Bike Shop Coordinator Needed

 By Sheryl Mueller

The Bike Shop Coordinator has a very important job in the Club as a liaison between GABA, the bike shops and our printing company for a smooth delivery of newsletters to each bike shop every month, as well as serving the advertising needs of our sponsor bike shops.

Here are the main duties of the Bike Shop Coordinator:

1.  Work with bike shops and other potential advertisers to get their ads in our news-letter, as well as changes in existing ads.

2.  Work with the Territorial Printing Co. to ensure that the newsletters are delivered to all bike shops in a timely manner.

3.  Provide an updated bike shop address list for the Territorial each month.

4. Maintain current information on: fax & phone numbers, email addresses, and contact names for all our advertisers.

5. Be willing and able to deliver newsletters to bike shops when their supply is low.

A published day phone with voice messaging system to accept calls from existing and potential advertisers is a must. Ability to create mail merge letters, address labels, work in MS Word & Excel are a plus. Mileage expenses will be reimbursed.

If interested, contact Sheryl at 743-7402, or e-mail:  Smueller@homeplanners.com

Words from Wayne

I recently spent a week in California visiting with family and went on several rides.  The day after arriving in Sunnyvale, I visited several bike shops looking for suggestions on the best rides in the area.  I settled on a route that would take me through town and then along the foothills west of town towards Palo Alto.

My in-laws wanted to know about this route.  They offered several suggestions on how to shorten it!  I respectfully declined these suggestions, saying that one of the main reasons for riding was to get some miles in!

At 5:30 AM the next morning I awoke, remembered that the sun rises much later in the Bay Area and then went back to sleep for another hour.  After breakfast, I went out to get ready to ride.  But it was too cold to ride.  So I waited for another hour.

When I finally got on the bike, it was still chilly but starting to warm up.  The ride through town was very pleasant with marked bike paths and wide streets.  In construction areas a "Share The Road With Bikes" sign was always prominently displayed.  When I turned onto the Foothills Expressway, I had a big surprise.

The Expressway had a very wide bike path on each side.  Riders could easily ride side by side and still be a safe distance from the traffic.  I rode about a mile before realizing that I had not seen a rock, branch or a broken bottle on the road.  I continued riding the more than 10 miles out and never encountered any road debris.  In fact, on this 44-mile ride I only saw one place where someone had tossed out two bottles.

A part of the route was a loop up into the foothills along some narrow roads.   Drivers were very courteous; not one crowded me on the road.  Many drivers stayed back about 10 yards on the narrow and winding roads and waited until it was very safe to pass me.

I know that all of California is not this way.  Maybe I was just lucky.  But it was sure nice to ride where it was even friendlier towards bicycling than Tucson!

22nd Annual

Grand Canyon to Mexico

Almost Across Arizona

Bicycle Tour

Great Arizona Bicycle Adventure

September 28 Thru October 5, 2002

Saturday, September 28th Optional bus trip ($) from the Phoenix Best Western Airport Inn, leaving at 10 AM for Best Western Squire Inn in Tusayan, near the Grand Canyon. Relax at Tusayan.  Tour Kick Off Banquet that evening.

Day 1: Sunday, September 29th Layover day at the Grand Canyon.  Explore it by biking, hiking, or taking a Canyon shuttle trip!

Day 2: Monday, September 30th Tusayan to Gray Mountain (73 miles).  Pedal along the East Rim Drive and enjoy the beauty of one of the world’s greatest natural wonders, the Grand Canyon, as you make your way towards (down to) the stark beauty of the high desert Navajo Reservation.

Day 3: Tuesday, October 1st Gray Mountain to Flagstaff (62 miles).  An incredibly scenic route on the Sunset Crater-Wupatki Loop Road allows you to visit numerous ruins, admire miles of the ancient Bonito Lava Flow, and dramatic views of the Sunset Crater volcanic cone and Humphrey’s Peak (Arizona’s highest point at 12,663 ft).

Day 4: Wednesday, October 2nd Flagstaff to Payson (95 miles).  Ride by Lake Mary and Mormon Lake in the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest.  Crest over the Mogollon Rim and enjoy steep descents through the small towns of Strawberry (great pies!) and Pine.

Day 5: Thursday, October 3rd Payson to  Miami (85 miles).  Long, scenic, descents into Saguaro country, past Roosevelt Lake. View Historic Roosevelt Dam, and travel over the world’s longest steel arch suspension bridge. A fast descent in the afternoon, as you pedal into historic Miami.

Day 6: Friday, October 4th Miami to Tucson (95 miles).  Ride over scenic El Capitan Pass, then enjoy the 3,000 foot drop into the Gila River Gorge. Pedal past Winkelman and Mammoth as you marvel at the beautiful Catalina Mountain Range as you make your way into Tucson.

Day 7: Saturday, October 5th Tucson to Nogales (78 miles).  Follow the Santa Cruz River Valley while cycling past Green Valley, Tubac and Tumacacori, all rich in history and western lore.  Join us for the Farewell Banquet & Good-byes after the ride.

Sunday, October 6th Optional bus trip ($) from Nogales to Phoenix (end of ride) leaving by 9 AM.

