San Antonio Velo Valero Members Travel to Support our Benicia Plant for the Napa Tour de Cure
Team members Carl Crawford, David Gross and Paige Wright joined by Lindy Mansell (now known as Carl's fiancé) went to Napa to join the riders from our Ca. refineries. While it rained most of the weekend, we enjoyed a nice visit in mostly the Rutherford region and participated in “Passport Weekend” where we got preferential treatment at 12 wineries. We opted out of the bike ride as it was cold and rainy. Several of the Ca. riders opted out as well, but there were several that didn’t wimp out like we did!
David, Page, Lindy, and Carl enjoying the cool California temps.
Napa Tour De Cure ride update provided by Daniel Rubio.
Good thing we don't live in Oregon or Washington! Think rain is a frequent issue there, but it felt like Oregon yesterday at the start. (Sunday, May 3rd)
I have confirmed at least 15 of our riders made the wet trek yesterday. I would say the rain was coming down from 6:15 am to about 9:30 am. Then light rain to 11am. I saw Roberta from Wilmington off by about 7:30 am, did not see her again after the ride, but looked for her. I also saw John Zapanta, John Jr, and Jerry Barker off on their ride. They were planning for the 100 miler but with the rain, modified and did a little more than 50 miles. That was John Jr's first real ride in the rain, way to go! Two of my friends joined our team, Richard and Steve, work with my wife's school district, both great teachers. They headed out for the 100 miler, and completed as well.
The rain did end, and we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon barbeque. We caught up with Doug Comeau, Gary Coleman and his friend Trish. Also had Valero's Team fundraising King, Don Cuffel broke bread with us($4,100.00 raised). David Lindsey, John Zapanta, John Jr, also were there for lunch.
Confirmed Lynne Moore and Marlene Muir were there, but never caught up with them.
Lot's of flat tires out there. Interesting note for me. 2/3 through the fifty miler I started thinking no one had passed me during my ride. Within seconds of thinking that, woosh..... two riders plow by me. A quick gear change and off I went. Caught them in under a half a mile. I bet I hadn't been on their wheel more than ten seconds, a squishy feeling from the saddle, and it wasn't my soaked cycling shorts. Yes, I had been thinking it was a great idea to put new tires on a few weeks ago, not so fast, flat rear tire.... With all the rain, dirt and oil, it was a messy tube change.
I also wanted to say thanks to my wife Mary's teacher pals. Kim, Peggy and Anne all worked the registration desk all morning in the damp cold weather. They were under a tent, but it was chilly at 6:15 am. Thanks for the help there!!!!!
As always the American Diabetes Association will not post results of fund raising until July 10th. Please send me your fund raising results, miles road and fund raising hours, as soon as you can! My thanks for your help with this! Don't want to wait that long!
Thank you all for your participation and enthusiasm,
Daniel L Rubio
Valero Benicia Refinery
View from Tres Sabores Winery
Senate Bill 488 - Safe Passing Bill This bill has passed the Texas Senate, but has not yet passed the Texas House. The bill calls for large vehicles to give bicyclists, pedestrians, runners, and other vulnerable users of Texas roadways a clearance of at least 6 feet when passing. Other vehicles would have to give at least 3 feet of clearance.
If you are interested in encouraging you State Representative to vote in favor of this bill, go to ttp://www.house.state.tx.us/resources/faq.htm#who_rep.
Did you know: May is National Bike to Work Month. The week of May 11 is National Bike to Work Week and May 15th is National Bike to Work Day. So now is a great time to consider using your bike to commute. If you would like to try it out, here are a few tips provided by some commuting cyclists in our region: Click here for more information on communiting to work.
Prepare yourself for the commute:
· Keep it as simple as possible. You will not stick with it if it is too burdensome.
· Dress for the ride, not necessarily for work (at least at first).
· Work clothes can be prepositioned at the office or carry them with you. Keep a pair of work shoes, a towel, and personal hygiene supplies at the office as these tend to be bulky items.
· Know your route. Rush hour traffic is not a good time to experiment with the roadway. The route you take by car might not be the route you want to take by bicycle. Map your route prior to commuting and consider riding the route on a weekend to give yourself practice. (If you would like help in mapping a bike commute route, contact Lydia Kelly at 230-6911 or kelly@sametroplan.org)
· Pay attention to the weather. Be ready with rain, cold and hot weather gear as needed.
· Velcro straps or plain rubber bands work great if you ride with work clothes on to keep your pant legs from getting caught in the chain/rings/etc.
· Get a helmet that fits correctly and wear it.
TOOBING VELO STYLE!
Chaos on the water! John Tenison waiving. Chuck Divelbiss (in front of John) and Phoebe McCallum on the right sporting some cool shades!
Some of the VELO toobers are: "El Hefe" Peter, David G., Kent, Jacque, Zora and Alan.
VELO continues their Toobin tradition with a fun, refreshing toobing experience after the Tour De Cure Day 1 ride in San Marcos! Hurry and save a spot! RSVP: Grace.Batres@valero.com
For those of you who will be joining the VELO toobing adventure, please bring:
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water proof wallet
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water shoes
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water friendly clothing
Sunscreen will be provided. Toobers are responsible for paying for their tube rental. Shuttle service to toobing outfitter will be provided. More details to come soon! See you on the road and on the water!
Hillfest Update
Received this update from El Slacke -
...Last night I joined hammerheads Ray, John, Scott, and Ernie on the Hillfest. It was 98 degrees when we started (an all time record for May 13th in San Antonio), and there was a hot swirling wind from the south. We mixed things up by riding Babcock to Scenic Loop, and up to Boerne, and then back on Upper Balcones and Toutant Beauregard, for 35+ miles of hills and thrills. Since I've been working weekends, I haven't been able to get many long weekend rides in where I could get acclimated to the Texas heat. And let me tell you, I felt it. I did reasonably well with the wind at my back and up through Boerne, but when we turned south and began to battle those huge Balcones Fault hills, things were a little different. On some of the steeper climbs, I dropped to less than 10 mph and could really feel the tempurature and the humidity clawing into me. It was a endless, lonely grind to get through it all, but on that final ascent on Babock leading to Chase Hill, as the sun was setting and I felt the last of my energy ebbing away, John "the Former Punisher" Tenison drives up next to me in his car and says, "You're almost there, Pete - keep it up!" I had an immediate flashback to 10 years ago when I did my first Bike to the Beach and was crawling my way into that fierce Day 2 headwind, and Zora Bilicich drove up next to me in a SAG wagon and uttered that classic line in her unforgettable Columbian accent, "You can DO IT!" This is a lesson I've really learned this year as I've spent less time in the saddle and have lost a lot of my cycling mojo - the support and encouragement of your team members is invaluable in helping you through the hard times. Thank you Zora and thank you John - it's because of people like you that I love this team and this sport so much! (Don't worry - I'll get the mojo back in time for the Ride to the River!!)
- Peter "Nancy" Ray
Keep an eye out for any last minute updates regarding the Tour de Cure. See you at Packet Pickup on May 21st.
- Andrea