November General Meeting

Monday, November 3rd

7:00 p.m.                      

Bike Technology for Roadies and Off-Roadies

Tumacacori Century Ride Route
Has Changed... for the better!

by Patrick Rinckey   

Tumacori Ride Organizer

Summers in Tucson sometimes discourage my riding. I put on weight, my skin starts boiling at about 9am, and I can't just go out and knock out 50 miles without needing a nap afterward. I always anticipate October, when I know it's going to start cooling down, I can start riding some longer distances again, and maybe start training for El Tour. A ride I've always tried to do in the past is the Tumacacori Century. This year I'm organizing it, and I've made some changes that I hope everyone enjoys.

The first change is the starting location. Due to some parking space issues at the Town Hall, we're moving the start across the street to Sahuarita High School in the parking lot behind the main school building.

The second are changes to all the routes, primarily the 100 mile route. I was down the Arivaca road back in April and decided to pedal as fast as I could to get off of it due to it's roughness and pavement breaks. To avoid this, I am extending the 101 by 2 miles and going down to Rio Rico, where after a delicious SAG stop in Tumacacori, will take riders through some hills before returning for more sustenance at the Tumacacori SAG. See the 103 mile route here: www.ridewithgps.com/routes/5960915

The 71 mile ride is now an out and back to Tumacacori, and both the 71 and 103 routes get some climbing on the final return as they head west on Duval Mine to Mission road, through rolling hills until they are rewarded with a 5 mile descent to be greeted by our fantastic volunteers handing out sugary, icy drinks and sandwiches from Eegees. See the 71 mile route here: www.ridewithgps.com/routes/5960962

The 31 mile route is reduced from last year, with riders registering in Sahuarita at the High School, then traveling down to Amado to start. Once started, they join the main routes heading south to the Tumacacori aid station, then following the fresh paved frontage road next to the Santa Cruz until it ends, then returning back past Tumacacori to Amado. See the 31 mile route here: www.ridewithgps.com/routes/5960940

Don't forget to help the ride organizer ensure there's enough food and support for all, plus save some money, by registering early. See the Tumacacori Century page on www.bikegaba.org  for all the details and registration, I hope to see you out there. 

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Tumacacori Century

Sunday, October 19, 2014

The most popular GABA bicycle ride in Southern Arizona! Three options are available for riders from novice to very experienced cyclists: 42.8, 82 and 101 miles!

What makes this such a GREAT ride?

* It's October in the desert...perfect weather for a bicycle ride.

* It offers excellent training for El Tour de Tucson, which is one month later.

* The route is mostly flat, with some rolling hills, and very picturesque!

* Many cyclists record their best time for riding a century on this route!

* The route is well marked (just follow the GABA signs).

* Route directions and maps provided for all ride levels.

* SAG (food stops) are delicious and plentiful, served by cheerful & helpful volunteers!

* SAG/Sweep support is available along the route for tired cyclists and weary bikes.

* Bike Mechanic on hand for minor repairs and adjustments.

* Scrumptious Eegee's lunch provided to all cyclists at the conclusion of the ride.

Click HERE for more details

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And Silverbell is just around the corner...

Silverbell Century 

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Registration and Start 7 - 9 AM

Options for 99, 83, 67, and 30 miles

Two Weeks Before El Tour!

The Silverbell Century is a great warm-up ride for El Tour de Tucson! It comes at a time when your training needs to intensify for the last time before the great event. Ride on a portion of the El Tour route on the northwest side of town, with long stretches of straight flat roads, perfect to practice riding in a group or pace-line.

There are 4 distances to choose from: 99 miles, 83, 67 and 30. Watch for GABA signs indicating all the turns of the course, and where turnaround spots are if you are riding less than the full distance.

Click HERE for more details

https://www.facebook.com/GabaBikeSwap 

Holiday Party

&

Food Drive 

Monday, December 1, 2014

A members-only party takes the place of the usual meeting in December.  

GABA provides hand-carved, home-roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cornbread dressing, fresh vegetables, orange-apple-cranberry relish, rolls,salad, and dessert, plus drinks.  Members are asked to bring canned goods to donate to  the food bank.  Contact social@bikegaba.org to volunteer to help set up beforehand or cleanup afterward.

Volunteering at the Greater Arizona Bicycle Association 

by Colleen Giles
 

Volunteering is the greatest support an event or organization can have. Volunteering makes any event a success, plus gets people involved in local events and encourages the feeling of community and goodness, while helping improve the quality of life for others.

At the Greater Arizona Bicycling Association volunteers are our greatest asset and are responsible for the success of many GABA events in and around Tucson.

