Good morning and happy Wednesday! 

Rides this Week

The drumbeat is getting more intense - the Bike to the Beach is only 38 days away!   I can see the Harbor Bridge and smell the salt water all ready.  As usual, we have a plethora of training rides scheduled to get you ready for the event.  

 John will be leading the Wednesday Hillfest at 5:45 pm from Mays Elementary.  This is a hot, hilly, fast-paced, no mercy ride (as opposed to a no drop).  We'll all try to keep up with Luis "the Rocket" Rocha, who (hopefully) will be a little tired after his amazing performance at the Hotter N Hell this weekend...

  Andrea will be leading the Family Friendly ride from Bullis County Park at 6:30 pm on Wednesday.

We are still working on the details of our Saturday ride.  I'll send out the information once we have the start, the route, and the disance confirmed.  Count on a distance of 60 to 65 miles, although it won't be as hilly as the Luckenbach ride we did last week (nothing can be that hilly!).  Odds are it will be on the west side of town and will include the rolling countryside around Castroville.

 Megan will lead the newVcrew ride on Sunday -

The newVcrew is planning on doing the same ride as last weekend.  WE WILL BE MEETING AT COMAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AT 7:30 AM. Because we are starting later, please be sure to come early to air up, etc. so that we can leave on time.  Our rides have been starting later and later, and so we’ve moved the start time back to 7:30am, but that doesn’t mean that we roll out at 8 - we are leaving at 7:30 am sharp.  Maps will be provided at the start of the ride.  There are bigger hills than in weeks past, but it should only be 35-40 miles.  There will be several possibilities for rest stops along the way including a wonderful photo opportunity in front of the legendary Gruene Dance Hall!  - Megan

 Carl has offered to lead a special Labor Day Ride on Monday on the Northeast side of town.  The format will be similiar to the Good Friday ride we did earlier this year, where we leave from the community center in his neighborhood, and finish at his house, where we'll enjoy a little barbecue.   Wheels up at a very user friendly 08:30 am and it will be a shorter recovery ride (30 miles).  Send an e-mail to Carl.Crawford@valero.com if you'd like to join him.

As always, please check our Event Schedule for all the details.  And, if the weather looks dicey, please call 345-BIKE to check the status of the training ride to see if it's been cancelled.  We'll try and update this no later than an hour before the ride start.

More Hotter Than Hell Stories

Ken Mayfield, Valero Tour de Cure Event Chair, sent me this update on the Hotter N Hell.  Apparently, there was a running event on Sunday that a number of current and former Velo Valerians did quite well on -

As David wrote, the Hotter’n Hell weekend was truly wonderful.  Not only Saturday but on Sunday also during the very first ever Wee-Chi-Tah Trail Run. Velo Valero and San Antonio were well represented.

• Erica Rougeau won the 5K 24-29 women’s age group race
• Kerry Hart won the 5K 34-39 women’s age group race
• Dora Esparza won the 5K 44-49 women’s age group race
• I (aka, Ken Mayfield) won the 5K Men’s Master’s race.

Erica Rougeau, Director of the San Antonio Tour de Cure, experienced her very first ride, is now hooked on cycling. She rode 50 miles Saturday and this was the furthest she has ever ridden. She said she will ride the 100 mile course next year. Considering this past Saturday was only her 6th time riding (she only did 5 training rides) and she is riding a very heavy mountain bike, I know she will do it.  - Ken

Way to go Erica, Kerry, Dora, and Ken!

A very proud Dora showing off her hardware.  For more photos from the the run, click here.

I also received this update from Pat O'Brien -

You didn't get the real HHH story.  I take off with Luis and a hundred yards into the ride Larry from the USAF team catches us.  We are flying at over 25mph and at the 25mile point I decided that I'll never make it at these speeds.  I ride my way to the 77 mile aid station where I found a very tired Larry ... Yes Luis has trained so well that he DROPPED Larry!  Larry and I made out with an average speed of 20.3 and later sampling beer at a great Irish Pub I found Luis and his wife and Luis finished w/ almost a 22 mph avg speed.  But again Luis dropped Larry!  - Pat

Luis wearing one of the coolest cycling jerseys ever...

Lunch and Learns

Our Lunch and Learn last Tuesday with Laurel Tierney from Nutrition for Heart and Sole was a huge hit - we had over 30 runners and cyclists attend in person, and Laurel did a great job with the topic.  I'll post the video in a few days, as soon as LEAD gets it to me (thanks again guys!).  Mark your calendar for Tuesday, September 2nd for our next Lunch and Learn -

• On Tuesday, September 2nd, we are having a Lunch and Learn on Cycling Technique hosted by our good friend Matt from Bicycle Heaven.    This will be in FB-128 at Valero HQ from 11:45 am to 1:00 pm..  We'll cover the topics of pace lines and drafting that are key to success on the second day of the BTTB.     All new riders are encouraged to attend! 

Volunteers Needed

The Bike to the Beach is a little less than 5 weeks away, and we are beginning to assemble the mighty army of volunteers required to pull off an event of this scale.  If you have friends, family, co-workers, etc., that would like to be a part of the Bike to the Beach but don't think they can do the biking thing, tell them they are more then welcome to volunteer - we have plenty of options available, from preparing and serving the food, to driving SAG and courtesy shuttle, to helping Board Member Lucy Hernandez create that unbelievable Saturday Night Team experience for us.  If you are an employee, check the Valero Intranet SignUp facility to see what opportunities are out there.  If you are not an employee, send an e-mail to Board Member Phoebe McCallum at Phoebe.McCallum@valero.com and let her know you would like to help (or know someone that does).

...see ya' on the road!

- Peter