Hi All!

We had 79 riders enthusiastically (or not) roll outa bed to appear for our last crack-o-dawn start for the summer. The storms during the past week left a lot of standing water out in the desert areas, which motivated us to ride faster than mosquitos can fly. We weren't sure how fast that might be, and considering the tailwind across Riggs, not sure who was winning that race. The weather tossed debris made for a few flat tire pit stops along 56th St, but most eventually made their way to breakfast.

Coming up...

Monday 9/1/08 7:00am Kiwanis Park. NOTE THE TIME CHANGE! The "Paseo de Cesar Chavez", a new route, heads to the west to Cesar Chavez Park and back. Route options 25 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at AZ Bread Co, southeast corner Elliot & Kyrene.

Saturday 9/6/08 7:00am Kiwanis Park. The St. Francis Loop wanders around town on a figure eight, with route options of 26 miles or 36 miles, moderate climbing on both routes. Breakfast at Einstein's, northwest corner Guadalupe & McClintock.

Saturday 9/13/08 7:00am Kiwanis Park. FREE FOOD! Time for our quarterly club membership ride and breakfast meeting. Ride with us to the gathering along the Length of Lindsay route, with options of 29 miles or 39 miles, no climbing. The get together is at the Home Town Buffet, northwest corner of Warner & Evergreen in Chandler. Breakfast is free to all PMBC members, $8 for non-members. If you are meeting us at the restaurant, aim for arriving there about 9:00am.

Saturday 9/20/08 7:00am Kiwanis Park. Mummy Mountain, original route. Options of 27 miles with a couple of climbs or 40 miles with some extra climbs. Breakfast at IHOP, southwest corner College & Apache.

Tid bits

Depending on the type of tubes you use, their age/condition, etc... your tire pressure can drop somewhere in the range of 1 to 3 pounds a day. Seems minimal, right? But what if the last time you hopped on your steed was last Saturday? Now you are talking about your tire pressure being down by something like 10 to 15 pounds. If you pedal on under-inflated tires, you have to work harder than your friends and you're at greater risk for pinch flats and debris puncture. A hard tire will pop away debris (sending it flying into your cycling buds sometimes, which is very entertaining in the pack), but a soft tire will roll up over debris, setting you up for a puncture. At minimum, you should be airing up at least once each week before our club rides. Aiming for the suggested air pressure noted on your tire side-wall is a good middle ground, or some people prefer a little more or less than that, depending on how much of you there is to love.

Ride safe

Hi All!

87 riders appeared in the park for our morning's romp. Some who had pedaled to the start from their homes noted that the rising sun was chasing them in, a sure sign that our summer season is winding down. We looped over thru the quiet streets of Lehi (or at least they were quiet before we got there) and then our roll back into town on Rio Salado's gentle downhill was tempered a bit by a head wind. Part of the gang dined at US Egg while an over-flow group rolled on to AZ Bread Co. This resulted in both groups spending their post ride chatter time gossiping about who ever had gone to the other stop.

Coming up...

Saturday 8/30/08 6:30am Kiwanis Park. The Tour de Sue takes us south out onto open roads, with route options of 25 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at AZ Bread Co, southeest corner Elliot & Kyrene.

Monday 9/1/08 7:00am Kiwanis Park. NOTE THE TIME CHANGE! The "Paseo de Cesar Chavez", a new route, heads to the west to Cesar Chavez Park and back. Route options 25 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at AZ Bread Co, southeast corner Elliot & Kyrene.

Saturday 9/6/08 7:00am Kiwanis Park. The St. Francis Loop wanders around town on a figure eight, with route options of 26 miles or 36 miles, moderate climbing on both routes. Breakfast at Einstein's, northwest corner Guadalupe & McClintock.

Saturday 9/13/08 7:00 Kiwanis Park. FREE FOOD! Time for our quarterly club membership ride and breakfast meeting. Ride with us to the gathering along the Length of Lindsay route, with options of 29 miles or 39 miles, no climbing. The get together is at the Home Town Buffet, northwest corner of Warner & Evergreen in Chandler. Breakfast is free to all PMBC members, $8 for non-members. If you are meeting us at the restaurant, aim for arriving there about 9:00am.

Tid bits

The "pay-to-ride" events are coming. The fall cycling calendar looms, stuffed full of charity pedals, commercial rides, and races. If you are new to our sport or a long time rider, these events are a grand experience. They are a great way to cycle unfamiliar roads, definitely meet new people, and they can be very motivating in regards to keeping your fitness level up. Knowing that you have a ride scheduled somewhere in your future that will stretch your abilities, either by distance or speed, is a perfect way to keep you in the groove of working on improvement now. Heck, you might even just say no to that second donut. Or not.

Ride safe

The above photo was taken before the PMBC Saturday Cycling Ride at Kiwanis Park on August 16th. Everyone is wearing our new Primal Wear cycling "kit." (Click image to view full size.)

We still have a limited number of men's and women's jerseys available. If anyone is interested, please contact Ron Waller about available sizes.

Hi All!

We had 81 riders appear for our romp into the foothills today. Our request for members to flaunt the current version of the club jersey brought us a pretty good turn out of team colors for the photo we needed. (Though we did almost lose our photographer who was standing out in the middle All American Way to snap the pics.) We tried to keep the pit stops along the route quick, knowing the humidity was going to rise with the sun, and the cool indoor seating at the food stop was popular. After breakfast Robyn aka Gumby demostrated for us some stretching moves, giving all new meaning to staying loose in the saddle.

