After your first day of cycling, one dream is inevitable. A memory of motion lingers in the muscles of your legs, and round and round they seem to go. You ride through Dreamland on wonderful dream bicycles that change and grow. -- H.G. Wells, The Wheels of Chance
RECYCLERS BULLETIN:
March 1, 2007
February's rides set new Recyclers' attendance records
Folks, THE RECYCLERS must be doing something right. In the month of February we attracted some of the largest crowds we've ever had for a Recycler's rides. On one of the rides in particular, "Don's Ride Around The Bay" (known to some of you as the San Diego South Bay Ride), we had 30 people. A quick chronicle of that ride, and other rides we've sponsored in February and, of course, other juicy tidbits follow. The pictures, as usual, are courtesy of Greta Larson.
Sunday, February 4th - Don's Ride Around the Bay (Named for one of the four original RECYCLERS, Don Fritgzes, who is no longer with us.) As mentioned above, February started out with the most well attended ride we've ever sponsored. Approximately thirty people rode. The weather was picture perfect, the group terrific, and the ride was splendid. For selfish reasons, it was particularly nice for Paul Shragg, because we were joined by his daughter-in-law, Jeanette Rose. She finally decided to hop on her new Trek and put some miles on. Jeanette, it was a special treat for Paul Shragg having you join us and we all look forward to you riding with us again soon. Many new riders joined us for this one, including Marty's cousin Shai, from Israel, and a family representing three generations of riders. Ernie is the proud grandfather. Rachel is his daughter, and Shawna his granddaughter. Apologies to those of you we didn't mention, but please know it was great having you all join us and we expect to see you all on the Recycler's future rides. Here are a few pictures from the ride. Check out the crowd at the beginning.
Sunday February 11th - Solana Beach to Oceanside Ride -- Tthe weather didn't quite cooperate (a bit of an understatement). Those of us who toughed it out (and even some of us who didn't...right Jeff?) can attest we all got pretty wet!!! None-the-less, it was quite fun. Both Neil and Paul decided we wouldn't want to make a habit out of riding in the rain, but once a year...no big deal!? It was a pretty fun ride, if you like being wet and cold. That being said, the ride started out dry enough, as four of us (Paul Shragg, Greta Larson, Neil Schneider, and Ed Michelson) decided to put a few extra miles on the ride by starting out at the Sorrento Valley Train Station at 7:30 then meeting up with the rest of the RECYCLERS' diehards at 8:15 in Solana Beach. Brian Thornburgh assured us it wasn't going to rain. So Paul has to say to Brian, "If you ever find yourself out of work, you clearly (no pun intended) have a future as a weatherman...or not!" The weather in Solana Beach started out dry, but threatening. The next hour went pretty well, except for some problems with Shawna's bike that sent the 3 generations (Ernie, Rachel, and Shawna) back to the starting point before arriving at one of the Recycler's favorite coffee stops. The rest of us continued on, not knowing what Mother Nature had in store for us. As we neared the Oceanside Pier, about 2 miles shy of the half way point, Mother Nature decided to make her self better known to us by dumping a good amount of rain our way. At the coffee stop, we all we're drenched (see below), or so we thought. We were quite dry compared to how we ended up after the second half of the ride. That was true for all of us, except for our friend Jeff Glen-Levin who called his wife for a pick up, somewhere along the route. That's not a rumor, but a fact substantiated by the man himself on last weeks' ride. Which prompted Greta, who is always so mild mannered, to exclaim, "WHAT A WUSS!" Here is a picture of those of us who made it to the half way point. We all probably should have been considered candidates for the HALF WAY HOUSE, except for Jeff, of course, who was smart enough to call for a pick up...WUSS!!!.
"Tis justa a soft rain Laddie"
Sunday February 18th - Rancho San Diego to Alpine Ride -- Paul couldn't make this ride, as he was a bit under the weather and had family in town. It wasn't because the ride was difficult, as some of you might think (yeah right!!!). The ride was quite fun, albeit a little chilly at first and maybe a tad more difficult than advertised. Greta Larson informed Paul Shragg that Dennis Webb took a lot of the verbal abuse that is normally reserved for him. Dennis, Paul appreciates you standing in for him, you are deserving, and we wouldn't want to deny the Recyclers brothers and sisters their fun, or would we??? Some of Greta's pictures follow, and Paul truly regrets not making the ride. Paul needed the exercise, to say the least, which he thinks explains the picture below. Brian and Dennis are pictured after they signed Paul up.
Sunday February 26th - Tour de Campus -- We ended the month with another well attended ride, the Recyclers' own, "Tour de Campus Ride". This is one of the Recycler's favorites. Not too challenging a ride that takes us from Mission Bay, up the Rose Canyon bike path to Gillman Drive, through the UCSD campus, to the Torrey Pines Golf Course, and through the beautiful communities of La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, and Ocean Beach, the latter hosts one of our frequented haunts, Jungle Java. It was a terrific ride, fairly fast paced for us. We were all happy to see our friend Dave Nunez, back in the saddle again. He surprised us all by showing up in OB (see below).
