Latest Club News & Info

   The Speedtrap Ride, Ottawa County's best Tuesday night ride, was rained out last night. Heavy rains came down all over the area for about two hours. A few hopefuls gathered at Spoke Life Cycles Elmore hoping that the ride would eventually take place. Among those were Scott Lang and daughter Emily. Emily was picking up her new bike and helmet. The Speedtrap Ride was to be her first ride, but unfortunately, it didn't happen. Hopefully she'll get to ride next week. Our best wishes to Emily! Scott and Emily are pictured below!

    We will ride the Peggy Avers route next Tuesday, August 27th. I hope to see you then!

Chuck Nicewonder

With Tuesday being a washout, this is a public service announcement for you disappointed riders. Remember Windsdays at TImberstone! Nice flat route, long straightaways, and very few stops makes for a smooth quick ride. Tomorrow’s winds are predicted to be from the west between 7-9 mph. That means a mullet ride - work at the front, party on the way back. We leave at 6:30 sharp from Timberstone JHS 9000 W Sylvania Ave. Special bonus - Sylvania Avenue is repaved and open from McCord to Centennial for your driving pleasure. Get your tail over here and join us! 

For last weeks Old 24 Ride we had 13 riders for our 28.5 mile loop.  We rolled in with an average speed of 20.8 mph and about a million bugs all over us. 

Tonight we will head out to Old 24 again for the same route and probably come back with the bugs again.  Expect the average speed to be between 20 to 21 mph.  We will roll out from Cycle Werks in Whitehouse at 6:30.

See you on Old 24.

What will be the most fun event this weekend in northwest Ohio? The German American Festival? The big car show? NO! It’s PEDAL AND PADDLE!

Adventurers and Meanderers meet Saturday morning for an 8:00 a.m. start at the boat launch at 8801 S. River Rd. Ride your choice of 35 or 40 miles, and come back for a picnic lunch.

Then rent a kayak for a leisurely paddle on the Maumee River. No previous experience necessary.

Rental fees are $15 single, $20 double, and only CREDIT CARDS are accepted. No cash.

Routes are: 35 miles - ridewithgps.com/routes/30887726 40 miles - ridewithgps.com/routes/30913967

Speedtrap Ride Tuesday August 20^th

          The Speedtrap Ride will roll out once again from Spoke Life Cycles on Elmore tomorrow, Tuesday, August 20^th, at 6:30 pm.

This week’s will be a special one: the Peggy Avers route that the Flatlanders did a couple of years ago. Here is the link to the route on ridewithgps.Peggy Avers 25-mile Ride Also attached is a cue sheet. I will have copies available.

          Scott Lang will lead the Ghost Pepper Riders. Last week his group topped 24 mph. Will they do it again?

          A volunteer is needed for the Cayenne Pepper Riders. Bob Kayden is away. This group plans to average 20 – 22 mph.

          Tony Mazurek will lead the Habanero Riders. He expects to average 18 – 20 mph.

          I will lead the Jalapeno Riders. We hope to average 16 – 18 mph.

          Marnie Arndt will take the Sweet Pepper Riders on a ride at a distance and speed comfortable for those in her group.

          The high temperature is predicted to be 87 degrees, with southerly winds at 5 to 10 mph. There is a 40% chance of scattered thunderstorms, but that means 60% chance of no thunderstorms.

          As always, some riders may gather after the ride at the Portage Inn in Elmore for food, drink, and good conversation. Anyone is welcome to plan or do anything else to make this a special event.

          Come on out to Elmore and ride some quiet country roads. You meet and ride with some great people, too! Sign-in begins at 6:00 in front of the bike shop. I hope to see you then!

Chuck NicewonderPeggy Avers 25-mile Ride.xlsx

         

Last Windsday saw us break 30 riders again. We had great conditions with mild winds on the way out, meaning good tailwinds on the way back in. Our only concern was that dark threatening cloud off to the west. It continued to head to the southwest though, totally missing our route and leaving us alone. For whatever reason, what is often a plain ole ride turned into a beautiful evening. The wide open fields created a beautiful vista of clouds sky and sun that enhanced the scenery. Kinda cool.

Speaking of cool, our rider returned some cool times. The Edgar’s Fast & Furious had a large group of fast riders and returned a 24.4 for their efforts. Jen’s Reasonably Fast team had a similarly good effort at 20.7. And as always, my Reasonable & Reliable group worked together to return a 18.5. No Relaxed group tonight I’m sorry to say.

