|
November 2007 - Posts
-
Good morning and happy Monday - I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day!
Well, my German relatives have left - I dropped them off at the airport on Saturday with their suitcases bulging with cheap American goods (damn that Euro!). I had a great two weeks touring Texas with them (more details below), but all good things must come to an end. I'll be at work Monday, then I'm heading to Vegas to attend the Gartner Data Center Conference for the rest of the week - returning just in time for the Mission to Mission on Saturday...
2008 Ride Schedule
I woke up Sunday to a cold, dreary, and wet morning. As an antidote to cabin fever, I spent an hour or so plotting out the team ride schedule for 2008 based on discussion at our November Board of Directors meeting. To see the details, click here. Some of these dates are tentative, and we can definitely add or delete rides based on input from the team. If you have a suggestion on an event or a training ride you'd like the team to participate in, send an e-mail to cycling@valero.com.
Mission to Mission and MS 150 Awards Banquet
I've been beating the drum on these two events for weeks, so I'll keep it brief and sugar-coated -
 The 2007 Mission to Mission ride is scheduled for Saturday, December 1st, with wheels up at the very user friendly time of 09:00 am. For more details, click here.
 The 2007 Valero MS 150 Bike to the Beach Awards Banquet is scheduled for Wednesday, December 5th, from 05:30 to 07:30 pm. For more details, click here.
Variations on a Cycling Theme
Most of us are first and foremost roadies - i.e., road cyclists who live for smooth pavement, pecision pace lines, and a steady tail wind - but there are lots of other ways to ride a bike out there. Last Wednesday, I got to experience two variations on the cycling experience that were very cool.
During the day, I went with my nephew Dirk and his girlfriend Birgette to Tapatio Springs to do a little mountain biking. I rented the bikes for them from Jim at Brittons Bicycle Shop, who suggested we try out Tapatio since our first choice, Government Canyon State Natural Area, was not open on Wednesdays. Well, Dirk and Biggie apparently do a lot of this, so they were really excited when Jim told us this was a challenging course that is used for a race once a year. I'm a complete greenhorn at this, so had no clue what I was getting into - it was truly humbling to be so inept at something. It took me a while to figure out things like how to gear and pedal on the uphills so you don't fall over when you hit a stump or rock, and also the delicious paradox of the downhills - i.e., up to a certain point, the faster you go, the safer you are. As a result, I walked my bike a lot, and also spent a lot of time on my built-in whoopie cushion. But after a few hours, I started really getting into it, and was actually a little disappointed when we got to the end of the course. We thought briefly about doing it a second time, but since it was the hottest November day on record in San Antonio - pushing 90 degrees by mid-afternoon - we opted not to. Dirk is trying to talk me into joining he and his buddies for a seven day mountain bike tour of the Alps next August, and I may just do it...
A humble El Hefe in his fruity roadie shorts walking up one of the gnarly hills at Tapatio springs
On Wednesday night, we had a completely different experience. We joined up with former Velo Valero Team Captain Rusty Ferguson and approximately 30 other folks for a Cruiser Bike ride across downtown San Antonio. The first official Norther of the year had blown in, and it was gusty and 40 degrees - but that didn't matter, we had a great time! The Cruiser Bike rides are a great way to mix in a little exercise with a lot of socializing, and it's also the best way to see our fair city at night. It's an incredible feeling to ride downtown in a large group of exotic cruisers with bells ringing and iPods blaring (on external speakers, of course), with everyone talking loudly about which bar to stop at next and the gawking tourists taking your picture at every turn. Very cool, and highly recommended - I'll post the date of the next ride as soon at is is agreed upon. NOTE: You don't have to have a cruiser bike to join in, but a bike with heavy duty tread is definitely needed because of how rough the downtown roads are. If you are interested in adding a Cruiser to your fleet, Rusty runs a web site where he sells 'em - click here to see it.
