Next Club Meeting - July 21st, 2008
Email the club! avhighdesertcyclists@hotmail.com
Thursday Night On The Square - Every Thursday thru August 21st.
Club members Lynn and Starr Long have set up and manned the booth at Poncitlan square for the past two Thursdays. We're raffling off a BMX bike from club sponsor Bicycle John's (Acton) and a helmet/glove package from Gil's Bike Shop in Lancaster to offset costs. At this point the raffle ticket sales are doing well and we should recoup our costs soon. So far we have seen several club members stop by the booth and hang out including Pat Hogan, Paul Avila, Dave Cooley and Michele Chavez. Many people are interested in the club and we've heard some intriguing bike riding tales from several people. Gil's Bike Shop and Bicycle John's created flyers for the event plus we have a club flyer that details what were all about and when we ride. Stop by and check it out soon!
July 21st - Encino Velodrome Field Trip
This past Saturday Pat Hogan and Paul Avila took club members Dave Stroup, Terry Hermansen, and soon to be club member Jim (can't recall his last name!) down to Encino for a training session with former pro racer Henry Shibata. The 3 riders were sized up and given bikes to ride and then it was onto the track. Henry gave them a rookie primer that included a talk about the etiquette involved with track riding. Then it was onto the track for several laps of easy riding to get used to the sensation of riding with no brakes. The seesion concluded with a 4-man 1 kilo sprint which our new trackies got to enjoy with the more experienced riders. I'm sure we'll see these riders out at the track very soon.
June 15, 2008 Bicycle John's Criterium
This Sunday is the annual Bicycle John's Grand Prix. Check out http://www.bicyclejohnsgrandprix.com for details plus a schedule. Come on down to Glendale and check out the bicycle expo or sign up for one of the many races. The weather should be great - and so will the race action.
June Meeting
The June meeting is on the 16th. Due to a brain fade your trusty webmaster had the date as July. My bad!
June 1, 2008 Fun Ride
The fun ride went off as planned last Sunday. Tony and his wife came down along with their grandson. Paul and his family made the trip down to Marina Del Ray and everyone enjoyed a nice ride in excellent wind-free 70 degree weather. The riding was fun and relaxing for all 8 riders. Even thought I got a flat (stem came off my tube) and got delayed a bit while getting a new tube everything went along good. Pictures coming up soon. We had lunch at El Torito to wrap it up.
Team Time Trial this Saturday!!!
The Team Time Trial is this Saturday. If you can help that would be awesome. Email Doug and let him know. This is a great opportunity to see some good racing and unbelievably expensive equipment.
June 1, 2008 Fun Ride Details
Here is the map to the Lighthouse in Marina Del Rey (starting from my house in Palmdale). Sunday, June 1st, 11:00am is the meeting time - contact Tony Miranda miraneigh@yahoo.com for any other details. We'll meet up at the El Torito afterwards. Kids and families are welcome. The ride pace will be family-friendly - you are welcome to ride at your own pace too and meet up later.
May 31st - 5th Saturday Ride
The all confusing 5th Saturday of May is tomorrow. The ride will start at 7:00am from Marie Kerr Park in Palmdale near the skatepark. Marie Kerr Park is located on the northeast corner of Rancho Vista Blvd (Ave. P for you old timers) and 30th St. West. If you drive to the park do not park near the pool or amphitheater, park in the lot that has the entrance on the 30th St. West side.
The ride pace will be EZ - nobody will get left behind. Depending on who shows up we'll take a vote on riding some hills. The route will be towards Quartz Hill and beyond. I personally am going to do 40 miles or so but we can circle back to the park or break into two groups - depends on who shows.
Let's ride!!!!!!!!!!!
If you must drive, use the tips noted on SuperMiler.com and you'll save money!
June 1, 2008 Fun Ride
Get ready to hit the coast this Sunday for a fun ride with Tony Miranda. We'll be heading down and meeting up at 11:00 am in Marina Del Rey at the Marina for a cruise along the Ballona Creek. More details and a map to come in just a day or two.