Coming up...

Saturday 8/23/08 6:30am Kiwanis Park. Tour de Lehi takes us to the northeast, with route options of 27 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at US Egg, southwest of College & Baseline.

Saturday 8/30/08 6:30am Kiwanis Park. For our last early morning start time of the summer, we roll out to the south on some of the few open roads left in our area, on the Tour de Sue. Route options of 25 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at AZ Bread Co, southeest corner Elliot & Kyrene.

Monday 9/1/08 7:00am Kiwanis Park. NOTE THE TIME CHANGE! A holiday romp, on a new route. We've had a club member submit another new adventure, which has been titled "Paseo de Cesar Chavez". This is a roll to the west, taking us over to Cesar Chavez Park and back. We have a preview of the map (.doc) up for those that like to read ahead. Route options 25 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at AZ Bread Co, southeast corner Elliot & Kyrene.

Saturday 9/6/08 7:00am Kiwanis Park. The St. Francis Loop takes us around town on a figure eight, with route options of 26 miles or 36 miles, moderate climbing on both routes. Breakfast at Einstein's, northwest corner Guadalupe & McClintock.

Tid bits

The number of riders appearing at the park after our start time is growing. A reminder, start time is when we roll out. You need to arrive before that time, to do all those inane things that you do before you start riding your bike. Air your tires, slather on your sunscreen, sign-in, hug everybody (or not, depending on how touchie-feelie you are), catch up on the gossip, etc. If you arrive just as we are ready to leave, you'll then immediately find out where you fit in the pecking order of the pack. For the cream of the crop, the pack will hesitate about one nano-second before rolling out without you. For the rest of the fold fodder, you better have a good sprint tucked in your pocket, because the pack is on the move. Respect your group ride, appear on time, with your act together and be ready to roll at the ding of the hour. How can you experience the joy of being dropped by the group if you don't start with the pack?

Ride safe

Hi All!

We had 87 riders turn out for our romp into Mesa this morning. A few clouds lingering in the east after sunrise gave us a bit of a break from the heat of the sun early on, but the increased humidity had everybody "glowing" by a few miles out. (The guys were hoggy sweaty, the gals were glistening like the morning dew.) The storms this past week seemed to have stirred up lots of fresh debris on the road surface and the rear guard flat tire pack grew to rather large numbers by the time we rolled into breakfast. Chatter over carbs and caffeine bounced from the wonders of the opening ceremonies for the Olympics to tales of summer travels. Jan and Mary Ellen tied with Eric L for wandering awards, the gals just came back from pedaling in Russia and Eric rolled across Holland. Thanks bunches to Dave Lehnen for working as support crew this morning. (Good luck at the Mt. Lemmon race tomrrow, Dave!) And huge thanks to Prez Ron Waller for herding the cats the past two Saturdays.

Coming up...

Saturday 8/16/08 6:30am Kiwanis Park. We head for the hills on the AhwaFooty route, 24 miles with one gentle climb or 35 miles with a couple of moderate climbs. Breakfast at AZ Bread Co, southwest corner Elliot & Kyrene.

Saturday 8/23/08 6:30am Kiwanis Park. Tour de Lehi takes us to the northeast, with route options of 27 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at US Egg, southwest of College & Baseline.

Saturday 8/30/08 6:30am Kiwanis Park. For our last early morning start time of the summer, we roll out to the south on some of the few open roads left in our area, on the Tour de Sue. Route options of 25 miles or 35 miles, no climbing. Breakfast at AZ Bread Co, southwest corner Elliot & Kyrene.

Tid bits

Photo op!! We've received an invite from Primal to send them a photo of our motley crew adorned in our spiffy new club jerseys. If you would like the chance to appear on their website in a group photo, come to next Saturday morning's ride in this year's version of the club's jersey. We'll be snapping a few photos before the ride and as your thank you, club jerseys will ride out of the park first next Saturday. (You can roll out with your jersey if it's on your body.)

Ride safe

Yes, I have been remiss in getting the ride reports and ride schedules out, but think, it is an adventure when you show up. Several funny things in the past month to share - let's see, there is Jimmy's man purse, Neal being helpful (even if it was for a few minutes), Ron in the bushes, Mike the diesel, Peter the outspoken, Bill - he who rides on his honeymoon, and of course, Big Richard! I'm sure there was more, but if you've been riding, you will get these, if not, means you need to ride more.

Ride Schedule

8/10 - 6:30 AM Tour de Lindsay - Hunt to Lindsay to Mckellips - Mileage options of 40 or 54 flat miles. Breakfast at Bogies Club House - Ken McDonald Golf Course.

8/17 - 6:30 AM McKellips Loop - Check out the wind tunnel on Mckellips - Breakfast at Pleasant Crosaint - Rural & Elliot. Mileage options of 34, 39, or 50 miles

8/24 - 6:30 AM Original Mummy - Mileage options of 35 or 45 miles with a lot of climbing on longer route. Breakfast at Einsteins - McClintock & Guadalupe.

8/31 - 6:30 AM Tour de Mesa - Mileage options of 35 or 45 miles with some climbing on the longer route. Breakfast at Maui Wowi - Ray & Price.