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In This Issue
- Sonoita-Bisbee Spring Bike Tour
- 2015 New Year's Day Loop Ride
- Riding for Diabetes & the 2015 Tour de Cure
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Support The People Who Support Us!!
Sabino Cycles
7045 E. Tanque Verde
520-885-3666
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For Sale or Items Wanted
GABA Classifieds Added to our Website
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Extra, Extra, Read all about it... In addition to the listings that we've started in the Paceline, you can now post your own classified ads on the GABA website. You'll find the link on the left side of the home page and when you click on it you'll find yourself on a page titled Want Ads. You do have to be a GABA member in order to post an ad, so...if you're reading this and you're not already signed up, here's just one more great reason to join GABA.
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If you have a bike related item you'd like to buy, sell, or trade, send the details to me and I'll put it into the next issue. Be sure to include your contact info so an interested party can contact you directly.
In order to keep the ads fresh, we're going to run them for a couple of issues, then make room for new merchandise.
If your item sells before I drop it, please let me know and I'll save you some phone calls by removing it sooner.
And, of course, if you'd like to re-list your bike... just send it in again.
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Bikes and Links of Interest....
Op-Ed by Kenneth Jessett,
Where are we going, how many of us want to go there, and if so, how do we do it?
There is a member driven association that covers ultra-racing and that is the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association (UMCA) which purports to speak for the sport, yet according to Doug Hoffman the Managing director of the UMCA, there are only 750 members in the association and of those only 50 are active in the association's ultra-racing series. These numbers do not appear to represent the association as having a significant impact on the sport or speaking for it.
As an example, it is not unusual to have only 25% of the racers registering for any of the 6/12/24 hour racers around the country to be members of UMCA, and there is little incentive for them to join it. The UMCA is in a financial bind with few resources left for it to continue in operation, and a recent tee-shirt sale to raise immediate operating funds was akin to a scout group holding a bake sale to buy a few tents. The tee-shirt sale was an innovative and maybe laudable project, but it was not a process designed to create long-term financial stability in the organization.
Lately, a move has taken place to give discounts exclusively to members of the UMCA on the entry fees to a handful of events around the country, a move intended as an encouragement for racers to join the association. The downside of this is that the discount then has to be made up by the non-member racers in those events. If 25% of the racers are UMCA members getting the discount, that money has to be made up by the 75% of non-member racers if that event is to survive financially. Since as far as I know no race on the calendar requires a racer to be a member of the UMCA, this appears to be an unreasonable burden placed on the non- UMCA member. If eventually all racers become members of the UMCA, presumably the discount would then disappear and the fees to all racers would then increase.
The dire financial situation of the UMCA begs the question, what is the value of membership in it and what is its relevance in today's ultra- racing scene? Let's take a look at that. One of the UMCA's most important functions is to maintain a calendar of all ultra- racing events around the country, and in this it is inarguably doing an excellent job and is the main source for racers wanting to obtain details of races and where they are being held.
The other important role the UMCA plays is to maintain records of racers' achievements, both in organized events and individual cross country time recorded rides. And in this it also does extremely well. Answering a question about the number of 'hits' the UMCA web site received - as a mark of the number of times the site is accessed - Mark Newsome, the previous web site guru for the UMCA - said the site receives 230,000 hits a month with 16,000 visits, so it's a fair amount. This says that among other purposes, it is an important venue for racers to access information about various ultra-racing events around the country.
But if the UMCA site is getting this level of interest, why is it that more racers do not chose to join it? And perhaps the answer to that puzzle is because they don't have to. As a race director, I do not require a racer to be a member of the UMCA and I have no desire to change that requirement. If three-quarters of all racers disdain membership in a national organization, that tells me there is a lack of interest in it and should I insist on membership in the UMCA before a racer can enter my event, I will probably lose the majority of my racers.
An organization most involved with road racing that does require its racers to join it is USACycling, an organization which oversees all road cycling racing in the country. In order to race in one of their sanctioned events, and with a few exceptions, a racer has to hold a license to be able to race.