Dan Stewart Memorial Ride - Recap
The Dan Stewart Memorial ride is in the books. I personally had a great time riding the route. The wind was hell going west and south. The pace on the way back from 245th St West varied for me and Pat - 14 mph to 37 mph depending on which way the road pointed. A big thanks goes to the volunteers that braved the cool windy weather and supplied the riders with fuel to complete each course. We'll get a total rider count asap.
Dan Stewart Memorial Ride - Monday May 26th, 2008
The Dan Stewart Memorial ride is taking place this Monday - Memorial Day. The start will be at Gil's Bike Shop in Lancaster at 7:00am. Click here for the ride flyer. All proceeds from the ride will be donated to the Special Olympics. Please come out and ride with us and support a great cause. The cost of the ride only $25.00 and includes rest stop snacks and lunch at the end of the ride. If you have any questions please email avhighdesertcyclists@hotmail.com.
AV Tri Club
Marc Zatarian and Justin Koo have revived the AV Tri Club. Check out www.avtriclub.org for more info. Their goal is to get interested triathletes involved with workouts during the week. Check out the site for more info.
Velodrome and Piru Time Trial news
Pat Hogan and Marc Zatarian contested the Piru Time Trial this morning and came away with victory! Congratulations to Marc and PAt for their hard efforts in the contre la montre (race against the clock). Your trusty webmaster battled 7 other racers at the Encino Velodrome on Saturday afternoont and suffered to a 6th place finish in the 40 lap points race. After a much needed break I was able to pay back some of the pain and managed a 3rd place finish in the 4 km scratch race to take 5th in the omnium points.
Club Member injured
Steve Caldwell was involved in a mishap during the Rose Bowl training ride last week. My sources tell me he suffered a broken collar bone and a few broken ribs. We all wish Steve a speedy recovery. If you're a personal friend give him a call and let him know your thoughts!
Meeting Notes - April 21st.
At the meeting we discussed many things. One important event for the club as a whole is the Southern California/Nevada Time Trials on May 24th. We need volunteers for this race - it is a great money maker for the club. Also - on Memorial Day is the Dan Stewart Ride. Contact Doug Short to sign up to help with this ride. We talked about having more fun rides so Linda and Tony will be leading rides in the near future that will be outside the AV. I am looking into the possibilty if the club having a booth at the Thursday Night on the Square in Palmdale. It looks like the weekend rides will be getting broken up into an A ride and a B ride with the goal being a better fit for everyone. In the event that there is a 5th Saturday in a calendar month the ride will start at Marie Kerr Park in Palmdale. Several members voiced concerns for the MTA meeting held on 4/22/08.
AV Press visits the High Desert Cyclists - Gil's Bike Shop, Saturday April 19th.
Come out to the Saturday ride at 7:00am and support the club. The AV Press has scheduled a reporter and photographer to meet us at Gil's. I will not be able to stay for the ride - I will however be there to support the club!
Jason Short WINS the Fort Davis Hammerfest!!!
Proud dad Doug Short sent me this news flash. Former club member in good standing Jason Short has scored the biggest victory of his young cycling career. Making a decisive move into the elite breakaway in the 3rd and final stage of the race Jason was able to make up a 3:00 minute deficit and score the GC lead and take the overall title. Read all about the race - click here. Congratulations Jason!
Bicycle John's Demo Day - Acton, Sunday April 6th.
Club sponsor Bicycle John's is having a demo day on Sunday, April 6th, 2008 at the Acton shop. Here is a link to the flyer: http://www.bicyclejohns.com/docs/demo_2008.pdf. Event info: Demo Days is here again! Test ride the road or mountain bike of your choice and save thousands on day-of pricing (call Acton store for details: 661-269-0745). We'll have bikes from Cannondale, Look, Pinarello, Scott and more! Join us for a tasty BBQ meal while you're at it on us! In-store or day-of registration is also available for a $3.00 administration fee. We look forward to seeing you at this popular event! Be sure to bring your shoes and pedals!!
