Merry Christmas 2019

Merry Christmas to all!

December 24, 2019.  Wrapped in all the cold-weather gear each could find, some of our ranks gathered in-between storms on Christmas Eve morning for a ride through Bonelli Park. Merry Christmas to all and Ride On!

Holiday Palooza 2019

Windbreakers, family and friends gathered recently for the annual Holiday Palooza
to usher in the holiday season and celebrate another great year of bicycling adventures
Ride On!

Ride Report: California Roll XIV

Saturday November 16, 2019.  

At the start - Corona West Metrolink Station

Windbreakers and friends saddled up on a cool Saturday morning for the always enjoyable trek from Corona to San Clemente via the Santa Ana River trail, Anaheim Hills, Santiago Canyon, and San Juan Capistrano to San Clemente.  Following lunch and refreshments at Pizza Port and Lost Winds Brewing, it was home via Metrolink.  60 miles, down and to the right, and lots of fun.  

Pizza Port - San Clemente

We missed some of the lads who couldn't join in but will see them on the road soon.  Ride On!

Silver Bullet got his Silver Bullet, courtesy of Tom!

Weekend Special Edition Ride: 60 for 60

October 12, 2019.  A special "surprise" ride with the Windbreakers from Upland to Pasadena & back (60 miles) to celebrate 60 years for yours truly, capped by a gathering with friends and family at Revolt Brewing Company in Montclair.  Great fun with great friends...Ride On!

Cold beverages all around at ride's end at Revolt Brewing

Labor Day Weekend Rides

September 1, 2019.  The Windbreakers "officially" closed out summer with 2 great rides in Windbreaker country; Saturday to Nealys Corner and Monday through Puddingstone and the Covina Hills. Ride On!

Meet-up at Benson & Baseline then east toward the sun on Baseline.

Road Trippin'

The Heron bunch at the Napa Century

August 23, 2019.  Windbreakers and friends traveled far and wide this past weekend spreading Windbreaker love at various cycling events.  Ride On!

Rick the Rabbit celebrates with a cold
beverage after completing the Cool Breeze
Century in Ventura.

Tom and Cathy Easter celebrate at the finish of the Tour of Utah road race
with Griffin and Cullen (aka "Heads of State") who both posted strong results
in "America's Toughest Stage Race"

Visits to the Local Watering Holes; Ride Idaho

July 29, 2019.  One of the pleasant surprises from the Windbreaker's recent trip to Idaho to participate in Ride Idaho was the opportunity to visit some of the local "watering holes" in the towns we passed through along the way.  It turned out to be a great opportunity to meet local folks and get a true feel of the local lifestyle.  It all started on our road trip north to Boise, where Tom and I overnighted in Winnemucca, Nevada.  

Butch Cassidy's Hole in the Wall - Winnemucca, Nevada

From there, the four of us took every opportunity to make visits to help the local economy.  Ride On!  Following Boise, it was "Dirty Shames" in Crouch, Idaho, "Cowboy Chop House" in Emmett, The "Last Chance Saloon" in Homedale,

Last Chance Saloon, Homedale, Idaho

the "Pour House"

The Pour House, Marsing, Idaho

in Marsing, and a visit to the "Whiskey Bar" in Boise to cap the trip.  Ride On!

Ride Report: Ride Idaho 2019

July 28, 2019.  Four members of the Windbreaker Nation (Craig, Tom, Steve and yours truly, John) returned recently from an epic, weeklong cycling adventure in Southwest Idaho as participants in the 15th edition of Ride Idaho, a 7-day, 341-mile bike ride trekking the mountains and river valleys near Boise, Idaho.  Following is a daily recap of this fantastic ride.

Day 1 - Boise - Lowman.  180 riders rose before sunrise on Sunday, July 14 for the first day's ride.  Leaving Lucky Peak State Park, it was a climb right out of the gate up and over the dam on Idaho SR 21 (Ponderosa Pines Scenic Route) then more climbing through historic Idaho City to Mores Creek Summit and a great descent to Lowman.

Mores Creek Summit - Day 1

Overnight at the Southfork Lodge camping area on the banks of the Payette River, which included some fishing by our very own fly-fisherman extraordinaire, Craig.

Day 2 - Lowman - Crouch/Garden Valley.  The group again rose before dawn for breakfast and to break camp.  Following an out/back to Kirkham Hot Springs, we turned west along Banks-Lowman Rd to Garden Valley and the town of Crouch.  Following an out/back on Middlefork Rd for lunch & swim at Terrace Lakes Resort, we hit camp, set our chairs in the Payette to cool off, then visited the first of our in-town watering holes for the trip, Dirty Shames, for a couple whiskies and a game of shuffleboard. Evening capped by dinner and a live performance of Newsies, at the Starlight Mountain Theater.

