can fill out an application online or join the club the day of the event, no exceptions.

Where:

Dirk will participate in Saturday Cycling at Kiwanis Park during the morning, providing general suggestions and recommendations followed by a detailed training session in the afternoon (Hosted at Mike Klein's house - THANK YOU MIKE!). Then on Sunday, Dirk will attend Sunday's Spin Cycle, fine tuning some of the skills and strategies worked on from Saturday.

Please RSVP to Glen Fletcher.

Ride Schedule

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!

Most of our 69 riders got into the groove of the 7am start by arriving before the roll out time this morning, which was an improvement over last week. Our quest to conquer the climb in S Mt Park was made a bit more challenging with the addition of a number of tri-athletes being on the road with us (a bit late for Ironman training??) and a sports car club rockin' round the corners amidst the riders. A couple of the gals tried to top Roger's cargo carrying methods when they stopped for fresh veggies on the roll back. Never underestimate the creative problem solving powers of a recreational cyclist!

Coming up...

Saturday 4/15/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Jerry Esqueda has advised that this romp has been designated as an impromptu tandem gathering. The fact that the route contains several climbs apparently has not squelched the plan... so if you have a four legged bike, this is the time to flaunt it. As always with our tandem adventures... meagerly two legged bikes will be welcome, also. The route is St. Francis Loop with mileage options of 26 miles or 35 miles, both with moderate climbing. Breakfast at Brueggers Bagels, northwest corner Mill & 11th.

Saturday 4/22/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. We are going to put a little different spin (pun intended!) on this date's adventure. See details below from Glen Fletcher about the training opportunity being offered to all PMBC/GABAS members. Our route will be something resembling the Lindsay Loop, with route options in the range of 29 miles or 39 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at Wildflower, northwest of Frye & Price at the Chandler Mall.

Saturday 4/29/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Roundabout Route, mileage options 25 miles or 35 miles, with a couple of climbs on the longer route. Breakfast at Bruegger's Bagels, northwest of Mill & 11th.

Tid bits

A reminder to all of our climbers this morning, PMBC riders respect the "centerline" rule when in South Mountain Park. If you keep to the right of the centerline at all times, both up and down the road, it greatly reduces your chance of becoming one with another cyclist or car.

In anticipation of bike week (that would be "bicycle week"... not "motorcycle week" which is currently under way), ValleyMetro has set up on online contest for cyclists to win some pretty slick prizes. To register, head to www.valleymetro.org/rideshare and plug in your miles to earn chances at winning.

The follow message is brought to you by PMBC board member and Sunday Spin Cycle ride leader Glen "Fletch" Fletcher. The event described is open to all PMBC members and all levels of riders are encouraged to participate. The Saturday morning portion of the adventure will be held in conjunction with our normal Saturday Cycling pack romp that date:

***********************

PMBC-GABA Bike Camp

PMBC-GABA is proud to announce it will hold a Bike Camp on April 22nd and 23rd. In alignment with our purpose and charter, this bike camp will concentrate on education, bike handling skills, pacelines, and general riding techniques to improve not only your fitness, but your ability to ride on any terrain and have fun.

To help us with this endeavor, PMBC-GABA has enlisted the help of professional cyclist and USCF coach Dirk Friel. Dirk's coaching style developed from over five years of European racing experience, and 25 years of world-class coaching knowledge passed down from his father Joe Friel, author of "The Training Bible" series of books. Dirk is a co-founder and Director of Business Development at Training Peaks, author of "Workouts in a Binder for Indoor Cycling", and is USAC-certified.

What you will learn:

- Riding skills: relaxation, pedaling, cornering, climbing, sprinting, workouts to improve skills, and riding in traffic.

- Pacelines: Why we create pacelines, details of a proper paceline (placement, rotation, speed, directional changes, etc.), different types of pacelines, chasing, etc.

- General knowledge/education to improve your experience on the bike.

Cost:

There is no cost associated with this event. However, it is open only to current PMBC-GABA members from beginner to advanced. If you are not a member and wish to attend, you can fill out an application online or join the club the day of the event, no exceptions.

Where:

Dirk will participate in Saturday Cycling at Kiwanis Park during the morning, providing general suggestions and recommendations followed by a detailed training session in the afternoon (location to be announced). Then on Sunday, Dirk will attend Sunday's Spin Cycle, fine tuning some of the skills and strategies worked on from Saturday.

Please RSVP to Glen Fletcher.

***********************

Ride safe.

Hi All!

The siren call of the Tour de Phoenix (which is actually a tour of Mesa) and a road race in other parts of the state reduced our Saturday herd to 42 riders this morning. The disciplined home team rolled out for a romp in the Foothills in perfect formation, with a couple of strategic break aways along Pecos. This gave rise to discussion at breakfast as to whether it counts as a break away if nobody chases you... and thoughts about what the butt tap hand signal looks like when there is nobody behind you to take the line lead from you. (Besides providing entertainment for the car drivers going by.)

Coming up...

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.

Saturday 4/22/06 7:00am Kiwanis Park. A request for a romp to the southeast? Uh... sure... we'll give it a go. An attempt will be made to find a few streets that are not under demolition. Some version of the Lindsay Loop (which is a route we haven't done for so long nobody remembers it!) Route options in the range of 29 miles or 39 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at Wildflower, northwest of Frye & Price at the Chandler Mall.

Tid bits

To all our racers today, either those who actually challenged the competition or those who took on their own personal challenges, you are our champions. The discipline and drive, the focus and stick-to-it-tivness it takes to complete a competitive cycling event or an endurance ride... those are skills that will carry over into other parts of your life. Well done, grasshoppers.

Ride safe.