Mechanized Mayhem - Encino Velodrome Saturday - 5:00pm
The first race of the Bob Hansing Memorial Cup takes place at the Encino Velodrome this Saturday. See unreal speeds and death-defying tactics! All on bikes with NO BRAKES!!! How do they do it??? Come on out and see for yourself. The first round of race action will be motorpaced 5km battles. The racers will follow a motorcycle around the track in a paceline - with several laps remaining the motorcycle will pull off the course and the real racing begins. Ramming speed to the finish line!!!!
The show starts at 5:00pm (not 5:30pm as stated in my email).Drive time from the AV is about 55 minutes.
Link to MAP to velodrome: http://preview.tinyurl.com/2hqhfz.
Solvang Double Century notes from Kevin
I just got an email tonight from Kevin Walsh about the election results and a quick recap of the 200 miles he did:
"I just got back from the Solvang Double Century. It was quite a ride. Despite missing 3 turns and turning a 193 mile ride into 200 miles (yeah - wanted to make it a true double century.) Total time, including all stops was 9:50! And whats really cool is that Mike Carlson rode with me and my small group most of the way and finished with the same time!"
Congratulations to Kevin and Mike on their fast ride. Just to give you an idea of how fast they rode take a look at their average speed for 200 miles:
20.3389 mph or
32.7324 kmh or
9.0923 meters/sec or
1789.8304 feet/minute or just plain HAULIN"!!!!!
The vote is in!
Here are the HDC Election results for 2008:
President: Kevin Walsh
Vice President: Paul Avila
Secretary: Linda Pluss
Treasurer: Mike Lemos
Board Members:
- 1. Doug Short
- 2. Pat Hogan
- 3. Tony Miranda
- 4. Bob Macdonald
- 5. Mike Carlson
Meeting notes March 17th, 2008
We had an improvement in attendance at the most recent meeting - I counted 24. Plus we had new members signing up. I know of 3 newbies, Scott, Lynn & Starr - welcome to the club. Lynn promptly went out a bought a new Trek from Gil's Bikes. Elaine talked about getting a meeting together for the bike access committee to bring conerns to LA county. Kevin detailed the events that led to the tragic loss of Dan Stewart. Reminder - wear a helmet - even when you're just riding down your street. The AVTREC ride is coming up on May 17th. Demo Days at Bicycle John's-Acton is coming up real fast on April 6th. Here is a link to the official event flyer. We'll be having pizza at every meeting - what could be better than free pizza and talking about bikes? The Jet Hawks have emailed the club and are interested in getting a group out to a game - more details to come.
Ride Time - Bicycle John's-Acton
Mike Grace dropped me an email and said the ride start time for the Acton ride will remain at 8:00 am until further notice.
Kevin Walsh - ride updates
Kevin and his buddy rode out to Las Vegas last week. 235 miles in less than 12 hours. Dang!!! Kevin also completed the Solvang double the week before. Steve Caldwell also did the Solvang ride but didn't see Kevin. If anyone else has completed an event please let me know. Email address is avhighdesertcyclists@hotmail.com.
Mike Carlson Completes the Death Valley Double!
On March 1st club member Mike Carlson completed the Death Valley Spring Double Century in 13 hours 19 minutes. He mentioned there was a brutal headwind that switched directions so he got it on the ride out, and the ride back. Congratulations Mike!
In other news the indefatigable Pat Hogan won his age group on Sunday at the Piru Time Trial. Braving windy conditions he skunked his competitors. Marc Zatarian also made the race and finished 4th is his age group. Way to go TT riders! Anyone have a TT bike they aren't using??!?
Kevin Walsh and his friend Roger made the trip to Solvang for the annual century. No word yet on how it went.
Ride times updated
We're now into the DST (Daylight Savings Time) mode so the ride start times are back to 7:00am. The weather is getting better so let's get out there and do it. Last Saturday 3 of us made a trip out to the poppy reserve. There were 2 poppies blooming at the reserve and a few others on the road up to the reserve. It should be a good year for the poppies according to the locals.
