Latest Club News & Info

Speedtrap Ride Tuesday June 18^th

          The Speedtrap Ride will roll out once again from Spoke Life Cycles/Elmore tomorrow, Tuesday, June 18^th, at 6:30 pm.

          Scott Lang will lead the Ghost Pepper Riders on a 25-mile ride. Last week his group’s  average speed was 22.9 mph. Will they top 23 mph this week?  You better be ready!

          Tony Mazurek will lead the Habanero Riders over the same course at a slightly slower pace: 18 – 20 mph.

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

          Marnie Arndt will lead the Sweet Pepper Riders over a distance and at a speed comfortable for those in her group. Speeds in her group have ranged from 12 – 16 mph over the last few weeks.

          The weather should be relatively favorable, with a high temperature of 76 degrees predicted, but mostly cloudy with ENE winds at 5 to 10 mph.

          As usual, some riders will likely gather after the ride at the Portage Inn in Elmore for food, drink, and good conversation!

          If you haven’t experienced the Speedtrap Ride, it’s time to treat yourself to some quiet country roads, great for cycling!  You’ll ride with some great people, too!

          Sign-in begins at 6:00 in front of the bike shop, and we ride at 6:30 pm! I hope to see you then!

P.S. Doug Metzger is tentatively planning a route for a Summer Solstice Ride on June 25^th out of Luckey, Ohio. Mark your calendars!

Also, we are tentatively planning to ride the Speedtrap Ride in reverse on July 9^th, with a cookout in front of the bike shop afterward.

Chuck Nicewonder

 

Greetings to all TAB members and Friends,

          This is just a reminder that there will be no official TAB rides this coming Sunday, June 23rd.

Why? Because the Maumee Valley Adventurers' Portage River Tour out of Elmore, Ohio,  will take place that day, and it has been TAB's policy for some time to support MVA's invitational rides.

                 You can register for the Portage River Tour on line at the cheaper rate until 11:59 pm Thursday, June 20. Day-of-Ride registration will be available.

          I hope to see you on the road.

Chuck Nicewonder

Kickoff your 4th of July celebration this year with our annual TAB Freedom Ride!

This year's ride will benefit Justice for Sierah, a non-profit that was established in honor of Sierah Joughin, a University of Toledo student who was abducted while riding her bike in July of 2016. Please come out and celebrate our freedoms, but also celebrate and support the work this great organization is doing to help empower and ensure the safety of our children.

- Donations Graciously Accepted -

 

Ride Details

Date/Time:  Thursday, July 4th - 8:00am start

Location:  Mallard Lake Lot, Oak Openings

Group1 - 18-20mph for 62 miles *8:00am start

Group2 - 16-18mph for 62 miles *8:00am start

Group 3 - 12-15mph for 30 miles *9:30am start

All groups return to Mallard Lake between 11:30am-Noon

- Lunch Catered by Chef Ian -

To all TAB members:

             If it isn't raining, a ride leader is still needed for tomorrow, Sunday, June 16th, on the 1:00 Getaway Ride!

          All you regulars on that ride.....One of you can do it!!!!! Please help out your club.

Thank you.

Chuck Nicewonder

Well, the rain never developed, but if those winds were 7-8 mph, I’ll eat my helmet. (I’m probably due a new one anyway.) We had 31 riders come out for the evening. With a strong 12-15 mph wind straight out of the East, all the groups took advantage of a great tailwind to build up a speed reserve for the return trip. My R&R riders hit a nice18.5 before we turned east back into the wind. While it was a challenge, all four groups showed great teamwork to arrive back at our regular speeds. Edgar’s F&F group averaged 22.0 (A splinter group of fast riders arrived back at an impressive 19.9). Alan Mikesell, filling in for Jen, brought his group in at 19.3. My R&R group scored our typical 17.3 with Todd “Ken” Kozlowski bringing the Relaxed riders in at a sweet 13.7. Great results all around! 

It looks like the winds are here to stay this summer. So why hide from them? Come out and join our group of wind gurus and learn how to master those breezes. You may still hate them, but you’ll won’t fear them anymore.

