A group of hardy PBA Volunteers participated in a big way at the Gulledge Elementary Bike Rodeo held earlier in April.
Kuddos to the following volunteers who made this event so much fun and possible for the kids:
Andrew Hoodwin
Greg Thurmond
Steve Standifer
Steve (MacGyver) Rovinsky
Darrell Hale (THANKS to Darrell for the photos!!!!!!)
George Wooley
Jay Atterstrom
Brian Lewis
Okay, Newbies…Listen up! More cycling terms for you to learn….
Green Up- This is a heads-up given to riders when the red light that the group is approaching turns green. This phrase is to warn the fellow riders that they need to speed up, so that the entire group can make it through together. This also helps remind the riders that have already stopped and clipped out to get a “move on”. If this is the case….for God’s sake get through the intersection quickly first, and then fool with getting yourself totally clipped back in so the rest of the group can get through safely.
On the Rivet- Back in the “Olden Days”, the leather on the saddles was attached by rivets placed along the side and also on the very tip or nose of the saddle. When a rider is working very hard, and going as fast as he possibly can, he tends to scoot up on the saddle….practically sitting on the rivet at the end…hence the phrase, “on the rivet”.
The List- Contrary to belief, this mysterious Big Dawg list is not a “Who’s Who of Big Dawgs”; rather it is more like “You’re in Big Trouble Now!” kind of list. In fact, when I inquired about this mysterious phenomenon, I got the distinct impression that merely writing about “said list” could possibly land my name right smack at the top. And since I see the author of “The List” in the carpool line at school everyday…I decided that it might be in my best interest not to pursue it any further. I figure that some Big Dawg mysteries are best left…mysteries.
Bonk- This is when the rider’s body shuts down on a ride and refuses to go any further because he is low on fuel. It is very important to eat and hydrate properly before a big ride so that your body can maintain an optimum performance level. Drink plenty of fluids such as water or Gatorade. No soda….OR BEER! I learned the hard way several years ago at a PBA ride/picnic, that not only is beer a poor way to hydrate after a ride, but it is also not practical. I didn’t take in to account that the carbonation from this so called liquid would create pressure that would not be conducive for a water bottle with a lid. Unfortunately for me, my ticking time bomb of a water bottle “outed” me and decided to spew the “non sanctioned” liquid as I was sitting next to the “Greatest PBA Guru” of them all. (Needless to say THAT won’t happen again) And that is how I met the infamous Chris Mathews!
While I truly appreciate all the cycling terms that have been sent in for me to research as of late, I also get the feeling that some of these terms may not quite be on the up and up…I think some of these have been sent in just to yank my chain, so to speak. I will do my best to research all of them. And if I can’t find an answer…I of course, will make something up!
Here are just a few:
Horizoned- I have no idea how this relates to cycling. I researched, and researched…I even consulted some of my top secret Big Dawg Advisors and they even gave me the “Pfffft!” reply. So, I am going to take a wild guess and say that horizoned is when the rider is dropped so far off the back that the group disappears over the horizon and the rider has no hope of ever catching up to them again. (And if anyone has a better definition- I’ll be more than happy to change my answer)
Souplesse- I haven’t got a clue. It’s a French word…I know that much. When I googled the word, this video popped up. http://youtu.be/12QFZaP7LGk
My best guess is that this is the contortion ritual that George Markus goes through every week when trying to put on his bike shorts. That’s all I can figure. If anyone else wants to interject any additional info on this “so-called” cycling term…feel free to do so.
There are many more terms that have been sent in that I haven’t gotten to yet, and I look forward to researching all of them…the real ones….and the not so real ones.
Growing up in my neighborhood, when I was a kid, fathers could always be seen in the evening or on the weekends, running up and down the street teaching their children how to ride a bike. However, in my house, my mother was the teacher of choice. My father traveled a lot, and wasn’t home much during the week. And even though I was the apple of my daddy’s eye…he had a tendency to yell if I didn’t catch on to things on the first few tries. So, my mother had the brilliant idea to practice during the week while he was out of town. This way, when he returned home from his business trip and would begin “to teach” me how to ride a bike….I of course, would look like a bike prodigy. Luckily for us, the neighbors never spilled the beans that my mom and I had been out in the front yard practicing every night before his return.
Growing up in Forest Hills, White Rock Lake was practically in my backyard. My mother was always leading the family on biking excursions that would wind through the shady streets of Forest Hills and almost always end up at the lake. I remember one time, just my mother and I went out after dinner (we BOTH had playing cards attached to our spokes to give us the lovely motorcycle sound). My mom decided to take a short cut home and cut through an alley. It just so happened, that a pack of boys on their bikes were coming down the hill around the corner from the other side of the alley and overshot into our path. I had to swerve to miss them, and my spiffy turquoise Huffy spider bike (with banana seat) and I ran into a tree. The handle bars hit me in the eye, giving me a lovely shiner. I was too embarrassed to go to school the next day with my black eye, but my mom made me go, and told me to tell everyone that I had been in a fight in the alley…and won. She told me that the kids at school would respect me for it. I reluctantly went along with the plan. When I returned home from school that day, I complained that the “fight story” didn’t work. And I didn’t notice any difference in the way the kids treated me. She told me that it didn’t matter how it seemed to me because, “the seed had been planted”.