Being a volunteer does not go without being noticed. For GABA, our volunteers receive incentives for their help and support at GABA events.  Volunteers supporting overnight ride are compensated for meals and mileage for travel to and from the overnight ride location, as well as mileage supporting the event. Overnight lodging is provided to all volunteers free of charge. Support volunteers do not need to be a GABA member.

The overnight ride events offer the opportunity for volunteers to get out of town and explore the different regions of Arizona and even in neighboring, New Mexico. Be a part of the desert landscape or our local mountains and the open sky!

To organize (lead) a ride, GABA membership is a requirement.  Individual memberships begin at the basic level of $15 Household or Family memberships are $25. You can choose the length of your membership. Up to 3 year memberships are provided.

Volunteers will earn GABA credits at every GABA ride event. Whether you volunteer for a single day ride event or one of our overnight ride events, you can earn GABA credits. These credits are issued by the Club in increments of $5 that are tracked electronically.  Volunteers can use them for ride fees, membership fees, etc.  They have no expiration date either.  The credits can be transferred to someone else or donated back to GABA to help with a worthy cause supported by GABA.

GABA Credits" are earned as follows:

A. For  volunteering at SAG (rest) stops, baggage truck, sweep vehicles, etc., you get:

     $15 for 1 day events;

     $30 for 2 day events;

     $35 for 3 day events;

B. For volunteering at registration or other small events: $5

C. For organizing a century ride: $45

D. For organizing a two-day overnight ride: $55

E. For organizing a three-day overnight ride: $65

Information on Qualifications and Responsibilities for each volunteer position, please go to our home page at www.bikegaba.org, look for "Volunteering" in the left hand column, or click on this link - Volunteering.

Speaking of which...

GABA Social Coordinator needed for 2015

The primary function of this volunteer is to bring refreshments to the monthly Club meetings, and also join efforts with the Advocacy/Outreach Gruppo (committee) to plan for and organize the annual Holiday Dinner. This in a advisory position, which means that you are not required to commit to either the Gruppo or the Board meetings, but are certainly welcome to both.

All food and beverage expenses are paid for by GABA, but the Social Coordinator purchases and transports them to the Pima County Medical Society Building on East Farness, no later than 6:30 pm on the first Monday (with exceptions) of each month.

Benefits for this non-voting, advisory position include:

1. Free GABA Membership for each year of volunteer service

2. Four Free GABA Rides (except TMS & CC - discounts apply) per year; (overnight ride meals not included)

Do any of the following statements apply to you?

*  How you can I volunteer for GABA with a limited time-commitment?

*  I feel a need to 'give back' to the Club

*  I am looking for a fun way to interact with others GABA members

*  I've had experience running a SAG stop for a GABA ride, and it was fun. I am sure I could handle this!

*  GABA needs a volunteer. I could reap some pretty cool benefits. I should find out more about this position!

If any of the above statements singly or combined apply to you, please consider so that GABA can consider serving meeting refreshments.

Contact: GABA Club President - Wayne Cullop - president@bikegaba.org

GABA El Tour 

Every Weekend...

The 2014 GABA El Tour training rides began on September 14th and will run for 10 weeks.   There will be a total of eight training rides with the Tumacacori Century and Silverbell Century on the other two weeks.  The calendar with the rides can be found on the GABA MeetUp website.

There are training rides on the eastside and westside.

The eastside long training rides start form from Udall Park. 

The eastside short rides start from Swan and Ft. Lowell. 

The westside long training rides start from the Fry's Marketplace at Thornydale Road and Tangerine Road.

If you have questions, please contact Chuck Martin at dayrides@bikegaba.org or call him at 795-1000 or 906-0719.

CALL for ARTISTS ~ 19th Annual BICAS Art Auction

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Wishlist

Every nonprofit has a Wishlist. Be a BICAS wishlist hero! click here to learn more

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BICAS CLASSES:

Bicycle Camping 101 - $20

Beginner Level. Three-part series.

BICAS is pleased to announce the return of our workshop series on bicycle camping and self-supported bicycle touring. Bike camping is an instant vacation you can take with minimal planning and a few supplies. This series is a great way to prepare for our Overnight Bike Camping fundraiser in the spring. For photos from this years trip: BICAS goes camping at Colossal Cave.

Topics covered: bike and gear selection, planning your route, lodging options, packing, roadside repairs, road safety, and lots of first-hand tips and tricks from people who vacation by bicycle every year.

