Spokesman - Summer 2005

The Spokesman

the newsletter and ride schedule of the

Tri-City Bicycle Club

Serving Richland, Kennewick,
Pasco, and environs

Volume XXIX, No. 3
July – August 2005

What's Inside

Ride Calendar – Summer 2005
Our Address on the Internet is Moving
Armadillos, Round Three
Odds and Ends
Packard’s Tour

TCBC Officers and Board Members
President Vice-President Secretary Treasurer Ride Coordinator Newsletter Editor Past President	. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	George Kyriazis Betsy Colburn Evelyn Painter Vicki Patten Tom Klinckman Bob Morford Kathleen Nordquist

Ride Calendar – Summer 2005

Tuesday and Thursday rides start at the Richland Community Center (meet on the north side by the bike racks). These are leaderless rides, with the destination chosen by the group. Morning rides start at 8:30 AM; evening rides start at 6:00 PM.

Saturday rides generally start at 8:30 AM from their scheduled locations, as specified in the ride calendar.

Ride Codes: Green – less than 15 miles with nearly level terrain; Blue – 15 - 40 miles with moderate terrain; Black – greater than 40 miles with moderate terrain, or fewer than 40 with asphalt moguls.

Riders: No need to call ahead unless otherwise indicated. Just show up at the start. Feel free to call the ride leader for more information.

Leaders and Sweeps: Ride leaders and sweeps are always needed. As a leader, you can choose a ride that’s been done before, or create the ride of your choice and have it immortalized in this Spokesman ride calendar. The day you lead the group on your ride, you may be surprised at the number of riders who have never followed your route before. Ride sweeps provide the “rear guard” for the ride, ensuring that slower riders or those with mechanical troubles don’t fall back behind the pack. Call Tom Klinckman at 543-7714 to volunteer.

And two more Very Important Notes: First, WEAR YOUR HELMET! Second, please obey the rules of the road at all times. The Club is active in community affairs, which helps us promote legislation that could provide better facilities for cyclists. Don’t ruin it by blowing through stop signs, tailgating left turns, or riding against traffic. If you wouldn’t do it in a car, don’t do it on a bike!

Beginning riders and those who want a shorter ride: Show up at the longer rides and let the ride Sweep or Leader know you’d like a less strenuous ride. They can help you with a shorter route and try to match you up with someone to ride with. We won’t leave you dangling.

Jul 23 – Zintel Dam – Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Take Goethals to the I-182 bike path up to Queensgate. Left to Keene Rd to Gauge, right on Leslie, cross Badger, and around to 10th Ave. Right on Union to 27th. Ride up to Dam. Continue through Canyon Lakes to Ely. Left on 27th and retrace back to Kellogg, down to 10th. Lunch stop at the Sandstone on Washington in Kennewick. Over the Cable Bridge and back to Richland on the Pasco bike path. Black, about 40 miles. Leader: Bill Dunbar, 627-0167

Jul 30 – Dallas Climb Meet at Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Out I 182 to Kennedy and Dallas. Climb Dallas to I 82 and on to Badger Road. Return on Leslie. The climb up Dallas makes this ride a Dark Blue, 25 miles. Leader: Tom Klinckman, 543-7714

Aug 6 – Finley/Windfarm Leave Espresso World in Kennewick at 8:30 am (for those wanting a longer ride, start at Some Bagels in Richland at 7:30 am). Ride through Kennewick and Finley up to the end of the pavement at the windfarm. Lunch stop TBD. Blue, 40 miles. Leader: Howard Gardner, 943-9084

Aug 13 – Sagemoor Backwards Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Bike trail to Columbia Point and across Columbia River on I 182 bridge bike path. West on Court to Harris, west on Harris to Dent, follow Dent to Rd 68, left on Rd 68/Taylor Flats Rd, Left on Sagemoor and down the hill. Lunch possibly at Hayden’s. Black, approx. 35 miles. Leader: Bill Dunbar, 627-0167

Aug 20 – Badger Canyon Loop Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Columbia Park Trail to Leslie to Badger Canyon, down Webber to Kiona. Food, water stop at Conoco in Benton City. Return via Rupert Rd to DeMoss Rd and Van Giesen. Blue, approx. 40 miles. Leader: Gene Weisskopf, 946-1316

Aug 27 – Chocolate Factory and Beyond Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am Cross Col. River on I 182, out Court to Harris, left on Harris to Dent. Left on Rd 68, right at fire station, out to Hwy 395 and lunch at the Chocolate Factory. Return via Hwy 395 north and take Sagemoor towards home. Black, 40 mi. Leader: Bill Painter, 946-1076

Sep 3 – Free Ride! - Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am decide on the ride, over some bagels. Discuss the meaning of Labor Day. Leaderless.