Is it possible that USACycling as organization could be persuaded to take over the activities of the UMCA? Doing so would certainly give greater credibility to our sport. USACycling is a member of the IOC and the USOC and joining them would be a doorway into the top echelons of cycle racing for ultra-distance racers. The downside would possibly be less autonomy for race directors and stricter rules and membership requirements for racers. There would also be no room for non-members to race - although day licenses are obtainable and at less cost than joining the UMCA.
Another source for ultra-racers to obtain information on ultra-racing events is the privately owned UltraRaceNews web site, which has become an invaluable outlet for racers to obtain details of races, for racers to tell the story of their achievements and for race directors to provide information to racers in a timely manner - since this is a web site that is constantly updated.
John Foote, of UltraRaceNews says that in the two years since the site launched in December of 2011, the site has seen 80,000 'visits' with almost 300,000 page views and of these nearly 50,000 were 'unique' views. Obviously, the number of hits can be seen to represent an important need on the part of racers to stay abreast of the happenings in the sport and many have chosen this outlet as a means to do so.
Still none of this - whilst adding useful background to understanding the critical needs and outlining the existing resources of the sport - answers the question posed at the beginning of this article: What is next for the future of ultra-cycling?
I for one would like to see the UMCA persevere in one form or another. Having been founded in 1980, it is the oldest long distance cycle racing organization in the country (Randonneurs USA (RUSA) is older, but it is not devoted to racing per se) and can count many famous ultra-racers among its alumni. But it has to find a purpose and a way to pay for itself other than just being. We are in a world today that does not dwell on sentimentality. Many people lose their jobs because the firm they once worked for has ceased to be fit for the purpose.
One positive direction the UMCA management is considering taking to help solve its finances is to become all volunteer and eliminate any paid positions. With its current 750 members paying the $35 annual fee, some $26,250 annually would be realized, and which could to be sufficient for the needs of an organization using the RUSA model. RUSA has 3,400 members (courtesy of Mike Dayton, President of RUSA) paying $20 annually reaping $68,000 a year. This may seem like a lot of money for a volunteer organization and maybe they have high expenses, although like UMCA, their financial figures are not easy to catch sight of. But this is a model which has achieved a high rate of success and one which UMCA could emulate to its advantage.
Ultra-distance cycling will prosper and grow exponentially with or without a governing body because there are many more racing events on the calendar now than there were just a few years ago. Racers today have the means and the desire to travel to races across the country unfettered by anything other than the need to cover the entry fee and travel expenses, and they are not going to join any organization in order to do these things unless it is proven to them there is a positive benefit to it, and that membership is absolutely essential to do so.
But at the end of the day, just like politics, all racing is local. We try to give our racers a good time, make them feel welcome, provide a safe and interesting race route, conduct a well organized event at a time of the year when the climate has a chance to be nice, be willing to listen to their concerns, have a nice meal waiting for them after the races and follow up with a thank you note for coming. If a racer is made to feel as special as they are, they will hopefully come back and tell their friends about us, and that is how the sport is going to continue to grow.
Kenneth Jessett
Race Director
Bessies Creek 24
Here's a link to
http://www.ultraracenews.com
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Please send your ideas for new links to ...
paceline@bikegaba.org
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Greetings!
Whoo-Hoo!
It's a new year and we've celebrated the anniversary of another trip around the sun.
Which means that we've got a lot to look forward to with every day getting a bit longer (and hopefully warmer) so that we can ride in our beautiful city of Tucson.
And, as always, I'd like to remind everyone that the Paceline is your newsletter... so... Please send us your articles and stories so we can share them with all of our GABA members.
BT.
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A Message from the President
Thank you for your support as we move into 2015. I am pleased and excited to have the privilege of serving GABA as the new president this year. You can email president@bikegaba.org with any suggestions and requests that you like. I hope to hear more about what you would like in the programming for the general meetings. Also, it would be great to hear from everyone as to what we do that you want more of. Let me know your ideas for how we can grow and improve this already great bicycle club.