Friday Ride - March 7th
The weather has warmed up quite a bit and the humidity is back to normal so the early mornings aren't as cold as usual. So let's go crush Godde Hill! Friday morning I will be leaving from Marie Kerr Park at 7:45am. Total ride time is about one hour. I have to work so this give me time to get home at get to business by 9:00am. Join in the discussion in the forum.
THe Dan Stewart ride and the Fall Century flyers are uploaded and ready for viewing - click on the Rides link. Mark your calendars for 5/26 and 10/11. Volunteers are always needed so please do all you can to make these rides a continued success!
An Odyssey - The Tour of California - stage 7
Pat, MikeC and myself made the climb up to the Mill Creek Summit. Kevin Walsh and Curly made it too. There were a lot of other fans and riders that made the climb also. With the 60 mph gusts near the summit the ride was not easy but we made it. I have to give a huge High 5 to all of the hardcore riders that made the summit. Personally I have never experienced such adverse conditions in at least 15 years of cycling. At the Mill Creek Summit Bicycle John's had pork sandwiches for everyone that needed food(thanks to Kevin from Bicycle John's for handling that chore!) Among club members that made the drive were Tony and his wife, and Jeff B. from Rosamond (good to see you Jeff!). Once we reached the summit I took off all my sweaty riding gear and changed into dry stuff. That helped for a little while. Eventually the cold temp and wind got me. I heard a guy say that a photographer told him the temp was 39 and had just dropped to 37. With the wind chill it had to be in the 20s. Pat got in Mike G's Yukon to warm up. After a while I got in too to just get out of the wind. To say it was cold would truly be the understatement of the year. MikeC wrapped himself in a blanket. I put on almost everything I had and was still cold. Around 2:00pm the first solo racer came by followed by a chase group. About 3 minutes back was the peloton. After watching the racers fly up the mountain we sped down hill back to Bicycle John's in Acton, Mike C kept on going down Angeles Crest Highway towards his place and that was it. All in all it was fun and very, very, very cold. I would call this an epic ride. Maybe even a classic ride due to the conditions. An odyssey? Perhaps, epic? For sure. Would I do it again? Without a doubt, yes.I will be updating the Rides page shortly - Doug Short has sent me ride flyers for the Dan Stewart ride on Memorial Day and the Fall Century ride.
The March meeting is a big one - please do all you can to attend. The club will be electing officers for the next year. Also - member dues are due. Bring your check book!!!
4th Saturday Ride - tomorrow 2/23/08 - Notes!
The ride tomorrow will start at Bicycle John's in Acton. Discuss the ride in the forum.
On Sunday there are two rides going up the the Mill Creek Summit to watch the Tour of California. The start of the Lancaster crew will be at Gil's Bikes at 8:00am. Mike C has posted a map on the forum under the "Who's riding" topic. I will be riding up to the summit from Bicycle John's-Acton at 10:30am. So far I know of several riders that have committed to making the rides. I will be leaving the Bicycle John's-Acton shop in 10:30am rain-snow-or-shine.
3rd Saturday Ride -
The weather has chilled from the nice temps we experienced last week. The ride turnout has been low at the 8:00am start times so how about 9:00am from Gil's tomorrow? The forecast is 46 degrees at 9:00am, that's practically tropical! Discuss the ride in the forum. So far I know of 3 others that have committed to 9:00am besides myself.
Bicycle John's feeds the Tour of California
The Tour of California is coming mighty close to the AV on 2/24/08. I just got word from Mike Grace of the following new flash!!!!
"Bicycle John's welcomes everyone to come and join us as we celebrate the Tour Of California. John and Mike will be greeting the racers and spectators at the crest of Mill Creek Summit on Sunday Feb.24th. This is such an exciting time and location to be able to watch racers from all over the world compete for the climb.We will be offering free food and drink to everyone that comes by and visits. Pro Racing and free food, what a great combination."
Check out the forum for details on the route several club riders are taking from Gil's to the Mill Creek Summit. This is a GREAT opportunity to see some of the best riders in the world. I hope to see many of you there!
2/9/08 Ride Time and starting location!
