AACC News

What is BlogThis! ? - Blogger Help

noreply@blogger.com (Coach) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:36:00 +0000

What is BlogThis! ? - Blogger Help
Alta Alpina Challenge: Build Your Own Challenge 13 June 2009.

The innagural Alta Alpina Challenge was put on by the Alta Alpina Cycling Club on Saturday 13 June. This ride was developed to provide a new venue for riders to build their own challenge whether it be a 7 mile ride for new riders or kids, or the full Kid Carson Challenge of 27 miles intended for beginning riders or riders who want to bring their kids. Many parents brought kids in trailers to give their youngest children the thrill of riding in our Sierras. For more ambitious riders, options of riding 1 to 8 passes were offered on the menu. This is a ride put on by riders who have experience with developing the Death Ride for many years to what it is today for riders who want something fresh and new. This ride was put on with the great help of many volunteers from many groups, the largest group was the Hung-a-Lel-Ti Washoe community. Many thanks are due to these groups. This ride started what we hope is a great relationship between the club and the local tribe. Many riders ride on Diamond Valley Road and Carson River Road as beautiful and almost traffic free roads. The club uses the roads for our club road races, club rides and even the Carson Valley Classic: the District Championship Road Race in late July. The club put on 4 training rides for the tribe's youth to get familiar with riding the Kid Carson. Our Washoe neighbors staffed the whole 27 mile Kid Carson loop. All of the comments received for the support on this loop were extremely appreciative. In addition, these volunteers were responsible for much of the lunch and dinner preparation which was appreciated by riders on their way to meet their own challenge. The volunteer efforts cannot not go mentioned without the great efforts of the club and Michael Bayer who was the ride director. Details for organization and rider treatment did not go unanalyzed or discussed and debated. Personalized wrist bands, rider numbers (with the rider's name printed), bike tags and ride routes (left here, right there, big hill here), personalized start times based on rider estimates of speed and desired distance, raised the rider treatment to a new level. More rider support in the form of a variety of endurance level products from Hammer Nutrition and Clif Bar Products, coffee, tea, soup, melons etc. etc. etc. was also noted by many riders.

The ride just about filled up its 250 rider limit. About 100 riders signed up for the 8 pass option, 25 for the Kid Carson and the rest were riding 1-6 passes. If the reader can recall, 13 June was Carson Valley days, which made for pretty nice and cool weather for a parade and valley festivities, but the mountains saw some spotty weather. When the ride started at 3:30 AM (this was for some 8 pass riders) there was light rain on Kingsbury. Now riding early in the morning, in the dark, in the rain on the way to 7 more passes and 160 more miles, does not sound fun, but many riders were making the trek with amazingly great attitudes. The next pass was somewhat kinder to the riders up Highway 89 to Luther Pass. Carson Pass, the third, was pretty cool for the riders, and the team had prepared coffee, hot chocolate, tea, soup, and other food for the conditions. Later in the day, rain came to visit the riders and provided a brief challenge to those on the pass. The next was Blue Lakes, which the Alta Alpina Junior team rode to give the riders on road support for flats, mechanical issues, hand up food if riders needed it. This too had spotty showers. On the Junior team's way down, they were greeted by a shower at the top of Blue Lakes which soaked feet and clothes for the long 20 mile descent. This made for a chilly downhill. In Hope Valley, sleet greeted the team, yet just like the Challenge riders, a great attitude and outlook kept the team going. For a few of the junior riders, this was their longest ride and highest climb of their whole lives. At 60 miles, this was a big ride for anybody. The riders went back to Turtle Rock Park for a great lunch. Some riders stopped there and some went on to meet their challenge. These riders went on to ride both sides of Ebbett's pass followed by both sides of Monitor Pass. The riding went on into the night with all riders finished by 10:30 whether they finished their challange or not.

All of the comments from the riders, volunteers and other staff have been overwhelmingly positive. Even one 8 pass rider who had to be turned aournd because he didn't make the cutoff on Monitor pass happily responded by something to the nature of: That is ok. This is the best supported ride ever. This will just make sure I come back next year!

It has been a lot of work for many people and for a long time, but it appears that it has been a great investment for the club to build a ride with even more success and increased rider experience. The club looks forward to meeting the challenge of doing it again next year. How many people finished? Less than 20 people earned the priveledge to wear the Alta Alpina Challenge 8 Pass Jersey. I saw one of them myself last week in Nevada City.

