RIDE CALENDAR – SUMMER 2006

Tuesday and Thursday Morning 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. 

Tuesday and Thursday Evening 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. Evening rides start at 6:00 PM.

Betsy Colburn  will lead rides from the Columbia Basin Racquet Club at 6:00 PM on Tuesday and Thursday evenings

Saturday rides will usually 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.

Ride Leaders – Some hints for an enjoyable and successful ride:

• Introduce all the riders before starting.
• Make sure everyone is wearing their helmets.
• Brief all riders on the route, where to regroup, any problems expected. (If you are unsure of the route and its conditions, ride it yourself the week before the ride.)
• Provide maps. You can get maps on the Web at Tri-City Bicycle Club Ride Maps.
• Ask about the riding abilities of the group, if you are not personally acquainted with some of the riders. Ask someone to act as sweep (rear guard) if there are riders who can’t keep up with the leaders.
• Ask riders to let you know if they will be leaving the group before the end of the ride.
• In hot weather, carry extra water in case another rider goes dry.

Riding in the fresh air and sunshine is its own best reward.

July 1 – 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 10^th Ave. Right on Union to 27^th. Ride up to Dam. Continue through Canyon Lakes to Ely. Left on 27^th and retrace back to Kellogg, down to 10^th. 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: Ed Nordquist, 627-1195

July 8 ‑ 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

July 15 – BC via Hanford - Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am . Go north out of Richland onto Rt. 4S to the Wye Barricade. Then head to Benton City with a stop to eat, then back via DeMoss & Ruppert. Black, 50 miles. Leader: Howard Gardner, 943-9084

July 22 –Rancho Reata ‑ Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am . 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

July 29 – 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 (Map: Blue, Dallas Climb). Leader: Bob Morford, 375‑0839

Aug 5 – Free Ride! - Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am discuss the direction of your labors over some bagels.  Leaderless.

Aug 12 – Sagemoor Loop ‑ 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 Columbia River Road near Douglas Fruit. Left on Columbia River Rd to Sagemoor and up the hill. Return on Taylor Flats Rd to Rd 68, right on Sandifur, Rd 100, Harris, Court. Retrace route back to Some Bagels. Black, approx. 35 miles. Leader:  Larry Thomas, 942-1266

Aug 19 – Badger Canyon Loop ‑ Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 9:30 am . I-182 to Queensgate, Columbia Drive , Leslie, and Badger. Return on Jacobs Rd from Kiona, then Dallas, Kennedy and Queensgate back to Richland . Blue, approx. 35 miles. Leader: Harold Udseth, 946-1202

Aug 26 ‑ 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: Howard Gardner, 943-9084

Sep 2 – Free Ride! - Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am discuss the meaning of Labor Day over some bagels as you decide on the ride.  Leaderless.

Sep 9 – Hat Rock to Pendleton Loop ‑ Meet at 7 am 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 16 – 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: Bill Dunbar, 627-0167

Sep 23 – Wannawish Dam - Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am . Bike path thru Howard Amon Park and Haines to Van Giesen, out to Fallon, Canal and Grosscup to Harrington. Follow Harrington to the pavement end beyond the Wannawish Dam. Return to West Richland via Grosscup. Return to Richland by retracing route. Blue, approx. 25 miles. Leader: Harold Udseth, 946-1202

Sep 30 – 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 other hills to also climb)  Black, 40 mi. Leader: Bill Painter, 946-1076

Oct 7 – Benton City ‑ Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 9:30 am . Ride to B.C. via Ruppert & DeMoss, Lunch at Shadow Mountain . Return via 224. Blue, approx. 30 miles. Leader: Bob Morford, 375‑0839

Oct 14 – 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 10^th Ave. Right on Union to 27^th. Ride up to Dam. Continue through Canyon Lakes to Ely. Left on 27^th and retrace back to Kellogg, down to 10^th. 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: Larry Thomas, 942-1266

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE:

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the IEC committee, ably chaired by Ellie Ittner, and all of the volunteers who helped man the rest stops and ride sweeps we had another successful Century ride.  The weather cooperated beautifully and approximately 200 cycling enthusiasts were able to enjoy a wonderful day riding in the mid Columbia .  This strong participation shows that the event fulfills a need in the community and surrounding area.  We will continue to strive to make improvements in the event so that we can offer the best biking experience possible to those who participate.  Moving the food stop in Benton City to the fire house was a marked improvement and we continue to learn about food portions and types and some changes will be made next year.   Thanks to the sponsorship of Group Health there was a net return to the club of approximately $2,600.00.

