We had 23 riders last Sunday - and it actually got warm at the end of the ride. We all found our way around Mummy Mountain - backwards, forwards, sideways, you name it. Our flat heads were out in full force, but breakfast was entertaining as our tandem group of Ron & Sue showed how to quickly dismount once your seat is broken underneath you. Good thing Ron had Beans for lunch to get back.

Ride Schedule

2/4 - 8:00 AM - NOTICE START TIME - McKellupe Loop - Out to McKellips and back doing some wind tunnel testing. Added more miles on this route - so should be 50 miles for the long route, shorter routes are 34 & 39 miles - mostly flat. Breakfast at Bogies Clubhouse - Guadalupe & Rural.

2/11 - 8:00 AM - Milk Run - Mileage options of 36, 38, 40, or 44 miles - all flat. Breakfast at Wildflower at the Chandler Mall.

2/18 - 8:00 AM - To the Towers - Mileage options of 30 mostly flat miles, 42 with some climbing, and 50 with a lot of climbing. We'll try the new Spokes Restaurant on Central and Dobbins.

2/25 - 8:00 AM - Tempe Mountains or hills next to Tempe. Mileage options of 38 or 45 miles, with some climbing on the longer route. Breakfast at Einstein Bagels on McClintock & Guadalupe.

Hi All!

The chance to pedal in something at least resembling normal Arizona weather brought us 81 riders this morning. The outbound romp spread the group out... a lot. A quick paced tandem team in the lead pack stirred things up a bit in the front (for some reason Steve always rides a bit jauntier when he has a blonde onboard) while a couple of flat tires (including one impressively shredded tire and tube) detained some of the rear guard. Most found their way to Einy's after, where we reclaimed our official spot on the patio, which we had relinquished some time prior to the recent ice age.

Coming up...

Saturday 2/3/07 8:00am Kiwanis Park. NOTE THE TIME CHANGE! We move the start time up a bit to avoid the heat (?) of the day and start our spring off with the St. Francis Loop, route options 24 miles or 36 miles, moderate climbing on both. Breakfast at Brueggers, northwest corner Mill & 11th.

Saturday 2/10/07 8:00am Kiwanis Park. AhwaFooty takes us to the Ahwatukee Foothills, with route options of 24 miles with one gentle climb or 35 miles with moderate climbing. Breakfast at Atlanta Bread Co, southeast corner Priest & Elliot.

Saturday 2/17/07 8:00am Kiwanis Park. We'll go wander 'round on the Roundabout Route, with options of 25 miles with no climbing or 35 miles with a couple of climbs. Breakfast at Bruegger's, northwest corner Mill & 11th.

Tid bits

Each time you don your bike helmet and roll out onto the road, you become a part of something bigger than yourself. If you wear our not so subtly colored jersey, with our club name tattooed on your chest and butt, you are representing us. But much larger than that, you represent cycling as a whole. Without choosing it, you become an ambassador for the sport of cycling. This morning the pack drew the ire of a business whose property we happened to be on, without even being aware that by doing what we do, we were bothering them. Were they a bit quick to anger? Maybe. Was their threat to ban all future cyclists from accessing that business a bit over the top? Probably. But staying aware of your surroundings is not only applicable on the road, it applies when you stop riding also. When we roll into a stop as a large group, be courteous of the non-cyclists about, both employees and the general public. Keep driveways clear, don't block parking areas, and be patient if our sudden appearance en masse flusters the staff. Keep in mind those poor souls have not yet discovered the joy that we know... how sad for them.

Ride safe

We had 18 hearty souls decide to ride today. All got wet. Although the weather had a slight chance of rain today, most didn't believe, I'm glad to report we were wrong. Larry gets the bone head award of the day, saying he was going home at Guadalupe, but decided to stick it out until the last drop fell on his head. After 4 flats and freezing temps, we made it back, at least most of us did. A detour to breakfast had us entertained with Ronisms. Some of the noteworthy items where - It's only wet when its raining, we ought to outlaw talking in the paceline for safety sake just to name a few. We'll remember those I'm sure.

Ride Schedule

1/28 - Tour De Mummy Backwards - Mileage options of 37 or 50 miles with breakfast at US Egg on Mill & Baseline.

This is the fifth time Paul & Jane have done a bicycle tour from their home in Scottsdale to Tucson and back, and it's the fourth time they've allowed the rest of us to tag along. Once again we scheduled the trip for the MLK weekend, starting on Friday and ending on Monday. This time, like #3, we decided, for a change of pace, to go clockwise round, with the first day to Florence, and third day to Casa Grande.

To read Tom's complete writeup with pictures of the tour visit http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/2007TucsonTour.

Hi All!