The 2nd Saturday ride start is at the Bicycle John's Lancaster shop. At the most recent meeting a few folks were concerned that the 8:00 am start time was too early and too cold. Well, if 9:00 works better for you then let's ride at 9:00. I will be there at 9:00 for a cruise to Apollo Park and probably out to 70th and back to the shop. Any takers? Replies are welcome on the forum.
The Tour of California will be coming very close to the AV
The 3rd Tour of California if coming to a road very near you. The 7th and final stage of this 600 mile event will start in Santa Clarita on Sunday Feb 24th, and work on up Soledad Canyon Road through Acton. The racing should get very good as the peloton makes the Millcreek summit at 4,906 feet and then on to the Angeles Crest Highway for the plunge to Pasadena. This 93 mile stage could very well decide the race's overall placings. Several club members are planning a ride up to the Millcreek summit to watch the race. Check out for the forum for more info.
1/21/08 Meeting notes!
The 2nd Saturday ride start has been moved to the Bicycle John's Lancaster shop. March elections are coming up soon. We need a good turnout at the next club meeting to determine nominees for the board positions. To entice you to come to the February meeting the club will be sponsoring FREE PIZZA for the meeting! What could be better than free pizza and bike talk?
Club dues are due in March. This years organized club ride dates are set. Dan Stewart Ride 5/26/08, Fall Century 10/11/08. The Grace Resource Center has a Christmas in July celebration. The club will be helping to organize a ride as part of the celebration. A firm date is coming soon. The AV Conservancy will be having their Leona Valley Ride - no date yet. The new forum is up and available for eveyone. Please get signed up on the forum and post away! A few topic ideas to discuss on the forum were brought up during the meeting. Notably, changing the ride start time during the cold winter days to 9:00 am from 8:00 am. Have an idea for a ride? Post it on the forum so we can all discuss it.
The AV Conservancy needs volunteers!
The AV Conservancy is having a Sierra Bike Trail Cleanup on January 19th, 2008. In honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday the conservancy is looking for volunteers to help clean up the bike trail along Sierra Highway. You can sign up by clicking on this link to their site - AVConservancy.org/Events. Meet 1 p.m. at trailhead, Sierra Hwy & Avenue J. Free parking on City lot under Midas sign. Wear sturdy shoes, gloves. Gloves & water provided. Visit AVConservancy.org/Events for information on getting a MLK Day t-shirt!
The City of Palmdale needs your input - UPDATE!
Michele was quoted in the AV Press on 1/10/08 for her comments on improving bike lanes and safer routes through Palmdale. I have emailed the AV Press for permission to post the article here.
2008 National Bike Summit
Michele forwarded me an item that may interest some of you.
Subject: National Bike Summit 2008: Climbing Capitol Hill
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2008 11:33:12 -0500
From: American Bicyclist Update
New Forum - sign up and post your comments!!!
I installed a genuine bulletin board for everyone to use. Click here or click on the forum link in the left side nav area to get yourself over there. Club members are encouraged to create a profile and start posting. If anyone has a forum subject that is not in the BB just let me know via email, deeporbit@gmail.com, and I will create it. There are a few general rules for the forum, anyone can read topics however you must sign up to post new topics or to reply to someone's comments. Signing up is quick and easy. This keeps comment spam to a minimum. Enjoy!
The City of Palmdale needs your input!
The City of Palmdale is having a series of meetings to get community input on the strategic plan for the next 5 years. The first meeting is tonight at Highland High School at 7:00pm. The next meeting is tomorrow at the Pueblo Learning Center also at 7:00pm. Saturday, 1/12/08, is an all day meeting starting at 8:00am at the Palmdale City Coucil Chamber. This is our chance to make our voices heard. For more information on these meetings please call 267-5115.
Elaine emailed me about a meeting coming up on the 30th. This meeting is not for the public. It is ongoing meeting with AVTREC of the AV Conservancy, regarding GPSing trails in the Antelope Valley. We are meeting with the Los Angeles County and Palmdale and developers to negotiate trails and their connection in the Palmdale area. The AV Bike Access Committee is invited to the meeting on the 30th to go over concerns involving bike routes, lanes and, paths. We will accomplish more at this meeting than the public meeting. We can review this more at the next club meeting on January 21st.
