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March 2009 - Posts
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Happy Hump Day! For your reading pleasure, we have the longest, most action-packed blog in the history of the team.
New Velo Valero Jersey Revealed
I’m sad to say we are retiring the current Velo jersey this year. Our jersey is one of the most recognizable team jersey’s out there. However, with time all things must change. It had a good run lasting three years and now it’s time for a makeover. It took a long time with numerous changes and several brain storming sessions to ensure we continued in the footsteps of that famous Velo jersey tradition. I absolutely love it and think all of you will to. Currently we are working on improving the way ordering jerseys will be handled. Once all of the final details are complete we will open up the ordering process.
This will also add a little something extra at the start line for the new Bike MS Valero 2009 Alamo Ride to the River.
 
Front Back
Easter Hill Country Bike Tour
Several of the Velo team will be meeting at the ride start at 9:00am on both Friday and Saturday morning. Please feel free to join us and maybe we can get a team picture or two before heading out. As this is an out of town ride, if the weather is bad I might not have time to update the rider hotline prior to everyone heading out on Friday or Saturday. Also, I will update the hotline to include a place and time to meet for lunch and or dinner for anyone wanting to get together after the ride on both Friday and Saturday.
I have had several riders ask about car pooling. Please use the marketplace to post your need for a ride or if you can offer a ride to someone. This will allow more riders to see your request rather then sending directly to me. I'm sure there are several times when carpooling would be very much appreciated. Please be sure to contact me if you have any trouble added your post to the marketplace page. Currently there are several folks looking to purchase a used bike, selling a vintage bike, or looking for a team jersey. Keep checking maybe we can work together and help a rider get started.
Good Friday Ride
 Due to the Holiday weekend we will only be offering one training ride. Seymour Battle has offered to lead a ride on Friday morning, leaving from Floore's Country Store in Helotes at 8:30am. There will be two ride options, 26 & 46 miles. Please be sure to contact him at seymour.battle@valero.com if you plan on riding. Since this is Easter a RSVP would be very much appreciated.
Tour de Cure Update
 Keep tho$e Dollar$ coming in! There are now less than two months, just 52 short days, until Tour De Cure, and we still have quite a way to go to reach our San Antonio goal of $60,000. Why is reaching our goal important? Let me give you some background:
Velo Valero is currently listed as a National Team with ADA. Along with that comes:
- Recognition for Valero alongside other National Teams and National Sponsors such as AT&T, Gold’s Gym, Wal-Mart, etc.
- Valero logo on Tour De Cure promotional items nationwide
- Benefits for Velo Valero riders that ride in more than one Tour De Cure
In order to maintain our National Team status, we need to:
- Participate in a total of 7 ADA events
- Raise a total of at least $100,000 aggregate across the nation
Many of you are already raising higher amounts than ever before for Tour De Cure, and that’s GREAT! Keep doing what you are doing and keep the $$ coming in to add to your total! If you have not yet started your fundraising efforts, right now would be a great time! Another way to help out the team’s fundraising is to recruit more riders. Bring your friends and neighbors into the ride, and ask them to join Velo Valero. Remember, team members only commitment is to wear the Velo Valero jersey on the ride, and be recognized as a part of the largest and highest fund raising team in South Texas and one of the top fund raising teams in the country! For tips on fundraising go to the local Tour De Cure web site at www.tourdecuresa.org or check out www.tour.diabetes.org I will also be glad to help anyone with questions on increasing your fundraising totals, and can also help you with your personal Tour De Cure web site setup. We already have 10 team members that are over $500, and 6 have raised over $1,000. Let’s all work together to reach our team goal either through higher individual fundraising, or through bringing in more team members! I feel a party comin’ on!
Final important note: Make sure that your requests for donations are on behalf of your participation in the American Diabetes Association Tour De Cure event. We do not want to dilute or confuse our efforts aimed at raising money for children’s charities via corporate sponsorships supporting the Valero Texas Open.
Currently 78 riders registered and $33,000 raised.
- David
Photo Shoot for the 2009 Board oF Directors
Here is a current photo of the 2009 Velo Valero Board of Directors that was taken on Monday. CEO Bill Klesse, aka El Hefe Grande, is to the far right.
MIA are -
 Kirstin  Laura Seymour
To see more photos of your hard-working Board of Directors, click here.
Tall Tales from the Saddle
And now for some tales from the road...here's a recap of recent rides by team members. If you have a story you want to share from one of your rides, send it along with a couple of photos to cycling@valero.com.