--
Mel Maalouf
Alta Alpina Junior Cycling Team Coach
USA Cycling Expert Coach
1609 Olua St.
Minden, NV 89423
+1 775 782 9652
alpinajr@gmail.com
www.altaalpina.com

Bike Month in Nevada

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Sun, 03 May 2009 06:09:00 +0000

Nevada Bicyclists:

May is going to be a busy bicycling month in Nevada!

Governor Gibbons has proclaimed the week of May 11 – 15, 2009 as Nevada Bike to Work Week. The proclamation is attached. Bike to Work activities are being planned in the following locations:
Carson City
Lake Tahoe
Washoe County
Clark County

Bike to Work Week 2009 will be followed by the 8th annual Nevada Bicycle and Pedestrian Conference at Lake Tahoe on May 20th and 21st. This annual conference features two days of topics related to bicycle and pedestrian planning, facilities, education, events, and safety. More information can be found at . A flier is attached.

As if that were not enough, we are featuring the League of American Bicyclists’ Traffic Skills 101: Smart Cycling Course on May 21-22 (Thursday evening, and Friday) in Carson City. This class is an excellent adult bicycling skills course and is the first step towards becoming and League Certified Instructor (LCI). More information at

I encourage you to participate in activities and promote Bike to Work Week in our State. Please forward to all interested.

Ride safe !

Bill Story
Bicycle, Pedestrian & Safe Routes to School Programs Manager
Intermodal Planning Division
Nevada Department of Transportation
1263 S. Stewart St.
Carson City, NV 89710
(775) 888-7357 (office)
(775) 888-7207 (FAX)
(775) 721-4246 (cell)
wstory@dot.state.nv.us (email)
www.bicyclenevada.com
www.walknevada.com

Bike to Work News from TRPA

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Sun, 03 May 2009 04:33:00 +0000

Bike to Work Returns!!!
The Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency bring you the new and improved Bike to Work—now Lake Tahoe Bike to Work, School, and Play Week! Commuters, students, and everyone else, sign up today at www.TahoeBike.org to participate in the Bike to Work, School and Play Challenge, May 11-15, 2009!
Last year 450 people rode. Our goal this year is 750 riders Basin-Wide! Can we do it?
As before, rally your co-workers to sign up as an EMPLOYEE TEAM. No employee team? Sign up as an individual and log your rides to work, school, errands AND, new this year, log your recreational rides as well!! Walkers welcome also. Visit www.TahoeBike.org for more details on competition categories and our wonderful prizes donated by local businesses like Resort at Squaw Creek, Bike the West, BlueGO, Embassy Suites, Harrah’s, Fair and Green, Pearl Izumi and many more!! NOTE: You may not get a confirmation e-mail that you are signed up, but if you can log back in, then you are successfully registered.
TEAM CAPTAINS—the Ride Log is new and improved! You should be able to see and access your team members’ data.
The LOG RIDES function is not available yet—if you try to log rides, you will get an error message! Don’t worry! Log Rides starts May 11th.
We have fabulous SOCKS this year! Order yours by April 27th to guarantee availability. See attached order form.
EMPLOYEE TEAMS--we want to feature you! Send us an e-mail to let us know what your agency is doing to promote biking to work, and what you have done in the past. We will choose as many employee teams as we can to be featured in the North and South Shore papers.
Don’t forget to get your bike tuned up at our BIKE FIX-IT BOOTHS at North Shore Earth Day—Saturday, April 18th at Squaw Valley, and South Shore Earth Day-- Saturday, April 25th at Montbleu. Thank you Gary Bell of Sierra Ski and Cycle Works and John Svahn of the Truckee Trails Foundation.
Our local coffee shops continue to be big supporters by providing COFFEE STOPS—check www.TahoeBike.org for full details and locations. Truckee riders you will have plenty of coffee this year!!
BLUEGO will offer free rides if you bring your bike on the bus May 11-15th. Make transit part of your commute this year!
And last but not least I would like to thank our official sponsors, who are dedicated to helping promote bicycling and a sustainable Lake Tahoe: Nevada Department of Transportation, Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization, Heavenly Mountain Resort, Entrix, EDAW, Lumos and Associates, Bike the West, League to Save Lake Tahoe, Design Workshop, Barton Healthcare System, Integrated Environmental Restoration Services, and Bike Habitat. A big thank you to these and the other businesses who are donating in-kind goods and services to support Bike to Work, School, and Play. See www.TahoeBike.org to link to our sponsors.
Karen Fink
Transportation Planner
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
PO Box 5310
Stateline, NV 89449
775-589-5204
kfink@trpa.org