Social Director Position Open!

The Board position of Social Director is now open.  This a very EASY and FUN job!  

The Social Director is in charge of bringing the refreshments for the monthly meeting - that is ONCE a month on the first Monday of the month!  What refreshments?  That is left to his/her creativity!

In addition, the Social Director is in charge of bringing the "catered" dinner for the Board Meeting on the second Monday of the month.  Again, what kind of food is up to the Social Director, with suggestions from the Board Members, of course!

All Board positions have many perks that come with it, such as FREE overnighters or centuries, for example!

Anyone interested?  Please call President Wayne Cullop at 290-4321 for more info and to volunteer.

2002 "RAGBRAI"

Trip Report

By Smilin' Steve Wilson and Devilish Donna Lewandowski

We just returned on Sunday from our first "RAGBRAI".  For those not familiar with the ride, it is the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.  It is one of the oldest and definitely the most popular cross-state rides.  This was RAGBRAI XXX.  What a great experience!  It had been on our list of bicycling things to do for a while and it lived up to all the expectations.  A lot of people had given us an idea of what to expect, but it was hard to believe until we actually had a chance to experience it. 

The ride takes a different route across Iowa each year from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River and is usually about 500 miles in length.  The ride moves to a new town each day and there are no rest days.  Just getting into the ride can be the biggest challenge.  The ride has become so popular that a lottery system is used to choose the participants.  They accept 8,500 riders for the whole week and a few thousand more are issued passes for part of the week.  Combined with the numerous bandits, the average number of riders each day is around 15,000!

In addition to the lottery, a number of bike clubs in Iowa are guaranteed a number of slots each year.  We were fortunate to get in contact with a club in Cherokee, Iowa via Bob and Linda Epstein, which enabled us to get in.  We're now proud members of the Little Sioux Spoke Folks Bicycle Club.

We signed on with a charter service in Iowa that picked us up at the Omaha airport, supported us for the week, and returned us to the airport at the end.  He also provided portable showers each day and cold beverages at a reasonable cost.  We found the service to be excellent and would consider using him again.

With the large numbers of riders and relatively small towns, hotels are not an option.  Most people travel with teams, and many more with charter services such as the one we used.  The team usually shares a bus, truck, motor home, or other vehicles and someone in the group drives each day.  There was a primary campground in each town, and several local residents opened up their yards for camping also.  The teams usually also do their own portable showers, which helps to avoid the long lines at the campgrounds.

We fretted for some time about getting our Cannondale tandem to and from Iowa in one piece.  We considered having a custom hardcase made ($650), and using two standard airline boxes pieced together.  Bob and Claire Rogers came to our rescue and showed us the proper disassembly methods to get the tandem to fit inside one standard airline box.  With a little tape and some bubblepack we were ready to go.  We removed the wheels, rear derailleur, handlebars, seats, front fork, pedals, and rear rack and it fit quite nicely in to the box.  Paid the rip-off $80 charge each way but had no problems with the airline handling.  Had to true the rear wheel after the return trip but that was it.

When we arrived in Iowa on Saturday we found the humidity to be pretty oppressive.  We are obviously accustomed to the heat, but not 98 F with high humidity.  Someone said the heat index in Sioux Center was 116 F.  We set up camp and did some exploring around the start town of Sioux Center.  The cyclists kept rolling in until all hours of the night. 

At the start on Sunday morning, it was already hot and humid, and off we went.  Never once during the week did we bother to carry a route map, we just looked where the bikes were going and followed.  With 15,000 riders it was pretty easy:  two lanes of bikes as far as the eye could see in both directions most of the time.  Traffic support provided primarily by the Iowa Highway Patrol was excellent.  One patrol-man even had a super-soaker squirt gun and was nailing the cyclists going by.  As we went by, I got him with my water bottle and he blasted Donna - perfect!

We saw lots of tandems.  I'm guessing into the hundreds.  Lots of Cannondales, Burleys, Santanas, Co-Motions, and our friends Bob and Linda on their Meridian.  Saw a Viewpoint, a number of recumbent tandems, one with a hand crank in one position.  We also found it interesting to see the unicycles, rollerbladers, and Roger from AZ on a BMX bike with 16-inch wheels going self-contained.  I was surprised by the number of people who don't do the whole ride, either riding selected days or parts of days.  The vast majority of riders we saw were supported by teams or charters, and many had the option of riding on the team bus or truck

We saw more corn and soybeans than you can imagine.  The aroma from the occasional hog farm was literally overpowering.  Basically 500 miles of rolling hills, grain silos, and picturesque farms.  The farther east we went the hillier it became.  It's definitely not western Kansas.  The climb for the week worked out to be about 12,000 ft, which is about 40% of an average Bicycle Tour of Colorado. 

The newspaper said that 46% of the riders were from Iowa. The other 54% represented the other 49 states and 8 foreign countries.  We met and talked with many interesting people along the route, including a team from Italy and a single rider from Ecuador.  We only saw a few problems with riders trying to keep high speed pacelines going through the crowd.  Personally, we didn't see the point of trying to set speed records on RAGBRAI.