 LBJ 100
Last Saturday (March 28th) was the 2nd Annual LBJ 100 bike ride. This ride starts and finishes on the airstrip of LBJ's Ranch and National Historic Park located just outside of Stonewall, TX. If you have never been there, then I suggest you go to tour that wonderful and historic estate, which sits alongside the Pedernales River. The routes from the Ranch head into the Hill Country (emphasis on "Hills") and are some of the best riding in Texas. The route options were 10, 32, 45 and 62 miles.
Anyway, last year the temps were chilly with a stout South wind. Even with that vivid painful memory in hand, a hardy group of us signed up for that beautiful, hilly ride again, with the hope that the weather conditions would be better this year....NOT!! To quote the LBJ ride director describing the conditions:
" To those of you who braved temperatures in the upper 30's and NW wind gusts of 40 mph, we send our special gratitude. Over 800 of you registered, and almost 700 of you were there in spite of the conditions! That's dedication so typical of cyclists. Thank you!"
Yep, it was downright frigid, with a brutal North wind! We were wearing practically every piece of clothing we own just try to stay warm! Andrea actually had on 5 layers of riding clothes!! Me, that meant I had to break out the leopard print fleece jersey one more time this year, which isn't fair since it is Spring after all... I am impressed that practically every Velo Valero rider actually rode (except, of course, for Carl "I conveniently forgot my front wheel" Crawford). Hats off to ALL of our folks who braved the conditions and rode their intended routes, despite the weather. I want to especially highlight that our ultimate Velo Valero Pink Lady, Stella Rocha, even rode, pink jacket and all, which is particularly impressive given she rarely rides in temps less than 70's degrees!
Here's to a warmer, less windy ride next year!
- PJ
Stella all bunddled up trying to make it through the bitter cold temps during the LBJ ride. For more photos from the ride, click here.
Hotter than Salsa Ride Review from Peter and David Gross
 On Saturday, April 4th, I traveled down to Three Rivers, home of the Valero Three Rivers Refinery, to do the 2009 Hotter than Salsa Ride. This is one ride I've never done with Velo Valero over the years, and felt it was about time I made an appearance. I haven't done many rides this year because of my crazy work schedule, so I opted for the 35 miler. (Plus, I was a little sore from doing the Kick Boxing class for the first time on Friday at the Valero Fitness Center...) I was joined by the two Davids (Gross and Sloan), plus Kerry Lambrecht and Ben Cantu. The headwind was brutal as started south on 281, but as soon as we veered West and North, it ceased to be a factor and the ride turned extremely pleasant. I broke away from the group and ended up doing the whole ride by myself. The route consisted of lots of gentle rolling hills, and I think I saw one car the whole day. (But I did see a whole lot of buzzards and a couple of two-dimensional armadillos...) As I turned onto 72 heading East to finish the ride, I saw the waters of Choke Canyon over the hills and the towers of the refinery looming in the distance like the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz. Adrenalin kicking in, I picked up my pace and sprinted to the finish line. I ended up with a 17 mph average, which wasn't too shabby considering what I slacker I've been on the bike this year. This actually earned me second place and a plaque, which I'm now displaying proudly in my office. (I called my wife and told her I won a plaque, and she said, "I guess John and Chuck didn't do this ride with you...") I had to head back to town to do some errands, so didn't partake in the Salsa Festival and can't report on that - but from I've been told it's quite the event, particularly if you are a fan of fresh salsa... (See David's report below...) - Peter
Velo riders pose in from of one of the refinery units
Posing with the other winners in the 35 mile division. There is absoltely NOT TRUTH to the rumor that I paced behind the 3rd place winner for 10 miles then knocked her over right before we got to the finish line...
 Grace Batres joined us after sleeping a little longer than intended. She did the 20 mile ride and wasn’t too far behind us as we finished the 35. There were over 30 salsas to be tasted. All were good, we had some face sweating going on about ½ way through the tastings. That is a lot of chips and salsa. Only one contender for each of the Restaurant and Commercial categories. Amateur entries were abundant. Several of us voted for the Cranberry Chipotle which was excellent and a nice change from all the HOT salsas! - David
Recap of the Saturday Morning Helotes Ride
Fellow Velo member David Keith added his two cents as he joined us for our Saturday morning ride that started in downtown Helotes.
It was a beautiful day for a ride. It started out a little chilly, but it didn’t take long to warm up once we started rolling. This was my first time to ride a route leaving from Roger Soler’s in Helotes, and I must say it was a great route. On a scheduling note, we had a lot of company at the ride start, as The Marketplace at Old Town Helotes takes place on the first Saturday of each month – looked pretty interesting, and also added an opportunity to get some food before and after the ride.