It is, of course, thanks to you and all of the volunteers that GABA is the largest bicycle club in the State of Arizona. Good job, well done everyone!
We intend to have a great program for the general membership meetings. These meetings are the first Monday of every month (except holiday Mondays) at 7:00 p.m. at the Pima Medical Society, 5199 East Farness, Tucson.
Our Board meetings are open to the membership and we hope to see you there.
Very Truly Yours,
Eric Post
GABA President
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February General Meeting
Monday, February 2, 2015
7:00 p.m.
ROBERT WILLMAN: FIRST TIME MULTI-DAY TOURING
During the summer of 2014 was the first time I did any multi-day bicycle touring. I completed three different types of multi-day tours. My presentation will discuss lessons learned on each type of trip and include pictures that were taken along the way. Also, I will give a couple of examples of how small the world really is.
The first trip was put on by "Road Scholar" between Cumberland MD and Washington DC, along the C&O Canal. This trip was with a group of 20 riders (6 from Tucson). The ride was fully supported, and we stayed in a lodge or hotel.
The second tour I rode on was put on by "Parks and Trails New York". The ride was from Buffalo to Albany NY along the Erie Canal. There were 500 riders in this group. The ride was a fully supported ride, but it was tent camping trip. The third tour was on the Katy Trail in Missouri. The ride was a self-supported ride. Overnight accommodations were camping or B&B. My presentation will discuss lessons learned on each type of trip and include pictures that were taken along the way. Also, I will give a couple of examples of how small the world really is.
The third tour was on the Katy Trail in Missouri. The ride was a self-supported ride. Overnight accommodations were camping or B&B.
Pima County Medical Society Building
5199 E Farness
Tucson, AZ
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The What...
The Why...
The Who...
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Here the scoop on the 2015 GABA Board of Directors
GABA supports the Tucson area riding community in many ways. It helps keep kids on their bikes by providing free bike repair events at each of the Boys and Girls clubs and other community events. GABA provides many opportunities for cyclist to ride their bikes and meet new friends by putting day rides and fully supported centuries and overnight rides. GABA's Swap Meet has grown and is now the biggest in the southwest. GABA puts on special events such as the Kids Toy ride, the Ride of Silence and Bike to the Zoo. GABA supports other bicycling organizations and events such as BICAS, El Gruppo and Cyclovia.
None of this would take place without a strong and dedicated Board. After many years as President, Wayne Cullop will be stepping down and Eric Post will be stepping up to become our next President. Wayne will be taking on the responsibility for advocacy and volunteer coordinator.
We still need a new Vice President and Swap Meet Coordinator. The vice-president's duties include filling in for the president, coordinating the monthly program presentations and filling in where needed. The swap meet coordinator works with the Forth Avenue Merchants Association to put on two swap meets per year and to support the many vendors. If you are interested in supporting GABA and the Tucson area bicycling community by serving on GABA's Board, please contact Wayne Cullop (520) 977-3018 or Eric Post (520) 297-9601.
President - Eric Post
Vice President - open
Secretary - Patrick Rinckey
Treasurer - Janet Landis
Advocacy - Wayne Cullop
Day Rides - Chuck Martin
Flyer Editor - Steve Correll Membership - Rich Rousseau
Paceline - Bruce Tucker
Shed Master - Paul Yurgen
Social Coordinator - Laura Horvath
Publicity Coordinator - Jennifer Watling
Two New Board Members for 2015
Taking on the position of Publicity Coordinator is Jennifer Watling. Jennifer has done many volunteer events and has experience with a variety of non-profit organizations such as: the Junior League of Greenwich, CT, Boston, MA, and Tucson, AZ, the Breast Cancer Alliance in Greenwich, CT, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY, Handel and Hayden Society in Boston, MA. Jennifer will help GABA to better publicize events and recruit sponsors. She is a member of Living Streets Alliance.
Taking on the position Social Coordinator is Laura Horvath. Laura is very familiar with GABA as she worked for Territorial Newspapers where GABA's Update was published and has volunteered on past GABA events. She is on the volunteer board of the ADA's Tour de Cure.