Sep 10 – Rancho Reata Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30AM. Out Leslie to Rachel Rd, right on Rachel, left on Clover Rd, left on Bermuda, right on Sagebrush, left on Summit View. Climb to top. Return same route. Black, approx. 25 miles. Leader: Bill Dunbar, 627-0167

Sep 17 – Hat Rock to Pendleton Loop Meet at 7AM at Some Bagels in Richland. Car pool to Hat Rock Park. Hat Rock to Echo to Pendleton along the Umatilla River. Water, food stop in Pendleton. Return through wheat fields north of Pendleton. Black, approx. 70+ miles. Leader: Howard Gardner, 943-9084

Sep 24 – Far Finley Hill Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Head towards Finley following Bill’s directions and up the far Finley hill (for those more ambitious there are also other hills to climb). Black, 40 mi. Leader: Bill Painter, 946-1076

Oct 1 – Tri Cities to Touchet Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Go through Pasco to Hwy 12 then a left on Hwy 124 to Touchet River Rd and Return on Hwy 12. Black, 100 miles. Leader: Gene Weisskopf, 946-1316

Oct 8 – Benton City Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Ride to B.C. via Van Giesen, Ruppert, Demoss. Lunch in Benton City. Retrace route to return. Blue, approx. 35 miles. Leader: Larry Thomas, 942-1266

Oct 15 – Hill Climbers Special Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am Lee Blvd to Goethals to Van Giesen and on to West Richland. Up Bombing Range Rd, up Dallas and on to Badger Rd. Badger Rd to Clodfelter Rd and up the hill until the legs give out or the group mutinies. Return back down Clodfelter, Leslie, Columbia Park Trail and I 182. Black, approx. 50 miles. Leader: Tom Klinckman, 543-7714

Oct 22 – Tour de Hanford - Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Go north out of Richland onto Rt. 4S to the Wye Barricade. Turn back on Rt. 10 to Horn Road to bike trail, Goethels, and Lee. Black, 48 miles. Leader: Dave Gerkensmeyer, 943 0815

Our Address on the Internet is Moving

Our "bike club" address on the Internet evidently implied not just bicycles but motorcycles, too. The last thing we want is to be associated with brash, middle-aged guys in weird outfits on expensive two-wheeled vehicles, so the board decided to tweak our Web address from "bike club" to "bicycle club". The new address is now:

We hope the change won’t be too confusing in the short-term. Once you’ve bookmarked the new address, everything should behave as before. The old address will still be active, with a pointer to the new one. To contact the board, the revised e-mail address is:

Armadillos, Round Three

Or maybe it’s round four, but my tires are changing. Last time, you may remember, an unnamed operative at Specialized, whom I call Deep Spoke, sent me two of their Armadillos-in-the-works. Unlike the 2003 generation, these were foldable, lightweight, with pliant sidewalls, not at all like the "truck tires" from 2003.

I put about 1400 miles on the pair, with mixed results. They were fine tires that installed easily and roundly (no lumps, bumps, or humps) and performed well on the road. But they were not heading toward the record books in terms of flat tires, having scored four tackweed-induced flats in those 1700 miles, two on each tire. Granted, I really needed to put 5000+ miles on them before I can make a claim, but the trend wasn’t encouraging.

In the first week of July, though, Deep Spoke sent me the just-released production model of this tire, the Specialized All Condition Pro--foldable, weighs 220 g, and retails for $37 on the Specialized Web site. The tires installed smoothly and roundly, and did well on a ride to Prosser over damp roads and the usual chip-sealed roads with gravelly turns.

But the critical criteria remain to be seen. They’ve stayed flat-free for 75 miles, but I’ll be looking forward to seeing how they handle the next 5000.

Jim and Mary Kay Britton are deep into another bicycle tour, this time of the Northeast. You can follow their journey via their Web site at:

The 21-day Tour de France bicycle race is in progress. If you have cable or satellite TV, you can follow each day’s stage on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN). Or check out the Tour’s Web site at:

Someone left behind a white/teal blue metal lawn chair and a Mariners' hot/cold cup. To get them back, call VickiPatten, 547-2317

We had a great response to our IEC t-shirts this year but still have a few we need to sell. In the short sleeved there is 1 small and 1 XL. In the long sleeved there are 8 smalls, 5 mediums, and 2 XL's. These are good quality 50/50 blend, don't shrink, and hold their color well. Prices are $13.00 for short sleeves and $15.00 for long. Contact Vicki Patten at 547-2317 or vicki_patten@yahoo.com to purchase a shirt.

Packard’s Tour

We just completed the 2005 NWTR in Bend, Or and what a great ride it was this year. 926 cyclists convened at Summit High School Saturday morning, July 2, for the first ride. Saturday's ride took us out to the northwest of town on quiet roads past Eagle Crest and Tumalo through beautiful forests and with fabulous views of the Sisters, Mts. Washington and Jefferson and Bachelor Butte. It was a little cool in the morning but quickly warmed up to be a beautiful day.

The food at the rest stops was great and included sub sandwich wraps for lunch. Lots of graham crackers with icing, peanut butter, bananas, oranges and apples. Salty things included Goldfish, Cheeze-Its, potato chips and Chex mix. Sweet things were licorice sticks, M&Ms and M&M peanuts and there were bags to put your goodies in to carry on to the next spot where one had need for food.

Sunday's ride started in the northeast part of town out by the hospital and then we went northeast. The area of town is called the Mountain View neighborhood and we had quite the mountain views from a farther perspective than yesterday. Today we didn't even start off in jackets or vests and by noon it was up to 80°. Everyone was suffering a little more in the heat today although we didn't have nearly so many hills as yesterday. It was great fun to ride the rolling hills and flat roads of the area. Guess we're missing it a bit with our 30 kilometers rides and 600 meters of elevation gain on the island. Here we were doing 75-85 kilometers with 400-600 meters of elevation. Quite a difference. We also missed seeing our tandem friends from the Tri-Cities. Seems they're all off cycling in other parts of the country right now. Happy cycling to you in the Tri-Cities.