Chuck had planned the 40(ish)-mile route to be an out-and-back to Rio Medina, but Stan Lear suggested to me that we could do a little more of a loop by heading south on Talley Road to Potranco, then heading over to Rio Medina and back up 471 from there. That made the 40-mile route more like 47, but it was still an enjoyable ride. That also gave us a few “decent” hills (“decent” meaning that we had to work to get up them, but we weren’t openly questioning Stan’s ancestry or legitimacy by the time we got to the top). I really didn’t know that there was a road within 100 miles of San Antonio that is as flat and open as that section of 471, though!
We also had 2 new riders join us Saturday, Frank and “Gunny”. Gunny and I rode together most of the way, and he told me that they had attended the Tour de Cure rally ride at Timberwood Park a couple of weeks ago. They’re both pretty new riders, so they decided that they needed to tap into Velo Valero to get the benefit of group rides with seasoned riders. Glad to have you on board, gentlemen!
David at the Day 1 Finish Line of the 2008 BIke to the Beach
Pedal Power Wildflower Ride and the Sunday Casual Ride
 This past weekend was a great weekend for riding. On Saturday, I met Luis and Stella Rocha at LBJ State Park to ride in the 10th annual Pedal Power Wildflower Ride benefitting the Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center. The ride was very well supported and a lot of fun. Learned more about what the agency does for abused children in the Texas Hill Country and plan on supporting the ride again next year (April 10, 2010).
On Sunday I led a ride from Spechts Store at 10AM. A few of us did a short loop starting just before 8AM with plans of riding into Bulverde to have coffee and breakfast. I was shocked when Jacque and I pulled up to the little shop and it was closed with a note indicating that they had moved to another location just off HW281. When we were getting back on our bikes a rider wearing an ADA jersey zoomed past us. It was Andrea and I have to apologize to our team captain for forgetting to wait for her at the 8AM start. Seems to be a theme here – forgot shoes for one ride, drove 70 miles and forgot my wheel and this week forgot about Andrea showing up for the 8AM start (hope I do not forget anything at home when I go to Napa on May 1st J). We did another 14 mile loop starting at 10AM. The wind going out was pretty bad, but a lot of fun on the way back in. This Sunday, the Sunday Funday Bike ride will take short break for the next two weekends, but should resume the on April 25th.
Best Regards,
Carl "forget me not" Crawford.
 I need to add my two cents for the Sunday ride. I must admit I was just a little ticked off. I saw the cars but no riders. I checked my watch to make sure I wasn’t late. I rode from home in a fierce head wind and figured maybe it took me longer to get there than I anticipated. Nope! The ride wasn't supposed to start for another 10 minutes. Once I realized they left me, my engines went into over drive and I pushed my way through the wind and my casual Sunday ride turned into a sprint to catch them. Which in fact I did as Carl put it, “I zoomed past them”. It was a sweet moment that I fully gloated about. Now it was my turn for a little revenge. Carl received a phone call and slowed down to answer. Jackie looked over and asked, “should we wait for him”? I’m sure you can figure out what my response was.
After waiting for what seemed like forever, (sitting in Jackie’s car cause it was to cold outside) watching the wind get stronger and the temp drop, it was time for our second loop. I wasn’t bad. Once we were past the hilly part at the beginning, the rest was really fun. On Bulverde Rd, I hit a speed of 28 mph and I wasn’t going downhill. After leaving the group and headed for home the wind got me again, 6 mph all the way to Blanco. Then the fun was back. Two fellow riders and I blazed the trail at 22 mph all the way up the hill by Bullis County Park. It was Fantastic!!!!! Probably the only time I ever thought going up hill was fun and for a moment thought about doing it again. Didn’t, I had to get home.
Happy Easter and ride, ride, ride!!!
Andrea
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Good morning and happy Tuesday!
