Now is the time to submit nominations for 2020 Club Officers and 2019 Season Awards. Members should receive an email with a link to the survey. Please complete the survey by Friday, December 13th to throw your name in the hat for one of several officer positions and also nominate members for one of the 2019 Season Awards. 

If you are an active member and do not receive the email with the link, please contact me (rschieb@gmail.com) and we'll get it over to you. 

-Ron Schieb, Board President

The Board is scheduled to meet on Thursday, December 19th 6:00pm in Conference D at the Way Public Library in Perrysburg OH. Members are welcome to attend.

-Ron Schieb, Board President

Highlights from the TAB Ride Leader Meeting November 13^, 2019

 

          Nineteen  TAB Ride Leaders meet and discussed important issues over dinner at the Grape Leaf Diner this past Wednesday, November 13, 2019.   Following is a summer of the issues discussed:

 

E-bikes

• It will be left to individual ride leaders whether they allow e-bikes on their rides. Safety is the main concern here. The handling of an e-bike is not quite the same as a totally human-powered bike. Does an e-bike rider that shows up for a group ride have the skills necessary for riding in that group? If not, the rider should ride in a slower group to learn necessary skills.

 

New Ride Leaders

• John Wodarski will replace Dan Becker as a ride leader in the Sunday Breakfast Ride rotation. Thank you Dan for your great rides! Welcome John!  Doug Kilpatrick is considering whether he will definitely take over leadership of the Monday Whitehouse B ride. Thank you Nancy Beeman for all the years of leading that ride!  TAB still needs a leader for the 5fer Thursday Extra Spicy group and a co-leader with Linda Posadny on her Saturday Meandering Rides.

 

Safety was a major part of the evening’s discussions.

• 1.    Riders in the back of a group must call out cars behind and make sure the message gets all the way to the front.
• 2.    Riders should peel off the front one side at a time so that there are no more than 3-abreast at a time.
• 3.    Report near misses of accidents to remind riders of the need for safety.
• 4.    Remove any unsafe rider from the group.
• 5.    All riders should call out errors.
• 6.    Mirrors for better visuals are encouraged.
• 7.    Riders must stay off that center line!
• 8.    Groups of 20+ riders are discouraged.
• 9.    Ride leaders might want to stay in the 3-4^th position in line to monitor the group and to call out turns.
• 10.           Ride leaders should feel free to let a rider know if that rider is doing something unsafe.

 

More discussion on these topics at the next Ride Leader Meeting in April!

Chuck Nicewonder

It is with sadness that the Barnes family must inform you that David M. Barnes, 91, died Thursday, October 24, 2019, at St. Vincent Hospital in Portland, Oregon. David was born October 2, 1928 in Chicago to John Morgan Haviland and Edith McKenzie and on August 18, 1951 in Newark, Ohio married Annabelle “AB” Alexander who died August 4, 2001.

He was a chemist and an executive for Owens Corning Fiberglas before retiring and completing his masters in Sports Physiology at BGSU. He was a member and webmaster of the Maumee Valley Wheelmen bicycle club before moving to Portland.

Surviving are 4 children, Marilyn D. Barnes McCoy of Toledo, OH; Richard D. (Rejeanna) Barnes of Aloha, OR; Edward D. Barnes of King City, OR; and Nancy J. (Dick) Sisler of Vermillion, OH; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Barbara Barnes Wheeler and first born child, Jeffrey D. Barnes.

In honoring David’s wishes, there will be no services. The family will host a reception for family, friends, and guests from 2-5 p.m. Sunday November 24, 2019 at the Maumee Bay State Park Lodge (Barnes Celebration of Life).

Tomorrow begins Week 1 of our annual winter series. Come on out to Maumee Bay State Park and join us for a 47-mile ride which will eventually take us to Packo's for lunch and then return to MBSP.

Ride Type: Road

Distance: 47 miles

Start Time: 9:00am

Unofficial Speedtrap Ride Tuesday, October 29^th recap

          The final unofficial Speedtrap Ride of the season brought eight cyclists to Elmore this past Tuesday, October 29^th.

          Scott Lang, Rob Rausch, George Byington, and Kathy Metzger formed a combined Ghost Pepper-Cayenne Pepper group. Scott Lang reported a riding average of 20.5 mph over the 25-mile course.( My apologies to Kathy and George for not getting them in the picture.)

          Ken south and John Del Toro were the Habanero Riders. They rode the same 25-mile route. No report from either Ken or John with an average.

          Claude Watkins and I were a combined Jalapeno-Sweet Pepper group. We rode the shorter 22-mile route. My Garmin indicated a 14.5 mph average.

          There was a noticeable headwind for the first part of the ride as we headed southwest, but the rest of the ride was very enjoyable.

          Thank you to all for a great Speedtrap season. Next year, as I understand it, we will have to have a slightly different route, as the bridge on SR 51 over the Portage River in Elmore will be closed.

I am looking forward to May 5, 2020, for the official start of the next riding season. We may have some unofficial rides earlier than that. I hope to see you then.

Chuck Nicewonder

Unofficial Speedtrap Ride Tuesday October 29th ?

          Greetings to all: Do you want one more unofficial Speedtrap Ride tomorrow, Tuesday, October 29th ?

If so, I propose riding at 5:15 pm from Spoke Life Cycles in Elmore.

           The high temperature tomorrow is predicted to be 62 degrees, with overcast skies and winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. This should make the return-to-Elmore portion of the ride nice.

          If enough people want to ride, we will form groups depending on who shows.

          If we do ride, please make sure your bike is equipped with front and rear lights. We will likely be returning to Elmore in the dark.

         Perhaps I'll see you in Elmore tomorrow!

Chuck Nicewonder

The final Adventurer’s ride of the year promises to be a good one. Fall colors are supposed to be at their peak this weekend, so we’ll try to see as much of the color as we can. We’ll leave from Whitehouse, head down to the foliage along Old 24 then jog up to Grandma’s in Liberty Ctr for our snack stop. From there it’s over to Colton, through the Maumee State Forest, with a quick dash into Oak Openings before we return to Whitehouse. Total miles – 42, so we should be back by noon-ish.

It’s a little early to get a good handle on the weather, but it looks like partly to mostly cloudy with temps starting in the mid-40s at ride time and reaching mid -50s by the time we get back. The rain should hold off until later in the day, so expect a dry ride. We’ll leave from CycleWerks in Whitehouse at 9:00, with average speed in the 17ish range. See you there!

GPS track is at https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31357700

Unofficial Speedtrap Ride Tuesday, October 22^nd recap

          While I was driving to Elmore yesterday, it was extremely windy, with periods of rain. I thought anyone who went out for a ride in weather like this would be  crazy.

          But Ken South, Alan Frishman, Mike Meiser and I rode the 22-mile shorter version of the Speedtrap Ride, and we had a wonderful time on our bikes!

          Yes, there was a strong headwind for the first eight miles on Portage River South Rd and Fort Findlay Road. But, even though we finished with only a 14-mph average, the four of us enjoyed the ride a lot!

          I am proposing one more unofficial Speedtrap Ride next Tuesday, October 29^th, leaving Spoke Life Cycles in Elmore at 5:15 pm. Come join the fun one last time this season. I hope to see you then!

Chuck Nicewonder

Join me this Saturday for one more gravel ride before Winter Warrior begins. This one departs from River's Edge Brewing in Milford, MI, not far from the Milford and Proud Lake MTB trails. We'll explore 40ish miles of gravel roads north of Milford, returning for lunch at River's Edge.

Meet at 8am at River's Edge Brewing, 125 S Main St #400, Milford, MI 48381.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31016259