Ride Reports

03/15/2011- Hey gang...Me, James, Joe, and Steve did the Covered Bridge Classic on Saturday. Joe did the 17 mile loop and did awesome for his first event. Not sure how Steves ride went, he did the 60 mile loop. Me and James did the century loop as it was James 1st attempt at the 100 mile mark. We took off out of Henderson Park on our way to Don Pedro Dam. The weather was sunny/partly cloudy but still a little on the cool side. We came to the first rest stop and let me say, this ride lack nothing in friendly support and volunteers. At the 1st stop was PPJ's, boiled eggs(with salt shaker), soup, coffee, shot blocks, sport beans, cytomax, water cookies, brownines, chips..plenty to get you refueled for the ride back into Snelling. In fact all the stops were excellent. At the Roberts Ferry stop they had 3 different types of homemade soup, and GRILLED ham, turkey, or cheese sandwiches made to order....awesome! The first loop (40 miles) was a real challenging and fun loop through Merced Falls and to the dam and back into Snelling. The final 60 miles were mostly flat and windy. Me and James took a little short-cut on Hawkins Rd. (what a great name for a road), which had some real nice rollers, then onto Bledsoe to Turlock Rd. After the last stop with about 3 miles to go, we came upon to women on the side of the road.  One had taken a spill and her face was pretty scraped up. Their husbands were gone to get the car to pick them up. It seems she was following her husband when a bee stung him and he swerved and stopped and she could'nt stop in time and WAM! Like she said, the ride was almost over and they were having such a good ride! What a bummer. We continued on to the finish and had a nice bbq waiting for us. Our total mileage with the cut-off was 88 miles which was a record for James but he still needs to hit that 100 mark!! Thanks to Healing Nations and all the volunteers who staffed the ride as they hit the 100 mark in participation this year! Great Job!!! Hope to see some of you on Wednesday for our training ride out of Black Bart Playhouse parking lot in Murphys at 5:00 p.m.  Ride On!!!!....Donnie.    

03/05/2011- Hey gang... We had a great turn-out for Saturdays ride from Copper Town Square. As I drove into the square, James and Dave were there getting ready and Ronnie and Don soon drove in. Steve from Modesto drove in as did Coach Shelley. Bruce(Captain Brewster) drove up as did Mike and Eric from Modesto and John made the trek 50 yards from his and his wife's new store, Fancy Pans, for a total of 11 cyclists. We made introductions and decided on a prelim route and took off down Reeds Turnpike to take Rock Creek out to Felix Road and regroup at the stop sign. Bruce, John and James rode away strong as the rest of us followed. Eric and Steve are new to the sport and you wouldn't know it as they do very well on a route unfamiliar to them. Mike also rides very well and I came to learn that him and Eric pair together with their wives and enjoy the sport together. At the stop sign we re-grouped and some of us decided to do the full Milton loop which is the loop for the Copperoppolis road race and the others did the half loop and took the short cut on the dirt portion of Salt Springs back to Felix Rd. If you get a chance to go on this road you will notice an old time white schoolhouse and this is the schoolhouse where the TV show Little House on the Prairie was filmed. While on Hunt Road we saw three bikers coming from the opposite direction and it turned out it was George and Sydney with Mona riding along. It was great to see them and hopefully we can get together with them in the future. It is so great to see Sydney back on the bike after her accident last year. What a strong spirit and will to overcome what she went through and to get back on the bike. Awesome Sydney!!!!!

 Me, Bruce, John, and Ronnie did the full Milton loop as John and Bruce motored away and tag-teamed all the way to Milton. Us 3 re-grouped and waited for Ronnie then motored off and Bruce and John took off up Rock Creek as I watched them disappear! Bruce is a very strong rider and he gave John a good carrot to chase after. We hooked up again as I was spent on the ride in and John took the point and led me and Bruce on back to Highway 4 as I tucked in in my lazy boy position behind them cruising at over 30 mph with the wind at our back. Nice job guys!!! 
 When we got there, we got some bad news that Eric hit a gravel patch and hit the pavement very hard. Thank goodness for bike helmets as his looked like it had been through hell and back. Eric was banged and scraped up pretty good. I can only tell you Eric that we all have bled and shed skin while participating in this sport at one time or another. It sucks! We all wish you well, along with a speedy recovery, and hope to see you and Mike (and hopefully your wives also) soon. You are both very strong riders and a pleasure to ride with and I hope you come and ride with us again.

 Dave and Don rode in together and had a small tailgate between them as Dave had to get home to "Wine Time" with his wonderful wife. The rest of us had a good tailgate and look forward to riding again in the future. I'll be riding next Saturday at the Covered Bridge Classic www.HealingNationsModesto.org. And we will be riding on Wednesday Evenings starting on the 16th leaving from Black Bart parking lot in Murphys at 5:00 pm. Hope to see you all soon.....Donnie.   

02/26/2011-Hey gang! Just a quick report on The Pedaling Paths for Independence Metric Century! After all the miserable weather this past week, wow, what a surprise waking up to a bright sunny day with not a cloud in the sky! Although it was very cold, (I'd rather have sun and cold, than rain and cold!) I am so happy for the organizers of this event that there was a break in the bad weather.