Emigrant Trail - Oct 1

Meeting Place - Donner Camp Picnic Area (right side of road north of Truckee on 89)

I'm trying to gather other details such as the "when" part.

The best I can puzzle out is that Robblog, Yellow, Thom and Princess Zippy will be joining us. As Thom and P Zip are travelling the farthest, I have empowered them to set said "when." Stay tuned.

Hoping Charlie will come. Awaiting further news from him.

Emigrant Trail - Sat, Oct 1

It's my birthday and I can ride if I want to!

Plans were hatched last night to ride the Emigrant Trail near Truckee as we celebrate my attempts to go down with grace and dignity (remember to go for style points with every fall). We’ll post more details later but assume this is an all day adventure.

Let me know if you’re planning on joining us.

Deep breath time

Here is the final design - note that "Fast Friends" is actually over the green cuff on the sleeve. Ladies and smaller sizes will have less of the overall design, the sketch represents a men's large jersey.

I sure hope you like it. Shipment is expected the first week of October.

Spazzdog, thank you so very much for all your hardwork. Couldn't have done it without you.

Triple Loop Davis Ride - Sunday, Sept 18

Updating the news on this ride I'd originally planned to help the newbies take a next step and generally have a good time. "No drop" is the motto for the day but with 3 lengths and one little hill to choose from one and all should find some fun. I really hope we can get more local riders out that we haven't met before.

The Loops
1) Winters and back (@34 miles) and I'm guessing a pace below 14 mph - Have 1 newbie coming that I know of. I'm planning to lead.

2) To Winters around Lake Solano (@43-50 miles) and a pace of 14-15 mph or so -- Have 1 rider bumping up her distance. I think Petunia is leading but she seems to have date mix-up issues so I'm waiting to hear.

3) To Winters and over Cantelow (maybe 56-60 miles) - Pace 15-16 mph and maybe faster. Need to confirm a leader and sweep or even if anyone is interested.

Ready to ride at 9 AM
Meet at Common Grounds Coffee House in south Davis

Post ride meal at Dos Coyotes.

Any volunteers? I'm hoping Yellow and Killer Bea are coming but Yellow is packing! Boo-hoo! MadCyclist, can you still make it? I'm counting on you to roust out the Robblog and drag him over Cantelow.

Sisters in Spirit

Sadly, I just returned from Bend. Sad, because a really wonderful trip with Sue (yellow) just had to come to an end. We had 4 terrific days of mountain biking the sweet single track of central Oregon. We did the classic river ramble to Benham Falls and the loop at Sisters, where we found Marney’s penstemon pillow from May but with dried stocks where once there were purple blooms. Jason (newly an Oregonian citizen) took us to Swampy Lakes and we had an epic descent to Tumalo Falls, Whoops, Phil’s and past the Flaming Chicken. Day 4 saw us exploring the upper elevations with Jason but Miss Petunia had to stay home nursing a bum leg. We did some truly serious root climbing up North Fork where I finally got to ride the Metolious-Windigo and Flagline Trails. They lived up to the hype. This was an epic ride day, especially with our 4 mile scenic detour. Fall has arrived in the high country.

Sue and I discovered that we must be sisters separated at birth. So many similar experiences and preferences – including soft and chewy molasses cookies. It was very fitting that I met my climbing goal with her on the Peterson Ridge loop in Sisters as she has been of major support in my quest to become a stronger hill climber. While WrenchBoy was the one who broached the wild idea of a goal of 100,000 feet, or the equivalent of 80 Empire State Buildings, I embraced the idea whole-heartedly. I’m amazed that I met the goal so early in the year and can only credit it to the sisterly support of all the girls on the TE forum who egged, er, cheered me on – Veronica, Kim, Jobob, Adventure Girl, Snapdragen, et al. Couldn’t have done it without them. I wish all of them could have seen the way I scaled the challenges of the North Fork climb, I think they would have been pleased.

Jersey - new low price for 24 hours only!

ORDER AS OF 2 PM PACIFIC TIME 8/30/05 -- http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?p=39610#post39610

We had to make some revisions with our jersey and vest orders so we've been given another 24 hours to add to the order at the new and improved 50 unit price.

Jerseys are $62.50 each (down from $79)
Wind vests are $55.50 each
Thermal wind vests are $86.50 each

If you would like to order a jersey, please let me know so I can send you an order form. Send Janet your payment and order no later than 4 pm Tuesday. Snap will be refunding money for those that paid the higher price.

Hope this makes some people happy!

