Reporting and Announcing!

So, it wasn't THAT bad out today, despite the forecast, and despite the fact that for a mess of the day, it WAS that bad out. So, given the apparent sucktacular potential, the turnout for today's ride really was pretty decent. Of course, it was also pretty much who you'd expect:

Coach MC rode-to-the-ride

Linda C

Host Tom M, whose house I love because everything is set up for tall people

Tom's friend and neighbor, who rode with us last year, and who's name I'll probably remember sometime next month, but not right now, dangit

J2

Heather AB

JD

Chris R

And me.

We did a total of about 35 miles, split between a 10 mile starter loop and a 25 mile main loop; we didn't get rained on at all, but there was enough wetness on the road to make for some fine racing stripes!

Now, for our next attempt to have a team ride in conditions that are warm AND dry AND not too windy AND maybe even sunny, we'll try something new - a ride from North Muskegon. Our start point will be Mullaly Park (http://tinyurl.com/mullalypark for da map - we'll meet back by the playground equipment, where there are bathrooms and a picnic area), and we'll continue the double-loop format.

Loop 1 will be about 17 miles, with a 12:15 rollout time (i.e. be there at noon), and will include the much-loved Blockhouse Hill on newly-repaved Scenic Drive.

Loop Deux will be about 30 miles, with a 2 pm sharp rollout time. This time we'll hit the very nice Duck Lake State Park bridge, and I'll see if I can jigger things so you can choose to do Blockhouse Hill (this time from the other direction), or go around it.

Post-ride, we'll hang out, and hopefully we'll be able to grill up a bunch of the burgers and hot dogs that Tom has left from today - bring something to pass, if you want.

And, last things last, JUST in case you have some odd need to see MC, Kaat, Pea, and did suffering in the high desert, here ya go.

Team Fiona loves you guys, 'cuz all y'all rock!

Lots going on...

Hi team. Lots going on and to update you on...

•  Team Ride on Sunday, May 15th at Tom Miller's house in Grand Haven.  Ride distances 35ish miles leaves @ 1 & 25ish miles leaves at 2.  Burgers, dogs & drinks after the ride will be provided. People are invited to bring a dish to pass. Tom promises he WILL be at this ride.  

• Nathan Kooi is looking for volunteers to pour drinks from 3:30pm -7:00pm on Friday May 20th at 9th Bridge Market JDRF fundraising event: Barbeque, Brews, and a Bike Ride.  They are looking for volunteers for beverage pouring so that they can make as much money for JDRF as they possibly can.  They need 2-3 people for this shift.  Contact Nathan directly via e-mail or on his cell 231-206-2465.

• Dawn Miller-Meister & Linda T. Poeder are throwing a golf outing on Saturday June 18th at Braeside Golf Course in Rockford.   Call Dawn at 293.4443 to reserve your Foursome or Sponsor a hole.

• Get your t-shirt design into Katie Clark ASAP.  clarkkat @ gmail.com 

That's about it.   Hope you are getting miles on.   

Katie

Team Ride Two Report and News and Stuff

Hey, a team ride that featured pleasant weather! How About That?!?!?! OK, maybe it was a little bit windy, but compared to team rides Zero and One, this one was positively supercalafragalistic! Not surprisingly, we had pretty dang awesome turnout. The roster:

Cindy

Clarks:

Jack

Katie

Steve

Linda

Mike

J2

Stewart

N2

The Scheidel Trifecta – Ian, Mary, and Tom

JD

LTP

Chris R

Kaat

We were thrilled to have returning riders:

Diana S (Whitefish Summer ’07)

Jeff W (Whitefish Fall ’07)

Heather A (Killington Deluge ’09)

And we were equally thrilled to have NEW riders, all showing up for their first team rides!

Maggie S

John V

Danielle S

Paul B

Cliff L

Kirsten D

Me, with SuperStoker and Ultra Super Awesome Guest Star Dane

And Patti Bills, O.O.B.F.! *

It’s worth noting that Kaat & Kirsten were both fresh(ish) from the Steelcase Duathlon and thus each having an epic “run bike run bike” day! Yowza!

Also cool: 3 tandems! Sweet!

Also also cool: no flat tires! I’m sure Cindy can recall a certain repeat of this route a few years ago that set a record for number of flats on one ride by one rider.

28 riders – that’s pretty awesome! We covered either 23 or 28 miles, and I think I pretty much saw folks riding well together and being good road citizens – good on’ya for that. Maaaybe a couple of map-reading oopsies, there, but, hey, with my UltraPower Stoker on the job, we had it covered pretty well.

Now, our next team ride will be on May 15, hosted ably by our own Tom Miller on the south side of Grand Haven. We’ll have more info on that soon, including whether or not Tom will have a moat that needs crossing. In the interim, ride together, ride safe, ride lots – in short, be JDRF rock stars!

*that’s “Order of the Original Bike Face”, perhaps the highest rank in JDRF lore and pageantry…

MAY 1 TEAM RIDE!!!!!!!

Hey Team!
As detailed in the previous post Coach Did and I have added a Training Ride for this coming Sunday and here's the scoop:

When - 2pm Sunday 5/1
Where - Johnson Park in GR (http://tinyurl.com/johnsonparkride)
How much - 20 and 35 mile (ish) options
Who - You! Your teammates and anyone else you wanna invite!
Why - 'Cuz it's May! 'Cuz it's time to ride! 'Cuz VT is only 12 / Lacrosse is only 14 / Tahoe is only 18 / DV is only 23 / Tucson is only 28 weeks away!