I Can't Wait...Spring is Almost Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Costa, President) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:14:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,

I am looking forward to seeing you at the Alta Alpina Spring Membership meeting on April 20th at the CVIC hall in historic downtown Minden, the same place as last year. If you can’t make it to the membership meeting, or you want to renew your membership early, go to altaalpina.org and click on the Renew Membership button on the Right side of the home page.

It’s hard to believe that March 1st is here. Twain Berg has been very busy this off season coming up with new rides, more leaders, competitions and more opportunities for club members to join each other on the road and dirt. Check out the AACC Ride Board, there are already some new rides being posted for the next few weeks. Di Bolton has this season’s club road race schedule finalized and will kick off in late April. MTB race/ride series details are still being worked out as Mike Beam, the coordinator for the past three years is unable to continue. We are looking for ways to increase the number of rides for our Tahoe members too. You can count on many of our club’s annual line of events like the G’ville 100, Pinenut Cracker, Carson Valley Classic, King (and Queen) of Kingsbury, Genoa Cyclocross.

The main event this year is the Alta Alpina Challenge on June 13th beginning and ending at Turtle Rock Park. An inaugural event that has the potential of becoming a “must do” ride on the regions’ summer ride calendar, and the major fund raiser that allows AACC to continue it mission of supporting all forms of cycling in the Lake Tahoe, Carson City, Carson Valley and Markleeville region. The planning, organization and staging of the Challenge is rolling along. The Challenge will have something for every club member to get involved in, and there will be opportunities to ride too. There is an opportunity and a need for everyone to participate. The promise of next year depends on the success of this years’ Challenge. In order to organize our membership and match you to a volunteer position you are interested in, please follow this link to Survey Monkey to fill out a very brief questionnaire.

There is so much going on it’s hard to put it all in one news item. There is more to come. Make a point to attend the spring membership meeting to learn more, and check the AACC web page frequently as new items are being put up almost daily, thanks to our web master Dennis Pederson, and club members like you posting rides. Please, please, please fill out the Alta Alpina Challenge, Riding the Wild Sierra, volunteer questionnaire at Survey Monkey (link above).

I’ll see you on a ride soon! All the best.

Peter

2009 Weekend Ride Leader Rewards Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Sagebum) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 07:26:00 +0000

Ride season is fast approaching! We will start our Weekend Ride Calendar in March, and I have begun to call members who have already agreed to lead a weekend ride this year.

When I am out riding, I often get to talk to folks in and out of the club and sometimes I hear “their rides are too hard for me” or “I wish they would do easier social rides where I live”.

Well, of course, "their" and "they" are you and you can win up to two $50 gift certificates for Pearl Izumi goods at the Pearl Izumi Store in South Lake Tahoe this year by signing up and leading a Weekend Ride.

Rules

Signup at least two weeks in advance and Lead a Weekend Ride between March and October and get one chance (name in the hat) for the reward each time you do so. Leading a ride is so easy and I’ll help you with any details. You get to choose where, when, pace, road or mountain, route……..everything, and you may just meet some new ride buddies that share your riding interests. The route should be within a reasonable distance of our Tahoe/Carson Region and not one of our leaderless Show and Go Weekly rides.

How

This does not include short term Ride Board posts. To signup, call me at 775 901-6043 or email me at ridedirector@altaalpina.org. Tell me the date, and ride info, and I’ll place it on the Website and Newsletter Weekend Ride Calendar for you.

The Reward

There will be two $50 rewards. One will go to the club member who leads the most Weekend Calendar Rides and in the case of a tie; a high card draw will determine the winner. The second $50 reward will be determined by a drawing at the end of the year club party. Winners need not be present but it would be great to see you there. If you lead the most rides and your name gets drawn out of the hat…you win both rewards!

Cancellations

Clearly, weather and busy schedules happen. If you find that you can’t lead the ride due to other obligations, you can keep your chance to win by finding another leader. The two of you can figure out how the split reward if you win. If you can’t find another leader or if weather cancels, call or email me and we will reschedule so you can keep your name in the hat.

