Durango Wheel Club

Here are the current Tuesday Night Group Ride schedules:

A and B+ Combined Ride Schedule

B Ride Schedule

C Ride Schedule

With the Iron Horse soon to be in the history books and the college team traveling the country/world on summer vacation, the A group has dwindled to a handful of participants. After getting feedback and comments from a number riders and regulars on the A and B+ rides we have decided to combine the A and B+ rides for the summer, effective immediately!

THIS COMBINED RIDE WILL USE THE B+ SCHEDULE AND WILL MEET AT 5:30! Please change you schedules appropriately. Leaders and participants of the combined ride are asked to split the group if it exceeds 40 riders.The new combined schedule will be on the web as soon as we update the spreadsheet.

The Tuesday May 20th combined A and B+ ride will be meeting at 32nd street and CR. 250 (the old Garrhs) at 5:30 and will be going to Needles and Beyond.

The goal here is to ensure that we have good quality rides that remain at a manageable size throughout the summer. We are also concerned and dedicated to safety and ensuring that we are doing all we can to mitigate any conflicts with motorists. We hope that this change will help keep the rides robust throughout the summer but we will continue to need all participants help with ensuring that these rides remain safe and continue to follow the rules of the road.

We are aware that there will be some challenges to combining these rides. Please be patient and respectful of others. A riders need to respect that there is a core group of B+ riders and you will be joining their ride. For B+ riders we appreciate your openness to this change. Please see this as an opportunity to have new strong riders to challenge the group!

We hope that this will help improve both rides. We are aware that this could cause some trickle down of B+ riders to the B ride and so on. Please try to stick with the group as we make the transition!

Regardless of what ride you are on, please remember we are very lucky to be able to have these rides every week. We need to do all we can to ensure that the rides remain safe and obey the rules of the road. It is important that all participants ride in a courteous manner. It is vital that we respect motorists and allow them to pass our groups in a timely manner!

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding,

Michael & Spencer

Durango Wheel Club member Rick Mull recently had and incident with a gravel truck where he was almost run off the road. It was the second time this happened in three days, so he called it in. The Colorado State Trooper he talked with had the following general comments about what to do in this sort of a situation:

1. If you are the subject of a road rage or aggressive driver you should call *CSP (*277) to report the incident as soon as possible-either using a cell phone at the time, or calling when you get back home. It is important to get the license plate (not always easy to do.)

2. If you call via a cell phone when riding and if there is a trooper in the area, they will try to make contact with the vehicle.

3. If you call and there is no trooper in the area, the information will at least be entered into a vehicle road rage reported database.

4. THE DATABASE IS IMPORTANT. Even though the trooper may not be able to contact the vehicle, each time a call is made on a vehicle the information will be entered into the database. This information is available to all law enforcement officials while in the field as well as the courts should the offender appear in court. Law enforcement officials in the field use this information when determining whether they will write a citation for any offense. Courts use this information when considering the severity of fines and punishment for any traffic offense. When troopers stop a vehicle that has had many road rage calls over the last few months, their reaction to any situation is more severe.

In addition to this basic information Rick was also told:

5. It is not a bad idea to put the *CSP number on speed dial.

6. Never, never, never use obscene sign language! Wave your hand at the driver, motion for them to give you more room (blow them a kiss if you want) but NEVER use obscene language.

7. If the vehicle stops, DO NOT make contact with the driver. Stop at a safe distance, and call *CSP or 911 if you feel threatened. If you don’t have a cell phone on you, make a motion as if you do and pretend to call. Although Durango is a fairly safe place, do not let the situation escalate!

All of this depends on you being able to call the Colorado State Patrol. It is highly recommended that you carry a cell phone with you when you go for a ride!

Ride Safe!

SC/RM

2008 Durango Wheel Club Time Trial Series
Coal Bank Hill May 15, 2008
37 degrees F., Overcast, some rain
Course Distance = 5.8 miles

Final Results for 4 Riders

To purchase water bottles, send an email to Marie: mariecompton@mac.com

$5 per bottle, get ‘em while they last!