Website Update: the forum
The old forum is history. I am adding a new forum that will have more features than the old version. As soon as it is up and running I will make it live to the world!
The Christmas Party 2007 Recap
The party was attended by approximately 35 to 40 club and family members. The party featured good food provided by Nick's Pizzeria. A very fun event at the party was the steal-a-gift. One highlight I recall was Chuck, the new owner of Gil's Bike Shop, getting a gift certificate for Bicycle John's! Hahaaa! You can view a few photos I took by clicking here. If anyone has more pics please send them to deeporbit@gmail.com and I will get them put up asap. Everyone had a great time and I look forward to doing this again. Special thanks to the party planners Elaine MacDonald and Anna Walentisch. Without their help the party wouldn't have been a success.
Photo's needed!
I created a Flickr account for the club. This is a free photo hosting site that is part of Yahoo! If you have any photos that you would like to see added to the account simply send them to deeporbit@gmail.com and I will get them loaded. Click on the Photo Gallery link in the left side nav area to see the latest uploaded images.
The site is now under club management!!!
The domain hosting has been changed. Any updates can now be done by me. The site will look a little bit ugly until I get the bugs sorted out later today. The forum will be coming down and a replacement will be put in place shortly!
Happy New Year!
The Christmas Party was a blast!
The party was attended by approximately 35 to 40 club and family members. A wrap up will be up shortly will pictures
High Desert Cyclists blown away during the Fall Century!
The Fall century went off with wild weather October 20th, 2007.
Here is a brief 2nd-hand run down of the ride. 5 riders were brave and hearty enough to attempt the brutal and treacherous conditions. Insane Santa Ana winds and cool temperatures in Tehachapi made for an odyssey that will not be forgotten. Kevin Walsh recapped the event for us all at the meeting on Nov 18th. Of the 5 riders that attempted the century 4 completed the task in around 9 hours of total time. Kevin said there was blowing sand, 42F temperatures, 30-35mph winds, and rain. Unreal! Congratulations to the finishers.
Thanks to all the volunteers and supporters for their time and effort in putting on the 3rd annual ride.
Christmas Party 2007
The club Christmas Party is rapidly approaching. Scheduled for December 17th this annual event is sure to be a great time! Please do all you can to attend the party. Last year's party was a great time and we all look forward to having a blast again this year! If you've missed the meetings recently please do all you can to get your payment in for the party. Gil's Bike Shop, Bicycle John's, and the club PO Box are accepting payments. How much is it? A very reasonable $7.00 for members and $9.00 for non-members. Make checks out to AV High Desert Cyclists. The club will cover the cost of soft drinks. Reminder phone calls will be going out in early December! Keep the 17th open. One more thing, there will be a "steal-a-gift" battle so bring a wrapped gift in the $10.00 price range and get ready for shenanigans!
Gil's Bike Shop Celebrates 50 Year Anniversary
Gil's Bike Shop recently celebrated the 50 year milestone. Chuck and Juanita hosted a great party at the shop. Pat brought out his penny farthing with period clothing! Paul Avila was willing to give it a try. After dismounting he wonder how in the heck people race these things! A local radio station provided a live broadcast during the party. Free BBQ, a sweet raffle featuring a $1,000.00 shopping spree at a jewelry store, and cake rounded out the event. Here's to another 50 years!
Bicycle John's Opening in Lancaster!
Bicycle John's is opening a new shop on Ave K. near Pat Hogan's alternate office. December 1st is the grand opening. Contact Bicyle John's at 661-269-0745 for more info.
New site design!
Please take a look around and navigate through the site. The photo page, meeting minutes, bike access committee stuff, and a few other details still need tuning. A new highly requested feature that will be added soon is a calendar of club events. This should help members to be able to plan ahead for important club dates. If you find anything you like or dislike please make a note and bring it up at the next meeting. I would like to hear your comments.