The weekend is almost upon us! Look for some great cycling fun to happen in and around the Des Moines area.
Start the weekend of right and GO jump in a lake! Hosted by GO! Training, the swim starts at 8am on the beach at Big Creek Lake. Contact Dave Mable at dmable@juno.com for more information.
Stick around after the swim and race the Toyota Big Creek Road Race, brought to you by the women of the Bike World/All9yards Cycling Team. With $1900 in prize money and a great 6 mile rolling country course, the start/finish in beautiful Big Creek State Park (right near the beach... bring the kids!!) - it will be a great race! There will be a 'Women's Beginner' race for women who have raced for less than a year - the open race is for all the fast chicks that have been beating each other up for more than a year. Go to bigcreekroadrace.blogspot.com for more information.
Sat. evening head down to the State Capitol where the Bicycle Coasting Contest will take place on the East Walnut Street hill, beginning at 6:30 p.m. A $5 entrance fee benefits the Des Moines Bicycle Collective. Also on Saturday, the Des Moines Cycle Club is hosting a Pajama Party bicycle ride in the East Village. The ride is free, but a $5 per person donation is requested for the alcohol-free pajama party, $1 of which will be contributed to the Partnership for a Drug-Free Iowa. Gates open at 6:30 p.m., with food and bike vendors on-hand. The ride starts on East Third Street at 7:30 p.m. and will continue through downtown Des Moines for about one hour. There will be prizes for the best lighted bike and the best pajamas. The pajama party will begin in the parking lot on East Third Street, between Locust and Walnut streets, immediately following the bike ride and include a showing of the movie "Breaking Away."
The final event of the weekend is the East Village Criterium bike race on Aug. 30. Events start at 8:15 a.m. and continue all day until the award ceremonies at 6 p.m. Events include races for kids and age groups to age 60 and older. Race day registration starts at 7 a.m. near the start/finish line at the foot of the Iowa State Capitol. Online registration, at www.eastvillagecrit.com, closes at 10:59 p.m. Friday.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
What A Great Way to Start the Day!
Thanks Dee, JoAnn, Joe, Kristin and Lori for another great ride from Bike World West Wednesday morning! It started out a little chilly and of course very dark, but we were excited to see JoAnn and Joe pull in to join us!
Monday, JoAnn was going to give it a go, but do to the heavy rains opted out. The forecast was in our favor today and we only got honked at one time! I think everyone had a great morning and we didn't have one rain drop!
Let's do it again soon! Go Pink!
45+ Miles On The Bike Was Our Goal...
...but didn't think we would be welcomed by a monsoon to start our early morning ride!
This past Monday morning Joann, Dee and I headed to BWW to do an early morning ride with a regular BWW group of riders starting at 5:15 AM. We planned to do the Urban Loop with them and then head out East to finish on the Van Meter loop to try to get in 45+ miles.
As I drove to BWW for the start of the ride, I noticed it starting to sprinkle a little. According to the radar, on my handy dandy I-phone, it looked like we might just get a little sprinkling for the start of our ride, but wasn't supposed to be get too crazy. Not many were gathering for the early ride this day, possibly because of the threat of rain. It ended up being the three of us and three other riders. One was a new rider, out of Chicago area, named Mike. After one last evaluation of the radar, along with the encouraging advise of Mr. Dave Mable, that we would only get the “tail” of the storm, we headed out to try and "Git-R-Done.” Joann, recovering from a broken collar bone, decided not to take any chances with the threat of slippery roads and opted out of the early ride. JoAnn, it was so nice to see you back on the bike so quickly after the accident. Great job!
We started out with the regular early group, but after about 2 miles ,decided that they really must have wanted to ride by themselves, because they started out really fast and it was just too dangerous with the heavy rains to go continue at that pace AND it was still dark out. At one stop light, our brakes weren't even working properly. So Dee, Mike and I let them break away and by this time the rain was really starting to come down. By the time we got to the Valley Junction area the rain was coming down so hard it was stinging our faces. We decided to not take any chances and pulled into an awning area to wait it out. I am so glad we did.
