Latest Club News & Info

Greetings to all TAB members and Friends,

        

             This is just a reminder that there will be no official TAB rides this coming Saturday, July 20th.

Why? Because this Saturday Maumee Valley Adventurers' Metroparks Tour will take place, and it has been TAB's policy for some time to support MVA's invitational rides.

             The ride will begin at Community of Christ Lutheran Church, 6517 Finzel Road in Whitehouse.

You can register for the tour on line at the cheaper rate until 11:59 pm on Thursday, July 18th. Day-of-Ride registration will be available at the church on Saturday morning.

I hope to see you on the road.

Chuck Nicewonder

Hot, dusty, windy, and sunny. I know I've complained a bit about how much rain we've received, but we could've used just a touch to knock down the clouds of dust kicked up by passing vehicles. Seven riders left from Cotton Brewing for an extended route from Adrian. The roads were fast on our way north. As we headed west, the gravel started to get chunky and loose as we tackled hills on Taylor, Whelan, and Pawson. With the heat and sun, we needed some extra hydration. Thankfully Edgar knew there was a gas station on route down Pentecost Highway. We returned to Cotton Brewing from some great drinks and food.

Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/HSUzCvnsbHGRK8916

The Michigan Villages is a different type of ride. You ride through miles of flat open fields to reach the first village, only to be transported to a totally different environment for the next 20 miles. Woods, orchards and vineyards along a lazy river - it’s beautiful and scenic. Then you head back home to be met by more flat open fields. It’s like they’re hiding their best kept secret. But it is definitely worth the trip.

Ten riders came together to enjoy the ride, felt like the perfect number of riders. We cruised north and west to Blissfield, alternately enjoying and fighting the SW wind. Deb Tassie bid us farewell at the point to return to Secor Park and enjoy a solo ride south of the park. 

We navigated around the River Raisin Festival and went on to the best part of the trip through Deerfield and onto our Petersburg rest stop. We found Jodie Petcoff waiting to ride with us after her 5k run in Petersburg. We rode on through the woods of Petersburg State Game Area before heading back south and east to Secor Park. Jodie peeled off at Temperance Rd to go home. (Jodie rode to Petersburg from home, ran the 5k, and rode with us part way to ride home, her own reverse mini-duathlon) At least the wind shifted to straight out of the west so we had a crosswind most of the way. 

We arrived back averaging 17.1 mph for exactly 51 miles, with smiles all around. Roads were really good, with the worst roads for the short stretches we were inside the villages. Rides like this with friends really make my day, it was fun ride all around. 

Next week - No Adventure ride. Support the Maumee Valley Adventurers Metropark Tour.  We’ll be back in two weeks with our send-off picnic for longtime member Mark Nowatarski as he moves on.

Tara Ice, President of Justice for Sierah, and Sierah's Aunt, will attend our pre-ride for Dan Riley's Windsday Ride this week. Tara is planning to be there about 6pm to meet and thank the membership for their donations (Which we are still receiving!) from the 4th of July Freedom Ride.

I would love to have a great big group of riders this week to meet her and take part in Dan's always-awesome ride. We will be there about 6pm and four groups will roll out at 6:30pm. Hope to see you all there!

-Ron Schieb

Terry McCutcheon is leading the ride tomorrow starting in Whitehouse (Cyclewerks) ready to ride 8:00.  Riding to BG, having breakfast in BG instead of lunch when you return. 

See you when I return from vacation!!!

-Linda Posadny

Mountain Man Sports Mountain Bike Weekend
Friday, August 2, 2019 at 12:00 PM

Toledo Ski Club Lodge
47 South Shore Dr.
Boyne City, MI 49712

Mountain Man is hosting a Mountain Bike Weekend at the Toledo Ski Club Lodge. There are 2 very good mountain bike trails in Boyne City that are easy rides. There are a few more advanced sections but they are well marked. Boyne Mountain has a great bike trail also. If you do not want to Mountain Bike, there is a great paved bike trail from Petoskey to Charlevoix along Lake Michigan. Who knows, we might even find our way to Walloon Lake Winery???

 

Click Here for event information

Don’t forget to check the website and calendar for future events, schedule changes, and cancellations.

