Weekend Update!

Like I said it was indeed a full weekend of pedalling!

Saturday we had Cindy n’ Greg, Tom, Ian, Brad, Linda T-P, Stewart, Melanie and Scott, Rick, and me rolling out from the West Side Christian School for the 2010 100 (and then some) Grand. And not too many miles in we had a chance to say hi to Bonnie, too.

What? I missed someone?

Oh hells yeah! Our own Kaat, celebrating one year of one-a-month (or more) century riding! Sweeeet. Some people start riding a bike and after a couple of years they try a century, maybe!

Anyway, it was a fine day for riding, and the 100(and 8) Grand is a nicely put-together tour, if a bit sadistic – really, do we have to have the hardest hills in the last 20 miles? We had a couple of firsts out there, with Stewart completing his first century ride (despite a rear tire that was determined to thwart him), and Ian, who was 14.997 years old yesterday, completing his first metric century. Nice job, guys! And let me repeat my thanks to Brad for his excellent all-day impression of a brightly colored locomotive. Imagine how fast he'd be with shaved legs!*

So, that's 108 miles on Saturday.

Sunday, of course, we had the marina version of Tour de Taco, and let me list the available facilities we enjoyed: grills under a gazebo, a pool, a playground, showers, wonderful soft grass, big carts for hauling coolers, and indoor parking! Seriously, the "host amenities" arms race has been taken to a new level! Despite unseasonably chilly weather we had fine turnout, in the persons of:

Cindy "Sandpaper" A.

Katie C.

Linda C.

Lynne G, who will be scoping out the new ride venue in Vermont in a few weeks

John "sad cookie" J.

Nathen K.

Chris "two tubes" M.

Stewart M.

Nicole N.

Chris R.

JD

And a bevy of Special Guest Stars:

Greg E.

Patti B.

Heather A.B.

Brian B.

Kathy H.

Berger & Joy

Aaand coachy types MC & did.

We covered, um, well, I dunno how much we covered, given the variety of route options available - somewhere between 18 and 51 miles, I guess! We certainly managed to dodge some weather bullets; I remain amazed that we didn't get poured on, and even more amazed at how we finished in full sun. MC rotated his hat into "grill chef" position and began producing vast quantities of fajita chicken for folks to tuck in to as they rolled in - and for arriving guests that included three-fifths of the remaining Machuta clan (continue beaming healing rays at Becky's elbow!), Ellie & Anna, a trio of Scheidels, Mrs. did and the didlet, and of course Maggie S.

Our next team ride is on Sunday the 20th - yeah, that's Father's Day. We're gonna try a new sorty "loopy" approach to routes that will easily allow shortening the ride. Hopefully that'll allow you to be able to get to any Father's Day festivities you've got planned - we'll let you know details later this week or early next week. Something relating to this that we'd like you to think about is how you'd like to structure your rides - who do you like to ride with, how fast do you want to go, etc. We've noted that our rides tend to get kinda fragmented, so we're thinking of sending folks out in smaller groups rather than in one horde.

We're also hoping that this approach will bring out some of the folks we haven't seen much of this year - we'd love to see everyone at some point!

On the "upcoming events" front, please watch your email! We have the Holland Hundred coming up in July, which will have some fund-raising opportunities for you.

Also, there are some fund-raising deadlines coming up that you need to be aware of, too - meeting those deadlines allows the chapter to make your travel arrangements earlier, which usually means cheaper, which means more money to researching a cure to Type 1 Diabetes!

Y'all continue to rock!

Coach did

*I kid, I kid. Except for when I don't. And even then I do. Sometimes. We're bringing a razor to Vegas.

six/one/ten team note

Hiho, everybody, and welcome to June! MC and I hereby declare that Riding Season is completely and unreservedly open, not that it was much less so yesterday.

It’s gonna be a very full weekend of riding for more than a few of us, so, let’s do some organizing!

First off, Saturday, we have the 100 Grand ride – just to reiterate, if you ain’t on the list, you will have to pay for your registration (looks like that’ll be $25, or $20 if you’re a Rapid Wheelmen member). The course opens at 8 am; I’m thinking that we want to be rolling pretty much right away, so if you want to ride with a group (and who wouldn’t?) let’s meet at 7:45 outside the registration area and head out on to the course at 8. The start/finish is at West Side Christian School, here : http://tinyurl.com/100GrandStart.