The lady that taught me how to ride a bike loved the outdoors. She would often go for bike rides in the neighborhood after she got us kids off to school. I can remember watching her on numerous occasions from my classroom window as she would ride by my elementary school on her bike. It made me feel proud when the kids would excitedly exclaim, “There goes Lori’s mom!” As my brother and I got older, and my mom trusted us to go around the lake on our own, she would organize rides for the kids in the neighborhood. We would all meet at my house, and then ride around the lake. My mom always magically appeared somewhere around the lake either grilling hot dogs for all my friends at a park, or showing up with a station wagon filled with snacks. And then she would pack up and vanish just as magically as she had appeared. My mother was always taking care of us without us even knowing it.
In the past few years, our roles changed. As dementia and old age crept into my mom’s life, I began to take care of her….which cut down on my riding time considerably. Even though her mind wasn’t the same, she still had an avid interest in my biking abilities. She began to worry and fret over me when I would go out on my Saturday PBA rides. She would always call me during the most inopportune time (usually when I was on Renner) asking the same questions, “Are you riding safely?” and “Are you wearing your helmet?” My closest Tweener friends would always chuckle when my cell phone would ring, because they knew who was on the other end of that call. In fact, they often recited our conversation, before I was even able to answer the phone.
This past summer, when I rode my very first century at the HHH, my mother called me at least seven times during my ride. Always asking me the same questions because she didn’t remember that she had called me 30 minutes before that, and before that, and before that. Each time the phone would ring; I would groan and roll my eyes. With each duplicated question that I was asked, the surlier my answers would become. I explained that if I didn’t have to pull over and answer the phone so much, I probably would be able to cross the finish line much sooner. Each phone call, my mother would always ask me the same thing, “Are you finished yet?” and “Are you drinking enough water?” Unruffled by my surly answers, she would always end each conversation with, “I’m proud of you.”
My mother passed away a little over a month ago on March 25, 2011. In a matter of weeks, she suffered from two strokes, and finally succumbing to pneumonia. A week later, I was out on a much needed bike ride, when my cell phone rang. My heart actually leapt, when it rang. In some odd way, I secretly hoped that it might be her voice on the other end…. That was when I realized how much I missed the lady that taught me how to ride a bike.
Hitting The Showers with Laura, Steve, Max & Jackie
Taken from the Ride Log of Jackie Miller
Excitement arrived early Sun am when the tent dwellers were asked to move to the showers/restrooms for cover from the advancing storm, the best part is that I was able to eat breakfast three times that morning, the pancakes and sausage and bacon were great at the TMS tent!
More “borrowed” photos from FB.
Tim Elliott and Brian Powell at the start of the MS150
Steve Henson and Phil Keoghan (The Amazing Race) post MS150
“Borrowed” these photos from FB posts of Jeffrey Bauer and Bill Woodard. If anyone else has any MS150 photos they would like to share please send them to me at rkosanda@planobicycle.org.
Also, click on this link and check out the instructional videos at the very bottom of the home page from the MS150 web site. Recognize anyone? Be sure and ask him why plastic bags are your best friend.
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/sams-club/index.aspx
When Warren Casteel sent me an email and asked me to promote the Live Green Expo that is happening in Plano on April 16th I thought, OK this sounds interesting. Warren is always full of unusual facts and information and always seems to be doing something that helps us all engage more completely in bicycling advocacy. So from that note I went to their website http://livegreenexpo.net/home.html and started doing a bit of exploring on my own.
Honestly, this looks like a LOT of fun and I plan to head over there after a work event that day. I’m not quite sure how many years they have been holding this expo but it looks like it has been around awhile because there is something there for everyone. The activities range from kite making to a nature challenge for kids, Team Eisenbergs displaying some of their biking tricks, PCF and Dart teaching you the rules of the road, BikeDFW promoting bicycling education as well as how to commute via bike and much more. There will be a fair trade market with lots of goodies for sale from various artisans, a fashion show for the eco-fashionistas, food, lots of instruction on how to do just about anything in a “green” way, and LOTS more.
As I was looking through their site I started to think back to when I was young and when Earth Day actually started. So, here is a bit of history to consider.
At this unusual time the moon and stars must have been aligned because people of all political parties, socio-economic backgrounds, and from varying jobs helped create an environment that led to the creation of the EPA and passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Act. Pretty amazing stuff!
So, my suggestion to you is to go, enjoy, learn something about cycling (and recycling) to improve the environment. And as Gandhi said “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
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