Speedtrap Ride Tuesday, July 9^th recap

          The Speedtrap Ride, Ottawa County’s best Tuesday night ride, attracted thirty-nine cyclists to Elmore this past Tuesday, July 9^th, to ride the Speedtrap Ride route in reverse.

          Scott Lang led the Ghost Pepper Riders and reported a riding average of 23.1 mph.

          Bob Kayden led the inaugural ride of the Cayenne Pepper Riders and reported a 20.8 mph average. Bob also reported that his group had eight riders and seven bikes. One bike was a tandem. Thank you, Bob, for assuming the leadership of the Cayenne Pepper Riders!

          Tony Mazurek led the Habanero Riders and reported a riding average of 19.2 mph

          I rode with seven other Jalapeno Riders. Ron Purk from that group reported 15.8 mph.

          The Sweet Pepper Riders split into two groups. Marnie Arndt, John Galdeen, and Loren Moore rode 16 miles at 14 mph, while Becky Kayden and Joyce Purk rode  11.6 miles at 12.5 mph.

          Riding the route in reverse seemed to go smoothly. Temperatures were in the 80s and less humid than last week’s hot weather. There are more left turns riding the route in reverse, but riders could easily see any oncoming traffic. There was an ENE breeze, which I thought would make the ride back into Elmore challenging, but it did not. The only drawback might be that we were riding into the sun more riding the route in reverse.

          After the ride, several riders enjoyed a cookout and picnic with good food and drink in front of the bike shop. Thank you Rob Golden, and Spoke Life Cycles, for providing the meat. Some stayed and enjoyed good conversation until at least 10:00 pm!

          Pictured are first time Speedtrap Riders Jeff Kleinschmit and . Phillip Clapp and his brother Randy Clapp. Welcome all to the Speedtrap Ride!

          Next Tuesday, July 16^th, is tandem night! Come out to Elmore and ride some quiet roads with some friendly people! Sign-in begins at 6:00 and we ride at 6:30 pm. I hope to see you then!

Chuck Nicewonder

         

It might have been only 92 Windsday, but the heat index was more like 100! But that didn’t deter the Windsday crew. 25 riders came to battle the heat and enjoy the evening together. But being clever riders, they knew to beat the heat and stay hydrated. Edgar and the Fast & Furious group cruised at a 21.9 average, Jen and the Reasonably Fast crew came in under 19.6. My Reasonable & Reliable group came in at a cool 17.4. Marty Extejt guest lead the Relaxed group to it’s season high of 14.3. Thanks for leading the group Marty!

New rider Kristie Schmidlin came out on this hot night for her first ride of the year on her new bike.  And by first ride of the year, I mean first ride of the year. Period. No other rides yet this year. She impressed the R&Rs with her strong riding. Man, can she can kick it. And her friend Morgan was on her first group ride ever and performed by like a pro. Both said they would be back again.

Come on and join us next week at Timberstone JHS for a cruise through the flatlands. We’ll see you there.

It looks like the weekend to head north for TAB - groups going to Ann Arbor for OHR, Intro to Gravel heading to Adrian. The Adventurers are joining in by doing our Michigan Villages Tour. Join us Saturday for a 50 mile jaunt starting at the Secor Park Nature Ctr at 8:00. We’ll pedal north through Blissfield then cruise along the River Rasin to Deerfield and Petersburg for our rest stop before returning to Secor Park. Roads are in surprisingly good shape. Weather is forecast to be good - sunny with temps rising to 85 by noon and winds out of the West. Expected average speed is 17 mph. Hope to see you there - Secor Park Nature Ctr, leaving at 8:00 sharp.

The route and GPS file are available at: 

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30497991

Last nights ride brought out 15 riders. We headed out to Old 24 heading East on Neowash, right into the wind. This made the overpass an exciting adventure. Old 24 served us well and our average coming off that section was well over 21 mph.  I thought this would give us enough buffer to come out with around 20.5 avg, since the rest of the ride was North and mostly East into the wind.  The wind ended up dying down so it did not take much away from us.  We pulled into the parking lot with an average of 20.9 mph for our 28.5 mile route.  Thanks to Julie for again inviting us into Cycle Werks for snacks with the Lady's Ride.

See you next week on Old 24.