The weather turned cooler on Monday and actually it was quite pleasant with days in the high-70's, slowly working back to the mid-80's.  Nights were pleasant but damp.  Camping areas where generally very nice given the huge numbers of campers.  A severe thunderstorm just missed us Sunday night, and we had a shower Wednesday night.  Heavy rain Friday night that continued through the first 30+ miles on Saturday.  Fortunately it was around 70, so we didn't see anyone hypothermic.

The many towns along the way really put on a show.  We felt very welcome in all but a few of the towns and cities.  The party atmosphere was contagious.  We sang along with the singing (and dancing) nuns and bands too numerous to mention.  We liked one a cappella group so much we bought one of their CD's.  (see www.tonicsolfa.com)  The kids and families selling food and drinks along the way were fun to talk with.  A large number of churches, fire depts., and civic groups had food and drink stands along the route.  RAGBRAI is not a ride to lose weight on! 

We particularly enjoyed the Chris Cakes pancakes for breakfast.  Despite the crowds, the lines moved quickly.  They had a mechanism that could put 96 pancakes on the griddle in about 30 seconds.  The servers were adept and flipping the pancakes about 20 feet through the air, making for big fun trying to catch them with your plate.

The saying for RAGBRAI is: "if you're not having fun, you need to lower your expectations", but we found this was not necessary! 

Our favorite t-shirt: "IOWA - Hey, what's that smell?!"

Welcome 2002

"Grand Canyon to Mexico"

Bicycle Tour Participants!

By Pam Cullop

This issue of the GABA Update is the one that will be read by our 2002 Tour Participants, as they are being transported from Phoenix to Tusayan on September 28th. 

Welcome to Arizona!  Welcome to the 22nd Annual Great Arizona Bicycle Adventure, also known as the "Almost Across Arizona Bicycle Ride"! 

Whatever the name, the ride has always been a favorite for a lot of riders.  It's great to have so many cyclists returning for another ride, and to see so many new faces!

This year, your Ride Committee will be:

Pam Cullop: Tour Chair;

Roy Schoonover: Co-Chair;

Marcie Silver: Co-Chair;

Helen Greer: Transportation;

and Wayne Cullop: "General Flunky". 

The Tour Staff are as follows:

Radar & Sharon Matt: SAG 1;

Mary Callesen & Marge Schoonover: SAG 2;

Dick and Fella Woolf: SAG 3;

Barry Callesen: BAG Driver;

Helen Greer: Route Scout;

Melissa (Mo) Kitchen: Bicycle Mechanic. 

Ken Brecheisen and Laura Dituri have agreed to return once again, and "Massage" many sore and weary bodies.  Lucky are those who take them up on their service!

This year's Tour Bike Shop is Landis Cyclery of Phoenix.  Some of the riders will have had their bikes shipped to, assembled by, and delivered to the Best Western Airport Inn in Phoenix by the able-bodied mechanics at the Indian School Rd. Landis location.  Thanks Bob for your help!

To our riders: get ready to enjoy some of the most beautiful country Arizona has to offer!  Wherever you come from: be it California, New Jersey, Georgia, parts in between or beyond, we are happy that you have been able to join us on our 500-mile Bicycle Adventure! 

In processing your applications, several of you have mentioned that you have been on this tour in years past.  It is my deepest desire that you can take what must have been a wonderful experience, and add to that pleasure on this upcoming ride.  We make every effort to provide our riders with a great bike-tour vacation. 

I look forward to meeting those of you who are new to the ride, and seeing old friends and familiar faces.  By the time the ride ends on Saturday, October 5th in Nogales, Arizona, I hope to count many among you as New Friends!

Get Ready to Ride!!!!!

The White Mountain Bike Tour 2002

Really Did Happen on July 13 & 14!

by Mike Morross, ride leader

For those of you that may not have heard yet, the 2002 edition of the White Mountain Tour DID happen!  Despite all the uncertainly due to the fire situation in the area, the ride managed to go off (more or less) as planned.

Due to the major construction going on Route 60, the bike tour route  was changed to utilize Route 260 both days between Show Low/Pinetop/Lakeside and the Springerville/Eager area. 

While this change made Saturday's ride a little shorter than advertised, it proved to be both more challenging and beautiful! 

We also had a number of riders who took the challenge of riding on to the New Mexico state line and back on Saturday - guess the climb up to 9200 feet elevation just wasn't enough work for them!

Thanks to all the riders who took part, and to the volunteers - Janine Austin, Mike & Barb Litecky, Leon Smith, Suzie Culver, Bob Brown, Joe Stock, Jay Stewart, and the baggage master, Ray Almada.

It's Not A Club Without  "U"!

by Mike Morross

Phoenix GABA President

Like any other non-profit group, the various GABA chapters could not function without the voluntary efforts of its members in many different capacities.

Think that leading a ride seems like too much work?  Imagine having to go to the PO Box several times a week.  Imagine having to maintain an ever-growing membership database.  Imagine having to create, repro-duce, and distribute a newsletter - every month!  Imagine your phone ringing at all hours of the day and night because some member's mailing label is not indicating membership as being renewed yet!