Save on your El Tour registration fees and support arts education scholarships for at-risk and special-needs students

Arts Express, a local non-profit organization that strives to improve lives through the power of the arts, is a beneficiary organization of the El Tour bike race.  Arts Express  provides arts education programs for children in partnership with such organizations as UApresents, Broadway in Tucson, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind.  Approximately 85% of the students who attend these programs are on scholarship because they are at-risk or have special needs.

As a beneficiary organization of El Tour, Arts Express is able to register cyclists for both an indoor El Tour race held on Sunday, Nov. 16, and the outdoor El Tour bike race held on Saturday, Nov. 22. Arts Express handles the processing of the rider's registration, so the processing fees normally charged by El Tour are not passed on to the rider. Because of this, it is actually cheaper for riders to register for the race through the Arts Express website: www.arts-express.org. All additional pledges raised by riders who register through Arts Express will fund the scholarship program.

Upcoming Programs for Arts Express include:

Behind the Scenes: Broadway and More -  Broadway in Tucson and UApresents partner with Arts Express to create this one-of-a-kind program.  The morning training session is led by local drama teachers and actors and focuses on specific aspects of production. Students then learn first-hand from the actors and producers of the show, about how Broadway professionals and other world-class artists made it to the top, what life is like on the road or how the production team creates "magic" on stage.  During this training, students present their learned skills in a "Showcase" for the general public as they arrive for the Broadway in Tucson or UApresents production.  The afternoon is spent enjoying the show and seeing how the tactics they learned in the morning are applied in the professional production.

Building CareACTOR - Developed in partnership with the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind, Arts Express' Building careACTOR program pairs deaf or blind students with students that can see and hear to create a united musical theater production.   Utilizing synchronized speaking/singing and sign language, this production offers  a rich environment for personal growth and community building for all students and the audience as well.

* Many other programs are being planned for the coming year!  See the complete list at www.arts-express.org.

To support scholarships for these and other Arts Express programs, register  today for El Tour at www.arts-express.org and begin raising pledges! Registration fees for the 40-mile, 55-mile, 75-mile and 104-mile El Tour outdoor bike races are $135 per rider. Fees for the 5-mile, 11-mile and 1/4-mile outdoor Fun Rides at Armory Park are $25.  Register before Oct. 31 to avoid the $35 late fee mandated by the El Tour organization. All registrations must be received by November 12. 

A new event for Arts Express this year is the Indoor El Tour.  This event will be held at various gyms around town on the Sunday before the outdoor El Tour race.  Indoor El Tour riders will choose from the distances in the outdoor event to ride on a stationary bike or may bring their own bikes on trainers. Indoor El Tour registration fees are $20 and are also subject to late fees after Oct. 31. Indoor El Tour riders do not have to register for the outdoor El Tour bike race and vice versa. Registration for the indoor event is also available on the Arts Express website.

All riders who register through Arts Express for the Indoor El Tour and/or the outdoor El Tour bike races will receive an El Tour t-shirt and a medallion.  Outdoor El Tour riders will also receive a subscription to Tail Winds newspaper.  Riders are asked to raise at least $100 in pledges that will go directly to Arts Express in support of the scholarships for at-risk and special-needs students. Those raising $100 in pledges will receive a  skullcap with the "Cycle 4 the Arts" logo on the front.  Those raising $250 or more will earn a "Cycle 4 the Arts" jersey. Pledge money must be received by Nov. 15 and can be mailed to Arts Express or taken on the website:  www.arts-express.org.

Share the power of the arts with at-risk and special-needs children. Register today for the Indoor El Tour and/or the outdoor El Tour bike races through Arts Express, and start raising pledge money for Arts Express scholarships.  You'll provide children with access to the enriching world of the arts that will create meaningful memories and spark aspirations for the future. 

New Cyclovia Route  

Mark your calendar for November 2nd; Cyclovia Tucson is back with a brand new route for our first-ever Fall event. Help make it happen!

The next Cyclovia Tucson will take place on a NEW route on Sunday, November 2nd from 10 am to 3 pm. We're thrilled to announce the return to some of the very first streets, neighborhoods and business districts ever to host Cyclovia in Tucson. If you joined us for that first event in 2010, it's not hard to remember the smiles and faces full of joy as they rode, car-free, down parts of Fourth Avenue.

Go to cycloviatucson.org to see the route.

So much has changed in the last five years since that first Cyclovia. South 6th Avenue is bursting with new businesses, art galleries, and will soon be the site of Tucson's very first Parklet. And, of the course, Sun Link, Tucson's Modern Streetcar began revenue service last week. You'll be able to ride the streetcar right to Cyclovia this year!