Friends in Fast Places

Lon and buddies have started shooting action scenes under the nom de video "ShareTheRoad Productions." For your viewing pleasure, see the link to the right.

Diablo via North Gate Rd - August 28, Sunday

We've had requests for another ride up Diablo. Since it is so nice to ride up before the gates open and the Corvettes come racing in, we'll stage an early morning attack.

Start: 6:30 am
Where: Arbolado Park in Walnut Creek
Davis Bike Bus: Leaves the curb at 5:15 am

New friends and cyclists ride - Sunday, Sept 18

We're tentatively planning a ride to gather together all of our friends and their friends and their friends and, ok you get the point, but all those who are getting into road riding, help the newbies take a next step and generally have a good time. "No drop" is the motto for the day but with 3 lengths and one hill to choose from one and all should find some fun.

I'll post details later but the plan is to have 3 loop options from Davis: 1) Winters and back (@34 miles), 2) To Winters and around Lake Solano (@43-50 miles) and 3) Out to Winters and over Cantelow (maybe 56-60 miles). To pull this off, we'll need a ride leader and a sweep for each loop (I can supply good maps).

We'll probably meet at Common Grounds Coffee House in south Davis and can have a post ride meal at Dos Coyotes.

Any volunteers?

Time Trial #3 - August 24th, Wednesday

Everybody now knows about our little secret especially since I just invested in aero bars. Used them around Lake Solano today and definitely cruised a bit faster. My inner tortoise was having fun!

Attempt #3 is this Wednesday at 6 pm. I think the Monster Bea and Yellow will be coming down from Pville. Who else will come join in the giggles? The Davis Mad Cows and Wheelworks put on a low key, friendly, just have fun time trial. Here's the link: http://www.madcowsracing.org/train/2005tt.html

Afterwards, we can go for frozen margaritas at Dos Coyotes or head to the downtown Farmer's Market for BBQ and other local good eats.

Arm Warmers - Make Bubba's Dream come true!

Team Amici Veloci is only 8 pairs away from making our minimum order of 25. Just think how snazzy you'll look this winter styling your jersey and arm warmers. You'll look like a pro! They'd even make a great gift.Arm warmers are only $29 and may drop a buck or two depending on our shipping and tax situation. You can order via PayPal until tomorrow morning. Everyone needs warm and cozy arms. Order now! Bubba thanks you for your support!

Scroll down below to see more details about the jersey and to get snapdragen's paypal address.

Around Lake Solano and back - Sun, Aug 21

WrenchBoy and I are planning a road ride around Lake Solano on Sunday morning. Have to start putting in the longer miles since the Siskiyou Century isn't that far in the future. Let us know if you're interested.

Total loop is 45-50 miles.

"Healthy" Jelly Belly Beans??

Jelly Belly has a promo to introduce their new Sport Bean. You get a free water bottle with your order through the end of August.

Jelly Belly is touting the new bean as competition for Gu, Gatorade, ClifShot, etc. The self-reported numbers don't look too bad, especially against Gatorade. I had no idea Gatorade had so much sodium. Probably why Gatorade is also so sweet, to cover up the sodium flavor. I couldn't find the ingredients but the sugars can't be any worse than regular old strawberry jam which gets favorable ratings against the fancy gels.

WrenchBoy can be our test subject since he is a connoisseur of all things junk and sweet. It does worry me that his palate sometimes is not very discriminating. The man likes Circus Peanuts! Yuck! You know those pasty orange Styrofoam things? Ewwwwww. He does have other fine qualities and knows his way around derailleurs, a very important skill in my estimation (me, the drivetrain princess).

Stay tuned for a product report. WrenchBoy gets the beans and I get the bottle.

JERSEY ORDER DEADLINE - 8 AM PST, 8/21

The order form is on the link here. At this point in time, please email snapdragen all the pertient info and pay via PayPal using her address: snapdragen@yahoo.com.

Jersey Orders - PayPal

Hey! Someone try paying using PayPal - I wanna see how it works.....

Just a couple of fyi's concerning payments for the jerseys.

1. I'll be keeping track of what everyone pays. If we get enough orders to drop the price, and you've paid the higher, I'll send a refund.

2. PayPal is now an option! Go to PayPal,

email is snapdragen@yahoo.com

For type of services select Goods.

Fleming Meadows dirt ride - Sun, Aug 14 UPDATE

WrenchBoy and I are planning to ride Fleming Meadows with Sue (yellow). Intrepid leader pictured at right.