Spring is in the Air and We have Lots Of Rides Scheduled
Please check our Calendar of Events to see all the rides we have scheduled. We are now doing weekday training rides, along with training rides and team events on the weekends. Click here for all the details! Some great rides coming up are -
Rooms for the Overbnight at Schiltterbahn During the Ride to the River
The Velo Valero Cycling Team has several rooms reserved at the Rapids Resort at Schlitterbahn for the Bike MS Bike MS: Valero Ride to the River in October. Anyone interested in reserving a room must have reached the $300 minimum fundraising required by the MS Society prior to May 1st. Because these are the prime rooms at the resort, they are requesting deposits made by this time. Any room in which they have not received a deposit by May 1st will be forfeited back to the resort. I know this is 6 months prior to the ride and most of us are still in the Tour De Cure mode. Please keep in mind this is the first year at the resort and they are anxious to get all of the rooms booked. Once you have reached the minimum you will need to contact me at andrea.shull@valero.com in order to reserve a room. You then will become responsible to pay the deposit by May 1st. Room cost are very reasonable starting at $60 for four up to $162 for a townhouse which sleeps 10. All rooms are within walking distance to the team tent, the resort pool, and all of the main events going on during the Saturday overnight and will be in big demand so do not hesitate. They are on a first come first serve basis and once they are gone we are not capable of requesting additional rooms.
Funday Casual Ride
Received this update from from Team Treasuer and Carl "No Wheel" Crawford, who is leading a series of Funday rides on Sundays (the next one is scheduled for Sunday, April 5) -
Sunday the Funday Casual Ride started from the parking lot in front of Freetail Brewing Company Sunday morning a little before 9AM. It was pretty cold at the start, but the winds were very light. Riders included Seymour Battle, Grace Batres, Luis Rocha, Pat Harrington and myself (yes, I did not forget anything - shoes, front wheel). The route was a total of 28 hilly miles that included Babcock, Cielo Vista, Cross Mountain and Scenic Loop. This was the first time this year that I took Cross Mountain and after taking this road, I realized that it was a lot better alternative than Boerne Stage to Scenic Loop – less traffic. After the ride, Nerissa Muniz and Nichole Campbell meet a few of us for lunch at the Freetail. Have I ever mentioned they have great food and beverages?
Capitol 10K
Congratulations go out to fellow Velo Valero members Nerissa and Nichole for completing the Capitol 10K in Austin early on Sunday morning!
Fitness buddies Nichole and Nerissa at last year's Fiesta Wildflower Ride
Share Your Photos and Stories with the Team
The My Adventure’s page is a place where team members can share stories and tall tales from the activities they participate in that are not cycling events with the team. You must be a registered member of the web site to post photos and forum entries. Click here for more details regarding the My Adventures page.
Update on River Road in New Braunfels
I received a phone call on Saturday morning indicating that the middle part of River Road is being paved. The road surface is passable, but extremely rough. Due to tubing season and road contruction, rides down River Road will be suspended until the Fall as we get ready for the new Bike MS: Valero Rider to the River.
Remember to Always Use Sunscreen While Riding!
Received this cautionary note from former Team Captain, Peter Ray -
Last week I got a bit of a surprise when I went to a dermatologist for what I thought was a routine visit. Instead, the doctor found an instance of squamous cell carcinoma (aka, skin cancer) on my nose that he decided to remove immediately. The procedure was relatively painless, although it required 12 stiches to close and I had to wear a big bandage on my nose all week. I now have a scar that makes me look ruggedly handsome in a Clint Eastwood sort of way (hah!). This was a real wake up call for me, because even though I spend a lot of time outdoors in the South Texas heat running and cycling, I'm not the most diligent person when it comes to putting on sunscreen, particularly on places such as my nose and the tops of my ears which are extremely vulnerable to the sun's onslaught. You can bet that I'll be a Iittle better about this now. Make sure you use sunscreen on every ride you do, rain or shine, because it's just not worth taking the risk - I was lucky all it cost me was a scar....
See you on the road!
Andrea
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Greetings and happy Spring! Lots going on, so let's get right to it...
LBJ Ride and Board Retreat
The LBJ 100 ride is being held this Saturday (March 28th) at the historic LBJ Ranch in Johnson city. This year's event will once again start and end at the historic home of our 36th President, and it will include some of the most scenic riding the Texas Hill Country has to offer. As an added bonus, Lucy Baines Johnson will be leading a 10-mile ride around the historic ranch beginning at 11:00 am that will include such landmarks as the "Texas White House" and the Cattle Barn. Wheels up at 09:00 am!
PJ falls for a man in uniform at last year's LBJ 100
Afterwards, team members will be heading to Blanco State Park for a little cool down. All team members and their friends and families are invited. We just ask everyone to bring a covered dish to contribute to the meal. The team has rented the big pavilion for our get together. Please RSVP to andrea.shull@valero.com by 2pm on Friday so that we have a rough estimate on those participating. For more details, click here.
Team members hanging out at last year's spring retreat at Blanco State Park
Weekday Rides
Now that the days our longer, our schedule of weekday rides has resumed! We have two standing rides on Wednesday nights you can participate in.