Sunday is the deservedly famous Tour de Taco ride. This year we’ll be riding from Eldean’s Shipyard (here: http://tinyurl.com/Eldeans) with an 11 am rollout time so be there by 10:45. We may be parking in the building on the south side of the road there, just so you know – how cool is indoor parking? Zowie. As for routes, we’ll have a 50ish mile main route, a 40ish mile shorter option, and the promised “100 Grand Recovery Ride” as-flat-as-possible 20ish miler. Please note that the longer loops we’re planning are a bit light on places to buy food for the first 30 or so miles, so plan to have some riding food along with you.

Post-ride, we’ll have, uh, post-ride festivities! In the grand tradition of the TdT, Coach MC will rotate his helmet into “grill chef” position and provide grilled meats and related tidbits; co-hosts John Jasker and JD Stone will be providing soft drinks. You are encouraged to bring a dish to pass! In addition, we’ll have access to the pool and to a very nice playground, so your family is more than welcome to attend.

Since this is a pretty involved post-ride shindig, we’d really appreciate having a headcount - please email me by the end of this week with an RSVP!

Happy Riding, rock stars!

Team Ride Photos

Photos from yesterday's ride and the first team ride at the Grandville area Clarks are here:

2010 Team Rides

TEAM RIDE REPORT - 5-23-10

Lessee.........what do I remember about yesterday's ride........? Well - it was hot. And hilly. And hot. And there were some hills. And it was kinda warm, mebbe even hot. And.....'twas some up and down.
Did I mention that it was more-than-a bit warm, hot even?

Major World's Coolest Team Ever Props to our Hosts - Tom and Mary Scheidel* - for arranging a well-nigh Death Valley specific ride! There were 2 routes, a 40 miler and a 25 miler and we had a pretty good group of riders on each one.

Speaking of which, here's the role call:

JD
Tom S
Mary S
Katie C
Steve C
Chris M
Becky M (Winner of ALL of the Hardcore Points. More on that in a bit)
Coach Did
Special Guest Star Ms Did (AKA Kirsten D)
Tom M
Linda TP
Scott P
Sarah A (Back in the saddle again!!!!!)
Nick M
Nicole N
Brad S
Chris R
Linda C
Walt F - Newest member of our team! Picked up his bike on Sat and rode 25 miles Sunday! Dang!
Coach me

After the ride there was much feasting on everything from giant strawberries to chips and salsa (shocking!!!) to Linda TP's wicked salsa and a big pot of rice/bean/chicken stuff.

One down note - Becky 3rd "incident' of the day proved to be one too many as our fears were confirmed when she was diagnosed w/ a fractured elbow last night. Let the record show that she rode 10+ miles on said fractured elbow, hence the bestowing of the Hardcore Points. Here's to fast recovery and a shifter-friendly cast or splint! (Hmmmm - do I see a tandem in her future? It's been done before!)

Other than that fairly massive downer 'twas a great ride and everyone (everyone!) rode really really well on a challenging route on a challenging day. We are gonna be SO ready for DV! (And VT and Tucson too!) Might be fun to re-visit this loop in a month or 2 and see how much easier it gets!

Next Team Ride is Sunday 6/6. It's the Tour de Taco and this year it moves form the Clark's backyard to the pool and park alongside Lake Macatawa @ Eldean's Shipyard. (Thanks to JD for setting that up!) There will be 3 routes - a 45 miler w/ a good shortcut and - as promised - a flat and easy 20 miler in case you wanna ride the 100 Grand the day before. We roll @ 11:00 to get lotsa pool time.

Other naggy stuff:
If you don't get your 40 bux to Tom Miller soon you might not get the "pink peloton" jersey that you said you wanted. Jus' sayin'.

Remember to tell Coach Did if you are planning to do the 100 Grand so he can include you in our team registration. That get's ya in for n/c!

We're doing a Memorial Day Ride from the shop - sort of an impromptu 45-50 miler. Rollin' @ 9:00am.

Okay, I think that covers it.........allow me to remind y'all just how much you ROCK, 'cuz you all for sure do!

See you on the road! Be safe, ride lots, keep the rubber side down!

Coach Mike

* Ian - I didn't forget you dude...but you weren't there, y'know?

Team Ride Report, 5/16

Hey Team!

We had a pretty good group that gathered up @ Tom Miller's (happily moat-free) house near Grand Haven for a ride last Sunday. We rode 'tween 30-40 miles and throughly enjoyed the fruits of his grill labors and sweet sunshine on the deck afterwards. No crashes, flats or UFO sightings to report.....but if you weren't there you missed a great day!

