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:
December 4, 2006
Special Announcement
Below is a link to information about a special ride (SDBC "Light up a Life" toy ride) scheduled for Saturday, December 16th. You'll get a ride in and do something special for some underprivileged folks at the same time. The link was sent to us by Jim Baross. Ed Michelson, also, speaks highly of this ride. Folks dress up, garnish their bikes with ribbons/etc and set off to bring joy and merriment to themselves and others. Here's what Ed has to say about the ride: "Having done the SDBC "Light Up A Life" toy ride for the past 18 years myself, and as the unofficial photographer for many of them, I can tell you that it's a very pleasurable ride. First of all it's for a good cause, secondly it's very casual (no fast pack riding), and thirdly we get a lot of waves and horn honking from the people and cars we pass. That's partly because we have our own "Santa Claus" (actually Ralph Elliott dressed up in a very convincing Santa suit) leading the group of about 80 to100 riders. Some are dressed as elves, some as reindeer, and others as normal cyclists (whatever that might be). If any of our Recycler group are interested in participating, I'd be happy to help out. I'd encourage you to decorate your bike and wear something festive. I always wear a Santa's helper style red & white cap over my helmet. This year I hope to have a lighted Christmas tree on the rack on the back of my touring bike. I usually bring a small present that I know one of my grandsons would like to have, and some canned meat or other high value (but small) food item."
Here's the link to the PDF (Requires Adobe Arcrobat or other pdf viewer.)
General Info
Bruce at World Jerseys confirmed that the screens for the revised graphics for our jerseys have been completed and that they'll be starting production sometime this week, so we're still expecting that the Jerseys will be delivered sometime during the last two weeks of December. Again, there should be about 8 to 10 extra Jerseys, so, even if you didn't order all that you wanted, or you weren't with us when we placed the order, you still might have a chance at one or two. We'll keep you informed.
Also, Arm warmers are in the works as well. The arm warmers (black with the Recyclers logo) will cost $11 or $12 per pair. Folks, we need to get a lot of advance orders because Bruce will have to make 250 transfers in anticipation of arm warmers and future projects like shorts or windbreakers. So, please contact Marty Weiss, ASAP, if you're interested in Recyclers arm warmers and let him know how many pairs you would like.
Last Three Weeks
Well folks, it's been a while since our last Bulletin. Three rides ago to be exact. And what a fun three rides they've been. The weather for all three of the rides was delightful, and all three rides were very well attended. It really seems that folks are having fun and enjoying the camaraderie on these rides (not to mention the wise cracking that goes on between us all). I must say, I think the group is great. If only we could get Nunez to loosen up a bit. OK, OK, the rides. Three weeks ago, we did the Recycler's "South Bay Ride", preceded by the rally for Darfur in Balboa Park. I'd say the ride was a smashing success, especially considering the trouble Marty, Greta and I had in deciding on a starting point for the ride. I don't think the bulk of you Recyclers were privy to our emails (lucky you), so you weren't confused, at least as evidenced by the good number of riders for this ride. But let me assure you all, Marty, Greta, and I sure were (hey you had to be there, but you're glad you weren't). The banter back and forth between the three of us was fun, if not exasperating. Greta and I finally acquiesced to Marty's wishes that we meet on Laurel and 6th, but only after Marty exclaimed to Greta, "Oh you east county types". Funny thing is, Marty was right about folks not having a problem with the starting point, however, I'm leaving the "east county types" comment alone (ha ha)!!! Marty Weiss was the ride master for this ride. Marty rode a tandem bike for this one, and was accompanied by his wife, Ruth, pedaling hard on the back end (Please See Below). It was great having you with us Ruth!