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The Hillfest takes off from Mays Elementary on Chase Hill Blvd at 5:45 pm. This is a hilly, fast-paced ride. (There's a rumor that El Hefe made an appearance last night, and huffed and puffed his way for a grand total of 20 miles.)
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The Family Friendly Ride starts from Bullis Country Park at 6:00 pm and goes for 20 to 25 miles.
For more details about each of these rides, click here.
Tour de Cure News You Can Use
To say last weekend's Rider Rally in Timberwood Park was a success would be putting it mildly. The TDC committee anticipated around 120 riders would participate in the event. Over 220 of us started the long hilly journey through the best that the hill country has to offer. There were a few bumps along the way, as should be expected. This was the first time for this event and a lot of unanticipated incidents. A few SAG drivers got lost as with several riders, more folks needing picked up than the Cool Cats could handle, and the rider who in her own words put it, "I tried to impersonate superman and failed". One of the Velo Valero team members was taken to the hospital by ambulance as a precaution after falling and injuring her neck. I spoke with her a few days ago. Other than severe pain, a very bad sprained neck and the guilt for not being able to finish the ride, she is good spirits and hopefully will consider riding with us after a full recovery. She has been told to take it easy for a few weeks. We wish her well and a speedy recovery.
On a personal note to the new riders on our team who participated in the Rider Rally. My hat goes off to you for coming out and joining us for this event. It was a very difficult hilly route. Monster hills right out of the park, three big hills on Blanco, those same nasty hills on the way back, and not an easy map to follow. Please do not feel frustrated if you were not able to finish. I know some of you are new to the sport and maybe thinking to yourself, "what have I gotten myself into?"... Trust me, don't give up. Join me on the family friendly rides during the week if you can or on one of the easier route options on the weekend rides. With time, you will fall in love with the sport like I have. It will take a few rides under your belt to get comfortable with the sport, and, also, please consider doing a spin class if you can. This will give your training a big boost! Please do not hesitate in contacting me if you have any questions or need help with training.
New member Jana showing off her new bike at the Rider Rally on Saturday
Currently we are at $24,024 and 76 registered riders. We still have a long way before we reach our $60,000 goal. WOW! I can't believe the number of riders on our team. I'm hopeful that we will reach our goal and break 100 riders for the event.
I would like to send out a special Thank You to the Valero Federal Credit Union. After the bake sale, Board Member Nerissa Muniz asked if they would be interested in supporting the team. We received a generous $250 donation toward our team’s fundraising effort. Next time you are in the bank and see Sean Murphy or Keary Lambrecht (Keary is a Velo Valero team memeber), please thank them for the donation. It was greatly appreciated!
Be sure your $150 minimum fundraising commitment has either been submitted online or is available to be turned in at packet pickup at Valero Headquarters on May 21st in order to get your packet. More information will be available once we are closer to the event. All Velo Valero team members will need to have their TDC rider number prior to being able to receive their team goodie bag. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate in contacting me at andrea.shull@valero.com.
Need a dorm room in San Marcus on Saturday night, a ride back after day one or day two, purchase additional meals for guest? Don’t hesitate in completing your Supplemental Registration Form by May 1st. Please contact Lori Hawkins at LHawkins@diabetes.org or (210) 829-1765 x 6124 if you have any questions or miss the deadline.
For more information on the 2009 Valero Tour de Cure, click here.
To see Tour de Cure events Velo Valero is participating in across the country, click here.
Team members participate in extreme Karaoke at last year's Tour de Cure
Blast from the Past
We have come a long way baby!
Someone sent Peter this article from the 2000 Valero Lines and we felt this was worth sharing with the rest of the team. Imagine a world where there were only 800 people doing the Bike to the beach, Velo Valero had only 30 riders and barely raised $10,000. Click here to view a blast from our past...
This is one of the oldest pictures from way back when at the beginning of the Velo Valero team
See you on the road!
Andrea
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WEEKDAY RIDES ARE HERE Tonight will be our fist installment of our Daylight Saving Time weekday rides. Last week we were rained out. So let's get this started and join either the Hillfest ride or the Family Friendly ride tonight.
Don't forget the Tour De Cure Rider Rally in Timberwood Park Pavilion is this Saturday. If you plan on attending please, make sure to RSVP no later then this evening. They are trying to get some idea of how much food they need. Hope to see you there. Click here for details.