I'm not complaining here, and I certainly don't mean to scare off any future volunteers.  The point I'm trying to make is that ALL the functions that keep your Club running are done by uncompensated volunteer members

We've had several chapters at or near death recently because the "old guard" - the people who kept everything running - had decided that enough was enough, and that it was someone else's turn to take the reigns.  If no one steps forward to do that, YOUR CLUB DIES!

I think all of us are member of GABA because we love to ride!  I also know first-hand that GABA cannot exist without the efforts of its officers, ride leaders, and other volunteers from the membership.  The meager dues that you pay to belong, in most cases, don't even cover the expenses of producing the newsletter and insuring training and recreational rides.

Ask yourself these questions: How long have you been a member?  Ever volunteered for or led a ride?  Have you ever served on the Board of your Club in any capacity?  Most of the chapters will be holding elections in the next few months.  Perhaps now is the time for you to give something back to bicycling. . . .

50,000-MILE TANDEM TEST

By Rudy & Kay Van Renterghem

We recently logged our 50,000th mile of TWOgetherness on our custom Co-Motion tandem.  We took delivery of our new twicer on December 16, 1993 and logged our 50,000th mile on April 11, 2002.

Being longtime tandeming enthusiasts and avid record keepers, the pilot and stoker offer a few statistics, that may be of interest, on their l-o-n-g term test ride.

After all this cranking around, how well did the bike and equipment we selected so carefully just over 8 years ago hold up?  Just as good, if not better, than the riders!

TIRES:  We wore out 17 front and 22 rear tires in that time.

The highest-mileage front tire lasted an incredible 6,166 miles; the lowest-mileage front tire was a meager 525 miles.  The odd part is that the high and low mileage front tire champs were both Continental Super Sports!  Well, we did have a series of front tires that did not fare too well.  As for the rear tire, the mileage king was a Conti GranSport with 3,591 miles, while the lowest -mileage for the rear was 821 miles on the inappropriately named Wolber "Invulnerable".  Other brands of tires used, with various success, were Specialized, Performance, Ritchey, Michelin and Panaracer.

FLATS:  138 flat tires in 50,000 miles!  65 on the front and 73 on the rear.  Here where we live in southern Arizona, common culprits that cause punctures are cactus thorns, shards of glass and tiny pieces of wire from steel-belted radial car tires that get torn up along the roadside.  Some other causes were a broken valve stem, a large size industrial staple and some of those glueless patches that did not hold so well.

That averages out to a puncture for each 362 miles we pedaled.  In October of 1998, we had a lot of road construction in our immediate area and set some kind of personal record for having to fix flat tires:  fourteen in ten days of riding!  Oh well, patience, a good sense of humor, spare tubes, a patch kit and a good pump did take care of that!

DRIVETRAIN:  the pilot is a stickler on cleanliness; he says "Keep your drivetrain and other equipment clean and lubricated, and your componentry will serve you better and last longer."  He is a firm believer in using the hot paraffin method to keep the chains running smoothly.  This works especially well in Arizona's very dry climate; if you live in a wetter clime, other lubricants may serve you better.

In between cleaning and lubricating the chains, an occasional wipe down of the chains does not hurt  Grit is the enemy of drivetrains.  We broke our tandem crossover chain twice and replaced it six times while the drive chain never broke and was replaced seven times.  Eight times we replaced our Sachs seven-speed freewheel.  The rear derailleur pulleys were out three times while complete front and rear derailleurs were replaced only once.

CABLES: We never replaced the front or rear brake cables; we broke four front derailleur cables and 10 rear shift cables.

CHAINRINGS:  At 17,000 miles, we replaced our 54T and 40T chainrings.  The 40T chainring was replaced with a 42T, which had to be replaced 30,000 miles later with another 42T.  The 26T inner ring lasted 33,532 miles.  So, from the looks of it, we used the heck out of our middle chainring as we got older!  We also did manage to break one chainring bolt somehow.

MISCELLANEOUS STUFF:  Our headset took a beating and was replaced twice;  we are tough on handlebar tape, and that was replaced four times for both captain and stoker.

The pilot wore out the thin leather cover on his original saddle and now rides on a Basso, which is showing signs of wear and use, but still rides comfortably.  The stoker's Vetta SL saddle was replaced 30,000 miles of riding later; but it took her over a year trying various saddles before she finally settled on a Serfas Curva to be happy.

While climbing a nine-mile long, 7%  grade one day, we heard a loud "crack"!  The bike kept moving OK, so we did not dismount.  Only later that day did we discover that we had cracked our rear rim.  That Mavic double walled rim had survived 25,544 miles!  Needless to say we replaced it with another Mavic.  Since then, twice more, we have cracked a rear rim.  Yeah, some of these stokers are just hard on equipment!

Stoker was also guilty of breaking one of her toeclips while the pilot cracked the cage on one of his Vittoria Superleggero pedals; those pedals had been in use on our previous Colian tandem and had over 80,000 miles on them!  Both pilot and stoker ended up with new pedals; the stoker developed some foot problems and tried clipless pedals, but they did not solve her problem and she is now using Power Grips.

