Monday, May 28, 2007

A short ride today...anyone have an extra tube?

Charmelle and I did a short ride. We were shooting for about 25 miles. I took my Trek carbon road bike out for the first time in years. I had tuned it all up last week and was ready to ride it for the season rather than buying a new bike. At 8 miles, my front tire flatted. No biggie. these wheels have always been flat-pron. Did a quick tube change and found a problem with the rim strip so I fixed that and off we went. I got to try out my new pump a Topeak Morph, way nice pump. Thanks for the suggestion Henry. So off we go on our ride. at about 16 miles, my rear tire goes flat! OK, I'm annoyed, but I have another tube, and a patch kit just in case. So I change the tube and take off again. At 25 miles, my front goes again! We were close to home, so Charmelle grabbed the car and picked me up. It was such a nice ride on a great day, just flat city though. Anyone want to buy a set of Campy wheels...cheap!!!!!
I've always hated those wheels, hard to get tires on and off, and frequent flats. The road bike is getting parted out. So if you need some Campy stuff, I have a nice set :-)

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Sort of a group ride!

Some of us had a great ride today. It was just 25 miles, but it was a beautiful day. It was the Outpost Sports Tuesday Night Ride in Granger. Dave, Charmelle, and I rode the Group B ride (about 16-18 mph average). Then it was back to Yesterdays for a drink and a snack. Bruce (a.k.a. “Lefty one thumb Spitzer”) showed up for a drink.

All-in-all it was a great night. Both Dave and I took demo bikes from the shop. Dave took a Lemond Buenos Aires out. He left his Pilot in MI, so it had to ride in tennis shoes, but he made it. I took a Lemond Tourmalet out. There is a strong chance one of these might be ordered for me tomorrow. It’s a great value, thanks to employee purchase, and a very comfy ride! Charmelle just rode “Sparkle.” Her trusty Jamis Aurora. She’s too dang strong : - )

Maybe next week Lefty and Chris can come along?

Friday, May 18, 2007

As Official as it Gets

It's getting more official every day! Here are our RAGBRAI wristband numbers:
  • Matt: 91610
  • Chris: 91611
  • Charmelle: 91612
  • Dave: 91613
  • Mark: 91614
  • Bruce: 91615
  • Steve: 91616
  • Driver: 4028

    If you don't believe me, click HERE to go to the lottery results page and see for yourself.
We should be receiving our ride packet in the very near future. They ship near the end of May. We'll get ride credentials (wristband, bike bands, luggage tags), and any jerseys, posters, and t-shirts anyone ordered with their registration. Upon receipt, I think we deserve another PARTY! This one truly to celebrate the upcoming ride.

We are looking for a driver, too! My cousin Larry who had agreed to be our driver has had some family things arise that require his attention this summer. If you know someone who'd be interested in driving, give a shout. (There aren't many job skills needed: willingness to put up with 10,000+ cyclists is prime; and a tolerance for tent camping in hot, humid weather is pretty important too.)

Ride on!

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Ride in Culver May 19

I will be out of town, but if anyone else is looking for a good ride this weekend, check out the "Tour de Max." It starts in Culver (about 40 miles south of South Bend) and goes through some very pretty country. You can go 10, 30 or 63 miles. See http://www.geocities.com/tour_de_max/

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Trail blazed by dynamic duo


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Originally uploaded by G.Chris Clark.
Bruce and Chris put in 50 miles (each) today at the Kal-Haven trailblazer. It was a great day and Chris' new child behaved herself very well. The worst mishap was the loss of a mirror. From the photo, you can see that Bruce was careful to conserve his energy. Chris has his 500 training miles, so he is going to stop until RAGBRAI ... not!

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

The Clarks have a new family member!

Congrats to Chris and Karen on their new arrival. Bruce and I were right there with Chris as it all happened. What a beautiful scene. There were smiles, laughter, and tears of joys. It was quite touching to see Chris gently cradling their new addition.

If you like to see some pictures and get all the important info, click here. Oh, by the way, it’s a bike not a baby! Chris picked up a blue 2007 Trek 7.3 FX. Congrats and many happy miles to him.

Saturday, May 5, 2007

We're in!!!!!!!!!!!

So it looks like Team Velodox lives on. Below is a copy of the email from T.J. about us getting wait-listed. Start peddling!!!!! We will need to start looking at the "logistics" of this now. Bruce and I will post a suggested packing list in the coming weeks. The basics that are needed are a tent (get a good one, if we get a bad storm, you'll be much happier), a sleeping bag, and a sleeping pad. Other than that, it's the creature comforts, and your bike. Ride-Right!!!!!

From: Juskiewicz, TJ
Sent: Sat 5/5/2007 8:50 AM
To: Spitzer, Bruce Alan
Subject: RE: Lottery Results?

You are in, just on the waiting list and are waiting to be assigned
wristbands. You did not make it through the initial lottery and were
placed on the waiting list. At this point, we have enough cancels that
we will be able to reassign those wristbands to you. We should have the
tags assigned in the next week to 10 days and we will be able to give
you wristband numbers starting May 16. Please contact me after that
date if you want you numbers.

Thanks for the patience.

Sincerely,

T.J. Juskiewicz
RAGBRAI(r) Director
P.O. Box 622
Des Moines, IA 50306-0622

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Unfortunate Results

Well, Team Velodox has hit a snag. It looks as though we, along with many other teams were not selected in the lottery for RAGBRAI XXXV. I have a request in to find out when we will receive our refund. As soon as I hear anything I'll post it. Bruce has posted a message on the RAGBRAI forum looking for passes for us. We'll just have to take a wait and see approach.