The team's St. Patrick’s Day Bake Sale was a huge success raking in $1,701.71. We had tons of food, lots of help, and, best of all, a pile of money at the end. There was an overwhelming outpouring of support from Valero employees who not only baked loads of goodies, but contributed their time during lunch and contributed money to purchase items. Thank You to all who contributed!
Tour De Cure Fundraising Update We now have 75 registered riders and almost $20,000 in fundraising as of this afternoon. We are on our way, and it looks like we are going to be a force to be reckoned with. Let's keep the fundraising coming. We still have a long way before reaching our $60,000 goal for the San Antonio to Austin ride. If anyone is interested in selling tickets for the team raffle please let me know. We have three items donated for the raffle, and the money from the tickets that are sold will go toward your individual fundraising. Please do not hesitate in selling tickets. Or, if you are not rididing, please consider purchasing a few tickets to help support a fellow team member. Click here for details on the raffle.
Our team had a first time appearance in the Phoenix Tour de Cure last week. This was their first ever cycling event as part of the Velo Valero team. Please take a few minutes and read about the ride. I'm sure you will enjoy it, especially the John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith section. 2009 - Phoenix - Tour De Cure.
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*** Cyclists save goat *** Carl provided the following regarding our Sunday ride: We had a great ride with the Sunday Funday Casual ride that started in Boerne. The riders that braved the hills were Andrea Shull, Ray Housley, John Tenison, Seymour Battle and Nichole Campbell. At the beginning of the ride, two of the riders saved a baby goat that somehow got out of its fence. It was funny watching Ray and John catch the little goat and then put the goat back over the fence so it could reunite with its family. Sure wish we had Peter’s bike cam for this one. After the goat incident, we continued on the access road of I-10 to 283 and turned onto Big Joshua Creek road for some serious hill training. As expected Ray and John were ahead of the pack and battled the hills on Skyline Drive before meeting the group at a service station in Comfort for the ride’s lone rest stop. Kudos goes out to Nichole for taking on the big hill on Big Joshua Creek Road and making it look easy (I was the last one over the top of this hill). After leaving comfort we road to Waring and back into Boerne. After the ride, a couple of us went to the Dodging Duck for a well deserved bison burger and a couple of beers.
We are currently working on the training rides for the weekend. Once we have all the rides posted, I will send out an email letting you know they are available. It takes a lot more time to get four rides organized then just the normal two that we have been doing. Be sure to check the Rider Hotline since rain is in the forecast. (210)345-BIKE. I definitely need some R&R. Market Place Reminder: Be sure to visit the marketplace every now and then to place an add. Currently we have several riders looking to purchase a used bike and team jersey's.
Velo Valero’s is once again a National Team This is fantastic news. For those of you who are new to the team and are not sure what this means: Participants who ride in Tour events are required to pay the registration fee and raise at least the fund raising minimum for each event. However, because we are a national team, the American Diabetes Association will make an exception. Velo Valero riders who raise the minimum for one event are only required to pay the registration fee for the other Tour events in which they participate in. Fundraising is always welcomed but in this case not a requirement for additional events.We appreciate the fund-raising efforts of each and every rider to support the mission of the ADA, particularly in these challenging economic times. The toll of diabetes will not slow down so neither can we. Our goal is to raise 100,000 for all the Tour de Cure rides that we participate in across the country. The San Antonio riders are working to raise $60,000 for this one event. If you can’t ride please consider making a donation to a fellow rider, you know how hard fundraising can be.
Now that we are again a National Team for ADA. Let's get rolling.
The newest ride added to the calendar is the Tour de Cure – Yountville / Napa Valley ride. There is a lot of information posted like, where to stay, renting a bike, and how to register for the ride, etc.... Be sure to contact David Gross if you have any additional questions. david.gross@valero.com.
Check out the background of this picture. How beautiful is this.....
Tour de Cure Fundraising update: One of our team fundraising Zars David Sloan is blazing the trail once again and has currently turned in $10,835 and showing no signs of slowing down. He is incredible…. Our team’s goal is $60,000 and we are 30% of the way there with 12 weeks till Tour Day. Keep putting the pen to paper or fingers to the keys so that we can continue being the fundraising machine that Peter & Laura created.
