Latest Club News & Info

Twelve riders left Wildwood Metropark, headed out to Country Charm in Metamora for breakfast Sunday morning. Along the way we captured Ron Toneff and made him eat breakfast with us. Mike Daum joined us there after a mad chase into a good headwind. A few turned back or went on to do their own thing following breakfast; the rest headed further out into it and found a glorious tailwind for the return leg. At Secor Park the group remained largely-bunched for the sprint with Mr. Daum taking honors. Nice group!

This Saturday’s Adventurer Ride is a change from the previously scheduled ride. Longtime club member, former board member and friend Mark Nowatarski is leaving us to move closer to his family. The club wanted to say good-bye by throwing him an after ride picnic this Saturday in Whitehouse. So I’m switching things up.

We're going to ride out to Winameg, a scenic little village NW of Delta. We were there earlier this year on the Fulton Villages ride. But there’s more than one way to get there. This time we’ll leave from Whitehouse and ride up through Delta to reach Winameg and come back through Swanton for a 45 mile trip. This is a snack ride, since we have a picnic waiting for us in Whitehouse after the ride. We will stop in Delta at mile 15 and Swanton at mile 36 for quick rest stops and to make sure we all have enough to drink. Plus we get to go by the flowers northwest of Delta, a perennial favorite (pun intended!). 

We’ll leave from Cyclewerks in Whitehouse at 8:00 sharp, so please come early and be ready to ride by then. Avg pace is 17 mph range (+/- 1 mph). The forecast from weather.com is projecting light SW breezes and temps starting at 70 at 8:00 and rising to 83 by noon. In other words great riding weather! So come out and join us for a beautiful ride, if you can, stay for Mark’s picnic. Make my morning by coming out and riding with us. The more the merrier!

As always, GPS tracks are available on Ride With GPS - 

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30498283

This week's Intro to Gravel ride is a 45 mile, flatter than a pancake, exposed to all elements route from Forest View Lanes in Temperance, Michigan. This is one of those routes that looks easy on paper, and it may be. But if the wind is just right, we'll be struggling through the whole route because there is barely a tree in sight. There is a planned stop at the gas station in Ida around mile 22. We will regroup as necessary with about a 15mph average speed.

Forest View Lanes bar and grille menu can be found here: https://www.forestviewlanes.com/bar-grill

Here is the planned route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28989340

Start location: Forest View Lanes, 2345 Dean Road, Temperance, MI 48182

Departure time: 9am

Speedtrap Ride Tuesday July 23^rd recap        

Sunny skies, temperatures in the upper 70s, and light winds drew forty-three cyclists to Elmore for the Speedtrap Ride last night.

          The Ghost Pepper Riders rode with a 22.9 mph average, as reported by group leader Scott Lang.

          Dan Waggoner substituted for Bob Kayden(out of town) as leader of the Cayenne Pepper Riders. Dan reported a 20.8 mph average. Thank you, Dan, for leading.

          The Habanero Riders rode with an 18.6 mph average reported by leader Tony Mazurek.

          Eight Jalapeno Riders stayed pretty much together throughout the ride. Ron Purk from that group reported 16.4 mph.

          The Sweet Pepper Riders split into two groups. Marnie Arndt and those who rode with her rode 20 miles at 14.3 mph, while Becky Kayden and Joyce Purk rode 16.3 miles at 13 mph.

          It was tandem night! Pictured are the five tandems on the ride:

Dan Waggoner and Kathy Slovak, Tony Mazurek and his daughter Emily(who is headed for Miami University this fall), Doug and Kathy Metzger, Judy Daiello and Jeremy Sneath, Dave Stover and Jana Loy.

          Yes, the weather was very pleasant as riders rolled out from Elmore. However, all that changed about two-thirds of the way through the ride. The entire northern sky became very dark, and it became very windy! Some groups did experience rain in addition to the wind; some groups just felt a few drops. The steady rain did come down as riders began driving out of Elmore after the ride.          

          After the ride, several  riders and even some non-riding spouses gathered at the Portage Inn in Elmore for food, drink, and good conversation!

          The next chapter of the Speedtrap Ride will take place next Tuesday, July 30^th. Sign-in begins at 6:00 and we ride at 6:30 from Spoke Life Cycles in Elmore. I hope to see you then!

Chuck Nicewonder

 

Stop in at Spoke Life locations or send me a message on fb or via email at rschieb@gmail.com to grab tickets!

Not only do we have cool riders, tomorrow night we’ll have cool temps too. Predictions are for temps within the high 70’s compared to the 90’s of last week. And it looks like the winds won’t be our typical Windsday winds, they’ll be breezes. Cool Temps + Gentle Breezes = Great Windsday Riding. Edgar, Jen, our guest Relaxed leader and I will be at your service, providing your riding pleasure. The fun starts at 6:30 sharp at Timberstone JHS, 9000 Sylvania Ave.

P.S. Westbound Sylvania between McCord and King is finally open! Of course that means eastbound between King and McCord is closed. You win some, you lose some.