One day, near home, our cable housing by the rear derailleur exploded, leaving us nearly "shiftless" by the roadside.  Goes to prove all equipment has its limitations, even something as simple as cable housing!

REAL GOOD STUFF: Original spec'd equipment that is still performing flawlessly after all those miles:  our Topline crankset; Mavic Module 3CD front rim; DT double-butted spokes; front and rear Phil Wood 36H hubs; our Delta QR levers and the Syncross of Canada Ti bottom brackets, seatposts and captain's stem, although the stembolt had rounded out and said bolt was replaced.  And, by the way, we have never broken a spoke on this bike!

Also holding up great is our custom adjustable stoker stem that features a braze-on for our mini remote for the garage door; the pilot's Scott LF handlebars, the Scott-Pederson Self Energizing canti-brakes, although the rear brake pads were replaced with Scott-Matthauser pads.

And our Shimano bar end shifters and Nashbar modified rear rack are also original equipment.  The stoker did have her handlebars replaced and also her stoker peg handrests.

The custom paint job by Air Art of California still looks good, including the colorful airbrushed desert scene on the ovalized boob tube.  We do admit to having touched up the mainly black with gold hi-lites paint on the rest of the frame.  The rear triangle and fork were chrome plated  as original specs and still shine great when you use a bit of chrome polish.

This 50,000 miles of riding took place in just less than 8 years and 4 months.  Our daily rides are mostly in the Tucson area but we have traveled all over to attend events and tandem rallies and now that we are retired, we have spent extended vacations in several states, and of course, we always bring along our twicer!

In between all this, we did manage to test ride over 16 other tandems from different manufacturers and various custom builders.  Ranging from the basic (Roland) to the exotic (Serotta Ti, c/f Calfee), mountain and road tandems, softride beamed twicers, folding (Montague) and small-wheeled (Bike TwosDay) and S&S take-aparts.  Some we put on a few miles, but most got at least a 300-mile workout. One model of the Burley we liked so well that we put 2,000 miles  on the odometer!

This is our third custom tandem that we have logged over 50,000 miles on; the first was our Assenmacher in the '70s and our Colian in the '80s.

We have pedaled our custom Co-Motion from sea-level bayous in Louisiana to the over 9200 foot roads in the White Mountains in northern Arizona and many points in between.  We've ridden on highways and by-ways and velodromes, too.  We consider our Co-Motion tandem an investment in our continued good health. . . sure is cheaper than a double or triple heart by-pass!

And, yes, our Co-Motion should be good for many more miles!

See you on the road!

And, yes! our Co-Motion should be good for many more miles!

Northwest Tandem Rally 2002

By Rudy and Kay Van Renterghem

Boise was the host city for NWTR 2002 over Memorial Day weekend, May 24 through 27, 2002.

Boise, pronounced BOY-SEE, is the Gem State's capital and its largest city at 2842 feet of elevation and situated in the southwest corner of Idaho.  Boise has a population of 186,000 and appropriately refers to itself as "The City of Trees".  Some of its outskirts are high desert, so when approaching town it looks like a great oasis with the rapid flowing Boise River bisecting it.

The Boise River Greenbelt meanders next to the river, providing over 25 miles of multi-use paved and striped pathways for cyclists, runners and bladers, and connects with a dozen of the city's parks.

Registration for the 2002 tandem event started Friday afternoon giving early arrivals, like us, time to check out their packets, and try on their t-shirts or jerseys.  No organized ride for Friday, but most early arriving tandem duos were seen pedaling into town or exploring the Boise River Greenbelt or just socializing.

Saturday's ride choices were 30, 60 or 80 miles, all starting at 9 AM at Albertson Corporate Center's convenient parking lot, across from the host hotel, the Double Tree.

A clever touch was not just the route sheet/map or the Dan Henry arrows painted on the route, but the route sheets were the same color as the arrows you had to follow:  red, white or blue.  Simple, but effective!

Helpful police motorcycle units provided an almost non-stop escort for the first 12 miles for all three rides that sunny morning.  Lunch for the medium and long rides was at Middleton City Park, while the short ride participants were served at the start/finish line.  The colorful parade of riders traveled the tree-shaded streets, past the state capitol and historic homes along the base of the Boise foothills.

The mid-length riders traversed farmland, mint fields plus a commercial iris garden in full bloom, while the 80-mile option viewed apple and cherry orchards and tested their legs on a twisting 300-foot climb up "Freeze-out" hill.  The sag stops were staffed by local volunteers and Boy Scouts who all did a splendid job, but at times the young scouts looked a bit overwhelmed by all the l-o-n-g bikes and all that multi-hued cycling apparel!  There was food and drink aplenty, and time to talk with riders from all over the country.

After our ride and long shower, it was time to eat some more with friends at another of Boise's over 70 restaurants and cafes.  And, the weather was pleasant enough to have a leisurely meal and gabfest while sitting on the patio.  But no dessert!  No dessert?!!  Well, there was a social hour planned for 7 PM at the municipal park.  With lots of ice cream, coffees, iced mochas and games for both kids and adults; plus Table Rock Brewery, a local brewpub provided beer and wine for hose thirsting for something stronger.  A nice way to wind up a busy day!