Grant Anderson's Ride

3) Logistics, What to Take

This is the third installment, where I discuss what to take with me on the ride.

What to pack:

When you have to carry everything you need for a six day ride, minus the camping gear or major meal preparation, you can get it down to about 10-15 lbs. I've known some cross-country riders that carry 80-90 lbs but they average 8mph which doesn't satisfy my need for "going somewhere". The pictures below show everything that will be with me as I ride.

If you don't want the details, just skip the list and look at the pictures. For those that are curious, feel free to ask "why?" And for those experienced bikers, let me know if you think I'm missing something.

Bike "gear": pump, 3 spare tubes, spare tire, multipurpose tool, spare cleat and screws, chain tool, chain links, spare brake/shift cable, tube repair kit, wet wipe, temporary spoke replacement, spoke wrench, air valve (CO2 cartridges I'll pick up in Rapid City), pannier key tool, small but tough combination bike lock.

Bike clothes/protection: two shorts, 2 shirts, 2 pair socks, "clip-less" bike shoes, helmet, beer-view mirror, well cushioned gloves, chamois butt'r, SPF 50 spray on waterproof sunscreen.

Civvies: Cargo shorts, t-shirt, underwear, flip flops.

Hydration: Two water bottles and a 3 liter water platypus (flexible container), 12 servings electrolyte (Cytomax), banana chips.

Other essentials: minimal toiletries, ibuprofen, band-aides, Neosporin, spare set of contacts, reading glasses and glasses/glasses case, electronic gear w/plugs/cables, 3 kitchen size garbage bags and one super dry container, maps.

Hopefully the picture of my bike shirts shows up well. As you can see, both are bright (for safety) depictions of desert life--I'm from Tucson, remember. "Beer-View mirror" was not a typo but a rear view mirror made out of a beer cap. You can get them with your favorite at www.beerviewmirrors.com (I have no affiliation with the outfit so this is not a gratuitous plug, but they did surprise me with a custom "Stella Artois" version in time for this ride.)

Except for what goes on my body and in my pockets or in my water bottle holders, everything goes into the panniers. My panniers are "Banjo Brothers" that I got from www.bikeshophub.com (also no affiliation but they are based in Tucson so I could go check them out before buying...I hate online shopping for most things.)

Well, now if you want to go on your own ride I've given you a pretty good packing list. Now if I could just lose 10-15 more pounds off my mid drift to compensate!

4) Staging Day, Assemble & Test

This is the 4th installment, in which I describe the day of reassembling my bike, buying last minute supplies and getting my bike case shipped to Iowa-and some sightseeing.

Ok. Reunited with my ride and despite late planes, running through airports and a good western T-storm everything came down to me arriving at my hotel within about 10 minutes of prediction. Time to get my first good night sleep in about 2 weeks and get ready for a full tomorrow of bike assembly, last minute pickups and maybe some sightseeing.

Interesting that one "mistake" I made (so far) was that I realized last night my best sunscreen (Banana Boat 50 SPF) was over 3oz so couldn't take it on the plane. Duh-oh. Hope they carry it up here too.

All reassembled and did a test ride where the bike was in great shape. Nothing bent nor broken. Got two flats (the second one my fault as I was hurrying and pinched the tube on installation.) My only problem on assembly was getting the handle-bar mounted rear view mirror back into the handlebar. It was just too tight. While trying it get it in the last mm on my ride it sheared off (it's rubber).). Stopped at bike store and got a new one along with tubes and CO2 cartridges. Dropped of bike case at FedEx and it will arrive in Gowrie on Tuesday.

Had lunch in downtown Rapid City right kitty-corner from the "Museum of the American Bison".  Checked it out before going to Mt Rushmore.

So I had said in a post before that my initial thought on the route had me biking through the Black Hills before heading across the plains. But that just wasn't feasible. So with my afternoon I drove up to Mt. Rushmore--because you pretty much have to if you are here--then went along about 1/2 of what would have been the black hills ride. It was phenomenally gorgeous. I wouldn't have minded biking this even in the rain.

Cute fact: Rapid City is known as the city of presidents and there are select presidential bronze statues on the downtown corners...here are George and Thomas J., two of my favorites.

Editor's Note: Grant will occasionally refer to a photo that I haven't included in the article. I'm sure he'd be glad to share them with you...

