Tike Races - 2011

Another successful Trike Race is in the books. Although there is never a clear victor as everyone cheats by ignoring the cones, wrecking other riders, cutting corners, etc... It's always fun to be kids for few minutes. Thanks to WP for the food and our neighbors Voit Real Estate Services and Valley Commerical Contractors for the cold beverages and popsicles.

Jason showing off the new adult sized trike... the hot rod of the day

Brian thinking..." why am I even going to try this..."

Joey and Cigi look like they're playing bumper cars more than racing trikes.

And they're off... Eric and Mark go head to head.

I have no idea how, but Jim made it one lap pedaling that little tricycle. Well done sir.

- Brian L.

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Tour de Lincoln - 2010

This year’s Tour de Lincoln was a blast. Our group, Jim, Robi, Mark, Kim, Tom and Robert, enjoyed a forty mile loop of beautiful country roads, blues sky’s and no mechanical incidents. Thanks Lincoln Volunteer Center for another great day in the saddle.

 From left - Robi, Mark, Robert and Kim

From left - Robi, Mark and Robert

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Blazing Saddles TOC Stage One Century "Almost"

We had a great day in the saddle as we enjoyed this year’s Tour of California Stage One Route first hand.

96 miles *  Avg moving speed 15 mph * Elevation Gain 4,241

Participants:
Brian Pantiga, Jeff Ambrosia, Bill Larson, Jack Paddon, Terry Green, Tom Ventura, and Robert Wallis
 

Nevada City Departure

Bear River Canyon - Dog Bar

Lunch at Mama Anns

Finish at Lucca's

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Jack and Bill Attack the Davis Double

“Over all it went well. I felt really good up to the 96 mile mark and then we started a 7 mile climb up Cobb Mountain. The climb is reported to be between 5-10% with no breaks… on the back side we hit 43 mph on our decent so that was a measure of payback. The hardest part mentally was after dark when you lose the context and perspective of your surroundings. Riding past the Casino about 9:00 pm was the most dangerous stretch…there is no shoulder for 7 miles and the juiced up crazies leaving the casino needed to let us know their feelings about sharing the road. We averaged 13.5 mph in the saddle but our overall time was 18 hours with stops. I’m sure Bill Larson could have done it in 12 or 13 hours. Bill was a true friend, by pacing at my speed instead of his, and letting me hang on his wheel all day. Mission accomplished.” Jack Paddon

These guys look entirley to fresh to have just completed 200 mile

Jack somewhere in the twilight zone

and he was not along...Bill

Note - Cobb Mountain at 4480 ft 

is also known as “puke hill’

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The Ellusive Paddon Spotted

Rarely seen in the wild, the Paddon was spotted around 16th and J in Midtown a few weeks ago. Remarkably I caught him during the 14 minutes he was NOT actually riding his bike during the month of May. Funny thing about this picture... I was sitting in a restaurant across the street, snapped a photo with the flash and everyone looked outside as if there was some celebrity out there. Looks like Jack is even more of a local celebrity now.

-Brian

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May is Bike Month - Finale

I see there were a lot of miles logged over the weekend. Great Job! We so far have been able to hold off the competition but not by much. They are a little more than 200 miles behind us. The web page will allow logging of miles that were completed during may for a few more days. If you rode during may and did not log your miles please do so.
W+P has 6 people over 500 miles and to even think about getting into the top 10 you need to have ridden at least 200 miles. That is amazing! Great job all around this year W+P. Below is a list of all those who rode at least 100 miles. Thank you to all who rode and made it a successful event. You are all healthier because of it.

Here are a few very honorable mentions. This is our 500 club

Jack, 857 miles? WOW! And you were gone for a week? I am thinking 1000 next year.
Mark, You damn near made it to 700. Awesome!! How are your knees?
Jaggers, You edged out Robi who I know was gunning for you!
Robi, Absolutely no shame in 526. That is more than I have ever done. I am simply stunned!
Terry, You edged out the monster Robert who tried to catch you by simply riding a Century Friday. In the heat no doubt.
And Robert this is the first year you made it to 500 and your first Century. Amazing! Great Job!

Not so far behind are our 300 Mile members

Tom… His first outing for us and Rookie of the year!
And Jim, Wow 300 miles? Top Notch! I am in for your announcement that “June is Golf Month”.

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Mark and Robi's Ride

Jim Williams sporting a Rolling Stones Jersey
The gang waiting for Mark to finsh grilling the burgers and dogs...

Ahhh...finally they're done!

A tired and full bunch of riders.

Finally, Jack's bike got a rest.

Well Saturday morning was a beautiful day to ride and that is just what we did. We had 11 riders show up at Mark and Robi's house. At 9:30 we were off for a 20 mile bike ride through the Rocklin and Lincoln countryside. Thanks to the following riders for showing up: Jack, Terry, JTW, Dianne Williams, Linda Green, Ryan Culver-Engler, Justin Engler, James, Tom, Robi and Mark . We even brought our next door neighbor, Ronnie along with us. Terry road to our house from his Mom's and put in an extra 20 miles before we started. Jack road from Newcastle and also had 20 miles in for the day before we started. After the ride and lunch Jack put back on his riding gear and once again headed off on his bike......we think he stopped riding some time on Monday. :)
Together we logged over 200 miles for Team W + P. Way to go!