The day was beautiful and the ride went off without a hitch down. From the park, we traveled down Fourth (I believe) to Market, making a left to Fifth, then down Fifth to Harbor Dr where we then took our normal course around the bay and up the Strand into Coranado. We, of course, all stopped for coffee and other non alcoholic beverages in Coranado, prior to the ferry ride back to SD and the bike ride back to the park. It really was a fun ride. Thanks Marty for the great idea. Below is a picture of us all at the ferry landing, proudly displaying the Walk for Darfur shirt, along with other pictures provided by Greta Larson (Glad she's still talking to us Marty! Well, me anyway...ha ha)
The week before last, we did the Recycler's "Tour de Campus" ride, starting at Mission Bay, riding up to and through the UCSD campus, down into La Jolla and then south through PB, and MB (I'm not sure if folks went as far as OB, because I left the ride a bit early...oh well). I do know, however, that this ride was a blast also. The ride was especially pleasant for me, as I was able to get my older brother, Tom, to ride along on with us for this one. I lent him my commuter bike (a 20 year old rigid frame somewhat converted mountain bike). The bike is no where near as nice or as fast as the bikes we all were on (Michael Goldbaum notwithstanding, as he too was on mountain bike), so it was a blast seeing him sweat to keep up with us. Your pain is my pleasure Tom (just kidding, yeah right!!!). Actually, Tom did great, but he was worn out for the rest of the day (ha ha). The day was beautiful, some high clouds, but great visibility, so we all got to see some great views of La Jolla and San Diego proper (if you will) under the best of conditions. The view coming down La Jolla Shores Drive from Torrey Pines Road was especially nice this day, as were the views from the Cove! After leaving the Cove, and pedaling through PB, Tom, Michael Ziegler, Mike Goldbaum, and I left the group at Mission Bay and cycled bake to our cars. The rest of the group went further on into PB (I believe) for coffee/etc. Again, a fun time was had by all. It really was fun being able to have Tom along so he could see how, and with whom, I've been spending my Sunday mornings. Below, again courtesy of Greta, are some pictures from that ride.
This last week, we did the Recycler's "Cabrillo National Monument Ride", which we started at the Old Town Train Station, with the exception, of course, of those of you who first went to meet at the Mission Bay Hilton parking lot (not mentioning names here, but only because I really don't remember who all it was that went to Mission Bay first). In any case, it is good to know folks are actually reading the emails. And not just reading them, but assimilating the information. Oh, never mind. Again, we had a great ride. Somewhere between 11 and 15 riders for this one (ha ha, again you had to be there). That sort of became the standard response on this ride, when asked how many of us there were at each stop, as we we're never really able to agree on just how many of us there were to begin with (15 actually). In any case, two new riders to our group showed up with Brian Thornburgh, both of whom were a pleasure to ride with. We hope you join us for many more rides Lenny and Jim. It was great meeting you both! Besides the day being absolutely picture perfect, we were all invited over to the Zieglers for our coffee break. It was all great fun. Michael Ziegler was the ride master for this one. A really nice variation on our typical ride, as we rode all the way down Sunset Cliffs Blvd before traversing up some streets, over the hill to Catalina Blvd and then to the monument, instead of our typical route up Voltaire St. This route is a bit steeper than Voltaire, but much more scenic. The views from the monument were just about as spectacular as I've ever seen them. Leaving the monument, we had our customary thrill of the El Canon descent into and around both Shelter and Harbor Islands. We then headed downtown to catch Second Street up into Mission Hills where we all descended upon the Zieglers for our coffee break. Carole and Michael really went all out. We sat on their beautiful front porch sipping coffee and tea, eating roles, breadsticks and these outrageous ginger bread cakes from Dudley's, I believe, that Carole scored recently on one of her back packing trips. The conversation was as delightful as the day. A big thank you to both of you, Carole and Michael, for your kind hospitality, and you both should know that I wasn't kidding when I said we were going to make your house our customary coffee stop on all future Cabrillo National Monument Rides, which I think we have planned for the next 6 months straight (ha ha). In all seriousness, thanks for the great time. Below is a picture from Sunday's ride, provided courtesy of Ed Michelson.
THIS WEEKS RIDE, other wise known as "De Ride" (Sunday, December 10th, 2006):
This week's ride, scheduled for Sunday, Dercember 10th, will be the Solana Beach to Oceanside ride. We will meet at the Solana Beach Train Station at 8:00 AM for an 8:15 AM roll out. Some of us have expressed the desire to want to put more miles on our rides, so I'm suggesting, for those of you interested, that we meet at 7:00 AM for a 7:15 roll out at the Sorrento Valley Train Station. We can then proceed North to meet our brothers and sisters at the Solana Beach Train Station. This should provide some nice views of the wetlands and the Del Mar Coast and add something like 12-15 miles (round trip). Please let me know if any of you are interested. If I don't hear from any of you, I won't plan on being at the Sorrento Valley Train Station.
Final Tid Bit:
Please don't forget to get in touch with Marty Weiss (martw@dslextreme.com), post haste, about arm warmers. Also, just for your information, there are many more pictures on our web site, http://www.sdrecyclers.org than we have in our Bulletins, so don't forget to check them out every now and again (with special thanks to Neil Schneider, of course) and to all the contributing photographers (Greta Larson, Phil Erdelsky, and Ed Michelson).
Remember to RIDE SAFE and have FUN!!!!