Sunday's ride schedule again offered three choices:  32, 50 and 70 miles respectively.  Again we mass-started at 9 AM with another helpful police escort out of town.  All riders had to pedal up to World Center for Birds of Prey, a wonderful bird sanctuary, where all cyclists got free entrance to view the exhibits.  When we say "pedaled up", we did mean UP a seven per cent curving road that kept hiding the summit.  A few tandem teams had to take a breather two-thirds of the way up, while others who had run out of gears or oomph, or maybe both, opted to hike it up to the visitor center.  Ah, but the fast descent was well worth that climb!

An over-plentiful lunch was served at Kuna City Park, adjacent to a kid's outdoor skateboard facility.  So, while relaxing in the shade and having our lunch, we watched the younger generation skateboard.

After lunch a final short hill to test our stamina, and then it was smooth pedaling back to town.

The 7 PM banquet and entertainment were preceded by a social hour and bike display and also featuring free beer and wine while supplies lasted.  Two kegs of beer and 30 bottles of fine wine were consumed in a record 15 minutes.  All that pedaling created a huge thirst!

Many banquets we've attended featured the usual "rubber chicken", but the Boise folks gave us a choice of prime rib, salmon or vegetarian.  We both opted for the salmon, and it was as good as any we've tasted in fine restaurants.  Of course, there was cheese-cake for dessert to add to our calorie count!

While enjoying the banquet and speakers, we were also entertained by a group of local young and very energetic Basque folk dancers, who deserved, and got, a standing ovation.

The NWTR organizers also held a prize/raffle contest/drawing with prizes too numerous to list, from Southwest Airline tickets to floor pumps.  Prizes were awarded for various achievements, from the youngest tandem duo (ages 9 and 11), the oldest combined age (142 years!), the earliest registrants and the team traveling the longest distance - Saudi Arabia no less - who received an appropriate prize for use in their desert clime:  two CAMELbacks!  The couple having tandemed in the most states (35!) can add one more state to their count by attending NWTR 2003 in Eugene, OR over the 4th of July weekend next year.

On the last day of the rally, local tandem teams led rides along the Greenbelt, up Bogus Basin and even a mountain bike ride in Boise's foothills.  Most of Monday's riders gathered for lunch at one of the many outdoor cafes before packing up and heading home.

Some statistics of the 2002 Northwest Tandem Rally: 

Attendance:  268 tandem teams, 20 Half-bikes and 40 kids on tandems, triples, trail-a-bikes and trailers from all over the US and Canada!

Weather:  Low 50s in the AM to low 80s in the PM; sunny skies with clouds forming in the afternoon.  Some folks from the extreme northwest and Canada went home with an early start on their summer tan!   Winds were negligible - in other words PERFECT cycling conditions!

Roads:  Boise's Greenbelt was fun; some bike lanes in town and quiet rural roads, with locals waving a greeting at this colorful tandem bicycle invasion.

Brands of tandems we spotted varied from a 1960 Schwinn Twin, a classic English Jack Taylor to a full carbon fiber Calfee twicer.  The most popular brand by far was Co-Motion, followed by Burley, Bike TwosDay, Rodriguez and Santana. Other were Erickson, Davidson/Discovery, Rex, Nashbar, Meridian, KHS, Ventana, Cannondale, Litespeed, Bilenky, Raleigh and Univega.

Recumbent tandems included Counterpoint, Rans, a very nice short wheelbase full suspension "no name" home-built, plus a couple new Bike Friday double-'bents.

Food "inhaled" by all these riders at the sag stops included 1,500 food bars, 2,100 great cookies, 1,100 bananas, 1,100 oranges, cases of cold soft drinks, gallons of sport drinks and good old H2O.  Hey, do we ride to eat, or eat to ride?  Tandemers do both!

In our over 27 years as tandem duo, we've attended countless rallies and events, but this was our very first NWTR - and we're glad we came!

Idaho's claim to fame is not just its potatoes, but is has a long-kept secret:  great tandem riding!

We doff our cycling helmets and give two thumbs up to the fine folks in Boise for a great and fun tandem event!

CLASSIFIEDS

FOR SALE: Very safe and very cool TRAILER, custom fiberglass, one of a kind trailer!  Custom paint job, 26" wheels, great ventilation to keep kids cool.  Easy pull with seatpost hitch system. $300 OBO.  Questions or to take a look: call Tom or Yvonne Nieman at 520-615-8880.

23rd Annual

Tumacacori Century

Gene Chapman Memorial Bicycle Ride

Sunday, October 13th, 2002

Join us for the 23rd Annual Tumacacori Century, the most popular bicycle ride in Southern Arizona!  3 options: 25, 64, and 100 miles, for novice to very experienced cyclists.  and it's great training for El Tour!

All cyclists ride south through the scenic Santa Cruz River Valley, past Green Valley and Tubac to the Tumacacori Mission.