-Robi

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SABLMNDR

Ready to Ride!

Jack and Nancy in flying by...

At the top of Beal's Point. Major kudos to Dianne Williams who climbed the hill on her first ride on her new bike!

Well, I gotta tell ya. I was more than a little honored that Jack named a ride after me. I'm just glad that last year didn't kill me and that I could actually participate this year. The Second Annual Brian Lefholz Memorial Near Death Ride (SABLMNDR) started the same as the last one did...on the hottest day of the year! With temps rising fast into the triple digits we took off down the trail to climb Beals Point first. The group included Crazy Jack Paddon and Nancy, Jim and Diane Williams, Terry, Mark and Robi. It was a fun ride for the short time I was with the group. You see, This year I was smart and headed back early. Jack, well, Jack was Jack and pedaled 100 miles! Really glad I headed back early because knowing me and knowing Jack we would have kept riding until one of us fell off the bike from exhaustion. Not to bad for a 50 something...good job!

-Brian L.

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Congrats to Bill!

Bill Larson of Point 2 Structural Engineers and Blazing Saddles Team Member just completed the Davis Double. What an effort to complete 200 miles in Saturday’s heat!! I did 100 miles on the American River Bike trail and thought I was going to die…guess I’m just a wimp. Congratulations and thanks for the ‘Blazing Saddles’ miles!

- Jack

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Tricycle Races Part Deux

Thanks to Eric D. for the grub and grilling
Our favorite former graphic designer Tye Brown returned as grand marshal of the event

Eric, Tye, Zach (tye's son and expert tricycle racer) and Jack

Jack with the pedal down

Terry spins out Robi to take the lead and the victory

Andrea, Sarah, and Amber were all smiles before the race

In the finale...Sarah takes on the boys and wins going away!

Eric soaked with a cooler of ice water after finishing last...

It was a great day at the track. For the second straight year WP held it's annual Tricycle races on the famed blacktop of the parking lot. Eric and I fired up the grill for hot dogs and sausage links ready for the eager participants at noon. Tye Brown showed up to Grand Marshal the event direct from the rolling hills of Indiana. We set up a course of little orange cones which turned out to be more for decoration than actual marking of the course. A series of 3 person heats lead to the finale, and what a finale it was. Sarah lined up on the inside of Terry and Paul. She broke late form the line but it didn't matter...Terry and Paul took each other out at the far turn and Sarah accelerated by and took the checkered flag. Way to go Sarah! It was another great 1/2 day Friday activity. Thanks to everyone who came out and had a little fun!

- Eric and Brian

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Bike Month Competition Heats Up

We all know Mark is competitive. A quiet type by nature but throw a competition and chance of winning into the mix and he comes alive. The following is a word for word message Mark called in, while riding (hence the 'breathing').

Hey Eric it’s mark (breathing)
Hey, I’m riding (breathing) in this morning
I had to run some errands so, (breathing) I’m not in yet
And so, (breathing) I haven’t logged my miles
So (breathing) don’t do the (breathing) summary (breathing) thing for the end of the week
If you could (breathing) till I get there and log in my miles (breathing)
So I can get every (breathing) possible (breathing) mile (breathing) in versus Andrea
Talk to you later :) (breathing) bye.

Funny thing is, while Mark was riding to beat Andrea...Jack leapfrogged the both of them to take over first place.

- Eric D. and Brian L.

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May is Bike Month - Week 2

Well as you prepare for the 2nd annual death ride and recover from the 2nd Annual Trike Races I will leave you this week with the following:
With a valiant effort by Mark Posnick to take over the number one spot Mr. Paddon takes the number one spot with Andrea falling to third for our second full week of rides.
I will say that for the husband wife teams Mark and Robi are leading the pack with the Paddon crew a not so distant second.

What’s that you say? Chris Jaggers is riding for someone else this year? No, say it isn’t true!

Some other spousal teams include
The Navarros
The Williams
The Walshes
The Greens
The Gheorghius….Oh wait that is just Dorel and himself.

Stay tuned for the exciting events coming up this week.

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Art in The Garden

The food was good, drinks better, and the art was stellar as usual. The riders were completly soaked but braved downpours and cold temps to kick of May is Bike Month in artistic style.

Jim

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Tour de Lincoln

Beautiful Lincoln Countryside
Terry was so amped to ride I thought he'd burn out before he even started

Robert seen here with a smile but after 63 miles...no more smile


Jim with Tom in the background. Tom gets mad props for riding the 40 miles on a tank! Just after this photo was taken the three of us rode side by side on a narrow country lane singing the theme song to Bonanza...off key and out of tune but who cares, it was fun.

Team Blazing Saddles eating a much deserved lunch. The great thing about doing a long hard ride is that it gives you the freedom to eat whatever you want!