Well, the rain never developed, but if those winds were 7-8 mph, I’ll eat my helmet. (I’m probably due a new one anyway.) We had 31 riders come out for the evening. With a strong 12-15 mph wind straight out of the East, all the groups took advantage of a great tailwind to build up a speed reserve for the return trip. My R&R riders hit a nice18.5 before we turned east back into the wind. While it was a challenge, all four groups showed great teamwork to arrive back at our regular speeds. Edgar’s F&F group averaged 22.0 (A splinter group of fast riders arrived back at an impressive 19.9). Alan Mikesell, filling in for Jen, brought his group in at 19.3. My R&R group scored our typical 17.3 with Todd “Ken” Kozlowski bringing the Relaxed riders in at a sweet 13.7. Great results all around! Forgot a picture again, so I thought this one would represent how we thought we looked.

It looks like the winds are here to stay this summer. So why hide from them? Come out and join our group of wind gurus and learn how to master those breezes. You may still hate them, but you’ll won’t fear them anymore.

Rocky Roemer is unable to lead our Relaxed (14-15 mph) group on Windsdays. Currently it’s a sporadic group with one or two riders. But we’d really like to get it built up so relaxed riders can come out an enjoy a Windsday riding with TAB. If you currently ride Windsdays or can help with this, please feel free to contact either me, Ron Schieb, or Chuck Nicewonder. Please help us grow Windsday night!

Speedtrap Ride Tuesday June 11^th recap

          Nearly perfect riding weather attracted a record crowd to the Speedtrap Ride last evening, Tuesday, June 11^th Forty-six riders  demonstrated why the Speedtrap Ride is the best Tuesday night ride out of Ottawa County.

          Scott Lang led the Ghost Pepper Riders and reported a 22.9 mph riding average, although Dan Willis said his was 23.0 mph.

          Tony Mazurek led the Habanero Riders and reported  a 19.3 mph average.

          I led six other Jalapeno Riders. Riding averages reported ranged from 16.3 mph(mine—I slowed terribly on the overpasses) to 16.9 mph(Ray Purney)

          Marnie Arndt’s Sweet Pepper Riders split into three groups. Marnie’s group rode 20 miles at 15.4 mph. A second group went ahead, and finished with 16.4 mph(They’ll probably ride with the Jalapenos next time). Becky Kayden and JoAnne Cousino formed a third group and rode 17 miles at 12 mph.

          The evening's ride included several new Speedtrap riders: JoAnne Cousino, Lisa and Steve Dickens, Justin Hart and his father Bill Hart, Terry Butler, Diane and Larry Dunbar, and Candy Langoria. Welcome all to the Speedtrap Ride!

          All are pictured, except Candy Langoria(I’ll get his picture next time).

          As has been the case all season, several riders gathered at the Portage Inn in Elmore after the ride for food, drink, and good conversation.

          Please join us next Tuesday, June 18^th, for the next roll-out of the Speedtrap Ride. We ride from Spoke Life Cycles/Elmore at 6:30 pm.

I hope to see you then!

Chuck Nicewonder

 

The Answer: It has warm temperatures, relatively mild winds, a chance of rain and lots of riding fun. The Question: “What is this Windsday’s forecast?” Yep, the weather looks good of a great evening of riding tomorrow night. The chance of rain looks slim and Darth Metcalf would say “the weather mojo is strong with this one.” Come on out to Timberstone and take a sweet cruise through the fields of Lucas and Fulton Cty. Our nice stretches of straight roads are relatively free from stop signs, making for a nice evening of riding with friends. We’ll see you at Timberstone JHS, 9000 W Sylvania Ave, leaving at 6:30.

2 extras - 1) Remember westbound Sylvania Ave is closed between McCord and King, so use Central or Brint. Eastbound is still open. 2) We need a substitute ride leader for Jenifer’s group tomorrow night. You folks are pretty great group, so anyone of you should be able to lead. Let me know tomorrow night.

Singletrack Trail Trail Maintenance Days are Wednesdays, June 12th, 19th, and 26th at 5 to 8 p.m.

Metroparks Toledo will be hosting weekly maintenance days for the Singletrack Bike Trail at Oak Openings. These days will be dedicated to repairing and maintaining the trail and will include digging additional drainage, repairing ruts and washout, trimming back brush, and potentially building a boardwalk or stone trail in portions. Volunteers must be 12+ and must be accompanied by an adult if under 16.

In order to volunteer, you must complete an online application. Follow the link below:

https://www.volgistics.com/ex/portal.dll/ap?ap=533427557

For more information or if you have any questions contact Meredith Busic, volunteer coordinator, at meredith.busic@metroparkstoledo.com.