The Durango DEVO Velo Swap will be back again at the Fairgrounds, friday may 23rd from 10am to 10pm. Registration for all IHBC events will be in the same room, so we need tons of stuff to sell to tons of people. If you are interested in selling your gear, drop off is thursday from 3-8pm at the fairgrounds. Basically, you bring the cycling related thing in, decide a price, fill out a little tag, hand it to us, we sell it the next day, take 20% and cut you a check the following week. Simple and sweet.DEVO is also looking for volunteers for fridays sale. Please contact annie@durangodevo.com for more info. Have a nice day today.

On Thursday I had the pleasure of attending the Durango Bicycle Summit. I thought it was well run and constructive, and it had the potential to lead to some real progress with regard to cycling in and around Durango. During the conference I had the opportunity to talk to several people about the DWC. Most people had good things to say, but some were concerned with how cyclists behave on the road and trails, and more than one person suggested that we do a better job of educating our members of how we should be interacting with others.

With that in mind, I am calling on all members of the Durango Wheel Club to act as ambassadors to our sport, and to ride in a manner that is respectful and courteous.

Courtesy Tip #1: When cycling on the Animas River Trail; Let people know you are approaching, slow down, and pass them slowly. If you must use the trail to get to or from a club ride, please ride slowly!

Tip #2: When cycling on single-track keep a sharp look out for pedestrians and horses and slow way down before you reach them. You might be in-control at high speed, but most pedestrians do not know this. Make contact before you pass them and always yield the trail unless they yield first. If they yield, thank them!

Tip #3: Whenever you pass another cyclist or pedestrian, always call out which side you are passing. On your left is easy to say and to hear.

See you on the road!

Spencer durangowheelclub@gmail.com

2008 Durango Wheel Club Time Trial Series
IHBC TT Course, County Road 250
58 degrees F., Mostly Sunny, Gusty Wind (15-20 mph) from NW

Course Distance = 14.05 miles

Final Results for 15 Riders
01 Joe Burtoni 00:38:31 +00:00 21.88 mph
02 Keith Ashmore 00:38:52 +00:21 21.69 mph
03 Mark Rosenthal 00:39:27 +00:56 21.37 mph
04 Jon Delacey 00:39:42 +01:11 21.24 mph
05 Mike Freeburn 00:39:58 +01:26 21.10 mph
06 Grady James 00:40:40 +02:09 20.73 mph
07 James Bodine 00:40:44 +02:13 20.70 mph
08 Dale Kneller 00:41:03 +02:32 20.54 mph
09 Beau Savage 00:43:07 +04:35 19.55 mph
10 Rich Donley 00:43:16 +04:45 19.48 mph
11 Martha Iverson 00:44:09 +05:38 19.09 mph
12 Rich Bagienski 00:44:29 +05:57 18.95 mph
13 Douglas Reynolds 00:46:21 +07:50 18.19 mph
14 Patti Rosenthal 00:47:50 +09:19 17.62 mph
15 Stephanie Roberts 00:50:42 +12:11 16.62 mph

2008 Tour of the Gila Results

Men Pro 1
Anthony Colby3 (GC), 2 (Stage 1 RR), 3 (Stage 5 RR)
Chris Wherry18(GC),3 (TT)
Alister Ratcliff37(GC)

Women Pro 1-2
Kristin McGrath5(GC), 2 (Stage 1 RR)
Marisa Asplund-Owens7(GC)

Men 3
Sean Peck31(GC)

Men 35+
Gaige Sippy6(GC)
Michael Carroll7(GC), 3 (TT)
Keith Ashmore16(GC)
Mitch Carrier21(GC)

Men 4-5
Spencer Compton15(GC), 3 (TT)
Kenny Wren20(GC), 3 (Stage 1 RR)
Eric Burris45(GC)
Lance Webster49(GC)
Beau Savage60(GC)

Women 3-4
Shantelle Pierce1(GC), 1 (Stage 1), 1 (Stage 2), 2 (TT), 1 (Crit), 1 (Stage 5)
Melanie Russek5(GC)

For complete results see www.tourofthegila.com