Speedtrap Ride Tuesday July 23^rd

          The Speedtrap Ride, Ottawa County’s best Tuesday night ride, will roll out once again from Spoke Life Cycles in Elmore tomorrow, Tuesday, July 23^rd, at 6:30 pm.

          Scott Lang will lead the Ghost Pepper Riders on a 25-mile ride. If you ride with his group, expect a riding average of 22+ mph. Are you up to the challenge?!

          Dan Waggoner will be filling in for Bob Kayden(who is working in Oklahoma. How can this be? He is retired.) to lead the Cayenne Pepper Riders over the same course. Riding average will be 20 – 22 mph.

          Tony Mazurek will lead the Habanero Riders, also over the same course with a riding average of 18 – 20 mph.

          I will lead the Jalapeno riders on a slightly shorter 22-mile ride. We expect to average 16 + mph.

          Marnie Arndt will be on hand to take the Sweet Pepper Riders on a ride over a distance and at a speed comfortable for those in her group.

          The weather looks good for the ride. Predicted is a high of 79 degrees, winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph, and only a 20% chance of rain.

          As has been the custom all season, some riders will likely gather at the Portage Inn in Elmore after the ride for food, drink, and good conversation.

          It is Tandem Night #2. Bring that tandem and ride with a partner! Pictures of all tandems, their captains, and their stokers, will be taken.

          With favorable weather why not come out to Elmore and give the Speedtrap Ride a try! You’ll ride some quiet country roads with some great people, too! Sign-in begins at 6:00, and we ride at 6:30 pm!

I hope to see you then!

Chuck Nicewonder

Mother Nature was kind to us yesterday for our “Mini MetroParks Tour”. That or I really have stolen some weather mojo from Rick Metcalf. When I woke up at 6:00 to get ready for the ride, I was surprised to find out that a weather front had moved through the area and cut the heat, and left us with a nice cloud cover. On the drive out to Whitehouse my car said it was 74 degrees outside. 74 DEGREES! That mild temperature brought out a crowd of 15, including 3 first time Adventure riders - Justin, Brian and Tiffany. (Welcome!) As we left, we were joined by John Wodarski  and Todd Korczynski on their early morning ride to bring us up to 17. 

We rode mostly shaded roads that took us through Oak Openings and gave us some wind protection, until we got north of Airport Hwy and Swanton. But due to careful planning, - ok, it was just plain luck - we had a SW tailwind while we were exposed. Once we got west of 295, we were back into the woods all the way to Secor Park and our rest break. We bid goodbye to John and Todd, who went on their way, and rode south through Spencer Township and by Wiregrass Lake Metropark. We broke out of the woods briefly to ride Lose Rd, one of my favorites, and then burst into the open again to ride back to Whitehouse. On the Cannonball Trail we began to see shadows, but arrived back at Whitehouse at 10:46, just as the clouds began to break up. Temperature - 84 degrees. We had beaten the heat! 

Two special call outs on this trip. Brian had ridden with TAB last year, but this was his first outside distance ride for the year. Tiffany had just picked up her road bike Friday, so this was her maiden voyage, and her first ride at this distance. Both of them killed it, and looked like longtime pros. Thanks for coming out and hope to see you again. You too Justin!

Next week’s ride is with me again. We’re going to head out to Winameg from CycleWerks at Whitehouse and return to meet with the Meanderers for a farewell picnic for long time member Mark Nowatarski as he moves closer to family. Distance is 45 miles. I hope to see you there!

Windsday was truly special. 36 riders braved the heat on Windsday night to meet Tara Ice, Sierah Joughin’s aunt and President of Justice for Sierah. She shared the goals of Justice with Sierah and thanked us for our donation. Even as riders arrived, they asked about adding their donations to the over $1500 raised by TAB so far. You can add your donation to the total at the Justice for Sierah website: 

https://justiceforsierah.org

After meeting Tara, we went on our merry sweaty way with our four groups. With the help of mild breezes, the heat didn’t keep any of us from having a great night. The Fast & Furious arrived back at a 22.5. The Reasonably Fast group stuck together and pushing their  group limit at 20.2. The Reasonable and Reliable came in at a good 17.8. Even the Relaxed group had a good evening with Hubert and Lisa arriving in style at 15.0. Way to go Lisa!

Be sure to join us next week for our fling through the fields of Lucas and Fulton County. We leave promptly at 6:30 from Timberstone JHS, 9000 Sylvania Ave. See you all next week!

With MVA wisely canceling their Metroparks Tour, I thought we could try a mini tour of three parks. I’ve kept the ride to 40 miles with the hope that at our typical average of 17 mph we can be back by 11:00 and safe from the heat. Emphasis on the ride is to find a much shade as possible on the route. 

We’ll leave CycleWerks  at 8:00 with a rest stop at Secor Park. We’ll breeze through Oak Openings on the way out and by Wiregrass Lake on the way back. Be sure to bring at least two bottles of water, and we can refill at Secor Park. There will be some breezes but expect high humidity. Avg speed is a 17 mph target. Hope to see you there!

Link to GPS track: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30597787