From The Right Direction:

"We're hosting our 3nd Annual TRD Fundraiser...If you like to Ride Bikes, Eat Chili and support a GREAT cause...then your gonna LOVE “BIKETOBERFEST!!” Join us for this FREE event Sunday October 13th at 3520 Waterville Swanton Rd (1.4 miles down the street from the Springbrook parking lot at Oak Openings past the reservoir). We'll be having Gravel, Road and Mountain Bike rides, Free MTB skill camp sponsored by Spoke Life Cycles, Chili Cook off, Cannondale will be on site w bikes to demo, Food and beverages will be available, Awesome Silent Auction items and much more....See Flyer for details and help us spread the word!! All proceed go towards our 501C3 Non Profit Youth Development Program. WERE STILL LOOKING FOR RAFFLE/AUCTION ITEM DONATIONS AS WELL AS FOOD DONATIONS FOR THE EVENT so if you or anyone you know would like to help support this event please message us."

From MARR Chairs Nancy & Mark Beeman:

"Wrapping up 2019. Tonight we were pleased to be able to present NORTA with a check for $5000 from the MARR proceeds! You will be pleased to know that money from registration will directly help NORTA to continue to maintain and improve our trails! The proceeds will go towards things such as:
Equipment repair/maintenance
Bridge repair/maintenance
Building materials for kiosks
Interpretive materials for display at kiosks
Benches
Heavy equipment rental
Fuel for tractors/chain saws/generators

2019 MARR is officially behind us now. THANK YOU again to our riders, sponsors, and volunteers for making it such a success!!"

Speedtrap Ride September 3^rd recap

          The Speedtrap Ride brought thirty cyclists to Elmore to ride, just for one night, the Flatlanders’ Thursday Night Fun Ride route. We all rode as one group, and based on the comments I heard, it was a fun time for all! My Garmin indicated 20.4 miles with a riding average of 14.7 mph.

          The weather was perfect, with a temperature of about 80 degrees at ride time. Winds were predicted to be strong, but they were not a factor at all!

          New to the Speedtrap Ride this week were veteran TAB member Jim Binns and his wife Laura, and Ann Hirzel. Welcome to the Speedtrap Ride! They are pictured.

          After the ride, several riders stayed for a celebration of Kathy Metzger’s birthday! Kathy is pictured in the Kitten jersey(a Flatlanders tradition), and with her birthday cake! Happy Birthday Kathy!

          A special Thank You to Doug Metzger for leading the ride(I didn’t know the route) and for providing the rock-and-roll music(even if we didn’t hear Air Supply until we were back in Elmore!)

A Great Job Doug!

And Thank You to Bob Kayden for suggesting that we do this ride!

          Please join us next Tuesday, September 10^th, for the next chapter of the Speedtrap Ride. We’ll be riding the regular route, and we should roll out by 6:10 pm, with sign-in beginning at 5:40. I hope to see you then!

Chuck Nicewonder

Partly sunny/cloudy, mid 70’s temps, mild N winds (relatively speaking). This all means a good evening for our first 6:00 September Windsday. Come and see us at Timberstone JHS, 9000 W Sylvania Ave. With the heavier traffic at the earlier time, we’ll plan to leave at 6:00, but if you’re running a bit behind don’t worry, we’ll be flexible. Hope to see you there!

From WeAreTraffic:

It's been four years since the first Fix-it Stations were installed in the Toledo area, you can read about that here. Since that time, we now have stations at UT, City of Toledo and City of Oregon, and those not counted yet. Needless to say, the Fix-it Stations and Air Pumps are a big asset to area cyclists! That is until you try to use the air pump and it lets the air out of your tire...not fun!

We Are Traffic has been contracted by Metroparks and the Univerisity of Toledo to maintain their respective hardware, but we need to know something is broken to schedule a repair. Please help us out by letting us know if you find a Fix-it Station / Air Pump in need or repair and we'll work with owners to have it repaired as soon as possible. For repairs, fill out our contact form.

We would also like to know where bike parking is needed. As an advocacy dealer for Dero Bike Racks, the majority of our funding is through the sale and installation of bike racks.

