The bumpers are in

Thanks to one of the engineers who helped me design them I have 15 bumpers. 10 are going directly to the WWP, including however many Truman needs. 3 are going to Rise adventures, the local group who helped me with the testing. 2 are going to some folks who helped and inspired me to build them. I can get more built, and plan to pass the info on to Rick, I am waiting on a quote.

Truman let me know how ,any and when you need them!

Rollaid logo

Something I've been working on. I think this might be the finalized version. What do you think?

New web forum!

Thanks to Steve, we finally have a web forum to facilitate planning and discussion for next year's ride. Please jump right in, register and help get this beast rolling.

The permanent link is over to the right, there.

Or you lazier buggers can just click right here


With luck, we'll have a nice homepage soon, too. Thanks, Steve-O.

Routes? We got Routes...

This is based on some maps by the Fort Worth Bicycling Association and an array of S.W.A.G.'s by your humble moderator.

Please feel free to pick it apart, or apply your own special knowledge of the area and I'll revise as appropriate.


View Larger Map

Time for the Flier??

It's getting to be the time of year that a lot of people do their last riding of the season. This will be the time that they start milling around their LBS instead of riding. I was wondering if it would be a good time to get this year's flier together so we can get it to the shops for people to see.

I know we haven't hammered out all the details, but we could put something together that had the rough strokes, and point the reader to our webspace that could have the latest and greatest. Maybe even have a link that they could use to subscribe to an email list.

I've got some ideas, but am light on the art skills to put something together. Anyone wanna give me a hand with this? Or was there someone already thinking of doing the same?

Roll Call

I have seen several folks on a couple of forums say they are "planning" on making it. What's your real feeling. I am 99%, the 1% is for unforeseen major issues.

I think dad is about 80%.

Where you at?

Brooke AMC to Portland, TX = 142 miles.

Seems doable. Who's in?

Lunch Friday 17th - Weinberg's in Grapevine.

Say, 12, straight up?

I'm there, Steve & Tate, too. Anyone else? I called CR_Dean, but I don't have Cliff's digits. I emailed Luke.

Sorry for the short notice.

Planning Notes From Steve and Tate's Lunch

Okay, so it was more of a quick phone call than a lunch. I had some things to get to that wouldn't allow for a full lunch. At any rate, here's what we talked about:

Probably stating the obvious, but here goes anyway. This year's route needs to make it easier logistically for any soldiers that want to ride with us. That will include things like hotel availability at each stop between the start and Austin. Also, a good, reliable SAG will be a must this year. I think if we can get those things hammered out, we'll be able to get more interest from both vets and non-vets.

We talked about starting from the VA around Duncanville. If we can swing it, that sounds like a great plan. If we stay mostly East of I-35 like we talked about before, things should be quite a bit flatter. I put down a couple of towns (below) that are along the way to Austin, along with any VFW info I could find. There isn't a VFW in Italy (2nd day stop), but there are a couple that are about 10 miles away. We might be able to talk them into coming out to meet us when we get in. Also, by meeting up with Woody and the guys on Wednesday afternoon, we won't have to leave on Saturday like last year, Sunday should be fine.

David and I had also been talking about mileage. The daily mileage is a bit lower than last year, so we were thinking that if anyone wanted to do an afternoon ride after setting up camp, that might be interesting. Once we get the route finalized, I might be able to put up some options there. There will also be some long day possibilities between Austin and San Antone (80-ish miles), and San Antone to Corpus (140-ish miles !!!) in case anyone wants to stretch their legs a bit.

Below are some notes. Bear in mind, this is just what Tate and I talked about. If anyone has an idea about how to do it better, please speak up. We're certainly not running the show, just trying to pitch in.

Priorities
===========
Hotels available
Good SAG required
Low traffic roads
Camping a plus

Duncanville VFW (or VA hostpital) to Italy - 55 (Sunday)
- Route info: Magical Mystery Permanent
- Route info: Lancaster Community Ride
- Italy Inn Hotel
- Camping (??)

Italy to Mexia VFW - 55 (Monday)
- Route La Bella Rani Brevet
- Camping @ Fort Parker SP

Mexia to Cameron VFW - 75 (Tuesday)
- Route ??
- Camping ?? (VFW?)

Cameron to Austin - 70 (Wednesday)
- Meet up w/ the Guys
- Route ??
- Camping ?? (VFW?)

VFWs
====
Post 7843 Duncanville Memorial Post
702 Hwy. 67 East
Duncanville, TX 75137-3408

Post 4694 Lancaster Post
317 S Martin Luther King Jr Hwy
Mexia, TX 76667

Lunch or Dinner?

It's about time to shift the planning apparatus into climbing gear. Who wants to get together for lunch or dinner to get the ball rolling?

Lunch is easier for me in the Mid-Cities/Grapevine/Irving vicinity, but given enough notice, I can pull off dinner about anywhere.