Details: 9 AM at the trail head (about 2.5 miles up Mormon Emigrant Rd)

We had quite a nice little group - Yellow, WrenchBoy, Robblog, Charlie, Mad Cyclist, Bea and me. Definitely need more lizard time in the sun on the lake shore. Yellow earned many style points with her backward ride across the trail and down the hill ending with a graceful butt-boggan slide.

Jersey Orders due August 19!

As you know, we are in the process of having team jerseys made. Now is your chance to join us! Currently the price for a short sleeve jersey is $79 (as reflected in the order form link on the right), but that’s with a minimum order of 25 jerseys. If 50 people buy a jersey, the cost will plummet to the bargain price of $62.50. That includes tax and US shipping!

What a deal! What a way to show fellowship, comradeship, joie de vivre.

Oh yes, you say, how can I join!? Simply click here for the order form:
http://home.att.net/~amici_veloci/AVOrderForm.pdf

Not ready to commit? Can only do this if the price is $62.50? Email snapdragen and she'll add you to the list. If it looks like we’ll get to 50 by adding in your order – voila! Our compiled order is due to Voler on August 22 so order early to make sure snap has your money in time.

BUT WAIT! What am I getting myself into you ask? What do I have to do? Participate! Encourage your fellow riders in their endeavors, whether it is their first 20-mile ride, or their first century. We’re all about cheering each other on, helping each other to achieve their individual goals. Recruit new members and get them to purchase a jersey also!

The above composed by snapdragen and stolen by Sarah :)

Day 7 Off the Bike

As Sarah and a few others know, I will be relocating from Placerville and my beloved interval-training-through-hills to Salt Lake City, UT (yeah, I know they have hills and mountains but alas! they seem to pale in comparison to the stuff around here). For the last month or so I've been pretty focused on getting the house ready for sale and haven't been riding much ("weekend warrior princess"). As of today, this is the longest I've gone without riding (7 days) in a number of years. When compounded with only riding 1-2 days a week since the Sierra Century, the result is lost fitness and what I can only describe as "panicky anxiety" about being off the bike. Brian, my hubby, is already in UT and is going through his own struggles trying to find temporary housing that will allow us to bring our zoo along (currently at 1 dog, 4 cats, 3 birds--any of you interested in adopting a parrot?).

My bike sits on the stand, still with the flat that seemed to develop after our ride on Iron Mtn Road 7/24. It's dirty and in need of some TLC. I feel guilty that I've let it sit this long in the state that it's in. It's looking over my shoulder right now, in fact.

I always considered our house pretty low maintenance, such that we could play several weekends in a row and it really wouldn't suffer too much from nothing more than some dust and dog-hair floofies in the corners. One of the many things I've learned as I've gone through this process (the list of lessons is sooooo long) is that no house is low maintenance. I think this will really help us as we look for our new house in SLC. Because low maintenance will be key. I can't wait to start riding and hiking and living a normal life again (that includes eating regular meals--but for my wonderful friends bringing me food, I'd probably eat nothing but popsicles and avocados).

But looking forward, Sarah and I have been talking about Little Red Riding Hood, the women-only century in UT that she and Petunia did this year. We have big (tentative) plans for a convergence, complete with a scheme to haul a bunch o' bikes there via Wrench Boy's Towing Service. Think about it ladies. It'll be a grand time.

Time Trialing - August 10

OK, my little secret is out. I did a time trial and it was fun. Learned stuff like maybe I need to come up with a strategy before I'm trying to get clipped in at the start, where I need to train harder, to ignore the guy at the turn around, etc. I am pleased to report that I did much better than I expected but lots of room for improvement. Anywho, this was fun. The Davis Mad Cows and Wheelworks put on a low key, friendly, just have fun time trial every other Wednesday night. Come out and join in the giggles.

Next one is August 10 at 6 pm. http://www.madcowsracing.org/train/2005tt.html
Frozen margaritas at Dos Coyotes after provide an excellent recovery regimen.

Hmmm, wonder if I can justify a TT bike just for a 10 mile race once or twice a year.

July 30th, Mt Diablo Hill Climb - road bike

Day: Saturday, July 30th
Start: Time to be determined by weather but guessing between 6 and 6:30
Where: Train Museum in Danville then up the South Gate Rd http://www.museumsrv.org/directions.html
Pace: Your own tempo as we go up then come down. Hard to get lost.
SAG Services (now known as Camel Services :)): Provided by Snapdragen
After Ride Rehab Location: To be determined