Once the rain subsided, we headed out again and Dee suggested that we just turn around and head back East to complete the Van Meter Loop instead of trying to finish the Urban Loop first. As we headed back east my enthusiasm to continue on was dwindling and I really just wanted to head back to Bike World West, get in my car, head home to take a nice hot shower and get the work day started. I'm glad that Dee encouraged us to continue on. We ended having an awesome ride, along with our new friend Mike! It turned out to be a beautiful morning and so our goal 45+ miles was complete!
Thanks Dee and our new friend Mike from Chicago! I couldn't have done it without you!
This past Monday morning Joann, Dee and I headed to BWW to do an early morning ride with a regular BWW group of riders starting at 5:15 AM. We planned to do the Urban Loop with them and then head out East to finish on the Van Meter loop to try to get in 45+ miles.
As I drove to BWW for the start of the ride, I noticed it starting to sprinkle a little. According to the radar, on my handy dandy I-phone, it looked like we might just get a little sprinkling for the start of our ride, but wasn't supposed to be get too crazy. Not many were gathering for the early ride this day, possibly because of the threat of rain. It ended up being the three of us and three other riders. One was a new rider, out of Chicago area, named Mike. After one last evaluation of the radar, along with the encouraging advise of Mr. Dave Mable, that we would only get the “tail” of the storm, we headed out to try and "Git-R-Done.” Joann, recovering from a broken collar bone, decided not to take any chances with the threat of slippery roads and opted out of the early ride. JoAnn, it was so nice to see you back on the bike so quickly after the accident. Great job!
We started out with the regular early group, but after about 2 miles ,decided that they really must have wanted to ride by themselves, because they started out really fast and it was just too dangerous with the heavy rains to go continue at that pace AND it was still dark out. At one stop light, our brakes weren't even working properly. So Dee, Mike and I let them break away and by this time the rain was really starting to come down. By the time we got to the Valley Junction area the rain was coming down so hard it was stinging our faces. We decided to not take any chances and pulled into an awning area to wait it out. I am so glad we did.
Once the rain subsided, we headed out again and Dee suggested that we just turn around and head back East to complete the Van Meter Loop instead of trying to finish the Urban Loop first. As we headed back east my enthusiasm to continue on was dwindling and I really just wanted to head back to Bike World West, get in my car, head home to take a nice hot shower and get the work day started. I'm glad that Dee encouraged us to continue on. We ended having an awesome ride, along with our new friend Mike! It turned out to be a beautiful morning and so our goal 45+ miles was complete!
Thanks Dee and our new friend Mike from Chicago! I couldn't have done it without you!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Bike Collective Experience!
Have you ever wondered what happens at the Bike Collective downtown? Well, I did too and finally got the chance to volunteer my time with some great Friends this past Friday night. I had so much fun and it was nice to know we were making a difference in our community. After picking up a few snacks and drinks JoAnn, Joe, Natalie, Amy, Lisa & Myself worked for about two hours cleaning and helping to organize the facility. The organization is completely ran by volunteers who collect donated and used bicycles, fix them up and give them charity or sell at a very affordable price.
If you haven't had a chance to volunteer this year with your fellow members in the club, then watch for details on upcoming opportunities to help the Bike Collective out. If you aren't able to volunteer at an organized event with the club, then feel free to stop by their shop anytime to give a little time for a good cause. You can find more details and photos by going to their website: http://dsmbikecollective.org/
Sunday, August 9, 2009
An Eventful August - so far!!!
I know it's suppose to be, like March, or something - but this year August came in like a lion!