Curse of The Mummy, Part II. We had 39 riders appear at the park this morning for our second attempted winter expedition to the mist shrouded Mummy Mountain. We stood around for a few minutes before the start, trying to convince each other that the splats appearing on the asphalt were not rain drops, but instead bird spit. A bit more stalling was gained by trying to decipher what store or newspaper brand the plastic bags encasing Roger's feet were. Once all of that was sorted out, there was nothing left to do but roll out enthusiastically into the chilly wet. Either more riders are getting aclimatized to the weather, or more are resigned to the issue that if they want to ride this winter they better just get on with it, resulting in most of the group actually going on to complete the route around Mummy.

Coming up...

Saturday 1/27/07 8:30am Kiwanis Park. Your last chance to sleep in, and then we head out on the Tour de Mesa. Route options of 29 miles with no climbing or 39 miles with a gentle climb. Breakfast at Einsteins, northwest corner Guadalupe & McClintock.

Saturday 2/3/07 8:00am Kiwanis Park. NOTE THE TIME CHANGE! We roll into early spring with a romp around the St. Francis Loop, route options 24 miles or 36 miles, moderate climbing on both. Breakfast at Brueggers, northwest corner Mill & 11th.

Saturday 2/10/07 8:00am Kiwanis Park. AhwaFooty takes us to the Ahwatukee Foothills, with route options of 24 miles with one gentle climb or 35 miles with moderate climbing. Breakfast at Atlanta Bread Co, southeast corner Priest & Elliot.

Tid bits

We had a near collision in the pack last week, reminding us that sometimes cyclists are their own worst enemies. You would think cars, dogs, debris, etc. would be enough challenge without us trying to wipe each other out, huh? So, you are pedaling along, approaching an intersection where you intend to turn right, but you have a red traffic light. Just like when you are in your car (or at least we hope you do it this way in your car!) you come to a stop at the red light, then check to your left to see if the lane you are going to enter is clear, before proceeding with your right turn. If there is a cyclist approaching from your left, they have the right of way as they roll through the intersection on green. You should not pull out, making your right turn in front of them, anymore than you would before an oncoming semi-truck. Rolling out from a stop into the path of a cyclist who is moving at pace is at minimum obnoxious, at maximum will hurt you both a lot.

Ride safe

Thanks goes to Neal for leading and writing this great report.

Hello from the North Pole,

We had 9 riders -two from out of state- become members of the sub-chapter of PMBC known as the Polar Bike Club. Yes we are a subchapter S corp--for Stupid. We heard rumors that a few such as Ron W , Barry and Kirk may show but they chose to pass on membership in the PBC.

Neal your ride leader pro tem, (yes Mr Spincycle himself was a no show) Roger, Kevin, Marty, Ivan, Larry, David started the day at 29 degrees. It never got over 40! We ventured around the Ocotukee for 55 miles of cold fun. Eric from Philadelphia here visiting while at Honeywell made a good showing. Slowed a bit up 5th avenue for the last time though. Actually a pretty good pace all day and kudos to Ivan and David for good performances.

We did lose our Colorado visitor - seems to be a reoccurring thing with the pro tem ride leader.

Of course, we did have some honorary members for lunch - Ron and Sue.

Ride Schedule

1/21 - Tour de Mesa - Mileage options of 35 or 45 miles with hills on the longer route. Breakfast at Pleaissant Croissants - Rural & Elliot.

1/28 - Tour De Mummy Backwards - Mileage options of 37 or 50 miles with breakfast at US Egg on Mill & Baseline.

Hi All!

We had 61 riders turn out in the park yesterday morning. Even the later start didn't save us from the chill, but we attempted to keep it at bay with lots of hot air. The roll over to S Mt was quick, with riders trying to over come the wind chill with cranked up body temp. A few ventured to the towers, a few more went to see San Juan, and some heard the siren call of coffee at the StoneHouse and flipped around there. A rare tailwind on Baseline made the romp back even quicker than the roll out. Arrival at Atlanta (the restaurant, not the city) brought us a rare and welcome John Arle sighting (people from Oregon sure dress funny, which is saying a lot when you are standing in the middle of 30 people dressed in flourescent lycra!). The temp outside dropped by a few degrees while we dallied ingesting caffiene, so the return to the park after was a shivery dash.

Coming up...

Saturday 1/20/07 8:30am Kiwanis Park. We return to Mummy Mountain, with route options of 27 miles with moderate climbing or 40 miles with bonus climbs. Breakfast at Brueggers, northwest corner Mill & 11th.

Saturday 1/27/07 8:30am Kiwanis Park. Off to the northeast on the Tour de Mesa, route options of 29 miles with no climbing or 39 miles with a gentle climb. Breakfast at Einsteins, northwest corner Guadalupe & McClintock.