Current Fundraising Totals:
| First Name |
Last Name |
Gift Amount |
| H David |
Sloan |
$10,835.00 |
| Kent |
Hamel |
$1,025.00 |
| Peter |
Ray |
$1,000.00 |
| Matthew |
Wygant |
$648.00 |
| Carl |
Crawford |
$500.00 |
| Deanna |
Durham |
$440.00 |
| Angelle |
StGermain |
$300.00 |
| David |
Balcer |
$225.00 |
| Glennis |
Bryce |
$200.00 |
| Amanda |
Burden |
$200.00 |
| Timothy |
Chea |
$200.00 |
| Curtis |
Lang |
$200.00 |
| Nerissa |
Muniz |
$200.00 |
| Grace |
Batres |
$185.00 |
| Richard |
Nagao |
$165.00 |
| David |
Gross |
$150.00 |
| Patricia |
Jones |
$150.00 |
| cynthia |
lear |
$150.00 |
| Stanley |
Lear |
$150.00 |
| Jim |
Robichaux |
$150.00 |
| Laura |
Vaccaro |
$150.00 |
| Andrea |
Shull |
$150.00 |
| Jacqueline |
Robertson |
$120.00 |
| Lloyd |
Hensley |
$100.00 |
| Bryan |
Lardizabal |
$100.00 |
| Denise |
Ramirez |
$95.00 |
| Jo |
Tomey |
$50.00 |
| Peter |
Bawa |
$25.00 |
| Destinee |
Serdinia |
$25.00 |
| Chuck |
Divelbiss |
$20.00 |
| LUPE |
HERRERA |
$20.00 |
Cycling Tour de Cures around the Country Currently we have teams signed up to participate in Tour events all over the country. Here are a few that I’m aware of. Please review and let me know if any additional events need to be added. If you have any questions regarding any event, please contact the team captain listed for that event.
| Team Captain |
Valero Site |
Event |
TDC Name |
Event Date |
| Amy Bryce* |
Phoenix-Retail Amy.Bryce@valero.com |
Phoenix, AZ |
Phoenix TDC |
14-Mar |
| Dan Rubio Jr |
Benecia Dan.Rubio2@valero.com |
Napa Valley, CA |
Napa TDC |
3-May |
| John Tenison |
San Antonio John.Tenison@valero.com |
San Antonio, TX |
San Antonio/Austin TDC |
30-May |
| Dennis Ross |
St. Charles dennis.ross@valero.com |
Baton Rouge |
St. Francesville TDC |
30-May |
| Mark Schneeweis |
Paulsboro Mark.Schneeweis@valero.com |
Philadelphia |
Greater Philadelphia TDC |
31-May |
| Steve Campanelli* |
Delaware City Steven.Campanelli@valero.com |
Philadelphia |
Philadelphia TDC |
31-May |
| Bob Roger |
Wilmington Robert.Roger@valero.com |
LongBeach/SoCal |
Ship To Shore |
31-May |
| Bob Finley* |
Ardmore Bob.Finley@valero.com |
Oklahoma City |
Oklahoma City, OK TDC |
27-Jun |
| David Sloan |
San AntonioDavid.Sloan@valero.com |
Ft. Worth, TX |
Ft. Worth TDC |
18-Oct |
LBJ after ride cool down at Blanco State Park on March 28th.
We have the pavilion at Blanco State Park reserved for after the LBJ ride on March 28th. The team rented the pavilon last year a few times and had such a good time we thought we should do it again. With the economy in such turmoil and folks trying to save a little money, we thought it was time for some well deserved economy friendly R&R. We simply ask for each family to bring a covered dish and bring your own beverages. The Velo Valero bike team has paid the cost of renting the pavilion, just keep in mind there is a small entrance fee to the park that we are not covering. For anyone wanting to spend the night, a few of us will be there both Friday and Saturday night. You will need to make your own reservations at the park. Online or call (512) 389-8900. Please do not hesitate in making reservations as this is a small park with limited camping availability.
Some of the riders enjoing that well deserved R&R I was talking about.
Calendar of events is growing:
There are a host of events that have been added to the calendar. So please be sure to keep checking as it seems like we are adding items every day. Included the long awaited week day rides. Now that daylight saving time is here we will be hosted enough training rides for anyone who wants to ride. Can't use the excuse they don't have a ride that fits my schedule. Just be sure to use the rider hotline to get the latest info on ride cancellations. (210)345-BIKE.
Click here to read the write up on the MS Walk and team picture from Saturday's event.
Dinner around the world this month is Thai. March 14th at Jasmin Thai Restaurant at 6:30pm. Click here for additional information.
Hope to see you on the road. It's been a while since I have seen some of you...
- Andrea
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Good morning and Happy Monday!
Please check our Calendar of Events - we have lots going on in the next few weeks, including the First Friday Cruiser Bike ride this Friday and the MS Walk this Saturday! Also, if you haven't done so yet, please consider registering for one or both of our flagship events this year - the Valero Tour de Cure on May 30-31 and the Bike MS: Valero Alamo Ride to the River on October 3-4.