Jack and Nancy arrive to a seated ovation...we would have given a standing ovation but we were too tired.

What a team...We logged over 595 miles in a single day!

All in all this was a great event. Challenging riding but well worth the effort. The still green spring meadows and grasslands were beautiful, the sounds of rushing water in the creeks was refreshing on a warm day, and the smell of cow manure a constant...after all, it is Lincoln. Thanks to everyone who came out and put in some serious miles...it's always a great time when team WP takes gets together for a ride. Can't wait for next year!

Brian L.

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Tricycle Races Part Deux

Here are some details for the day:
- The track will be designed by World Class Track Designer B.Lefholzia as a slalom course.
- We are Q’ing Hot Dogs and Sausages. If Brett is lucky I may even Q a veggie dog or 2. These will be free of charge. All you have to do is show up and race. Generosity is abounding but bring your own drinks ‘cause contrary to our generosity, our wallets are not abounding. If you want something other than Dogs or Sausages you can bring it to throw on the BBQ.
- There will be defined races with a bracket to determine who is the 2009 Trike Champ!
- We need some Trikes from your house, Cigi is bringing hers (she has been putting a lot of miles on it recently but unfortunately The May is Bike Month people won’t allow tricycle miles. Please have them here so we can make sure they are operable (more or less).
- We are adding a trial event of Razor Races as well so if you have a Razor bring it on Wednesday too
- Yes Tye is really coming for this event and will be our Grand Marshall.

-Eric

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Call it Dedication

I was able to snap this picture of Jack Paddon in a meeting in full bicycling gear. Gotta love it.

-Brian L.

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May is Here!

I wanted to take a moment to first thank Naaz, Andrea Regina and Paul for volunteering on our somewhat rained out Bike Rally for the City of Roseville. Having a W+P presence like that is noticed and is valued by the City. It is efforts like that that make the City Value us as a Company.

Next, I would like to say Way to go Mark!!!!! After the First weekend W+P is in the Top 10 riders with Mark leading the way and is the first to go triple digits (102 miles logged). Wow!

You should also know that we have challenged the City of Roseville and those losers over at Lionakis. No word yet if Lionakis has the gumption to take us on though!!

Over the weekend a few people kicked it off with a BBQ and beer before logging a few miles. Hope it didn’t come back up on you while riding. Thank you Andrea for hosting what turned out to be another rainout.

This weekend is Tour de Lincoln so all who are riding in it contact Robi and Mark.

- Eric

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Rain Rain Go Away...

To kick of 'May is Bike Month' Andrea organized a great ride on the trail followed by a delicious BBQ. Only problem...rain, and lots of it. I showed up ready to ride rain or shine but the weather just wouldn't cooperate. Every time we'd get ready to head out...another downpour. We threw in the towel and grabbed the bottle opener and decided to make the best of the day. We grilled some teriyaki turkey burgers with all the trimmings accompanied by potato salad, pasta salad, chips and salsa and grilled pineapple. After sufficiently stuffing ourselves the rain decided to stop...imagine that. Being the die hard cyclist we are...we headed out and clicked off 42 miles. Thanks to Andrea for organizing the event...it was a blast despite the rain.

- Brian L.

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SABLMNDR

On Saturday May 16th I will proudly lead the Second Annual B. Lefholz Memorial Near-Death Ride. By long standing tradition, the SABLMNDR will be advertised as a leisurely ride. And also by tradition, the ride will be officially over when Brian is declared “near-death” from heat exhaustion and muscle fatigue. Brian has been in intensive training for the last several months so it is estimated that this year’s SABLMNDR will be over for Brian somewhere between 80 – 100 miles.

Don’t tell Brian, but for the rest of us, this ride will be a pleasant morning ride. I will plan the route depending on who signs up. I’m thinking we will use Lake Natoma as a base. If we have kids riding with their parents, you can navigate some great sections of the bike trail on the east side of the lake that could be a 2- 10 mile round trip. Some may want to circumnavigate Lake Natoma for 10-12 miles of riding. And the diehards can make a run down to Sunrise and/or up to Beal’s to grab 25-30 miles or so. The May-is- Bike-Month fanatics can get their extra miles in by riding to Lake Natoma from home. We will plan a picnic lunch at the Lake Natoma Aquatic Park. After lunch we could rent kayaks of stand-up-paddle boards if anyone is interested.

- Jack

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Art in the Garden

I would like to get a group together for this event-better than just an ordinary ride because we get to combine it with visiting beautiful gardens, seeing nice local art, and sampling food and wines while listening to music. If we get a group of ten we get discounted tickets ($30 instead of the normal $35). There are different combination routes up to 16 miles all in the Granite Bay area (you fanatics can add extra to ride off the food and wine). This is a fundraiser for Roseville Arts, one of W+P’s major charities. They will even have “valet parking” for the bikes.

I’d like to get a count of who would like to join me, so let me know. The Homes are open from 10 am to 4 pm.

- Jim

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