Motley assortment of Cruiser Bike aficionados pose in front of famous San Antonio landmark. I'm to the far left on the burnt orange Micargi stretch and looking like the guy in the Brawny ads with my flannel shirt and vest. Nephew Dirk is to my right on the custom pink and neon green "Rat Pink" stretch.
See ya' the road!
- Peter
|
-
Good morning and happy Monday - and, even more importantly, happy Thanksgiving week! I'll keep this short and sweet today...
Deadline for MS 150 Individual Fundraising, Reminder about the MS 150 Awards Banquet
Tuesday, November 20th, is the deadline for submitting individual funds to the MS Society to earn any of the fundraising prizes they offer. (NOTE: The web site is incorrect - the second level is $800, not $1000.) To see the current team fundraising status, click here. To download the form for redeeming prizes, click here.
Also - the Valero MS 150 Awards Banquet will be held from 5:30 pm to 07:30 pm on Wednesday, December 5th - all riders and volunteers are encouraged to attend!
Winter Rides, Including Wednesday Night Cruiser
As I mentioned last week, we are continuing to schedule team rides throughout the winter, weather permitting. This week Carl Crawford is doing a series of short rides from his house on Monday through Wednesday. In addition, former Velo Valero team Captain Rusty Ferguson has a pre-Thanksgiving Cruiser Bike ride scheduled for 08:00 pm on Wednesday night, November 21st. To see our full schedule, click here. For these winter rides, please contact the ride coordinator ahead of time to let him or her know that you are joining so they can plan accordingly.
Mission to Mission
 Mark your calendars for the 2007 Mission to Mission, which will be held this year on December 1. This has been a traditional season-ending ride for the team, and is a great scenic, slow-paced recreational ride that you should encourage your non-riding friends, family, and co-workers to participate in. (It's admittedly not the best ride for long distance hammerheads). Make sure you register with team Velo Valero, because this will reduce the registration fee to a mere $15. NOTE: On-line registration for this event ends Friday, November 23rd. For more information, click here.
Texas Tradition
 Well, I'll admit I haven't done much cycling since the Tour de Gruene. I've spent some much needed time with the family, plus I've had relatives visiting from Germany, and have been doing the Texas Tour with them. This Saturday we went to the Texas Renaissance Festival, where we spent the day enjoying the food, the people, and the shows. I've been attending this festival for over 25 years, and never get bored with its extraordinary mix of eccentric characters and bizzaro performances in a beautiful East Texas piney woods setting. As usual, I'm never off the Velo Valero clock, and spent the day trying to recruit the performers to join our team. For some reason, these folks said they'd rather eat mud, sing bawdy ditties about the moose, or pelt their audiences with a wet washing rag then ride a bike for 1000s of miles...I don't understand...
Peter with one of the Washing Well Wenches at the Festival. The basket contains the amount of money she had to pay me to stand and pose with her.
See ya' on the road - have a great Thanksgiving!
- Peter
|
-
Good morning and happy Monday!
Ride Schedule
Like we did last year, we're going to continue to schedule team rides throughout the winter. Check our Training Schedule for details. These winter rides tend to be more informal than what we do at other times of the year - the distance and route is usually determined by who shows up, and (of course) the weather. All team members are welcome to attend. As a courtesy, send an e-mail ahead of time to the ride coordinator if you plan on joining.
Also, I've started updating the Calendar of Events with information about next year's rides. Take a gander when you get a chance - if your favorite ride isn't listed, give me a shout and I'll make sure it gets added.
Official Valero MS 150 Bike to the Beach Photos
Official event photographer (and Velo Valero team member) Chase Shull has posted the Official MS 150 Photo Gallery to the web. There are 1000s of awesome photos out there from what was truly a memorable weekend. Click here to see the great work that Chase did.