Saturday 2/3/07 8:00am Kiwanis Park. NOTE THE TIME CHANGE! We roll into early spring with a romp around the St. Francis Loop, route options 24 miles or 36 miles, moderate climbing on both. Breakfast at Brueggers, northwest corner Mill & 11th.

Tid bits

Ice, ice, baby. (Admit it... you immediately have that tune stuck in your head now, huh?) Ice is a cyclist's friend and comfort in the summer. But "I.C.E." is something cyclists tend to avoid thinking about, anytime. But it is critical that you do so, now. ICE, In Case of Emergency. Do your riding friends know who to contact in the non-cycling world for you if you can't? Will medical personnel know who you are, what medical conditions you might have, and who to contact if you are not capable of telling them? If you carry a cellphone when you ride, ICE it. Program a number under the name "ICE" that is your hotline to friends/family if you can't speak for yourself. Wear ID, and not in your Camelback, it will probably be seperated from you in an accident. Something in your jersey pocket is OK, but better yet is something on you, a dog-tag style ID or bracelet. All of the bike mags advertise companies that will make those up for just a few dollars. Heck... even Vanilla Ice wore dog-tags, didn't he?

Ride safe

Hi All!

The sun brightly shining at least gave the illusion of warmth for the start of the romp this morning. We had 64 riders head out to the northeast, with 63 of them managing to get out of the parking lot before having a flat. Actually Tina and Steve had a flat before they even got out of their car in the parking lot. (And if you have ever had a high-pressure tire go kablooie in the enclosed space of a car... you'll understand why their hearing was a bit impaired for the rest of the morning!) We eventually got underway, with the group breaking down into various bunches, depending on who was intending to ride the century ride tomorrow and knew better than to blow their legs out today. On the return, the staff at SomeBurros was excited about having us visit and had the boosted up bean supply ready and waiting.

Coming up...

Saturday 1/13/07 8:30am Kiwanis Park. South Mountain, with options either to San Juan or up to the towers (or sitting on the wall at the StoneHouse!). Choices of 27 miles with very little climbing, 40 miles with moderate climbing, or 42 miles with lots of climbing. Breakfast at Atlanta Bread Co, southeast corner Elliot & Priest.

Saturday 1/20/07 8:30am Kiwanis Park. Since only a few hardy souls completed our last attempt at the Mummy Mountain route, we'll try this again, hopefully without the fog this time. Route options 27 miles with moderate climbing or 40 miles with bonus climbs. Breakfast at Brueggers, northwest corner Mill & 11th.

Saturday 1/27/07 8:30am Kiwanis Park. Off to the northeast on the Tour de Mesa, route options of 29 miles with no climbing or 39 miles with a gentle climb. Breakfast at Einsteins, northwest corner Guadalupe & McClinotck.

Tid bits

We were passed this morning by a couple of emergency vehicles (fortunately not coming to us!), bringing up questions about how their appearance applies to bicyclists. The answer is the same as at applies to cars. When an emergency vehicle passes, with lights and siren blaring, get as far to the right side of the pavement as you can and stop riding. If traffic is heavy, get up on to the sidewalk, if there is one. The cars diving to the right side of the road are focused on the emergency vehicle, not on you.

Ride safe and Happy New Year to all!

We had 18 hearty souls brave the cool morning and head out East. Another great day of riding, just like 52 plus during the last year. Thanks for everyone for making it fun for me. Let's see, I cannot forget Ron Waller getting Flat Head of the year honors. Who knows if he really did have more than anyone else, but having 4 on the last day, and the harassment he gave to Rueben prior to his gives him this years award. I hope everyone has a great new year - Glen

REMEMBER - NEXT SUNDAY'S RIDE WILL BE THE CASA GRANDE CENTURY - NO START FROM DESERT BREEZE

JANUARY START TIMES ARE 8:30.

Ride Schedule

1/7 - Casa Grande Century - Join PMBC on the first century of the year. This ride is a great first century or metric century. The terrain is flat, the roads have low traffic, and if history repeats itself, the weather is sunny with a high of 70. Three ride options will be offered: 100 miles, 62 miles, and 34 miles. For more info see Casa Grande Century.

1/14 - Ocotukee Loop - Yes we'll actually do it this time. Ride options of 35, 40, or 55 miles with the longer routes having hills. Breakfast at Brueggers Bagels on Chandler & Rural.

1/21 - Tour de Mesa - Mileage options of 35 or 45 miles with hills on the longer route. Breakfast at Pleaissant Croissants - Rural & Elliot.

1/28 - Tour De Mummy Backwards - Mileage options of 37 or 50 miles with breakfast at US Egg on Mill & Baseline.