For that matter, I live in SW Fort Worth, about 8 miles from where we started the last trip. I could burn some meat if y'all bring sides.

Speak up.

Route

OK, I have to go to a Sun wedding in Johnson City the end of Oct. I was hoping to leave Friday night, ride for a few hours, camp, then ride Sat most of the day and have the wife pick me up on her way down. So I thouhgt what a chance to scout a route. I know we talked about leaving from the Dallas area this year. Any Ideas, plans, thoughts, etc?

I used the new google walk mapping from the VA in Dallas. Route doesn't seem too bad may need some tweeking.
http://tiny.cc/AGC1p

Another BIG Heart Donates a Handcycle for the Wounded Warrior Project

Not long ago, on a Recumbent forum (rbentonline.org), someone posted a Freedom Ryder Handcycle for sale for a friend. I asked if they could get me in touch with the owner, with the idea that if the price was reasonable, we could get the money together and bring the bike with us to San Antone next spring.

I got an email back from the owner of the handcycle, Doug Exum. He had discussed my proposal with his wife, and had a change that he wanted to make. He wanted to donate the bike!! As part of the donation, there are a few upgrades that Doug would like to make to the bike, and I agreed that we should cover the costs required. There are a few little things like cables and such that we'll have looked at, and the handcranks themselves will be upgraded. They are currently close together, and we'll be upgrading them to the ones that are shoulder width apart. Doug has done all the groundwork, and Mike Lofgren of Freedom Ryder has agreed to donate the cranks themselves. Bear in mind, this is TWO sets of cranks, one for Doug's bike and one for the one David got for us!! We'll just need to cover the cost of the chainrings. So the total cost for Freedom Ryder will be roughly $300. Pretty darn good for 2 sets of cranks and all chainrings. The smaller stuff will be taken care of by JD at Richardson Bike Mart. He has agreed to donate the required labor, we'll just have to buy the parts.

David and I have met with Doug to discuss the handcycles and generally shoot the breeze. He's an easy going guy, and is planning to ride with us in the spring on his new handcycle. So to Doug, thank you so much for your generosity. Let's all welcome Doug to the group and thank him for what his selflessness will do to help out our wounded vets.

Steve

Building a new bike

Folks, I'm building a new bike. Dave mentioned that I should put up a list of the parts that I still need just in case a deal comes around on ChainLove or somewhere else while I'm asleep during the day. Here's the list:

Saddle - Specialized Toupe Team white/black 143
Seatpost - 31.6 diameter (Easton EC90 / Ritchey WCS Carbon / Thomson Masterpiece)
Bars - Easton EC90 SLX or ITM K-Sword - 46cmI now have bars
Stem - Not sure yet, need to test a few sizes first.I ordered the stem today, should be here soon.

UPDATE: I have the saddle, post and bars now. Just ordered the stem today.

If you see any of these things on clearance, give me a shout @ two-one-four, seven-nine-four, three-zero-one-five.

Steve

P.S. - Here's a pic of the frame...

... ain't it sexy??

Patriot Pedal this weekend?

Who's coming? I think Tate's in Montana, but surely one of you clowns is gonna come and help me drag Rod for a metric, right?

The Patriot Pedal

Don't forget, Gary Sinise and the Lieutenant Dan Band will be playing, PLUS it's Grapefest in Grapevine that night. A good time will be had by all.


Anyone?

Barbecue - that's what smelled so good!

Back before the Coast to the Coast and the WWP's Soldier Ride Lone Star State Challenge, I was talking up the trip to the owners of The City Cyclist bike shop on McCart Avenue in Fort Worth, to see if they would put up a poster for us in their shop. They agreed to do that, then took me to the back of the shop and showed me a Freedom Ryder handcycle that they had agreed to fix up and try to sell for one of their neighbors, another local businessman. The trike was in really nice shape and when I asked what they thought it would go for, they said they thought it was around $2000.00 when it was new, but that it was 5 or 6 years old now. I filed that away with the idea of maybe doing some fundraising and buying the bike. Ultimately I hoped to get one or two handcycles to take down and donate to the Physical Therapy department at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

Jump ahead in time to about three weeks ago, when I wandered back into the City Cyclist and discovered the trike still hanging in their shop. I guess $4.00 per gallon gas was taking its toll-the shop was packed with new bikes, and it occurred to me that the handcycle was taking up a lot of room. I asked if they'd be willing to ask the owner what would be the least amount he would take for the trike if he knew I was buying it to hand over to battle-wounded veterans. A moment later I was being escorted next door to what has long been my family's favorite barbecue restaurant, Cousin's Barbecue.

The owner of the Freedom Ryder was Calvin Payne, who also owns several Cousin's restaurants around the DFW area. He wasn't in at the time, but his son took my information and told me he'd pass it to his mother and dad.