The $15 Early bird registration for the Valero Tour de Cure ends this week. Click here to register. Early bird registration begins today for the Bike MS: Valero Alamo Ride to the River. Which is also National MS Week. There will not be a scheduled ride on Saturday due to the MS Walk at the AT&T center. Sunday Funday Casual Ride Series
 Received this update from Team Treasurer, Carl "Teddy Bear" Crawford, who is the ride leader for our Sunday rides -
On Sunday morning we had 6 riders brave the cold and wind to enjoy a 50+ mile ride starting at the Free Tail Brewing Company near Loop 1604 and NW Military Rd. This was the 3rd Sunday Casual Ride of the season. Among the riders were two other riders that will be joining me for the BP MS150 ride next month (Andrea and Bill). This was my first 50 miler of the season and definately helped us get ready for the BP ride. The route included the hills of Babcock, Scenic Loop, Toutant Beauregard and Cielo Vista. After the ride, some of the riders stayed at the Free Tail to socialize and had a great lunch. In the near future, we will do the long awaited Duck and Bat tour that will use most of the same route up to Boerne with a rest stop at the Dodging Duck Brewhaus before heading back to the Freetail. With my rides, I like to add a little social time after, so everyone can get to know one another. (Carl and I secretly hoped nobody else would show up and we could go back to bed)
The next installment in the Sunday Funday Casual Ride series will start in Boerne next Sunday at 8:30. After the ride, I hope that everyone will take some time to enjoy lunch at the Dodging Duck.
Route Map: Boerne Lake Start - Tall Texas Route - 56 miles Please note: The ride start will be from the Fizar building and not from Boerne Lake as listed on the route map. Boerne Lake has started charging a entrance fee and we don't want riders having to pay for parking. Clip here for directions to the start.
Riders gather in the Freetail parking lot a few weeks ago during our first Casual Ride of the season
San Antonio Tower Climb
Received this update from Board Member Peter Ray, who along with Nicole, Nerissa, Kent, etc, did the Tower Climb this weekend...-
A handful of Velo Valero team members, plus a bunch of those incredible Valero Volunteers, braved the 24th Annual San Antonio Tower Climb this Saturday. The day started very cold and blustery, and there were a few technical glitches with the event that delayed registration, but once the one-mile run began, it was all bidness. There were a lot more participants this year, which was great for raising money to combat Cystic Fibrosis. But it also meant that the stairwell was a lot more crowded than last year, which made it hard for me to maintain a running pace most of the time. I'm going to recommend that they go to more of a staggered start/chute concept next year, to insure that this doesn't happen again. (On the bright side, there were a few climbers in costume, including a great Darth Vadar, to keep us entertained). As usual, I was humbled by the San Antonio firemen who do the event in 60 pounds of turn-out gear - I mean, it's hard enough to climb 58 flights of stairs carrying just your body fat and your iPod, but to throw an extra 60 pounds of gear into the mix is just incredible! Just like last year, I opted not to wait for the elevator to carry me down, and instead ran the 58 flights down, giving me a total of 1904 stairs for the day. ....My time wasn't great - about the same as I did in 2008 - but I really enjoyed the event. I heard former mayor Henry Cisneros speak at the San Antonio Sports Foundation banquet a few weeks ago, and he was touting the concept of San Antonio as a city that is rapidly becoming renowned as a city of participatory athletes. We don't just sit on the couch, eating nachos and cheering the Spurs on; many of us also get up on Saturday morning and ride our bikes, run in 5Ks, and climb tall buildings. We do this to raise money for great causes, we do this to meet great people, and we do this to improve our personal health, allowing us to live longer and live better. I think Mr. Cisneros is on to something, and I'm proud to be part of this movement, as each and everyone of you on this team should be...
Results Individual | Team
To read the article on the event from the Express News, click here.
Climbers wait anxiously at the starting line
The Hammer, Matt, Lance (who smoked us all with a time of just over 18 minutes), and the Funky Pirate
Runners approaching the Tower
Jedi Knights spotted in the stairwell
Posing with one of the many firemen who do the climb in full turn-out gear
The N2 Crew (Nerissa and Nicole) at the top
Group shot of some of the Volunteers and Velo Valero team members back on terra firma at the end of the climb. For more photos, click here.
Performance Outlet: Save up to 75% on Over 900 Items + Members-Only Clothing Sale Online Only
See you on the road!
- Andrea
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