Mission to Mission Ride
 Mark your calendars for the 2007 Mission to Mission, which will be held this year on December 1. This has been a traditional season-ending ride for the team, and is a great scenic, slow-paced recreational ride that you should encourage your non-riding friends, family, and co-workers to participate in. (It's admittedly not the best ride for long distance hammerheads). Make sure you register with team Velo Valero, because this will reduce the registration fee to a mere $15. Proceeds go to benefit a number of worthy organizations, including Meals on Wheels. For more information, click here. To see photos from last year's M2M, including the legendary shot of Laura "Biker Chick" Vaccaro on the cruiser bike, click here.
Status of Fundraising
As of this morning, we are at almost $203,000 - to see our latest totals, click here. We've officially passed our total from last year (see graph below), which is a great achievement since early on we lost some of our top fundraisiers from previous years (for perfectly good reasons). I'm so proud of all of you and the work that went into reaching this total - we are making a difference! Remember to try and get all your money submitted by Tuesday, 11/20, to qualify for the incredible fundraising prizes being offered by the MS Society.
 To assist in reaching our team goal of $250,000, we're partnering with Mounds of Coffee on an exiciting new fundraisier just in time for the holidays. We've created an Internet store front where can you and your family and friends can conveniently buy coffee, tea, and related items, and most importantly, between now and the end of the year, 40% of the proceeds of the first sale to new customers goes straight to our team fundraising total - what a deal! For more information, click here.
Veteran's Day, One More Month in Iraq
Today is Veteran's Day. This one is particulalry poignant for me, because as I mentioned previously, my 69-year-old father is over in Iraq as a civilian conducting training missions for infantry troops in the field. So many of you sent me so many positive words of support and encouragement on this - I can't tell you how much this means to my family and I! He was supposed to return home before Thanksgiving and then retire, but they extended his mission until mid-December. Once again he had a choice, but he opted to do what he thought was the right and honorable thing to do. We will continue to pray for his safe return. Please take a few moments today and think about all the soldiers and civilians who are over there making sacrifices for you and I every day.
See ya' (much better) on the road!
- El "I Can See Clearly Now" Hefe
P.S. The Lasik went well. I can now see 20/10, which is unbelievable - it's an amazing thing after 40 years of wearing glasses to be able to wake up in the morning and see the alarm clock.
|
-
Well, I'm scheduled to get Lasik surgery this afternoon at 4:00 pm, so this will be my last blog for a week or so as my eyes recover. Lots of news to cover, so here goes -
MS 150 Fundraising
As I've mentioned for a while, our fundraising total continues to creep up. As of Thursday afternoon, 11/08, we are at almost $202,000, which is almost 82% of our target - to see our latest totals, click here. There's still money that hasn't been posted yet, so I'm confident this number will continue to rise.
To assist in reaching our team goal, we're partnering with Mounds of Coffee on an exiciting new fundraisier just in time for the holidays. We've created an Internet store front where can you conveniently buy coffee, tea, and related items, and most importantly, between now and the end of the year, 40% of the proceeds of the first sale to new customers goes straight to our team fundraising total - what a deal! For more information, click here.
If you haven't raised the minimum yet, what are you waiting for? We don't ask for much from team members, but we do ask this. Next week, some of the Board Members and I will be calling team members who participated in the Bike to the Beach but who haven't raised the minimum yet to see what we can do to help you accomplish this extremely important milestone.
As I mentioned last time, you have until November 20th to submit any funds you have received in order to qualify for any of the fundraising prizes. If you are close to one of the qualifying pledge levels and you are interested in winning one of the prizes, make a little push to raise the money needed to get there! For fundraising tips and tricks, click here.
 NOTE: Between now November 20th, Fundraising Board Member David Sloan or I will be making a weekly trip to the MS Offices on Fridays, so if you have any checks or cash you need to submit, contact us and we'll take it over for you.