Let’s have a great Ride Year!

Twain Berg
Alta Alpina Weekend Ride Coordinator

Diamond Valley Road Litter Pick Up

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Costa, President) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:31:00 +0000

Diamond Valley Road Litter Pick-Up

Alta Alpina Cycling Club and the Woodford’s Community of the Washo Indian Tribe are joining together for a Diamond Valley Road litter pick-up.

Please make an effort to participate in this “special” clean up of a road that we all love to ride and race on. It is also an opportunity to meet many of the locals who share the road with us.

This will replace our autumn clean up of Hwy 89 this year.

Meet at the firehouse in the Woodford’s Community of the Washo Tribe (on Diamond Valley Rd).

10 AM, Saturday September 27th

Bring Gloves and Wear Appropriate Clothing For Walking and Possible Foraging Through Weeds and Brush.

We will supply Starbucks Coffee and the Washo tribe is providing a “light breakfast” at the firehouse… as well as Helmets, Bags, Pick Up Sticks, Safety Vests…

Ride To Follow…Destination and Length TBD by Attending Volunteers.

Please let me know if you are coming, so we can order enough food and coffee @ IntandemPC@aol.com or 775-782-8493

AACC President Jenny Hamiter Interview in the Nevada Appeal

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Costa, President) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:11:00 +0000

AACC president Jenny Hamiter was interviewed by Charles Whisnand of the Nevada Appeal last week. The interview can be viewed @ http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20080911/SPORTS/809109941/1068&parentprofile=1059

It's a nice overview of our past year and an introduction to our new ride for next year. I know Jenny is too modest to link it, so I did. Enjoy.

Bike MS 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:24:00 +0000

The Bike MS Ride, September 13-14, based at Northstar-at-Tahoe, is looking for volunteers to help out that weekend.

This year they've have added a Mountain Bike ride on Northstar’s course on Saturday, and on Sunday they’ve added a “cruiser” ride from Truckee to Donner Memorial and back.

Contact Donna Hyatt for more details. Ph #: 775 329 7180 option 2, email Donna.Hyatt@nmss.org.

New "Rides" Section Features

noreply@blogger.com (Sagebum) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:42:00 +0000

A big thanks to Alta Alpina Webmaster Dennis Pederson for implementing a number of new features in the Rides section of our website. We invite you to check it out at www.altaalpinacyclingclub.com

Here are the new features:

-Clicking on the Rides link still brings up the Ride Board but with the new features on top.

-The Weekend Rides link is the same as the Schedule of Weekend Rides in the Newsletter but is continually updated.-Road Bike Routes We have a fabulous array of routes in our area. This is where you can learn about places you haven't ridden and share great routes with others. Each route has a MapMyRide link, a description and a picture. Several Alta Alpina members have contributed to this collection of routes and you are invited to share your favorite routes and pics. Please email ridedirector@AltaAlpina.org to help out. We especially need routes for Carson City, Washoe Valley and outlying areas.

-Mountain Bike Routes This is next on the to-do list and help is needed. Please email ridedirector@AltaAlpina.org if you would like to help map or contribute routes.

-Ride Board Members can edit or delete posted rides on the Ride Board. Just remember, each time you do so, 200+ emails go out! Eventually the Ride Board and Weekend Ride Calendar may be merged.We hope you take some time to check it all out, provide some feedback and contribute.

Twain

ridedirector@AltaAlpina.org

Tahoe Rim Trail - Trail Work

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:36:00 +0000

Hi, folks:

The Tahoe Rim Trail Association has trail building days all summer long. Here is info for some at north shore, for the Tahoe City Project.

This project involves building NEW trails for a Tahoe City-Brockway reroute of 3 miles.

Tuesday, July 8th, from 9am-3pm
Saturday, July 12th, from 9am-3pm
Tuesday, July 15th, from 9am-3pm

All of these work days will meet at the Tahoe City North trailhead. Directions:
Turn on Fairway Drive off Highway 89 on the west end of Tahoe City. The trail is across from the Fairway Community Center on the right. If this parking lot is full, park at the Tahoe City Public Utility District offices about 0.1 mile back toward highway 89.