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Owls Head Butte Century
Sunday, February 15, 2015
The course has been under revision for the past few years, with improvements based on riders' feedback. Now the bumpiest and crudest of roads have been eliminated for your riding pleasure.
All riders will start and end at Ora Mae Harn Park across from the Marana Town Hall and upon return, have a delicious Post Ride lunch (included in the price of the ride) waiting for them. Owls Head Butte Century will offer three ride length options: Short (36 miles), Medium (63 miles), and Long (100 miles). If you haven't done this ride (under its previous incarnations of Picacho Peak or Park links Century) in a while, it's time to give it another try!
Here's a link to the GABA page where you can register for the ride and get all of the other information you'll need to have a great time.
Want to help? Everyone needs to take a turn to help make all our GABA rides a success! You could help at registration before the ride, or at a sag stop along the course, or as a sweep vehicle to help cyclists with problems. Click HERE for more volunteer information about the different positions. Please email any of the following; Volunteer Coordinator Wayne Cullop at volunteer@bikegaba.org, Ride Organizers, or by contacting the Supported Rides Coordinators Jim Harms, Pam Cullop or Colleen Giles at supportedrides@bikegaba.org.
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Sonoita-Bisbee Spring Bike Tour
Saturday, March 21 - Sunday March 22
With the spring sun beckoning you to Bisbee and the wind at your back, travel east on Hwy 82, and feast your eyes on rolling grassland country with the lofty Huachuca Mountains at the horizon. Join us for a weekend of camaraderie, fitness and fun in Bisbee! Pedal long rolling hills and enjoy scenic vistas as you make your way to the quaint old mining town of Bisbee, now an arts colony, nestled in Southeast Arizona's Mule Mountains.
Click HERE for more details
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Day Ride Participation Has Improved! 
In the spring of 2013 GABA became a member of MeetUp with the thought of being
able to better publicize our events especially day rides. It took some time to make changes to how day rides were administered and to recruit new day ride leaders. By January of 2014 things came together and the number days ride improved dramatically. In 2014 there are 180 day rides compared to 75 day rides in 2013. The total rider-miles (number of rides times the number miles for a ride) increased to almost 100,000 from 57,000.
Speaking of which...
...The 2015 New year's Day Loop Ride
 | | Wayne's Bike |
From Wayne Cullop on the east side we learn:
Sixty seven riders braved a little dusting of snow and starting temperatures around 32 degrees. More riders started at the Loop Bike Shop than Udall Park; a surprise phenomenon for the ride leaders Susan Reed, Matt Zoll and Wayne Cullop. Jim and Deb Harms provided sweep support on the 58 mile course. Performance Bikes on Broadway, The Loop Bike Shop and the County's Bike Ambassadors provided SAG and mechanical support for the ride.
Even more unusual than the snow was this photo of our friend Jim Harms in long pants.
And from Susan Reed on the west side:
No snow on the West Side, like there was at Udall Park, but it was still super chilly for the 9:00 start.
 | | Registration at The Loop Bike Shop |
Mike Wilkinson, owner of The Loop Bike Shop, had hot chocolate, hot coffee, a spread of goodies and music to welcome the riders. Susan Reed briefed the riders on the route and how to access the SAG vehicles, should anyone have a need. By 9:20 at least 40 riders headed North on the Santa Cruz to wend their way around the 58 mile Loop Course.