Mission to Mission Ride
Mark your calendars for the 2007 Mission to Mission, which will be held this year on December 1. This has been a traditional season-ending ride for the team, and is a great scenic and slow-paced recreational ride that you can encourage your non-riding friends, family, and co-workers to participate in. (It's admittedly not the best ride for long distance hammerheads). Make sure you register with team Velo Valero, because this will reduce the registration fee to a mere $15. Proceeds go to benefit a number of worthy organizations, including Meals on Wheels. For more information, click here. To see photos from last year's M2M, including the legendary shot of Laura "Biker Chick" Vaccaro on the cruiser bike, click here.
Feedback on the Bike to the Beach
As mentioned on Monday, many of the Board Members and I are meeting with representatives from the MS Society today at 1:30 pm to discuss ways to improve the Bike to the Beach in the years to come. If you have any ideas or opinions, send an e-mail to cycling@valero.com and I promise we'll take every suggestion to heart.
Ride Schedule for Next Year
The Board and I are meeting today to review a number of items, including our ride schedule for next year. It's unbelievable how many events we did in 2007 - from the Jalapeno 100, Hotter than Salsa, Wildflower Ride, Castroville 100 and all the Tour de Cure rides in the spring, to the Katy Flatland, the Hotter than Hell, the Conquer the Coast, and the MS rides in the fall (just to name a few) - we definitely put some miles in! I'm so proud of our growth as a national team, the amount of money we've raised, how healthy we've all become, and all the good times we've had as a team - and I want 2008 to be even better! Send an e-mail to cycling@valero.com if you have a suggestion on a ride we should try and do as a team next year. Our goal remains to participate in all the rides for which Valero is a title or presenting sponsor, and to continue to support both the MS Society and the ADA from a fundraising standpoint, but beyond that, there's definitely plenty of opportunity to try new routes and rides.
See ya' (much better) on the road soon!
- Peter
|
-
Good morning and happy Monday! I write this officially as a man in his mid-40s, since I celebrated my 45th birthday yesterday. I spent the day at my cabin on the Llano River kayaking with my son and our two dogs, Louis and Hannah, and it was wonderful. If this is what getting old is all about, then bring it on!
Tour de Gruene and Wurstfest
The annual Tour de Gruene was held this weekend, and a small but dedicated group of San Antonio Velo riders did the recreation ride on Saturday. A smaller but even more dedicated group ventured over to Wurstfest to partake in one of my three favorite festivals in Texas (the others being NIOSA and the Renaissance Festival).
The ride along River Road was, as expected, simply gorgeous. I took off with Kyle, Luis, Chuck, and Ray, and quickly lost site of all but Ray, who paced with me non-stop for a very fast 36 miles. In fact, when we got back to the finish line shortly before 10 am, I thought to myself, "You know, I still have time to race back to San Antonio and catch the second half of Alex' football game..." Which I did - I got to Lee High School right at the start of the third quarter. I then headed home, showered, and raced back to Gruene to catch the Antique Bike Show. I then headed over to Wurstfest, where I stayed until around 10 pm, happily doing the Chicken Dance (sometimes morphing into the Hokey Pokey) and raising my glass high for "Ein Prosit" one more time every 15 minutes or so. It was a very good day. Here are some of the photos (for more photos, click here).
PJ, Ray, Luis, Peter, and Chuck ready to rumble at the starting line
Peter hanging out with some of the Wurstfest "Opas". These guys are a lot like Fiesta Royalty - they walk around in weird costumes and do something that appears important, but I have no clue what it is. I wonder what is more uncomfortable - spandex or lederhosen???
Burnt Orange Schwinn Manta-Ray spotted at the Antique Bike Show. This is a classic - look at that stick shift!
Very large beer stein spotted in the Beer Hall at Wurstfest
Some of the gang hanging out in the big hall
One of my annual traditions - riding the Wurstfest ferris wheel with my mom - there are some things you should never outgrow
Bike to the Beach Route Feedback
The Board and I will be meeting with members of the MS Society on Wednesday to discuss the Valero MS 150 Bike to the Beach, and ways we can improve it in 2008. If you have any thoughts, ideas, or opinions on our team's flagship ride, let us know! What did you think of the route? The road surfaces? The rest stops? The start at the AT&T Center? The finish line in Corpus Christi? Don't be bashful - we really want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly about this ride, so we can make it better than ever in the years to come. Send an e-mail to cycling@valero.com and I promise we'll take every suggestion to heart.
