TEAM RIDE THIS SATURDAY!

Hey Team!

Coach Derek, myself and the rest o' your Ride Commitee sure hope to see your smilin' faces @ Team Ride #2 this Saturday 4/24! Here are the pertinent details:

Where? - Johnson Park on the west side of GR. We've used this park for the past 2-3 seasons. A map to it is here http://tinyurl.com/johnsonparkride

When? - We roll @ 10:00am sharp! A coupla reasons for the earlier start, folks have lotsa social and family stuff goin' on and a goodly # of us will be working @ Van Andel that evening. So - please be there w/ tires inflated, jersey pockets stuffed and ready to roll @ 10:00.

What? - We'll have 2 routes to chose from - one of 28.5 miles and a "long cut" option that'll tack on 'nother 7-8 miles. The cool thing is that you don't hafta decide 'til near the end of the main loop 'cuz the long cut isn't until near the end. It's sort of a roll-y part of the world - no massive climbs but it ain't flat either.

Who? - You! As well as your team mates & any friends you wanna invite along. Remember that exposure to one of our rides has been proven to cause folks to test positive for JDRF infection in the near future. (It's a good way to recruit - that's all I'm sayin')

What else? - There will be the now-standard post-ride social gathering, calorie replacement & mutual admiration society meeting after the ride. I'll bring your basic snacks and everyone else is welcome to do so as you see fit.

I think that covers the basics - feel free to contact Derek or myself if you have any questions.

What's that? You're lookin' for more miles? Read on!
Some of us will be looking to get our "April Century" in on Saturday as well, feel free to join us for some or all of it. We'll be rolling from Riverside Park (basically the South end of the White Pine Trail) @ 6:30am (yeah - I said "6:30am"!) to roll up to the end of the paved trail and back before headin' over to Johnson Park. After the post-ride festivities we'll go back out to get whatever miles we need to check April off the "Century a Month" list. Shouldn't need more than 15-20 at that point) It'd be great to have you join us!

Sunday Stuff - Our team mates Kirsten Dykstra & Cathy "Kaat" Tahy will be competing in the Steelcase Duathlon Sunday morning so wish them luck and send some good vibes their way. Here @ the shop we're hosting the Pineapple Bob Classic Ride - featuring as many dirt and gravel roads as we can link together after rollin' from the shop @ 2:00pm. It'll be do-able on a road bike but a 'cross bike would be best. Food afterwards? You hafta ask?

Looking ahead - The next Team Ride (after Saturday 'natch) is Sunday 5/16 and then again on the 23rd. Sarah Andro is having her "Barbeque, Brews and a Bike Ride" Fun Raiser on 5/21, and you really oughta sign up for ODRAM and ride across the state on 8/21! There are still a few Van Andel gigs coming up (contact Cindy Aley if you wanna get on that train) and as we roll into the season for real there will be more rides, events, fun raising projects, etc. We'd encourage you all to make a habit of checking this blog as well as using it to communicate w/ your team mates.

Okay - to sum up - hope to see y'all Saturday, ride more w/ us if you wanna, bring snacks if you are so inclined, lots going on Sunday & soon, life is good, diabetes sucks and we're out to kick it's ass.

Thanks again and forever more for all you do and for what each and every one of you mean to this Team and JDRF. (And me!)

See you soon - hopefully Saturday!

Coach Mike for the Ride Committee. (Coach Did, Big Cheese Nicole, Katie Clark, Tom Miller, JD Stone, Cindy Aley & Cathy Coury)

By the way - howzabout a HUGE TEAM HOO-RAH for Derek showing that silly little cancer germ just who it was messin' with, huh? Best news I've heard in a l-o-n-g time!