Double Triple Bypass  

by Patrick Rinckey

GABA Secretary

It was mid-April, my race/climbing/distance bike was damaged, and I was injured. I was forced to take a few months off. All of a sudden it was July, and had only ridden my commuter bike for a week. I had already paid the fee, and had my jersey, ride packet, new bike bag, and a plane ticket. I grabbed my titanium LeMond Victoire (not geared for climbing), packed it up (GABA Members can borrow bike cases for travel) and flew to Colorado. I arrived at a hostel in Breckenridge, unpacked the bike, then did an acclimation ride around town. The next day I did a practice ride up to Vail Pass to see the incredible bike paths that I'd be riding that weekend.

The Triple Bypass is quite the ride. It's one day, with Saturday, Sunday options available that takes you from Evergreen, situated at 7,000 ft elevation a few miles west of Denver, up and over 3 mountain passes (Juniper at 10.800 ft, Loveland at 11,990 ft and Vail 10,500 ft) to Avon, about 10 miles west of Vail. The ride is 120 miles, with an advertised 10,000 ft of climbing, but my GPS watch tracked closer to 11,500 ft. 3500 cyclists start the ride in Evergreen on Saturday, 1500 start the ride in Avon on Sunday back to Evergreen. 1000 very foolish cyclists are a part of both populations as they take the third option, Evergreen to Avon and back, the Double Triple Bypass.

I was one of them, rider number 777. Three lucky 7s, three passes. Saturday I found myself in the middle of a rolling party, with cyclists grinding away at the first pass immediately at the start. The road was new, and smooth as we hit Juniper pass. The road descending on the other hand was rough and littered with potholes. It was a fast and calculated decent to Idaho Springs. The ride took roads along interstate 70 that eventually placed us on a bicycle path running along the interstate which took us most of the way to the base of Loveland pass. The line to get a sandwich was probably 120 cyclists long which I didn't feel like waiting for, so I headed up to the pass. I had a few pictures taken of me by the Continental Divide sign, then it started to sprinkle. I grabbed my rain coat, and started the decent. It then started to rain harder, then it started to be a rain/sleet mixture. I pulled over and put on rain pants. This lasted until I was off the mountian where the sun came out. The gear was dried nearly instantly as I kept coasting until I stopped. The rest of the ride saw a sag stop outside of Breckenridge and more pristine bike paths. Vail had police directing our large groups to nearly single-file areas to accommodate cars which nearly caused a crash in front of me. It was all down hill, to Avon, where they served BBQ, Lemonade and $3 Great Divide beverages. It took me around 11 hours to complete the first day.

If Saturday was a party, Sunday was a ride. Not much talking, more pacelines formed, the weather was beautiful. With fewer cyclists, I was able to get that sandwich at the base of Loveland pass this time around. I was starting to fatigue a bit when I started climbing back up to Juniper pass from Idaho Springs. I nearly asked to get sagged to the top, but took my time and made it to the top sag, where I took a long break. Long enough to have a storm come up and over the stop, blow over one of the tents, and drop a lot of rain on the road that I was about to descend down. Once the storm passed over, the sun came out, and I began descending through the steam coming off that nice, smooth road. I passed several more conservative cyclists, where I barely touched the brakes and coasted to another BBQ dinner and beverage.

The air was thin, the weather was amazing, the ride was well support, it had cyclists from all around the country. I'd highly recommend looking into it if you're up for a fun, scenic, challenging ride, even if you're not crazy enough to do both days.

 Ride for World Health

 

 

 

Hello fellow cyclers!

 

* Have you ever wanted to ride a bike across the country?

* Have you ever wanted to support health initiatives at home and abroad?

* Did you know that there is a great way to do both?

 

Ride for World Health is looking for riders for its 2015 team!

 

Founded by medical students at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, The Ride for World Health is a 3,200-mile bike ride across the United States that will take place from late-March to mid-May 2015 to raise awareness of global and domestic health issues through education, advocacy and fundraising.  In addition to biking, riders give a Coast-to-Coast lecture series on topics relating to global health, relevant domestic health, general safety, and health maintenance.  Riders raise funds year-round to support two chosen not-for-profit organizations in line with our overall mission. In previous years, R4WH campaigns have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various global health initiatives.

 

The Ride for World Health 2015 leadership is looking for individuals who are motivated and interested in creating a dialogue for discussing global and domestic health needs. No biking experience necessary! R4WH is seeking both national team riders to go the whole distance and portion team riders who can ride for part of the trip. For those who are not interested in riding but still want to help, R4WH needs volunteers to help organize events and donations to help fundraising efforts.

 

Please consider this unique opportunity! For more information and access to the application visit the R4WH website or contact our recruitment chairs at recruitment@r4wh.org

 

Ride for World Health is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization