Good morning and happy Monday!
I was at the BFC dinner last night and got in late, so I'm sitting here this morning in my pajamas scrambling to get the blog out before heading into work. As a result, this will be just the facts, mam, and nothing fancy.
Weekend Rides
We had a good turnout out for the Pancake Ride breakfast, 60-miler, and pool party afterwards. Thanks to Mark, Donna, and David for hosting this again for us, and for hosting this event for so many years. I only got two flats, which considering my recent track record, was a minor miracle. Thanks to Patrick who helped me fix the first flat, and paced with me until we caught up with the fast group again. Thanks also to Darian and Donna's brother for providing SAG. There was a sweet moment during the pool party when Grace brought out a birthday cake to help celebrate the 30th of Lori "Smooth Stroke" Francis. All in all a great ride and a great time. I put a few photos below - to see more, click here.
Grace and Jacque on the road
Birthday cake for Lori (note Peter in the Longhorn jersey, and PJ in her Sooner Red)
On Sunday, a number of us traveled to the Southside for the joint ride with Toyota. We gathered at the new Vistor Center parking lot, and ventured out at 07:30 into a fog so thick all I saw for the first hour was the blinking red light on Chuck's bike ahead of me. Oh yeah, and all those legendary Southside dogs leaping out of the fog to chase us. I think every group managed to get lost at least once, but somehow we all regrouped at the Quickstop in Lytle and finished the ride. Thanks to Jim "the Machine" Counce from Team Toyota who pulled a bunch of us most of the way and didn't even break a sweat. Also thanks to Toyota Team Captain Stafford Bloom for coordinating this - good luck with your team this year in the MS 150! I put a few photos from this ride below - for more, click here.
Valero and Toyota Teams pose in Lytle
Dude, where's the rest of my truck?? ...El Hefe at the Toyota Vistor Center after the ride
Finally, Dennis Ross from St. Charles rode in the Louisiana MS 150 this weekend. This is his report -
Well, the Louisiana ride is over. I made it and I'm alive, albeit sore (everywhere). My final tally of fund raising was $1510.00
We had good weather and a pretty good route. We left The University Center, Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond and rode to Percy Quinn State Park in McComb, Mississippi. The route started out relatively flat. This is south Louisiana after all. The hills on Saturday were fairly short and steep going down and very long and shallow going up. This made the trip home mostly downhill. Of course the shallow downhills didn't help going up the then steep uphills. Mother nature also threw another one at us - we had a headwind on the way home. We had 6 rest stops each way with lunch in the middle. I averaged 14.9mph going up and 13.6mph returning.
The oldest rider was an 83 year old man.
Way to go Dennis!
MS 150 Stuff
Packet Pick-up
If you live in the San Antonio area, remember to mark your calendars for our team Packet Pick-up on Wednesday, October 10th, from 05:00 to 08:00 pm in the Cafeteria of Valero HQ. At this event, you'll be able to pick up your official MS 150 packet, plus the Velo Valero team packet and goodie bag. If your ordered a team jersey, you'll be able to pick it up at this time, too. NOTE: To speed this process up, riders should download, print, and fill out the a MS 150 Waiver of Liability prior to the event - click here to access it.
Out of Town Jerseys
PJ mailed out the jerseys for out of town folks late last week. They went out UPS ground, so you should be getting them by mid-week.
Thursday Lunch and Learn
Our next Lunch and Learn will be on Thursday, 10/11, from 11:45 am to 1:00 pm in the Private Dining Room of Valero HQ. The speaker will be Presten Tyree, Eduction Director of the League of American Cyclists, and the the topic will be Cycling Safety. All team members who are riding the MS 150 for the first time are required to attend this session. (The rest of you should come also). I want you to have a great ride, but more importantly, I want you to have a safe ride. For more details, click here.
Team Fundraiser
Our next team fundraiser will be on Wednesday, 10/10. We'll be selling our "Velo Valero Rocks" team t-shirt in the foyer outside the cafeteria at Valero HQ from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. T-shirts are going for $15, and all monies raised goto our team fundraising total. If you work at Valero HQ, tell your co-workers to come on down and buy a shirt - if they do, they can wear it with jeans again on the Friday before the MS 150.
See ya' on the road! Speakin' of the road, I'm going to see Willie "On the Road Again" Nelson at Flores Country Store in Helotes this Thursday. I'll need the stress relief after this week...
- Peter