The 100 milers will continue south of the mission past the Rio Rico foothills in some of the prettiest scenery in the Santa Cruz valley.  Look forward to fantastic views!  The route will take cyclists on Ruby Road towards Pena Blanca Lake.  The turn-around point will be at Calabasas Picnic Grounds, with a sag stop to provide food and energy for the return trip.  No steep hills, only some gentle climbs here and there.

CHECK IN:All options must check in at Sahuarita High School,  Exit 75 off I-19, approximately 15 miles south of Ajo Exit.  Pick up maps and rider instructions here. 

NO MASS START: Start riding after you have checked in and picked up your map and ride instructions.  ANSI-approved helmets are required for all riders.  All traffic rules must be obeyed.

RIDE ORGANIZER: Mark Levine, mcmsl@msn.com or (520) 886-8825. Volunteers are appreciated and much needed. Interested? Please call Mark.

STARTING POINTS: Option 1: 24 miles.  8:30 AM After checking in at Sahuarita High School, drive SOUTH to Arivaca Junction (start and finish for this option), exit 48, off I-19, approx. 17 miles south of the school.  Start riding around 9:30 AM.  Ride south past Tubac to the Tumacacori Mission & return.  Flat course.  Don't forget to stop for lunch at Sahuarita High School after the ride!

Option 2: 64 miles.  7:30 AM Starts and ends at Sahuarita High School (Exit 75, off I-19, approximately 15 miles south of Ajo exit).  Ride south along pecan groves past Green Valley, Arivaca Junction and Tubac to the Tumacacori Mission and return.  Flat course.  Great lunch for all afterwards at Sahuarita High School!

Option 3: 100 miles.  6:30 AM - NO MAJOR CLIMBS! Starts and ends at Sahuarita High School (Exit 75, off I-19, approx. 15 miles south of Ajo exit). Register at 6:30 AM. Ride south to Tumacacori Mission.  Continue past Peck Canyon and Rio Rico to Ruby Road.  Turn west towards Pena Blanca Lake to Calabasas Picnic Grounds and return.  Great lunch for all afterwards at Sahuarita High School!

 RIDE ORGANIZER: Mark Levine, mcmsl@msn.com  or (520) 886-8825. Volunteers are appreciated and much needed. Interested? Please call Mark.

Safety Tips  When Crossing

Cattle Guards

By Richard E Corbett, Certified Effective Cycling Instructor & Coach

This article is meant to help everyone remember and practice safe riding techniques every time you approach and cross a cattle guard.

Cattle guards have been a part of the western landscape for about a hundred years. Cyclists have been around here even longer than that. Unfortunately, the two continue to come together occasionally in ways where the cyclists end up "losing". This article is meant to help you better understand the ways to avoid problems with cattle guards.

KEY POINTS

1. ALWAYS cross cattle guards straight, not at an angle!

2. Hold the handlebar firmly and coast if crossing a cattleguard that is wet. Consider dismounting and walking across if in doubt as to your ability to cross safely.

3. Do not slow down too much! Slow speed can cause you to lose control if your front tire slips on the metal rail(s).

4. Rise off the saddle as you cross a cattle guard, using your knees and elbows as shock absorbers.

5. Be alert as you approach the cattle guard, in case there is a structural condition that could cause you to have a problem. These could include: (1) GAPS BETWEEN THE GRATES parallel to your direction of travel; (2) Gaps between the grates and the pavement, perpendicular (at a right angle) to your direction of travel, on both the near and far sides; and (3) differences in the height of adjacent grates, parallel to your direction of travel. AVOID these if they are present!

GROUP CONSIDERATIONS 

Many cattle guard problems occur when cyclists are riding in a group, so here are some special considerations for the group setting.

The lead cyclist in a group must see and call out a cattle guard well in advance. This gives enough time for every member of the group to see, evaluate, decide, and steer an individually chosen path across the cattle guard.

ALWAYS CHOOSE YOUR OWN path over a cattle guard. When riding with someone else, especially when in a group, move apart enough so every member of the group has their own clear view of the cattle guard, in plenty of time to pick a different path. Don't rely on someone else to pick your path; they need to concentrate on their own, and they don't have as much invested as you do (in exactly where you ride).

Clearly, everyone, whether riding alone or in a group, must see, evaluate, decide, and steer their own path across cattle guards.

By the way, most of these points also apply to crossing railroad tracks.

Please do ride enjoyably and safely !

Where Is Cave Creek?

Cave Creek Bike Tour

Sept. 28 & 29, 2002

It is not too late to sign up for this gem of a ride!  With very scenic settings, a fairly short distance ( 40 miles per day), and only one very gradual climb, this ride is ideal for cyclists who have never tried one of GABA's overnighters!

Nestled at the foot of the eastern Chiricahua Mountains, the sleepy small town of Portal guards the entrance to the remote Cave Creek Canyon, a paradise away from it all!

Don't hesitate if you are looking for a ride that will offer you scenery and  camaraderie:  this is the one!

The Cave Creek Bike Tour will be back again this fall!  This is a 40-mile (each day) bike ride to Cave Creek Canyon, starting from Roadforks, NM.  The ride takes you on the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains to the spectacular little town of Portal, the entrance to Cave Creek Canyon. 