For trail work days, volunteers will need to bring the following:
1. Water!! (at least 2 liters)
2. Lunch and Snacks
3. Long sleeved shirt
4. Long pants
5. Closed-toed footwear (ie: work or hiking boots)
6. Work Gloves
7. Sunscreen and bug spray
8. Day pack

As a trail work volunteer, the TRTA provides:
1. Hard Hats
2. Tools
3. Crew Leaders

Please show up if you can.

I'll try to keep everyone informed of when there is south shore trail work to be done. Also, check out their website for additional trail work days throughout the summer: http://tahoerimtrail.org.

Mountain Bike Race Tuesday Evening Races

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:22:00 +0000

Saddle up your your fat tire machine - the AACC MTB race series commences Tuesday, May 20th and ends June 24th. There are a total of 6 races scheduled. There is a change in this year's staring point, please meet at the west side of the Douglas County Fairgrounds (outside the chain link fence). The fairgrounds are ocated at the end of Pine Nut Road, across from the County Dump. Race registration starts at 5:15 p.m., and the races start at 6:15 p.m.

The race course will range in distance depending upon the race class you enter:
A Class: 12-14 miles,
B's and women: 10-12 miles,
C's and Single Speed: 8-10 miles.

Racer fees are as follows: junior racers $3.00, club members $5.00 and non-club member's 10.00.

There will be refreshments after the events, please venture on out and have some fun with us!

Race Director: Michael Beam 720-0016 or 267-6812
mikebeam@yahoo.com

Assorted AACC News Items

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:31:00 +0000

Alta Alpina Spring Membership Party - Monday, 14 April
At CVIC Hall, 1602 Esmeralda in Minden, NV. Directions: From the intersection of 88 and 395, head south about a on 395 for about a mile, through the next light, then turn right at the next block, at 5th street. Go one short block and park. See your March newsletter for a map.
Doors open at 6pm. If you can help staff the membership or clothing tables, please show up by 5:30.

eNewsletters
Those of you who have signed up to receive the Paceline newsletter via email, note that you will receive one last paper newsletter. This is because the mailing label of that edition is your AACC Membership card. Cut out the label, and use it at the Local Merchants called out in our newsletter and website.

Adopt-a-Hiway
Join us on Sunday, April 20th, 9:30am, to clean up our section of Highway 89. Bike ride to follow.

Human Powered Vehicle Competition
The HPVC West is in Reno this year - a treat, because it's normally held somewhere in California. Competition starts Friday, April 18th and runs through the weekend.
See bottom of this email for more info.

South Tahoe Greenway Shared-Use Trail
A new alternative route has been added to the plan for the Greenway, and TRPA is looking for public comment on the new route. Two more meetings are scheduled for hearing any and all comments on this project:
Thursday, April 17th, 2pm: TRPA Hearings Office, 128 Market Street , Stateline
Tuesday, April 22nd, 6:30 pm: USFS Supervisor's Office, 35 College Drive, SLT
More info, such as contact info, maps of all the proposed routes, or how to provide input outside these meetings, can be found at .

Cycling Awareness Video
With the onset of warm weather and everyone getting more saddle time, it's time to think about riding safety. If the car is at fault in a car/bike accident, it doesn't mean the cyclist is any less hurt or worse. But here's a timely and fun 1-minute video about cycling awareness, which played as a TV ad in the UK, directed at drivers. Only recommended if you have a high-speed internet connection:
Take the Test

_______________________________________________________
From the UNR HPVC Team:

The Human Powered Vehicle Challenge (HPVC) Celebrates 25 years!

We are extremely excited to have HPVC West in our community this year! UNR competes annually in the HPVC Challenge BUT this year the events will be held right here in the Reno area. The UNR team is frantically working to finish their 2008 Vehicle, now named Battle Born, and want to invite you to attend the competition in Reno, NV. For the past 8 years or so, the competition has been held at various locations in California, so this is a rare opportunity to see the event firsthand. It is free for everything except the awards banquet on Sunday, which requires a $20 registration with ASME. There are going to be at least 20 schools from all over the western U.S. participating in three main events:

Friday, April 18th
12:00-7:00 PM - Design Presentations and Vehicle Displays - Harrah's Reno (Washoe EF Room, The Plaza)

Saturday, April 19th
8:00 AM-12:00 PM - Sprint Event - Reno/Stead Airport
2:15 PM-4:45 PM - Utility Event - Reno/Stead Airport

Sunday, April 20th
8:30 AM-12:00 PM - Endurance Event - IGT
12:30 PM-2:00 PM - Awards Banquet - Harrah's Reno (Douglas/Ormsby Room)

The Endurance Event on Sunday is arguably the big one. It is a 40 mile relay race around IGT's large campus. We encourage you to attend any or all of the events if they sound interesting. A full schedule and competition information is available as ASME's HPV Site. Also, we updated our team web site and we're trying to keep a running log of our progress. It's found at http://web.me.unr.edu/HPV/default.htm.