The IEC committee always strives to be sure that we have enough tee shirts for the event so as always we have t-shirts from this year’s event available at a discount in all sizes.  If you are interested please contact Ellie Ittner at (509) 627-1858 or by e-mail at edittner@owt.com.  The remainders will go for $10.00 plus postage.  Sizes available are S, M, L and XL.  There are also a few 2005 shirts left at $5.00 each, plus mailing.

The weekend rides have seen more participation by recumbent riders than in the past and on occasion they have outnumbered the upright riders.  The club welcomes all types of bicycles and encourages participation.  Routes can be adjusted and modified as needed depending on the interests of the riders that show up on any given day.  We are always interested in suggestions for new routes for the Saturday rides and suggestions should be sent to the ride coordinator Tom Klinckman who can be contacted at (509) 543-7714.

Summer is a slow time of year for the business of the club with many members on vacation and out of the area.  We are planning to have a summer picnic but have not yet been able to work out the details.  Club members will be contacted by e-mail with the pertinent information once we have settled on a time and place.  The club is also considering participating in a Pasco community service activity by committing to clean-up and weed control for a section of the bike path along the Columbia river in that city.  I would appreciate expressions of interest with an indication of the time that you would be willing to commit. 

Harold R Udseth

GROUP HEALTH INLAND EMPIRE CENTURY BICYCLE RIDE

Ellie Ittner, 2006 IEC Chair

Group Health Inland Empire Century another SUCCESS!

The 2006 Group Health Inland Empire Century was a success, again.  We had 191 riders registered.  Of those, 34 registered through Active.com.  The club cleared about $2500, thanks in part to the sponsorship of Group Health.  That sponsorship allowed us to purchase some badly-needed equipment to support the ride, such as tables and canopies, water jugs and coolers, and, most important, a portable filtration system for the water in Prosser.

Although the results have not been tabulated, surveys provided by 76 riders were very favorable.  Moving the Benton City rest stop was mostly favorable, but some riders preferred keeping it at the dirty, noisy, dangerous Park & Ride by Conoco.  The nut bars provided by Café at Queensgate were the big stars in the food department, but the bagels and peanut butter were sorely missed.  They will return, provided we find an efficient, low-cost solution to Health Department concerns over how to safely get the PB onto the B.

Finally, a big Thank You to the Group Health, Prosser Chamber of Commerce, and TCBC volunteers who helped make this year’s IEC a success.  We need two things to make next year better: more volunteers and a repeat of this year’s May 13 weather.

Ellie

WE NEED YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

About 15% of the club’s members either have not shared an email address with the club or have not updated an obsolete address.  If you do not have email, ignore this note.  However, it is very slow and costly to make up a separate set of snail mail cards every time we need to communicate with TCBC members.  TCBC does not share the members email addresses with anyone!  Please, if you have an email address, send it to the Club by sending a short message to info@tricitybicycleclub.org.

FOR SALE

Perfect entry-level racing bike for sale.  Very Good Condition Trek 2100, size=54cm.  Aluminum frame, carbon fork/seatpost/seatstays.  Triple Bontrager Race crankset, new bottom bracket and DuraAce chain.  105/Ultegra component mix. Bontrager Select wheelset with 12-27 (9-speed) cassette.  Purchased in June 2004 for $1429.99; asking $750, price negotiable.  It's been a great bike, selling because I'm looking at a race bike with different gearing and can't afford to keep both.  Call 509.375.4740 or email rachel.berkowitz@yale.edu

Rachel

SUPPORTERS OF THE TRI-CITY BICYCLE CLUB

Discounts include: Markee's - 10% off for accessories Scott's - 10% off for accessories Richland (Schwinn) - 20% off for accessories and 10% off for bicycles and exercise equipment