Pink shone brightly at the Iowa State Road Race Championships on the first day of the month. With Kim and Joann all beat up, Dalena racing Big Creek and Kristin racing her mtn bike in Waverly, Dee headed over to West Branch to fly the pink flag solo. 15 starters toed the line for the 54 mile race. By the end of the race, it was down to 3 in the front group - our beloved Dee amoung them. A long hill lead to the finish line, and in the 3-up sprint for the line, Dee came out victorious! A state champion in Pink! And with Iowa Cup points to boot! With her victory at the road race, Dee now holds a slim lead over Sara (PRC) and is 5 points behind Sandy (Skin)in the season long Iowa Cup. A strong showing will be needed at the East Village Criterium by each of those three ladies if they are to be crowned the Iowa Cup Champion!
That same weekend, Dalena and Dotty flew the pink flag at the Big Creek Triathlon! Both of them enjoyed the wet-suit legal swim, rocked out on the bike and "cruised" the 2 lap run - I say 'cruised' because, though the morning started out cool, the sun was full-out by the time runners hit the pavement - and it made for a hot and sunny run. But both ladies did well, shaving minutes from thier Hy-Vee Olympic times!
Up north, Kristin Reese felt like getting a little dirty at the Camp Ingawanis Mountain Bike Race in Waverly. Kristin rode strongly on her sweet pink Gary Fisher mtn bike and finished in 2nd in the sport category!
The next weekend (Aug 8-9), Karolyn, Kristin and Dee (with her hubby, Dave, on the tandem) traveled to Aquabi State Park for another IMBCS mtn bike race. Karolyn, in her first race, won the beginner division against some strong riders! Kristin was 4th in the 3 lap sport category and Dee and Dave won the 4 lap tandem category!
We also heard about Julie and Julie rocking out the Muddy Buddy race in Chicago last weekend (Aug 1-2) in Chicago - Julie S. assures us that we need to rent a bus next year and all head over to the super fun event!
Congratulations all on an eventful, exciting August - and it's only just begun!
Pink shone brightly at the Iowa State Road Race Championships on the first day of the month. With Kim and Joann all beat up, Dalena racing Big Creek and Kristin racing her mtn bike in Waverly, Dee headed over to West Branch to fly the pink flag solo. 15 starters toed the line for the 54 mile race. By the end of the race, it was down to 3 in the front group - our beloved Dee amoung them. A long hill lead to the finish line, and in the 3-up sprint for the line, Dee came out victorious! A state champion in Pink! And with Iowa Cup points to boot! With her victory at the road race, Dee now holds a slim lead over Sara (PRC) and is 5 points behind Sandy (Skin)in the season long Iowa Cup. A strong showing will be needed at the East Village Criterium by each of those three ladies if they are to be crowned the Iowa Cup Champion!
That same weekend, Dalena and Dotty flew the pink flag at the Big Creek Triathlon! Both of them enjoyed the wet-suit legal swim, rocked out on the bike and "cruised" the 2 lap run - I say 'cruised' because, though the morning started out cool, the sun was full-out by the time runners hit the pavement - and it made for a hot and sunny run. But both ladies did well, shaving minutes from thier Hy-Vee Olympic times!
Up north, Kristin Reese felt like getting a little dirty at the Camp Ingawanis Mountain Bike Race in Waverly. Kristin rode strongly on her sweet pink Gary Fisher mtn bike and finished in 2nd in the sport category!
The next weekend (Aug 8-9), Karolyn, Kristin and Dee (with her hubby, Dave, on the tandem) traveled to Aquabi State Park for another IMBCS mtn bike race. Karolyn, in her first race, won the beginner division against some strong riders! Kristin was 4th in the 3 lap sport category and Dee and Dave won the 4 lap tandem category!
We also heard about Julie and Julie rocking out the Muddy Buddy race in Chicago last weekend (Aug 1-2) in Chicago - Julie S. assures us that we need to rent a bus next year and all head over to the super fun event!
Congratulations all on an eventful, exciting August - and it's only just begun!
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