See you on the road!
- Peter
|
-
Good afternoon and happy Friday!
MS Bay to Bay
Velo Valero is a nationwide force, and here's more proof of this. On October 13-14, 5 team members and a handful of volutneers from the Valero Wilmington Refinery participated along with 2,200 other riders and 800 volunteers in the 25th annual MS Bay to Bay ride. I got this note today from Bob Roger, along with the pictures (for more pictures, click here).
Hi Peter, this is Steve Scott, Fred Arceo, and myself, Bob Roger. We rode for Valero Wilmington team in the MS 150, California. We had two other riders, so our team totaled 5. It was a great time!
Thanks, Bob
Steve, Fred, and Bob on the road
Group shot of riders and volunteers - way to go, guys!
Our Friends from Krotz Springs
 Monika with Phillip and Peter at the Baton Rouge Tour de Cure
As I've said for the last few weeks, there are so many great stories from the Valero MS 150 Bike to the Beach that I'll probably never find the time to tell them all - but I will try! One of my favorite involves Monika Harper and her team of first year riders from the Valero Krotz Springs Refinery in Louisiana. Monika is one of my favorite riders on the team, and was one of the inspirations for me becoming the Captain late last year. For many years, Monika would travel by herself from Louisiana to Texas to participate in events like the Tour de Cure and the Bike to the Beach. I've always admired her dedication and will to do this, and promised one day to return the favor. This year I was able to gather a group of 20 San Antonio riders to travel to her part of the world to participate in the Baton Rouge Tour De Cure. It was a great experience, and one of the reasons was the group of first year riders she and Danica trained to participate in the ride - folks like Phillip, Traci, Grady, Tim, Andre, and Matthew. Well, Monika is now herself a Team Captain, and she brought her whole team with her this year to participate in the Bike to the Beach. Here's her account of the ride -
Peter -
...These guys really faced a challenge. On day one, 3 of our riders had to quit. One of them just got overheated. She was on the side of the road crying because she was so disappointed in not being able to finish. We sort of took her under our wing the next day to make sure she was able to finish, and she did.
On day 2 Danica had the crash. On day 2 Jason had a flat and the wrong size extra tube. He was given one by a nice stranger but he was so far back by then, we lost contact with him. But they both finished both days.
Tim stuck by Grady on day one and day two. When Grady couldn't finish day one, Tim realized he was too far back to go on by himself and finish before sundown, so he called it quits too. On day 2 Tim encouraged Grady all the way to the finish. I've never seen anyone so excited! Once Grady got some rest, he was so pumped he drove the cargo van home (we drove back that evening/night). We have some extraordinary people on this team - I've never seen such heart before! They and you are my heros - it's encouraging in this world to see good people like them and you.
Thanks!
Monika
Monika and the Krotz Springs team poses with CEO Bill Klesse
Let the Bicycles Roll! - Monika and her team presents Bill with a gift during the Saturday Night team event. Click here to see the video.
Team Jerseys for Sale
 We have 6 large team jerseys left from our fall sale. If you are interested in purchasing one, send an e-mail to cycling@valero.com. We are selling them for $50 apiece, and all proceeds go to our 2007 MS Fund Raising.
Tour de Gruene Reminder
As I've said all week, tomorrow is the annual Tour de Gruene. I went by the packet pick-up at Bicycle Heaven last night, and it was a mob scene - over 500 people have pre-registered for the recreational ride. If you plan on riding, get there early, because parking is probably going to be a mess. But, the weather will be perfect and the route along River Road is awesome, so I'm looking forward to a great ride, and a great afternoon afterwards...
See you on the road!
- Peter
|
|
|
|