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2014 Toy Drive
by Susan Reed
First...the pictures
GABA contributed an entire sleigh-full of toys which were delivered to the South Tucson Fire Department on Saturday, December 6th. Some of those gifts were brought to GABA's Holiday Dinner December 1st by members who were not able to join us for the bike ride to the Fire Department. Other gifts were loaded onto our bikes and ridden down to the Fire Department. In conjunction with the GABA Toy Drive, the South Tucson Fire Department also held 3 Helmet Drives to which local merchants contributed financially. Most of the children who would receive the gifts from GABA and the Helmet Drives are currently enrolled in Ochoa Elementary School, but the fire fighters wanted to make certain that the Ochoa children's older and younger siblings also received a Christmas gift. Between the gifts contributed by GABA and with the money raised through the Helmet Drives, the fire fighters were able to deliver 300 gifts to South Tucson children. The fire fighters wrapped all the gifts GABA delivered and made certain that the gifts given to each child matched what was on the child's Santa List. Christmas Eve morning the South Tucson fire fighters delivered the gifts directly to the children's homes by fire truck. Not only was this Toy Drive most successful in helping children who otherwise would not have had many gifts on Christmas, the Toy Drive has opened an ongoing relationship between GABA and the South Tucson Fire Department and South Tucson, itself. GABA's offer to host a Bike Repair at the South Tucson Fire Department for kids' bike (and adults' bikes) has been enthusiastically accepted. Stay tuned via The Paceline and GABAs MeetUp for details on the South Tucson Bike Repair expected to be held in the first quarter of 2015.Loop Course. |
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This is Why I Ride the Tour de Cure for Diabetes
by Jack Wolfman
120 million Americans are soon to have diabetes, and it is not likely to stop there.
I am putting out this call to all my fantastic friends, family, and cycling buds to help us find a cure for diabetes. You can help by joining us for the diabetes bike ride next march. Sadly, a shocking 120 million Americans now have diabetes or prediabetes and the number is likely to grow. 68 percent of the U.S. population, or 240 million Americans, are overweight. Obesity related diseases are now the number one killer in the country. In fact, the top four leading causes of death in the USA are now all related to obesity or overweight conditions.
The problem is not isolated to adults. Half of all children in the USA are overweight.
Sadly, nine year olds are getting type 2diabetes. The epidemic is spreading worldwide. About 2.1 billion people, or almost one-third of the world's population, were obese or overweight last year, researchers estimated after examining data from 183 countries. The estimated number of overweight or obese people almost tripled from 857 million in 1980, according to the analysis published in The Lancet. The heaviest country was the U.S., accounting for about 13 percent of the world's obese people, followed by China and India, which together represent 15 percent, according to the study funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Not surprisingly, diabetes is exploding worldwide. But we can all make a change.
No one in my family has diabetes.
However, I have two close friends with diabetes. because of the diabetes, one is losing his eyesight and the other has major heart and kidney problems, and has had triple bypass hear tsurgery. Is this the future you want for yourself and your children?
To try and help us find a cure, I Am a non-paid volunteer on the committee that helps to organize the diabetes bike ride. I have been involved with the bike ride now for 13 years. i help with recruitment of riders and event volunteers. i have lined up corporate event support over the past several years. I also help provide much of the food for the event from Oroweat Bake Shop, Sweet Tomatoes and other generous corporate donators.
I love to use my bike to help other people, and since diabetes is such a huge problem, I am also registered to ride. The ride is March 1, 2015. What about you?
The ride in 2015 will go through gloriously beautiful farmland in Avra Valley and will end with a free lunch and a fantastic beer garden courtesy of Belgian brewery, the best unlimited free beer in town. all you have to do is raise $200 to help find a cure for diabetes. What are you waiting for? What could be better than that?
Money raised at these events helps to fund valuable research.
Please step up to the plate and help insure a future without diabetes for us and our children and their children.
Thanks tucson for all your support. You are the best!!
When: March 1, 2015 Where: Tucson Harley Davidson
Address: 7355 Interstate 10 Frontage Rd Registration Fee: $15.00 Fundraising Minimum: $200 Route Distances: 10K, 50K, 100K, TBA Contact your event manager, Briana Biondo: BBiondo@diabetes.org (520) 795-3711 x7112 Or click HERE or more information on the Tucson Tour de Cure |
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Lots of Interesting Info from the
Living Streets Alliance
http://www.livingstreetsalliance.org/category/news/
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Stories Wanted
Now that our winter friends are back in town after a summer in their home towns (or traveling) I'm sure they have lots of stories to share with us...
So hey - winter riding buddies - send your "What I did on my summer vacation," stories to me and I'll put them into the Paceline. Be sure to include a photo or two to show us where you've been.