Time is running short to come out and join us. Riding the flat, smooth roads with long stretches of straightaways gives great returns. Come out and join us at Timberstone JHS, leaving at 6:30 sharp.

I woke up for today’s ride a bit grumpy and leery - I didn’t sleep well, and for some reason was worried about the ride. Bad dream maybe. I needn’t have worried. 12 riders showed up for the trip out to Red Rambler, and they were a ride leader’s dream. Speeds were appropriate for the group, transitions were good. The group was essentially on autopilot. The only thing I had to worry about was calling the correct direction to turn. (Those who know me learn to follow the hands not the mouth - I frequently call the wrong direction!). 

We breezed out to Red Rambler arriving around 9:45. The only incident was that somehow a bird managed to poop on my leg and bike, but missed my arm and helmet. Eww! There was no line at Red Rambler, so the service was exceptionally quick, the baked goods and coffee were great. We sat outside and enjoyed the weather while we ate. Rick and Hubert preferred to enjoy the good ole’ American classics next door at McDonald’s. We picked them up as we left and went back with a nice tailwind to help push us along. Even though the return trip was five miles longer, we covered the distance in the same time as it took us to get out to Wauseon. The last few miles the group was getting bit anxious - we were at 17.9 avg, and we all wanted to make it to 18.0. We skipped the trail and took Monclova Rd to Keener Park to keep the pace up and made it our18 mph! Our fastest ride of the season, yet no one felt exhausted. It was a great ride.

This was Andrea Raftery’s longest unsupported ride to date and she did fantastic. She came out for her first ride on her hybrid about two months ago, bought a road bike and has become a regular on our rides. She has no problems keeping up with our pace. When I asked her if she was a runner before, she said no, she was a couch potato. She’s shown fantastic progress for such a short time. Way to go Andrea!

This week’s ride is one of my favorites that I borrowed from the Plus 5 group. It’s time for us to visit the Red Rambler in Wauseon for a cup of “floofy” coffee and a baked good. This one is a bit longer than usual at over 52 miles, so expect a later return time. 

We’ll leave from Keener Park at 8:00 sharp and head out to west over some of our old favorites, past Delta to arrive at Wauseon at mile 23. After a cup of coffee (or other beverage) we’ll head back going north of Delta, past the flowers on CR 8-1 and back through Oak Openings to arrive back at Keener. Again, we leave at 8:00 sharp. GPS track is available at Ride With GPS:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/

Speedtrap Ride Tuesday, August 13^th recap

          The Speedtrap Ride brought forty cyclists to Elmore last night for a fantastic ride through Ottawa, Sandusky, and Wood Counties.

          Scott Lang and three other Ghost Pepper Riders, Rob Golden, Jason Moore, and George Byington, rode to what is likely a Speedtrap record: a riding average of 24.1 mph! This may also be a personal best for the four riders! Congratulations to all!

          Bob Kayden was one of twelve cyclists(ten bikes—two were tandems) who formed the Cayenne Pepper Riders and reached Bob’s goal of 21.0 mph! Also congratulations!

          Tony Mazurek’s Habanero Riders rode the same course at 19.9 mph. I think that’s his fastest of the season!

          I rode out with five other Jalapeno Riders. Unfortunately, we split apart. Ray Purney, Ben Durant, and Mary Hecker went ahead and finished at 16.8 mph, as reported by Ray. Claude Watkins joined the Sweet Pepper Group, and I went looking for Colleen Hickey, who was all of a sudden not with us. Fortunately, she returned to Elmore safe and sound.

          Marnie Arndt’s Sweet Pepper Riders rode 20 miles at 15.3 mph. No report from Becky Kayden and LeAnn Helle.

          Pictured are two riders new to the Speedtrap Ride: Colleen Hickey, and Michelle Del Toro, with husband John. Welcome to the Speedtrap Ride!

          Next Tuesday, August 20^th, we will ride the 25-mile Peggy Avers route from Elmore. Attached is the cue sheet I have from two years ago. However, I will check all roads and send a final route, post it on ridewithgps, and send a link to it before next Tuesday. I hope to see you then!

Chuck Nicewonder

         

Cue sheet Peggie's 25.pdf

The Old 24 Ride is tonight.  Expect the average speed to be between 20 to 21 mph.  We will be heading out from Cycle Werks in Whitehouse at 6:30 for a 28.5 mile loop out to Old 24 and heading north on County Road 3.  Last week we had 9 riders and averaged 20.4 mph.

See you on Old 24.