So - I really really really hope to see you there! I'll bring a cooler fulla drinks and a buncha snacks.

Also - there's a really good chance that I'll be meeting BikeFace Originator & past teammate Patti Bills @ Luton in the AM to get some dirt miles in before the ride if you'd like to join us. I'll post details as I have 'em.

So - see you this weekend!
Keep rockin' you rockstars!

Coach MC

3 Degrees of separation

I received an interesting note from a work friend today.  He's an IT guy and works in our plant in Toronto.  Apparently his sister is a recipient of the "Edmonton Protocol", an islet cell transplant.  I'll let you read Scott and his other family member's note.  Related, I remember listening to an early transplant patient who visited GR several years ago and will never forget her saying "I never knew how sick I was"...  That's always stuck with me.

Scott's relation - "A short but sweet note to let you all know that Tracey stopped taking insulin on Monday evening. She is insulin free for the first time in 30+ years.  She feels better each day and looks amazing. We are so very PROUD of her. She has gone through a lot to attain this goal and she's been very brave."


Scott - "Of particular interest to you…. this is a note from my mom about my sister.. she just went thru 2 islet transplants in Edmonton Alberta. She was quite a sick lady prior to this procedure. This has really turned around her life. She was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes as a teenager; she’s now 46. I know that this also impacts your family.. FYI…there is amazing work happening in the research field; the evidence is here."
 
I have 3 degrees of separation from an islet cell transplant recipient!  Ride on friends
 
- Mike

TEAM RIDE REPORT - AND MORE!!!!!!

Hey Team!

Well -whichever one of you irritated good ol' Ma Nature may wanna 'fess up so she can back off a bit......jus' sayin'! Regardless of yet another less-than-ideal weather report a goodly chunk of The World's Coolest Team gathered to show the world (and each other) that We. Will. Not. Be. Deterred. Okay - so m-a-y-b-e we all sorta opted for the shorter route (at the most!) and m-a-y-b-e some of us did a few less than that.......so what? We were there. We rolled. We ate. We were together and that's what matters most!

"Roll" Call: (har!)

B-Day Girl Heather A-B (Back on the team after a 1 yr hiatus!)

John J

Jay Dee

Tyson S (new guy! - 1st Team ride!)

The HellKaat

Steve C

Becky M

Nicole N

The lovely and talented Linda C

Tom M

Coach Did

Coach Me

We enjoyed able moral and caloric support from:

Katie C

Kirsten D

Chris M

Team Scheidel x 3

and - a host of misc chilluns

Needless to say there was much eating and drinking and laughing and tales of bravado once we got back to casa da Clark! It was a typical West Mi Team All Around Good Time - we missed you if your day took you elsewhere and hope to see you soon!

Speaking of that - we've added a NEW TEAM RIDE to bridge the gap 'tween this'n and the one set for 5/15. Check it: Sunday 5/1 - 2:00pm - Johnson Park in GR. We'll have 20 & 35 mile options and I'll bring some snacky stuff. (You can too!)

The 5/15 Team Ride will be hosted by Tom Miller up in Grand Haven. The "main event" will be a 20-ish miler @ 2:00pm. There will also be the option of doing some extra miles prior to the 2:00 start - in addition to the option of riding up there w/ MC from Holland. (Details to follow.)

KEEP READING, THERE'S MORE! (as promised) Team Jersey Poll - We're still exploring the idea of a new Team Training Jersey. There's a poll here on the Blog (look to your right......see it?) and it'd be helpful to your friends on the Ride Committee if you'd take a sec and fill it out. Thanks!

Team T-shirt Design Contest - As per usual we'll be looking to chose the winning design for our team tee shirt. Limber up your pencils, CAD programs, crayons and imaginations and get your designs to Katie by May 15 if you wanna be included in the contest. (Gotta a fav screenprinter? Let her know that as well). clarkkat@gmail.com

GR Bike Summit on 5/6 - The Bike Summit is a big meeting to promote commuting and practical bike use and we'll be having a booth to promote the Ride and our Team there. Wanna help out? Let me know. mike@velo-citycycles.com (www.bikegrandrapids.org)

That's it for now my friends........remember to keep riding (or start, as the case may be), keep fund-raising and remember that you guys all ROCK! Thanks for all you do to make this Team the force that it is.......we are gonna make a difference! See you on May 1st if not before...........hopefully before!

Coach Mike (for Coach Did and the entire hard-workin' Ride Committee - Nicole, Cathy C, Tom M, Katie C and Cindy A)

Jake's Music Festival on Saturday

It is upon us. The musical event of the year. Jake's Music Festival takes place this Saturday, April 16th at Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids. This 7th annual celebration of local music starts at 3:00 p.m. and runs until 11:00 p.m. Performers include A.B! and Coconut Brown, Igby Iris, Chance Jones, Poor 'Ol Jim, The Fainting Generals, Karisa Wilson, Ritsu and many more. Click here for the full lineup.
The festival is organizer by West Michigan Ride Team members Tom and Mary Scheidel along with Clay Grueber and Todd Herring. Because of the generosity of sponsors Frames Unlimited, The Gordon Group, and Magic Hat #9 this will be a free show. Donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation will be cheerfully accepted. There is also a silent auction with items from the GR Symphony, Art Museum, Public Museum, Whitecaps, Grand River Grocery, and over a dozen more local businesses.
So please stop by on Saturday. See one or two bands or stay all day. It's promises to be a great day of great music.