Honor Roll Call:
Host w/ the Most Tom M
Mary S
JD
Bonnie
Stewart
Cathy Kaat
John J
Chris R
Heather A-B
Brian B
Cindy A
Special Guest Greg
Special Guests (and Tom's neighbors) Riley and ?????(Never got his name, sorry)
Linda C
Peggy E
(Not so Trike) Mike H
Jeff H
Rick B
Mel W
Coach Did (w/ the last ride on Ruby....sniff)
Coach Me

Lotsa cool stuff comin' this-a-way as May draws to a close....Teammie Sarah A has her "Bike, Brews and a B-B-Q" bash and fund-raiser this Friday.

ALSO - we have 'nother Team Ride a-comin' up this Sunday! We'll gather @ the Scheidel's in Rockford @ 2:00pm for a route that promises to get'cher climbing legs loosened up! We'll send out the details as to their exact location via e-mail.

Looking ahead - The 100 Grand is comin' up fast, it's on 6/5! Remember that as a Team we get to ride for free but you need to let Coach Did know so he can sign everyone up en masse. It's always a great ride.

Our next Team Ride after this Sunday will be 6/6 in Holland. It's a can't miss it sort of day 'cuz JD has secured the yard and pool beside Lake Macatawa here in H-land and it's also the "Tour de Taco Ride". (The city is tearin' up our street all summer so I'll be doing the fajita grilling out by the lake. I can deal.)
Note to 100 Grand Riders - Don't think you gotta miss this ride 'cuz you rode long the day before! We will offer a "Super-Special-I-Rode-All-Dang-Day-Yesterday-And-My-Legs-Are-Toast " loop just for y'all that will be short, simple and flat so you can eat and recover by the pool.

Remember - if you don't get your "Pink Peloton" jersey $ to Tom Miller asap then you ain't for sure gonna get a jersey! We are only ordering a few extra so if you want one (and many of you said that you did!) time to pony up the dough. $40 in a check made out to Tom Miller please. Bring it to the next ride, put in in the mail, drop t off @ the JDRF office, at Velo City.....it's not that hard people!

I think that does it. As I sit here I look ahead @ the coming months and marvel at all that will go down in the next buncha weeks. There are already more riders signed up to ride this year than we had in 2009 so we are well on the way to the biggest year ever for the Ride to Cure Program! You guys are a huge part of that as our Team continues to lead the way. It's gonna be a great year!

So - keep riding. Keep fund-raising. Keep in touch w/ each other and most of all.......

Keep rocking 'cuz after all - it's how we roll, huh?

See you this Sunday if not before and - as always - thanks for doing what you do & beiong who you are!

Ride on
Coach Mike

Winning 2010 team t-shirt

Congrats to Nicole Nelles - designer of the winning 2010 JDRF Michigan Great Lakes West Ride team t-shirt. And this is about the only prize there is for "winning" - so,

Congratulations Nicole!

(Nicole will kill me if I don't tell you that it was her design & idea but submitted with mismatched "stickers", so I did some graphic work to give the shirt some consistency with size/text on "stickers". she wants to share the glory, i think to avoid the continued convo about the 2008 ride shirt. and so there is no jealousy, this is not the only shirt i helped with on graphics. ;-)

So, team this is YOUR t-shirt. We need you to decide on colors for t-shirt and for writing. IDEAS? Put them in the comments. I can change the image above to the ideas suggested and put them out here for another vote.

Also - if you have vendors whose logo should be on the back of this t-shirt, please - GET THEM TO KATIE in EPS or VERY HIGH quality JPG ASAP. (J.D. - this is for you!)

Thanks to everyone who submitted a design. They were all great ideas!

Team Ride this Sunday!

Hey, gangarino -

We've got a team ride coming up that I dung near fergot about! This Sunday, we'll be hosted by the ever-generous (and hardcore points leader) Tom Miller, south of Grand Haven (map to his house will be emailed). Rollout time will be 2pm, so - you know the drill, here - be there by 1:45, and if ya want bring some munchies for the inevitable post-ride nosh session. We'll have routes in the 35ish mile range.

Hmm. Just had a tornado warning drill. What fun. Aaaaaaaah, run from the fauxnado! Hide, hide in the bathrooms!

Anyway, so, yeah. Oh, again, if you ordered a pink jersey and haven't paid for it yet, bring along a check for $40 per jersey made out to Tom Miller.

Watch your email, keep on ridin', keep on rockin'!

cdid