The next month's rides:
March 4th, 2007
Jesmond Dene Short Route
This is an RSVP ride, as Neil will be hosting us all at his house for coffee and snacks after the ride. Please email Neil if you plan to make the ride. Neil will provide you with an address and directions at that time. Neil's described this ride as a challenging ride from his house in Poway, across Lake Hodges to Escondido, where we will head north through Bear Valley Parkway and Citrus Avenue to the North side of Escondido. We'll then make the climb up Jesmond Dene to old 395 before heading back down the old Highway through Escondido, with a rest stop at Felecita Park. Finally, we'll return to Neil's house along Bernardo Height Parkway and Pomerado Road for coffee/etc.
PS - Don't let the RSVP scare you. Everyone is welcome for this ride. We just want to get an accurate count so we know how much coffee to brew.
March 11th 2007
Old Julian Highway Ride
Challenging ride (32 miles 1643 ft climb) tarting at Dos Picos Park in Ramona climb the Old Julian Highway to the junction with Highway 78. A scenic back country ride.
March 18th
Jeff Glenn-Levin's Rancho Santa Fe Ride
Short but moderately challenging (28 miles 1220 ft. climb), this ride starts at the Solana Beach Train Station, we ride out the Highway 56 bike path to Camino Del Sur. Then we travel north, through Fairbanks Ranch to Rancho Santa Fe village center for Coffee. Then we wend our way out to the coast through scenic Rancho Santa Fe, returning to the train station.
March 25th
The Cabrillo Monument Ride
A fairly easy jaunt from Old Town to the San Diego River bike trail, via Pacifica Highway. Go west to Ocean Beach, up to Point Loma, then out to Cabrillo National Monument. Out Canon St to a loop around Shelter Island. Then east along Harbor Drive to Harbor Island for a loop. Then East again along Harbor Drive to Ash Street. Ride north to Mission Hills then down into Presidio Prk and back to the start.
A note from Ed Michelson:
As many of you know, our own Ed Michelson has been riding semi seriously for quite while. He's forwarded to Paul Shragg a nice article on effective pace line and drafting technique which we will post on our web page. Also, if you like, I'll be happy to forward it on to you, should you request it. In addition to the article, below are two suggestions that E wanted to forward to us all to consider for our own safety and fun:
Two important suggestions that Paul think will improve our group rides are:
- When riding at the front, please point out all dangers (glass, bumps, holes, roadkill, etc.) by pointing at it with your hand and announcing it out loud. Don't swerve to avoid it but rather ease your bike around it. In order to prevent accidents, it is sometimes necessary for the leader to hit the bump rather than swerve and cause someone behind him to go down. Give the person behind you a chance to miss it; he (she) can't see through you. It's the leader's duty to look for road hazards AND let everyone else know about them. (BTW, this info needs to be passed down the line by every second, third or fourth person pointing it out and announcing it also)
- When riding in the front, DON'T STOP PEDDLING! If you want to get off the front and have the next rider in line take over, please keep peddling at about the same speed and signal with your elbow or hand that you want the next person in line to assume the duties of leading the pack. The international signal is to wiggle your elbow on side that you want the other rider to overtake you. (usually the left side in "right side drive" countries)
Final Tid Bits:
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There are just a few Recycler Jerseys left. If you're interested, please see or contact Marty Weiss to see if we've got your size. If not, you'll have to catch us for the next batch.
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Remember, you can always find out the scheduled ride for the week by clicking on, This Weeks Ride. Most of the rides now have a link to their route slip at RouteSlip.Com.
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The Recyclers really want to acknowledge the great work that Neil Schneider and Greta Larson are doing on behalf of us all. Neil continues to put in a tremendous amount of work on the web site and the cycle-list listserv. The web site just gets better and better Neil!!! Greta, we are indebted to you for all the great picture taking and for taking the time and effort to do such a great job modifying, embellishing, and posting the pictures (remember folks, there are many more pictures of us all on the web site, so make sure to check them out in The Gallery ). Paul also wants to make a special point of thanking Marty Weiss for all of his efforts. Marty spends time determining our rides and routes, paying in advance for the Jerseys, and does what it takes to keep the Recyclers rolling. Thanks to Paul Shragg for producing the Bulletin on a regular basis. It allows those who aren't able to attend every ride, still keep up with the events. Your writing style is unique and helps capture the flavor of the group. Special thanks to you four, on behalf of all the Recyclers', and, of course, thanks go out to all of you Recyclers who make the rides so much fun.
Remember to RIDE SAFE and have FUN!!!!