Questions? Contact:

Scott Waters
UNR HPVC Team Captain
waterss@unr.nevada.edu - 775-843-0082

Bike Advocacy - Tahoe and Reno

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 04:59:00 +0000

Don't think your neighborhood is bike friendly enough? Here are a couple upcoming opportunities for making a difference for cycling in your area.

-- Tahoe--
From Karen Fink, Transportation Planner for the the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA):
The Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization has posted its second draft Public Participation Plan on its website at . The comment period is open until May 7, 2008.

The Public Participation Plan is a document that defines a process for providing citizens, affected public agencies, and other interested parties with opportunities to be involved in the regional transportation planning process. The document was developed based on input gathered during the March 2008 Transportation Roundtables, on-line and written surveys collected in early 2008, and comment on an initial draft circulated in August, 2007. Most importantly, the document should reflect the many suggestions made by different members of the public and public stakeholders as to the best ways to communicate public participation opportunities.

Tahoe residents, please read the plan, and send comments to Karen Fink at kfink@trpa.org, or write to
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
PO Box 5310
Stateline, NV 89449

--Reno--
Terry McAfee, of the Nevada Bicylce Coalition, writes:
The RTC 2040 Plan Steering Committee will be discussing the Bicycle and Pedestrian Element of the Long Term Plan on April 10th at 6:30pm on the 4th floor of the National Bowling Stadium. THIS IS WHERE AREA BIKE LANES AND PATHS ARE BORN. If lots of bicyclists come to this meeting it will send a clear message to the RTC and the Committee that good bicycling facilities are an important part of the Truckee Meadows transportation system and should be adequately funded.

So please come. You need not speak. Having a room full of passionate bicyclists will say all the Committee needs to hear. The meetings generally end between 8:30 and 9:00pm. Parking is available in the Bowling Stadium building. The entrance is on 4th Street. If you ride a bicycle to the event, bring it with you to the meeting.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! If you have any questions, please give Terry a call at 775-287-7142 or e-mail at tmcafee@gmail.com.

Spring Membership Party

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 05:34:00 +0000

Mark your Calendar for Alta Alpina's 2008 Spring Membership Party!

Monday, 14 April
6pm 'til Whenever
CVIC Hall in Minden (same place as last year, on Esmeralda by Minden Park

More details as the date approaches. See you there!

Recall on Ritchey WCS and Pro Model Cranksets

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:21:00 +0000

Sent from Jim Strange - the reason for his bad crash last year:

____________________________________________
Ritchey has announced a voluntary recall

Ritchey Design has announced a voluntary recall on certain WCS and Pro level road and 'cross cranksets. According to Ritchey, the non-driveside arms of affected cranks can break unexpectedly during use, possibly resulting in injury. All mountain bike, Pro Cross 130mm BCD, and wholly silver-finished cranksets are not affected. Likewise, all driveside crankarms are not affected by the recall due to the additional reinforcement of the chainring spider.

Owners of questionable crankarms are asked to check the five-digit code stamped into the backside of the left arm. The first digit indicates the alloy used ('6' indicates 6061; '2' indicates 2014) while the following four represents the production date in year/month format (e.g. '0301' refers to January 2003). All WCS cranks with a forging code prior to 0501 and all Pro cranks with a forging code prior to 0508 should be replaced.

Alternatively, users can measure the arm thickness at the lowest point in the cavity of the left arm. WCS models thinner than 7mm or Pro models thinner than 9mm should be replaced.