The 10th Intro to Gravel Ride was far from an introduction. Edgar, Helen, Suzanne and I took on the hills of Waterloo, forwards and backwards, with a few new roads thrown in just to see what's out there. A little rain during the night kept the dust down. The roads were firm and fast. And it was all I could do to hang with the Fast and Furious crew. Riding with these three will make you a stronger rider, there is no doubt. Only a small mechanical during the ride, my water bottle cage bolts worked themselves loose. Otherwise a fun ride.

We'll continue with gravel rides every Saturday during September and October. The routes are either long, difficult, or both. More details are found on the Ride with GPS event page: https://ridewithgps.com/events/69932-2019-introduction-to-gravel-series

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/w9M3vyxc7ayi9xRu6

-Nate

Speedtrap Ride Tuesday September 3^rd

          The Speedtrap Ride, Ottawa County’s best Tuesday night ride, will roll out once again tomorrow, Tuesday, September 3^rd, at 6:30 pm!

          For something different, just once, we will all ride together at a relaxed pace, and we’ll follow (mostly)the route of the Flatlanders’ Thursday night fun ride. Doug Metzger will provide the music from his rock-and-roll playlist.

          The high temperature is predicted to be 84 degrees. However,  winds will be strong, SSW at 15 to 25 mph.

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

          Come out to Elmore and ride some quiet country roads! Since we’re all riding together, you’ll be able to talk to your fellow riders, regardless of speed group. You’ll meet some super-nice people, too!

Sign-in begins at 6:00 and we ride at 6:30 pm! I hope to see you then!

Chuck Nicewonder

Honestly, I thought this weekend’s Adventurer Ride would be low key. Labor Day weekend, starting in Swanton, prediction of stiff east winds. I thought for sure the attendance would be low. Boy, was I wrong! 19 riders came out just to ride the hills on CR16. I think that’s a season high!

At the start, the winds were from the North. Since the route was mainly east to west, we made good time getting out to the hilly section. The hills are a group of nice rollers - once you come down, you have momentum for getting up the next hill. But those north winds slowed us down. I heard wishes that the they could do them with the wind at their back. Your wish was my command. After a stop in Morenci and an ill-fated attempt to pump up a tire (it got deflated instead) we were back in the hills, wind at our back.

Remember that east to west route? It was west to east coming back. And the winds had shifted to out of the east and increased to 10-12 mph. But the group stayed clustered together worked hard against the wind until we made it past the famous CR 8-1 flowers - which were in full glory by the way. As we headed in to the winds one last time, we separated into 2 groups, but still made it back in good shape to our starting point. A tough ride, but still a “hill” of a great one, with a fantastic group of people.

Windsday was a classic ride this week. Partly cloudy skies blocked enough of the sun to keep the temperatures cool. A tough west wind up to 12 mph greeted us in the parking lot. But Windsday riders are a tough bunch. All three groups buckled down to attack the enemy from the west out to CR 4-3 when we were able to turn back east and take advantage of those winds. Speeds were down by about a 1/2 - 1 mph, but were still great. Edgar and the Fast & Furious (a great name for a band by the way) reported a 23.0, Jen’s Reasonably Fast a 20.3, and my Reasonable and Reliable came in at 17.6

Next week, we're back to Timberstone for our start, but starting time is 6:00 due to the fading sun. I hope you’ll all come out and enjoy a ride through the field with us.

Greetings to all TAB members and Friends,

    It's that time of year again.....Time to tell your boss at work you have to leave early to get to a ride...

            In September, because the sun is setting earlier,  all evening TAB rides officially roll out at 6:00 pm. This includes the Monday Bedford and Whitehouse Rides, the Tuesday Old 24 Breakaway and the Speedtrap Rides, the Windsday Ride, and the 5fer Thursday Ride.

       Also, because the sun is rising later, start times for Saturday and Sunday morning rides are affected. The Saturday Adventure Tour will depart at 8:30 am, and the Intro to Gravel Ride will leave at 9:00. The Sunday Breakfast Ride will start at 8:30 on September 8, 15, and 29, and at 9:00 on the Sundays in October. There will be no Sunday Breakfast Ride on September 22, the day of the Irish Hills Tour. The Meandering Rides are still listed as starting at 8:00 am.

                As always, there may be exceptions[ The Speedtrap Ride is at 6:30 for at least one more Tuesday]. Please check the ride announcement from the ride leader for any ride.

I hope to see you on the road.

Chuck Nicewonder