The SD Recyclers
Semi Annual Bulletin
(End of 2008 Edition)
Ride once then Recycle
Inside this edition:
Brief review of some of our favorite rides of 2008 (the last
half)
Other notables
Upcoming events and Rides
Pictures, Pictures, Pictures
Greetings Recyclers
and Friends
It's hard to believe, but it's been almost 6 months since our
last Bulletin! So, given that we haven't quite admitted to the
concept of an"Annual Bulletin" (but, it's being considered
seriously), it's more than time to bite the bullet and send out
what has now become our"semi-annual", at least in this
case,"nearly end of the year" edition. Besides doing our
traditional brief recap and retrospective on the last ½ year
of Recycling, we have some great rides and events planned for 2009 we
want to let you know about. So let's get started!
The last 6 Months
As most of you know, this last half year has been a busy one
for the Recyclers. While hosting a Sunday ride each and every
weekend, we've thrown in a few Saturday and weekday rides as well.
And then, just to keep things interesting, we've participated in a
number of other sponsored rides and events, including, most recently,
the"Midnight Madness Ride", the"Bike the Bay Ride", and
the SDBC's"Light up a Life Toy Ride", all of which were really
fun events. And all of them benefitted good causes, including
support for the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, one of our more
vocal Bicycling Advocate Groups, or, in the case of the Toy Ride, the
Salvation Army. No matter what the benefit or event, however, all
were made even more fun and eventful by doing them with fellow
Recyclers. Below, for our enjoyment, are a few pictures from each of
the aforementioned rides, provided, as always, by our resident expert
photographer, Greta Larsson. And remember, the pictures from
all our rides (or nearly so) can be viewed by clicking on the
gallery link at the top of this page.
First, the"Midnight Madness" ride:
A few of us at an impromptu tailgate party, before the"Midnight
Madness Ride".
Actually, before our dinner in Little Italy, before the ride.... Oh
well
Jeff and Greta, dressed, and in the mood.... for a ride that is!!!!
Some
fellow participants and enthusiasts at the start.... A GREAT TIME
Now for some pictures from the"Bike the Bay" ride:
Some
of us met up in the wee early morning to head off to the start
together
Finally,
some pictures from the"Light up a life Toy Ride":
Above:
Some of us at the start
Now for some Recyclers' Rides of note
While those events were a blast,
the rides it seems we all enjoy the most are just our typical Sunday
rides. Of course, often times, there's really nothing typical
about them. Or should I say normal (but that's another story)?
And, as always, one of the nicest things about our rides are the
coffee breaks, and the opportunity they provide for us all to visit.
Generally, these breaks are at one our favorite haunts along the
route (the Nautical Bean, on the"Solana Beach to O'Side Ride",
or that little yellow hole in the wall coffee shop on Canon St,
which I refer to as Dennis' place (since he was the first to point
it out), on the"Cabrillo Monument Ride", or the place on
Newport in OB on our"Tour de Campus Ride", and so on). But,
it's pretty much a given, that the nicest coffee breaks we have
are the ones that are hosted by our fellow members. And, this last
½ year has been no exception. During the last 6 months,
we've been treated to a good number of great and memorable coffee
breaks. This last ½ year's hosted coffee breaks included
one hosted by Dennis and Haven Webb on their new patio (really
beautiful guys!!!). And then, yet again, we had beautiful brunch at
the home of the Zieglers, who have become sort of regulars on our
"Loma, Liberty and the Zoo Too Ride" (…no pressure Michael and
Carole, as Espresso Mio is always there in a pinch). Most recently,
of course, we were treated to a lovely brunch by Frank and Carmen
Fernandez. In any case, thanks to all of you for your kind efforts
and gestures, and making our rides just that much more enjoyable.
It must be mentioned, however, that one of our more special coffee
breaks this last ½ year was hosted by our own Dave Crowe. It
was notable and special, not only because it included a new route,
which it did, but, more importantly, because it help commemorate
Dave's retirement from active military duty. Thus, the route
will forever be referred to the"Dave Crowe retirement ride".
The route is pretty cool, albeit somewhat difficult, and we look
forward to doing it again soon. In any case, it was really a treat
to be able to celebrate with Dave. A very nice time was had by all.
This ride, by the way, was one of the best attended rides we've
had this last ½ year, in large part, because Dave is Dave
(although, the free food helped…hah ha). It really was great
having the opportunity to enjoy celebrating Dave's retirement from
active military duty with him. Below are some pictures from the
ride and brunch.
Below,
Recyclers at the Start of the Ride
Below
left: Some of us enjoying the brunch with Dave. On the right: Dave
himself.
A bit more on Dave
-- In addition to celebrating with Dave during his retirement
ride and brunch, some of us, along with other friends, family,
veterans, and other assorted civilian and military personnel, were
lucky enough to watch him, along with some of his colleagues,
perform an amazing assortment of exciting naval exercises on the SD
Navy Base (some truly amazing stuff!!!!), during an exhibition and
live demonstration. We thought you might enjoy seeing a few
pictures of that event, so we've added a few here. This, I
believe, was one of Dave's last official Naval duties as he, and
other members of our military, took their lives in their hands
(nothing new for them) to demonstrate for us some their collective
expertise and wares. Enjoy the pictures.
Above:
Dave descending towards planet earth. Where's the bike?
