|
2012 Savvy Cycling Tour of Wisconsin
Over seventy avid cyclists from almost every corner of the country,
including Canada, gathered in Madison, Wisconsin in late August to explore the state capital and surrounding rural areas.
The tour was sponsored by the Savvy Cycling organization, many of whom are members of the Bicycle Club of
Irvine (BCI). The other cycling club, which was well represented, was the Beach Cities Cycling Club (BCCC). The
photo below shows a number of the BCCC members who participated in this event.
Each day during the week several
different routes, with varying degress of length and difficulty, were provided for all participants to choose from. On
Wednesday, August 22nd, a tour had been arranged of the Trek factory in Waterloo, which is 21 miles to the east of where we were
staying while in Madison. We were treated to lunch and given a tour of the factory. Bicycle frames for the majority of
Trek's models are manufactured here with final assembly done at another facility in Wisconsin. My Model 5200 carbon
fiber frame possesses a WLXXXXXXX serial number thus had been built in this factory.
On the
last day, Saturday August 25th, many made the trek to the farmer's market, which is spread around the large square encompassing
the capital building. This is rumored to be one of the largest public markets to be held anywhere in the
country. Although it was jam-packed with people that Saturday, it was very orderly, in stark contrast to the public-employee
union protests which had been held there earlier in the year. This was the site in Wisconsin where unruly gatherings
were held earlier in the year to protest the state government's attempts to balance the budget.
click here to play Trek factory video
|
| Beach Cities Cycling Club in Madison WI |
2010 Annual CAA Metric Century Ride
|
| Ready to Leave the Alumni House |
This year the Annual Metric Century Ride was held on
Saturday, May 15th, in conjunction with the 125th All Classes Reunion, which had been held the previous evening.
Fifty two riders left the Alumni House on Juniper Rd. just after 0800 hours on a bright sunny day having
the choice of two rides. The 50km went to Gates Mills and back while the 100km went out farther to the Kirtland-Willoughby
Hills area before looping back and returning for a fantastic BBQ catered by the Spice of Life at the Alumni House. A map of the ride is shown below.
2009 Annual CAA Metric Century Ride
The 3rd Annual Metric Century Ride was held on Saturday, May 16th, this
year. Seventy-six riders left the CAA Office parking lot just after 0800 hours in the morning. The sun was out and the temperature
was rapidly approaching a balmy 70 degrees.
This year the route took us east thru Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Hunting Valley, Chagrin Falls
and Bedford in the Metropolitan Park area where the turnaround point was at the intersection of Gorge Pkwy &
Dunham Rd. The route is shown below.
About eight riders, including me, opted to go back a different route along the tow-path on Canal
Rd. We came out on W.14th, over the Bob Hope (Lorain-Carnegie) Bridge past Progressive Field (formerly known as Jacob's Field),
up Euclid Ave., which now has a bike path, then back to the CAA parking lot for a wonderful BBQ catered by Bubba Smith.
A short video clip of the ride is included in the link below. The areas where it
was taken included: the outbound leg going east, the approach to the turnaround point and the return across
the Lorain/Carnegie bridge approaching Progressive Field.
click here to play video
Tour de Los Angeles January 2009
I rode with the Beach Cities Cycling Club on Sunday January 11th
on their so-called "Anniversay Ride". The ride was actually established by the LA Wheelmen organization, which the BCCC
adopted as one of their rides several years ago. The ride encompasses a total of 50 miles.
The weather turned out to be perfect for this ride and although it started out relatively cool,
it ended up to be a balmy 80 degrees. We left the Centinela Tennis Center, located in Beverly Hills then rolled thru
the LA Civic Center and several quaint outlying communities, including Alhambra, Pasadena, Montrose and Glendale before returning
to the Tennis Center. The ride basically goes thru beautiful residential areas around the Rose Bowl and past several
lovely city parks, including Descanso Gardens, Verdugo Park and Griffith Park where the LA Zoo is located.
Fall Colors Ride in Maine September 2008
Nineteen (19) hearty Beach Cities Cycling Club (BCCC) members gathered
in Portland, Maine for a three day bicycle ride in the Penobscot Bay area. This ride, under the direction of the Summer
Feet Maine Coast Cycling Organization, had full SAG support with very nice overnite accommodations in the quaint, picturesque
towns of Portland, Stonington and Bar Harbor.
Although a Category 1 hurricane, named Kyle, resulted in a lot of rainfall being deposited
in Maine it didn't dampen our spirits and the ride went on as planned from September 27th-29th. Kyle began forming in
the Caribbean just north of Santa Domingo while most of us were still airborne and heading for Portland, ME. When we
arrived in Portland, on Friday September 26th, Kyle had progressed northward and developed into a Cat 1 hurricane with projections
that it would make landfall on the east coast of Maine just about when our ride would start on Saturday. Fortunately,
it took a slight turn to the east, slowed down and didn't make landfall until Sunday well to the east of us. When the
ride began on Saturday, after lunch, it began to rain and didn't letup until Monday, the last day of the ride when the sun
finally appeared and turned out to be a beautiful day in Acadia National Park!
|
| Portland Headlight |
|
| Bar Harbor Acadia Nat'l Park |
|
| Late September Color Along Rt. 17 |
|
| Bar (Jack Russell's) Harbor Trio |
2008 Annual Metric Century Ride
| Departing CAA Parking Lot Staging Area |
|
The Case Alumni Association established a bicycle ride in my honor.
The 2nd annual "Larry Mattson Metric Century Ride" was held on Saturday
May 17th, the day after the 123rd All-Classes Reunion and was jointly sponsored by the CAA and the CWRU Cycling Club.
There were several strategically positioned SAG stops on the out-and-back course and each participant received a handsome
cycling jersey.
Although over 85 students, alumni, and faculty had registered for this event, the
cool weather and rain held the number down that finally departed from the CAA parking lot on Chester Ave. at just before 8:30
in the morning.
We got drizzled on for a bit on the outbound leg, but the 25 mph headwind was much more
irritating and tended to keep the peloton's speed down.
When I and the two other riders I was with finally reached the last SAG stop at the Maple Grove
Picnic Center, near the halfway point turnaround, we were told that Carl Panek, CIT 68, had already been thru there an hour-and-half
before us! And we thought we had set a fast pace going out!
A short video clip from the start of the ride is included below.
click here to play video
|