Affected North American consumers should first obtain a return authorization number directly from Ritchey (650-517-1878 or contact_us@ritcheylogic.com, subject 'crank arm recall'). Crankarms should then be shipped to the following address:

Ritchey Design
575 Old County Road
San Carlos, CA 94070

UNR Spring Road Race

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:05:00 +0000

From Cody Dean, UNR Cycling Team:
_________________________________________
UNR will be putting on a race in April on the 26th and 27th. The tentative race flyer is attached. IT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE, including the order of the racing. We might have to do the road race on Sunday instead of Saturday. It depends on the permits.

There are several questions, below, that would be great if you would like to answer. If so, please email Jake Mestre, the RACE DIRECTOR at jakemestre@yahoo.com.

1) crit course: the flyer says it might be different this year. If it is possible to do either race, would you rather have a new course or the same course as last year (it ran down Evans Street)?

2) uscf categories: right now, the flyer has the same categories as last year. Some people liked them, some didn't. Keeping in mind that will mostly be a local race, what do you think?

The feedback will be appreciated. Remember, the flyer will be updated. Thanks.

Race Flyer

Cody Dean, UNR Cycling Team
|
|

New 2008 Jersey Design - Special Orders Don't Upset Us

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:13:00 +0000

The club has a new jersey design, and we're going to be ordering club clothing from Voler shortly. This isn't the absolute final version - Voler will be tweaking it some, but it's pretty close.

We will be ordering short- and long-sleeved jerseys and shorts. If you want a special item, please let me know. For instance, we probably WON'T order any
- sleeveless jerseys
- windbreakers
- thermal jackets
except by special request. If you want to ensure that we order your size of ANY item, let me know that, too.

Costs will be:
- Short Sleeved Jerseys: $51.25 + tax (if applicable)
- Shorts: $47.50 + tax
To look up any other prices, see
Voler Price List
Use "2 Color" column, and quantity = 50 for shorts/short sleeved jerseys and their like items; use quantity = 25 for anything else. All items are, as always, sold to you at our cost, plus whatever applicable tax.

If you have a special request, please email me at president@AltaAlpina.org by
Monday Feb 4
if possible, but we can take special orders through mid-February. Include your size, and M/W.

Cyclist vs. Car Bias Meeting with the Sheriff

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:24:00 +0000

A note from Terry McAfee, President of Procrastinating Pedalers:

Dear Fellow Bicyclists,

Sheriff Haley is hosting a meeting to discuss "Cyclist vs. Car Bias" in law enforcement as he promised. Frankly, I am amazed at the meeting he has put together.

When: Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 3:30pm to 5:00pm

Where: Briefing Room, Washoe County Sheriff Office, 911 E. Parr Blvd.

Who: Representatives from:
- Reno Police Department
- Sparks Police Department
- Washoe County School Police
- Nevada Highway Patrol
- UNR Police Dept.
- Reno/Sparks Tribal Police
- Pyramid Lake Tribal Police
- Sheriff Haley and several members of the Washoe County Sheriff's Office

I need 3 things from you:

1) Please attend the meeting. Send me an e-mail telling me if you plan to attend.
2) Send me specific questions that you would like addressed at the meeting. Specific examples of anti-cyclist bias would be particularly helpful.
3) Tell me what actions Law Enforcement should take as a result of this meeting.

Keep in mind that we are talking to Law Enforcement. They can't do anything about installing more bike lanes and paths. They can't change the laws.

Here is a link to a summary of the bicycle laws in Nevada - http://www.bicyclenevada.com/law.html .

I urge you to attend and participate in this meeting. This is a unique opportunity to talk to all of our law enforcement agencies at once and I would hate to see us waste it.

If you have any questions, please give me a call at 775-287-7142 or send me an e-mail at tmcafee@gmail.com .

Thanks,

Terry McAfee
NV Bicycle Coalition

2008 Amgen Tour of California

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 04:39:00 +0000

Hello fellow cycling enthusiasts:

The 2008 Amgen Tour of California Prologue needs volunteers. The stage will be raced on Sunday, February 17, 2008 in the early afternoon in Palo Alto and Stanford. A variety of positions are available. Course marshals will get the best view of the action and medical escorts will have the opportunity to interact with racers. We need hundreds of volunteers to have the race go smoothly. Sign up soon to reserve the best jobs. Bring your friends. You can view job descriptions and sign up at the Tour's webpage: http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Tour/volunteer.html

Thanks,
Rob Meyer
Local Organizing Committee of the 2008 Amgen Tour of California Prologue

UNR Cycling Team Seeks Help Planning Local Stage Race

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 20:10:00 +0000

On another note, members of Reno Wheelmen and the UNR Cycling Team are exploring the possibility of a 2-3 day road stage race in the Northern Nevada/Lake Tahoe areas. If you have any suggestions on venue, date, or race execution, or are interested in being involved, contact Shawn Pearson at shawndoggy@gmail.com or Cody Deane deanec13@yahoo.com.