A few days later, I got a phone call from Calvin's wife Beverly asking for more information about my ideas for the bike. I told her about the Coast to the Coast and Rollaid and the Wounded Warrior Project. We talked about the guys down at BAMC and how glad some of them had been to get out of the hospital or the barracks for the day to go for a ride in the sun.

Beverly asked how much I had in mind to buy the bike for. I told her that any amount we agreed on, I'd have to raise, but that in consideration for a discounted price on the bike, I could offer space to print Cousin's logo on the upcoming Rollaid jerseys, as well as talk them up here on the blog. Beverly said she'd talk to Calvin and get back with me.

My phone rang a few minutes later and I spoke to Calvin himself. I gave him a shorter version of what I'd said to Beverly. I was gobsmacked a moment later when Calvin allowed that he'd be willing to donate the bike completely to Rollaid to take down to BAMC. Truly, I couldn't believe it. This guy had never met me, and here he was offering an expensive ride based on my say-so alone. I'm still in awe of the generosity of some people.

I made arrangements to pick up the bike at The City Cyclist on the following Monday. Calvin agreed to meet me beforehand at Cousin's to have a cup of coffee and chat. When I got there, Calvin and Beverly and a friend of theirs sat with me and chatted for over an hour. Walking in and meeting these complete strangers and talking with them felt exactly like walking into the house of your favorite aunt and uncle and sitting down at their kitchen table. I gave them a detailed description of our ride to Corpus Christi, including all the barbecue we'd eaten along the way (there was a lot) and talked about old times and old friends until it was time to go and get the bike. By then , they felt like old, dear friends.

Calvin agreed to have a picture taken with me and Mike from City Cyclist there in front of the shops - that's Calvin on the right, me in the middle and Mike on the left.

I think there might be another handbike in Rollaid's future, as well - maybe the guys at Brooke will be able to ride and train together instead of having to go out on their own.

Hand cycle bumpers reach the WWP

After going through 3 round of "proto typing" I sent of 2 versions to Rick to test and try at the next ride July 23 in NYC.

http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s289/pkhakes/Bikes/handcycle%20bumper/?start=all

Something smells great

Stay tuned to this channel for some exciting news (if you already know, don't spill the pinto beans)!

Roll Aid 2009 - Route planning.

Anyone got big ideas for the next tour? I'm thinking about starting the '09 ride from East of 35, maybe out by Cedar Hill, and rolling South, around Waco to Temple, skirting East of Austin, to San Marcos, New Braunfels and entering San Antonio from the East. Seems like there'd be a lot of good exposure, slightly better wind, fewer hills and different scenery. If we pick up a rider like Charlie, we can roll him up at Temple, I think.

Something roughly like this:

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Comments?

Woody Groton, Soldier Ride National Tour Director for the Wounded Warrior Project, has published his own blog.  Please put this site in your favorites and visit often, or you can just click the Soldier Ride Blog link anytime to the right of this post.

The address is:

http://wwpsoldierride.blogspot.com

Thank you for your support for the Wounded Warrior Project.  To read more about this organization, please visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

First MS 150

I thought I might take a minute to post a short blurb about my first MS 150. It was a great ride, and I enjoyed meeting Nieves, whom many of you have had the pleasure of riding with. It was a great couple of days. Through Nieves experiences, I learned much more about the Wounded Warrior Project, and its extensive reach into the lives of these soldiers. What a great organization.

Ride Report:

Day 1 – It turned out to be 84 miles (personal best distance for me) instead of 75 (I guess that is a frequent occurrence with these rides, but I didn’t know it). I was riding with Nieves from the Wounded Warrior Project, who is a great guy. We started Day 1 at 7:30am and rolled in at 4:45pm. I was pretty beat at the end, and the sun had taken its toll. Day 1 was nice and flat with hardly any hills, yet we had about a 20-25 mph headwind for the first 35 miles (which made the last of the ride quite nice).

Day 2 – (76 miles) I latched onto some pace lines with some of my team members. It made a huge difference in speed and enabled me to save some energy while covering some good ground. I was able to skip some rest stops and only stop to fill the bottles. I started Day 2 (yesterday) and my butt hurt like heck. I guess you finally get used to it and just deal with it. I had taken some asprin and rubbed biofreeze all over my legs, which helped a little. I started at 7am and arrived at ‘lunch’, the 30 mile point, at 9:10am. I was then feeling pretty good. I ended up finishing at 12:30ish pm. The terrain was anything but flat. It was rolling hills the entire way. Again, again this was news to me! It sucked, but at the end I think I had accepted the hills and just took them slowly and pedaled like crazy on the downhills to make up time. While I had caught different pacelines throughout the day, I ended up with 2 other guys for the last 10 miles, and we took turns pulling and averaged about 18-19mph to the end. It was a great finish in Sundance Square, and my wife surprised me by inviting all of our siblings and their families to the post ride festivities. It was pretty emotional and overwhelming at some points because of how amazing all of the volunteers were, and overall it was an excellent ride. I'll post some pics in the coming days.