As you pedal along the Peloncillo Mountains, soon you will view the scenic Chiricahua Mountains which rise from a broad valley to heights of nearly 9800 feet, with 5 life zones:  lower Sonoran, upper Sonoran, transition, Canadian and Hudsonian. 

The magic does not end:  the route takes you down across this broad valley, then gradually climbing up to the foot of these spectacular mountains!  As you reach Portal, stop for a few minutes at the old General Store for a cool drink, taking a step back in time to enjoy this quiet and beautiful little town.

Continue to slowly and gradually climb in a windy canyon which narrows as you cycle through tall sycamores following a lazy-flowing creek to the Southwestern Research Center at the end of the paved road.

Lodging will be dormitory style at the Center operated by the American Museum of Natural History on 88 acres surrounded by the Coronado National Forest. There is a 60-foot creek-fed swimming pool, ping pong, volleyball court, horseshoe pit and library, as well as beautiful grounds with tall trees and green grass.  You might be lucky to see deer grazing early in the morning!

This ride promises to be a refreshing change of scenery after months of hot desert riding and hiking.  Expect red rock, maybe some red maples, and definitely some colorful company.

The ride fee of $70 for members, and $75 for non-members includes: 3 meals, lodging, sag support, happy hour goodies, and a great slide show.

Reservations are limited!  Sign up early!  For more information, call Cathy Crandall at 520-400-8476, or contact her at cathygeorge@theriver.com

 "El Tour" Training Ride Schedule

Continuing though November, GABA-Tucson is organizing Training Rides for those   planning to ride El Tour de Tucson this year. 

These rides are designed to gradually increase the riding distance and endurance, familiarize you with the El Tour route, let you practice your ride strategy and ride with others with the same riding skill level. 

With the exception of the two Centuries listed below, there is no cost for the training rides.  Note: These Centuries are fully supported with three or four SAG stops offering lots of good food as well as support on the road!

All training rides will begin at Grant & Silverbell; see below for dates & times. Information about the two Centuries can be found in upcoming GABA newsletters, or on our Web site, www.bikegaba.org.  Ride Leader: Wayne Cullop, 290-4321 or pwcullop@comcast.net

 El Tour

Bike  Patrol  Needed

for El Tour XX

Bike Patrol are experienced cyclists who make the commitment to ride the "El Tour" route assisting cyclists with mechanical and first aid, as well as offering encouragement.  It is not a race for Bike Patrols.

Bike Patrols must have a current certification, good for 2 years. Sessions run 2 hours. As Bike Patrol, your $55 El Tour registration fee is waived, but a $15 processing fee (Paid before 11/9) is required to cover cost of T-shirt, medical supplies and support on the route.  For more information, call PBAA, 745-2033.

Cochise  County

Cycling  Classic

Saturday,  October  19th

The 15th Annual Cochise County Cycling Classic is around the corner! All options start & end at the 10th Street Park in Douglas.  Challenge yourself!  See how far you can really go!

Four options are available: 

252 miles - perimeter of Cochise County;

157 miles - perimeter of Dragoon Mtns;

92 miles - perimeter of Potter Mountain; 45 miles - no perimeter, just a circle!

Organized by PBAA to benefit Douglas Assoc. for Retarded Citizens. For information, call PBAA, (520) 745-2033, or pbaa@dakotacom.net

"El  Tour "

Flag  Rides

As Flag Riders, the "Goodwill Ambassadors" of El Tour, you will ride the entire route while carrying the Flag of El Tour - a symbol of "cycling in pursuit of helping children living life- threatening illnesses".

There are around 60 Flag Rides this year, starting in September. Your name and to whom you are dedicating your Flag Ride will be listed in the Tail Winds. Flag Ride Days are assigned on a first come, first served basis.  No more than 4 riders per day. but one person may ride on one or more days.

All Flag Riders receive a special El Tour Flag Ride T-shirt and a packet filled with sponsor-donated items.

Reserve your date as soon as possible to ensure that you will be a part of our unique tradition.  There is a fee for doing a Flag Ride.  For more information or to sign up, call PBAA at 745-2033.

Jerry & Bev Pitcock Celebrate

Their 25th Wedding Anniversary!

If you have been a GABA member for more than a few years, you will remember Jerry and Bev, who did so much for this club when they lived in Tucson. 

Jerry and Bev were a dynamic team, leading countless day rides as well as numerous overnighters.  What energy they had!  It was contagious! 

Everyone who went on their rides also enjoyed great cooking  as well as great rides!

We wish Jerry & Bev the best for many more years to come!

Jerry and Bev moved to Phoenix a couple of years ago.  We have just learned that Bev is hoping to soon be on the waiting list for a liver transplant.  This entails a serious operations, after being accepted on a waiting list.  Bev's chances of making it on a transplant waiting list in Arizona are very slim, so they have decided to sell their house and move back to Texas, where the chances of making it on the transplant waiting list are better.

Anyone wishing to contact the Pitcocks may do so at 623-322-6506, or 623-206-4300.  This is a time in their life when moral support and friendship is certainly welcome.