Above: Dave hanging out with some friends.
Actually, this was an especially impressive exercise. Dave's
at the bottom there. They flew around for quite some time!!! Don't
try this at home!
Here's Dave demoing some equipment.
Finally, Dave, hanging out with some of his Recyclers' buddies
(so sometimes he doesn't display the best judgment... hah ha).
From left to right: Marty, Ruth, Dave, Paul, Sara, Jeff. BTW, Dave
had his Recyclers' Jersey on the entire time!!!
Other News
-- Oh yeah, speaking of Jerseys, What about our new jerseys? I
thought Greta was going to go nuts. Week after week, a new scenario
emerged, until finally we get word, weeks before actually receiving
the jerseys, that they were, in fact, sent, but were in a box
somewhere in Tennessee (sort of a good news bad news type of thing.
You know,"the checks in the mail…somewhere…yada, yada, yada).
In any case, being that the Jerseys were made in Mexico (I believe
TJ, or nearby), Greta couldn't quite get over the circuitous
nature of the route UPS took to get them to us (let's see, TJ to
San Diego, via Tennessee, hmm???). Suffice it to say, it was a
route even Neil would be proud of. Rumor has it, in fact, that
Neil's on Bikely.com right now mapping the route, and getting a
route slip done for what is sure to be the mother of all Recyclers'
routes. In all seriousness though, both Greta and Marty,
especially, deserve a lot of credit for keeping the ball rolling and
finally delivering the goods, including arm warmers (with Kudos to
Bruce at World Jerseys for some great work). I think we all agree
the effort was well worth it. Below our own Ed Michelson can be
seen modeling the new jersey. His company (MG Security) is one of
our three sponsors. The other two sponsors, of course, are our
original sponsor, Argent Funds, along with the Recyclers' own
Manuel who owns and operates HWY 67 Truck Dismantlers. Please keep
your eyes open for links to their businesses on our web site soon.
And should you need an investment firm, truck dismantlers, or a
security system, please think of our sponsors. A big"THANK YOU"
from all of us to all of our sponsors. It's because of their
contributions that we're able to keep the cost of the jerseys and
arm warmers so low. OK, OK, here's Ed.
Upcoming Special Events
(The Tour de Palm Springs)
- Folks, a number of us
have made hotel reservations and have signed up to ride in the Tour
de Palm Springs Charity Ride this coming Valentine's Day weekend.
As the saying goes,"the more, the merrier". So please think
about participating. Last year we had a pretty good contingent of
Recyclers, most of who managed to find each other, either at the
start or at the first SAG stop. And, like last year, we plan to
have a Recyclers dinner following the ride. It's a fun location
and a great ride with many options and many events and booths. The
URL for the ride follows, should you be interested
http://www.tourdepalmsprings.com/
Many of us plan to head out on Friday and make a weekend of it. Of
course, bring your spouse and/or loved ones, should you be so
inclined.
Final Words
(You thought it would never end... Dave Nunez, can't believe
it!!!) - Folks suffice it to say, it's been a really good year for
the Recyclers, made even better by ALL the new
members who have joined us, and some"old timers" who have
rejoined us (like Bob Groff,"Da Wagonmaster" , himself). I
would mention you all by name, but I fear I would forget someone.
Please, just know how glad we all are to have you all ride with us.
So, despite rising gas costs and multiple starting points both near
and far, the club continues to grow, and we continue to find new and
fun rides and events to do as a group. As much as anything, I
believe that's a testament not only to the diverse and friendly
folks who ride every Sunday, but is also a reflection of the genuine
interest by the Recyclers'"leadership" (using the term
loosely, of course) and all our members to try and have a little
something for everybody. This is reflected, among other things, in
the different difficulty ratings of each of our rides as well as our
many different starting points and routes. And now, in addition to
having added an"Early Bird" start to most of our rides, we've
added a"Late Dogs'" start to many of our rides as well, so
that some folks who don't want to ride the entire route can get
off a shorter ride but still enjoy the camaraderie of the club by
joining the"Regulars" and"Early Birds" in route, for 10-20
miles or so. Generally, the"Late Dog's" start happens before
the coffee break, so we all get to enjoy each others' company on
the break as well. These added start times makes it possible for us
to have rides that are typically 50 milers for the Early Birds, 30
to 40 milers for the regulars and 10 to 20 milers for the Late Dogs.
We'll try to keep this concept alive whenever possible. Also, in
response to some of the Recyclers' requests, we've added a
"Sauntering Sunday Ride" the first Sunday of each month. This
ride is a one chain ring ride (Recyclers' rating of"easy"),
in hopes, again, of attracting some folks who might not want to ride
as hard as we do the rest of the month. So, we'll continue to
experiment with these two new concepts and others. Apparently, so
far so good! So, with all sincerity, a heartfelt thanks to everyone
in the Recyclers for making 2008 a really good year for the club. We
trust that 2009 will be even better. Special thanks are in order,
as always, to Neil and Greta for going above and beyond. Neil, of
course for his tireless work on the website and for taking charge on
getting route slips done for all our rides. Greta, of course, for
her expertise, and the magic she performs, with her camera,
PhotoShop, and her tongue and cheek commentary/captions. What,
they're not tongue and cheek? OK, that's it for now. Finally,
eh Dave?
Wishing you all the very best 2009 has to offer!
