Latest Club News & Info

Robert Bard will be conducting a MTB clinic at The Wheelhouse in October for those wanting to hone their skills.

An attempt to keep the Winter Warriors safer and faster.

TAB will offer a standardized mtb clinic with 30+ years of curriculum development by one of its certified instructors.

For Who? Anyone who wants to IMPROVE.

All crashes are traced to a breakdown of the fundamentals. You will drill methods to make the fundamentals part of your regular rides. If you've never taken a fundamentals course you will benefit from this course regardless of your experience.

Message in advance so the instructor can meet your needs.

Class is limited to 7 people

Itinerary
5:30 check-in and bike checks start
6-7:30 Fundamentals Class starts
7:30-8:00 Questions, demo future topics
8:00 Winter Warrior meeting at the Wheelhouse.
Cost: $50

Bad date? Another clinic available Oct 6 or contact Bob for special clinic.

SAVE THE DATE!

Sunday, October 13th at the Beach Ridge Wheelhouse in Oak Openings

TAB is working to schedule multiple rides out of The Wheelhouse!

Bike Shops and Manufacturers will be on-site with demos, etc!

Speedtrap Ride Tuesday, September 24^th

          The Speedtrap Ride, Ottawa County’s best Tuesday night ride, will make its final official run of the 2019 season tomorrow, Tuesday, September 24^th. All cyclists will gather at Spoke Life Cycles in Elmore and roll out at 6:10 pm.

          Scott Lang will lead the Ghost Pepper Riders on a 25-mile ride. If you ride in his group, expect to average 22+ mph. Are you ready for the challenge?

          A substitute ride leader is needed for the Cayenne Pepper Riders, since the Kaydens have left for their six-month trip. Will you volunteer? Riding average for the group is 20 to 22 mph.

          Tony Mazurek will lead the Habanero Riders. His group will likely average 18 to 20 mph.

          I will lead the Jalapeno Riders over a slightly shorter 22-mile course. We expect to average 16 to 17 mph.

          Marnie Arndt will lead the Sweet Pepper Riders over a distance and at a speed comfortable for those in her group.

          The weather is predicted to be very favorable, mostly sunny,  with a high temperature of 77 degrees, Winds will be WSW at 10 to 15 mph, but this should make the return-to-Elmore portion of the ride fun.

          After the ride, some riders may gather at the Portage Inn in Elmore for food, drink, and good conversation.

          Here is your last chance to ride some quiet country roads with some  excellent riders who happen to be super-nice people, too. The Speedtrap Ride is a TAB and a Flatlanders ride, a joint venture of the two clubs….not a common occurrence. Let’s close out the season with a great ride. Sign-in begins at 5:40 pm and we ride at 6:10. I hope to see you then!

Chuck Nicewonder

With two major long rides on tap for tomorrow, I was surprised and pleased to have 16 riders turn out for 50 miles of camaraderie and a ride with no other point than to ride. We all seemed to enjoy the warmth and scenery. I think this must be the 5th of 6th time I’ve taken a group past the CR 8-1 flowers. But if you have to go north, you may as well enjoy them! What was really nice is we had long exposed stretches of straight eastbound roads with a west wind at our backs. The miles seemed to fly by. We arrived back at Keener Park before noon having covered 51 miles with 2 rest stops at a relaxed 17.5 mph.

Next week - Meet me at the Perrysburg Y at 8:30 and we’ll head down to Bowling Green for breakfast at Kermit’s. Meanwhile have a great week!

Where are we going this weekend? We’re just going to wander the countryside to the west and hang out with friends. We’ll start from Keener Park on Kenner Rd., and cruise west to Delta for a brief stop.Then it’s northwest through those nice wooded area out there before heading back east to Secor Park for another break. Then it’s south through the Inner Passage east of the airport back to Keener. Mileage is 51.1, pace will be 17-18. We’ll leave by 8:30 and hope to be back by 12:30 to get on with our day. GPS track is :

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31150749

Usually this late in the season our number of riders drop off, but that wasn’t the case tonight. Even with a shift to Central Trail, 23 riders turned out for a cool evening ride. A stiff east wind at 10 challenged us on our return trip tonight, but didn’t slow us down. Edgar had a large crowd for his Fast & Furious group that returned a 23.3 mph for the night. Jen’s Reasonably Fast Group was a little light tonight at 5 riders, but they were still able to come in at a nice 20.3 mph. And my group of 8 Reasonable & Reliable riders? They must have eaten their Wheaties today, because we came back with a quick 19.4, a season high and no complaints about the winds! Great teamwork tonight to beat those winds. And we had a visit from the Tristan Hill back at Central Trail. His recovery from his shoulder injury has been slow, but he hopes to be back for next season.

