Hey TRLs!
So this is it for me! After Monday's Potluck ride, I'm a rider just like everyone else!! WAHOOO!!! now I can go back to my old crazy, loud, cranky self! :-)
Many of you are hosting celebration rides this weekend, and or after work get togethers next week to calm pre-jitters (Chicago!)
Thanks for doing that! Its a nice way to end the season, socialize a bit more with riders and get to calm their fears one last time.
Many of you will hear this throughout the week of the ride, and at the Safety Video as well, so this is the last thing I'd like you to message out to your groups this week:
"The Code of Conduct and the Safety Speech information you've gotten in the past weeks are in place, as you all know, to keep us all safe (and alive) during the week of the ride. That's the priority for us. Second to that, the reason is so that we can preserve the future of the AIDS Lifecycle ride and continue to produce this event. Consider it "keeping the future of the ride safe" as well.
Think of it this way:
Just One Rider, can upset One Town, and that town can decline One Permit next year, jeopardizing the future of the Ride.
Please think of this daily on the Ride in June, when you consider running a stop sign, riding 2 or more abreast or even pacelining with your team some afternoon when you are all tired (thus blocking traffic). One Rider, One Town, One Permit.
Let's correct each other too when needed, in a nice way of course. Remind each other "One Rider, One Town, One Permit" and we'll preserve our Safety and the future of AIDS Lifecycle."
This has been quite the Training Ride Season. We set out to do some different things in some different areas and I think we had some great successes. I hope you think so too.
It was a little weird going from Volunteer to part time Staff (did you notice I had to tone it down a lot? :-) but in the long run I think we accomplished some goals. If I remember correctly just about everyone said they wanted to TRL so that they could "give back", and "help new riders get through the hard times easier than I did" I hope that you feel you accomplished that goal this season as well.
I'm not sure what my future is as Training Ride Coordinator, but I do want to let you know that this season has been a BLAST for me! I also invite you to email Susan with any (and I mean ANY) comments you have on the Training Ride Program -yes including comments on me- this year, as well as suggestions for next year. I'm hoping to get a survey out to you all in the next week or two, but you know there's this ride coming up that I'm doing in a week or so ....
In addition to the VERY BIG THANKS to ALL of you, I'd like to offer a Huge Thank You to the following Bay Area TRLs who went a bit beyond the average Call of Duty...
Mary Vencill- East Bay CAT 1 Series Ride Facilitator. Mary started her Ride Series back on December 8th and ran consecutively for 23 weeks! She took the very very East Bay newbie riders under her wing and set them up for success! Thanks to Mary and her weekly crew for keeping it together for the entire 23 weeks.
Ben Armstrong- SF CAT 2 Series Ride Facilitator. Once again had the highest attendance of any training rides. Ben also maintains a great CAT 2 Series website for his folks (www.catseries.com) with great ongoing commentary!!
Mark Smith- East Bay CAT 2 Series Ride Facilitator. Known as the TRL who will make you ride every hill twice! Thanks to Mark and his weekly crew for pulling it together every Sunday and making sure that EVERYONE got back safely.... even if it WAS at dusk...and that last person was sooo rude to the sweep...
Randy Files- South Bay CAT 2 Series Ride Facilitator. Randy headed up a crew for a ride every Sunday morning... sometimes after working a very busy graveyard shift the previous Saturday night!! Randy took his riders over every hill in the South Bay, and then some... even taking them to San Gregorio so that they'd know what its like to ride to the beach and back.
Chris Thomas- Peninsula CAT 3 Distance Training Series. Chris proved that you don't have to ride at 15mph+ to be a CAT 3 rider and still succeed. One of the best compliments we received from riders was that Chris' mileage on his route sheets were ALWAYS right on target. (how do you do that??). Chris also lead the only "Double Metric Plus" ride this season, and it was a rousing success.... yes there are some riders out there who LIKE to ride over 125 miles..... crazy as we, I mean they, are!
Geoff Schneider- SF CAT 3 Series Rides. Following Ben's routes, Geoff was able to offer faster riders a chance to ride out later and at a faster pace. Many riders have thanked us for offering up more CAT 3 rides this season (I got one thank you from a Rider today, in fact).
Kurt Schade- SF CAT 1 Series Rides. As usual, Saint Kurt offered up the most entertainment for his newbie CAT 1 riders and he now has a cult following. Have you noticed that? They all followed him to the "Bride of CAT 2" Series when the CAT 1 rides were over.... whether he was leading or not! Kurt definitely gets the prize for the "most patient and most entertaining" TRL.
Justin Cox & Emmy Starr- These two "Freshman" TRLs- took the lead in Facilitating the "Bride of CAT 2 Series" (with a bit of help from Kurt too!). Both Justin & Emmy are brand new TRLs and graciously said "yes" when we asked if they would take over the Bride Series. You guys get the "FANTASTIC NEWBIE TRL" award for stepping up to the plate and hitting a home run!
Deyon Jonson-- For thinking "OUTSIDE THE BOX" and offering up something NEW for riders to try-- climbing hills without having to worry about a lot of traffic! Deyon's Hill Climbing Clinics had to be one of the most sought after classes once word got out about her course. Thank you for sticking with it-- even with rain cancellations!
and finally-our "out of the immediate area" Ride Leaders:
Eric Drake- Training Ride Leader in SANTA CRUZ. Eric took it upon himself to start leading regular rides all over Santa Cruz for our huge group of riders in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. With help from some of you, Eric ( who is also a new daddy) spent hours in the saddle riding with our newbie Santa Cruz riders and also has a great following. Thank you Eric for stepping up to the plate- even though you are the only official TRL in Santa Cruz- and getting rides on the calendar!
Ronnie Campanelli, Jeanne Reed, Matt Millspaugh and Jimmy Castro-- All alone out in North San Juan/Sacramento areas. For getting some rides out on the calendar in your areas with as much regularity as possible. Next year we hope to offer even more rides out that way, now that we know how many ALC riders are actually out there!
The "girls" in Sonoma- Robin Abramson, Karen Cooper, Loree Angel, Mary Ford--- Matthew Duran and John Hershey. Thanks for trying new stuff and getting folks out to ride in Sonoma and Napa Counties!! (next year John- Bodega Bay with no fog, I'm sure we can do manage it some day!!!) Yes, we really DO have riders in a town called Sebastopol...
Our Out of State TRLs- from Las Vegas, Portland and Seattle to Delaware & New York, Chicago to Phoenix & Denver-- thank you all for getting rides out whenever you could. This was an unusually long wet season for many of you but you still braved the weather (or taught a weekly spin class) to get your groups together for a ride. Thank you for your dedication in getting at least one ride on the calendar this season. Its not always easy when you are the only one out in your area to lead.... thanks for all you have done!!
OH, Don't forget we will be wearing TRL jerseys/Vests or BUHC's (your choice!) on Day 2.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!
Now, let's Ride!! -jb