Adopt-Hiway Trash Pickup, Nov 18 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:20:00 +0000

SUNDAY is our last Adopt-a-Hiway cleanup for 2007. Please join Pete Costa on 11/18 at 10 am, at Turtle Rock Park (on Hiway 89 near Markleeville), for gathering roadside trash as well as collecting a few karma points. Coffee and muffins to be served beforehand. Bring your bike and helmet, shoes and water for a ride to follow.

Genoa Cyclocross, Saturday, Nov 10 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:05:00 +0000

SATURDAY is the 3rd Annual Genoa Cyclocross. Mel is Race Director and will be out in downtown Genoa from 8am to 2pm, so please come during those hours to help with course setup/take down, course marshalling, and registration [being a course marshal lets you watch the race while you’re helping out, and watching cyclocross is a kick!]

Racers go off between 10 and noon; so if you're racing you could race AND still volunteer; great, huh?

More info at http://www.renowheelmen.org/cross/sagebrush/2007/Sagebrush_07.htm

Reminder to RSVP for the Fall Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 05:05:00 +0000

One last reminder to RSVP to:

membership@AltaAlpina.org ( not me! )

if you'd like to attend the AACC Fall Dinner, on
- Monday, 22 October
- Doors Open: 5:30pm.
- Cost: Free to club members, $25 for non-member guests
- Location: Lake Tahoe Golf Course, SLT (near Meyers)

Highlights of the evening include:

- Cocktails (No Host Bar), 5:30-6:30pm (with chips & salsa)
- AACC Clothing Sales
- Custom Wheels demo table
- Mexican Buffet Dinner
- Lots of cake for dessert
- Raffle
- Race Series Awards and other recognition
- Elections for 2008
- Seeing your biking buddies again before the snow flies!

**Please RSVP by Monday, October 15th.**

If you have an individual membership, just let us know you're attending. If you have a family membership, please list the names of each person who will be attending and list the ages of each child. RSVP by e-mail to:
membership@AltaAlpina.org
If you've already responded to ME for this, please make sure you've also responded to membership@AltaAlpina.org, or that I acknowledged your RSVP. There's some evidence that I'm not getting all emails sent to this address.

Elections: We've got volunteers for all elected club officer positions, but any club member is welcome to nominate themselves if you'd like to run for an office. Or, if you'd like to otherwise get involved in 2008, drop me a note and we can discuss other positions that you could fill.

Dave's Recovering from Bad Bike Crash

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie Hamiter, President) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 05:08:00 +0000

Club treasurer, "A" racer and super-nice guy Dave Gaskin was in a bad bike accident last week. Here's his own status report from yesterday:

Hi Jennie,
I was released from the hospital Monday and finally have made it down the stairs to the computer. My crash was not very heroic, I was trying to avoid 5 chatting teenage girls on a bike path. Four moved aside okay, the last one could not make up her mind which way to go. In trying to avoid hitting her, I skidded out and landed hard on my right hip. I knew not to try to break my fall with hands or shoulders because I've broken bones that way before, but this is not much better. My femur drove through the pelvis and broke the socket into four large parts, which the doctor was able to reconstruct quite well. I have quite a few pins and plates, and look pretty bad but aside from two very bad pain days I am doing a lot better.

I see the doctor next week, and am ready and anxious to begin rehab. It may be a couple of months before I can do any semi-serious exercise, but I hope to work my way back into things. Please let people know how I am doing, and I appreciate all their concern, support and good wishes. Hope this makes sense, with the meds and all. With luck, I'll see everyone at the end of the year dinner.

Then today...

Hi Jennie
Thanks for your kind thoughts! Today was painful because all my nerves are waking up and I can feel all the pins and plates and stuff. And my long incision which goes from my left abdomen all the way around to the right side of my back. But I'm getting more flexible. Anyway, sure, feel free to put my news on the website. Hopefully I can be a success story working my way up from the D's next year.