Be sure to join us next week at Central Trail to close out our season of regular rides. We hope to see you all there.

Speedtrap Ride Tuesday September 17, 2019 recap

          The Speedtrap Ride brought thirty-five cyclists to Elmore this past Tuesday, September 17^th.

          Dan Willis, substituting for Scott Lang, led a combined Ghost Pepper-Cayenne Pepper Group with a riding average of 21.6 mph(although there is a rumor that it may have been 24.2 mph).

          Tony Mazurek’s Habanero Riders averaged 19.3 mph over the same 25-mile course.

          The Jalapeno Riders and Sweet Pepper Riders rode out together for the first half of the ride. The Sweet Pepper Group, with Marnie Arndt as leader, stopped at the cemetery. The Jalapeno Riders with me did not stop. Adam Silbaugh of the Jalapenos reported 17.0 mph. Marnie Arndt reported 15.3 mph for her group.

          Marnie Arndt forgot her cycling shoes, but rode the entire ride in her slipper-like shoes. Way to go Marnie!

          There was a slight headwind for some of the ride, but it didn’t seem to be a major factor.

          New to the Speedtrap Ride this week were Alan Schroeder and his friend Patrick Hill, pictured together, and Justin Reynolds of Spoke Life Cycles, pictured in the blue jersey.

                    Dan Waggoner rode 13.2 miles at 14.7 mph from Lindsey to Elmore to help set up for our special celebration!

          After the ride several stayed to celebrate Bob Kayden’s birthday, pictured in the kitten jersey[Happy Birthday, Bob!] and with his cake, and to wish him and wife Becky a wonderful time as they embark on a six-month trip around much of the eastern United States. Although we will all miss you both, we wish you a wonderful trip!

          Thank you to Rob Golden, Kathy Metzger, Becky Kayden, and Dan Waggoner  for the planning and arranging for this special celebration!

          Please join us next Tuesday, September 24^th, for the final official Speedtrap Ride of the season. Sign-in will begin at 5:40, and we ride at 6:10 pm. I hope to see you then!

Chuck Nicewonder

Really. Due to football games at Timberstone, Windsday has moved just around the corner to Central Trail for the last two rides of the year.  For GPSers, Central Trail is located at 4321 Mitchaw Rd, Sylvania OH. 

Riding conditions for tomorrow look spectacular. Cooling temps starting at about 75 and dropping slowly with a moderately stiff easterly breeze are predicted. But best of all is that low late evening sun and gorgeous blue sky over the fields. It’s probably one of the most beautiful times of the year to ride. Remember, start times are 6:00, and sunset comes earlier, we’ll need to be stricter about leaving on time. And be sure to bring lights and use them! Safety first, fun second. See you all tomorrow!

Gravel from the Rapp's featured one of my favorite things: a closed road. It may not be for everyone, but I love finding these little adventures and unknowns when out on a ride. This one was particularly overgrown, so initially we passed it. But I turned around to see if it was at all passable. To my surprise, the bridge was there and the decking was in decent shape.

During the rest of the ride, we encountered hills, dogs, wind, and serene, beautiful landscape. Afterwards, our good friend Chris Crandall stopped up to pay a visit. His recovery is going well and it was awesome to hang out. Edgar and I are planning on doing another ride from his cottage. There are still a lot of roads left to explore from there.

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/GSMAxM9xJ5GR8VLg6

This week in gravel features two rides: Saturday is the Cannondale demo day from Hell, MI; Sunday is the Lake Erie Fall Ride from Monroe, MI.

Our local, lovable Cannondale rep Justin has offered up the Topstone Carbon fleet to demo on Saturday morning. There are 8 bikes available to reserve, a small, medium, large, and extra large in both Ultegra and AXS builds. Shoot Justin or myself a message if you want to ride one for the day. 

The route for Saturday is 67 miles from Hell, MI with a planned stop in Unadilla at mile 31. This is a rolling, hilly route, so I encourage you to ride at your own pace. I will be leading from the back, so don't worry about getting dropped. The feature climb of the day is up Peach Mountain Observatory Road. It's long, but not at all steep. 

Saturday ride info:

Start location: 4025 Patterson Lake Rd, Pinckney, MI 48169

Departing: 8am

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30511651

The Monroe Cycling Club is holding it's 3rd Annual Lake Erie Fall Ride on Sunday. The gravel route is about 60 nearly flat miles. This will be a no drop group ride at a casual pace starting at 8am. Stay for a the beer tent afterwards.

Sunday ride info:

Registration: https://www.signmeup.com/reg/form/128337/registration

Start location: Monroe Community College, 1555 South Raisinville Road Monroe, Michigan 48161

Departing: 8am

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29971555