And, as always, I'd like to remind everyone that the Paceline is your newsletter... so... Please send us your articles and stories so we can share them with all of our GABA members.
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Grant Anderson's Ride
by Grant Anderson
Editors Note: Grant is quite the shutterbug and his article refers to many photos that I did not include due to the space limitations of the Paceline. I've tried to pick one or two photos from each of his days on the road that I think best show what he was seeing.
9) Third day, summary
This is 9th installment in which I describe clouds and coincidences of people I meet and their connection to Gowrie, IA.
In Pickstown, SD which was named after the Corps of Engineering lead engineer for the Randall Dam. You can see the dam in the background of the last two pics.
The wind was blowing today and some of the cloud formations were awesome spectacles. The one depicted here was lines of semi-lenticulars with a distinct dark interior on each "scale". Don't know if the picture does them justice. Another was a far off thunderstorm anvil that must have taken up 1/3rd of the sky....there was just no way to get it into my lens.
As my family will lament--like my brother Jon--I like to read historical markers. Taking it easy today I stopped at a few. Interesting that the German stone church was torn down in 1941. Timing may be a coincidence....
I went 1/4 mile off my track to cross into Nebraska, which is the state within which my dad was born.
I spent some time tooling around the park/campground below the Randall Dam shown in Pic5. While maybe not as impressive as the Hoover dam, it's much bigger and earthen so cuts an imposing 2 miles across the valley. The campground is home to wintering bald eagles.
So far I've run into 3 people connected to Gowrie. One was the son of a Vinchattle (spelling?) now living in Boone and another lived in Aden and knew my aunt Avis Pohl. Did not remember to get his name, however. The third grew up in Ft Dodge. The picture of me below was done by a couple from Michigan on their way to Yellowstone, Glacier National Park and Lake Louise/Banfe. The latter was where I honeymooned with Ines Anderson almost 24 years ago.
 
10) Fourth Day, morning This is 10th installment in which I relate going along the Missouri through Marty and to the Do Wa Diddy Café. Sunrise this morning greeted me with a steady drizzle that NOAA radar says will pass by in 1/2 hour. So slight delay in departure. Had trouble getting to sleep last night. Must have been the combination of taking it easy on the ride and the 4 cups of coffee I had while chatting in Sissy's Cafe yesterday morning...I normally limit myself to one or two. Thanks to radar I was able to avoid rain on the first leg this morning. Each day has started out a bit steeper. Day 2 was a 20 mile climb, day 3 was a 10 mile climb and this morning was a 3 mile pedal push fest up the hill in pic 1. But with a 15 mph ENE wind, at least the wind was at my back. Pic 2 is the only herd of white cows I've seen on this trip. I've seen black, brown, white/brown, white/black but never just a whole herd of white. Pics 3 and 4 show the church in the town of Marty. With the sun going in-and-out due to the high winds and clouds, it shown like a pillar of fire from up the road. The actual up-close is very interesting as it is nestled in a square of brick academic and dorm buildings and is part of an Indian community college. It had the look of a mini Harvard Square. Pic 5 is the look I get of my maps and handlebars. For this picture I'm right in the middle of the map, along the Missouri where the picture in 6 was taken. It's quite a tranquil and rich-soil farmstead. The 7th picture I thought amusing just because in Bon Homme county I guess you're only a good man if you follow zoning laws!
The bonus picture is the contest at the Do Wa Diddy Cafe where I'm having breakfast at mile 49--3 hrs into today's ride. The jar with the most money determines the 4th of July Frog Queen. The winner gets to kiss the winning frog of the July 4th frog race. It's a fundraiser for the 4th of July fireworks. Must be some heavy behind-the-scenes arm twisting, lobbying and influence peddling to get THAT honor!  
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| Your Article Could Go Here
Do you have something interesting to share with the Tucson cycling community? A link to an event? An article that we don't know about? A topic that might be worth looking into? We publish the Paceline every two weeks and need content...
If you have something that you think others would like to find out about, please share them with me, Bruce Tucker at - paceline@bikegaba.org |
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