Day 3 - Crouch - Emmett.  South out of Crouch to Banks, where we left our bikes for a river rafting expedition down the Payette.  Following lunch, back on the bikes in Horseshoe Bend for a beautiful finish through Black Canyon to Emmett.  

The evening's campsite was in Emmett at the City park, within a short walk to the Cowboy Chophouse for a nightcap!

Day 4 - Emmett - Homedale.  On this day we would drop out of the mountains and into the agricultural river valleys south and west of Boise.  Long straight roads bordered by fields of alfalfa, corn, wheat and hops.  Following camp set up and a swim at the Riverside Park city pool, we walked to town for an authentic basque dinner the Txoka Ona meeting hall.  Drinks and billiards at the Last Chance Saloon downtown, then back to the park for overnight on the banks of the mighty Snake River.

Snake River Sunset - Riverside Park, Homedale

Day 5 - Homedale - Marsing.  Thursday's route featured a beautiful loop around Lake Lowell and the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge.  Headwinds were strong as we circled back west toward Marsing, and a short but steep climb up Chicken Dinner Rd to finish the day's route.  All was well again as we set camp, showered and took a short Uber ride to Sawtooth Winery for an afternoon of wine and charcuterie.  

"The Doctor is in and will see you now"  -
Sawtooth Winery

Following dinner, it was a short walk to The Pour House, our fourth and final visit to one of southwest Idaho's local watering holes.

Day 6 - Marsing - Swan Falls Dam.  Following breakfast at Marsing HS, a nice tailwind carried the riders southeast on Idaho SR 78, toward Walter's Ferry and the historic crossing location on the Snake River.  Then east into the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area and wide open roads eventually dropping us into the Snake River gorge at Swan Falls Dam and our overnight campsite on the banks of the Snake River.

Day 6 - south to Swan Falls Dam

Day 7 - Swan Falls - Boise.  The tour's final day started with a challenging climb out of the gorge on Swan Falls Rd, then north through Kuna

Day 7 toward Boise

and into the Boise Valley.  Following a beautiful stretch on Ten Mile Creek Rd the route connected with the Boise River Greenbelt near Lucky Peak Dam, then the final turn onto the greenbelt path and the finish at the State of Idaho Dept of Parks & Recreation.

Ride On!

At the finish - Ride On!

Ride Idaho 2019

July 6, 2019.  In one week four of our ranks (John, Tom, Craig & Steve) will join a few hundred other riders for the 2019 edition of Ride Idaho, a weeklong bicycling adventure in the mountains and river valleys near Boise, Idaho.  It promises to be great fun...Ride On! More information at www.rideidaho.org

Ride Report: Big Bear Lake, California

June 1, 2019. A beautiful weekend with the family in Big Bear Lake, CA featured a ride around Big Bear Lake to Baldwin Lake, with a lung-busting finish through Moonridge to the base of Bear Mountain ski resort. Ride On!

With son Greg and son-in-law Andy at Big Bear Lake Dam

Ride Report: Amgen Tour of California

May 17, 2019.  Windbreakers and friends joined thousands of cycling enthusiasts for the Queen Stage of the Amgen Tour of California www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.  Rabbit, Hammer and MapBoy were joined by friend Bill from Orange County on a beautiful Friday.  

Glendora Mountain Road (GMR) 

Following the climb on GMR to the 1st KOM and Horse Canyon Saddle, Rabbit continued on Glendora Ridge Road to Cow Saddle and Mt. Baldy Village.  As usual, the stage to Mt. Baldy was decisive, with eventual Men's overall winner Tadej Pogacar and Women's overall winner Anna Van Der Breggen finishing 1st and 2nd respectively on the day. Ride On!

At the first KOM on GMR - Rabbit already well on his way
to Cow Saddle and Mt. Baldy Village

The pelton descends Glendora Ridge Road to a
hard right turn at East Fork Road.

Windbreakers on the Links!

April 29, 2019. Many thanks to our host Craig Scheu for inviting along fellow Windbreakers Chris, Tom and John for a day on the fairways at Red Hill CC for the 2019 Swing Fore Kids Charity Golf Classic benefitting programs at the West End YMCA.  Thanks Craig for a great day!

The three guys on the right played fantastic.  That guy on the
left...well, not so much. Swing On!

Spring has Sprung!

April 13, 2019.  A beautiful Spring sunrise greeted the Windbreakers as they gathered on Saturday at Benson/Baseline for the regular weekend ride.  Rabbit said "guys, lets ride GMR", so off we went.  A beautiful morning ride topped off by coffee and breakfast at Euro Cafe.  Ride On!

Seen on the Road

March 31, 2019.  From a recent trip to Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico.  Bikes and Bites bike and taco tour in Puerto Vallarta.  Ride On!

Tacos El Hueso "Best Tacos Ever"

Windbreaker Wisdom

Ride Report: California Roll XIII Corona - San Clemente

January 19, 2019.  Windbreakers and friends have returned from a beautiful Saturday in the saddle exploring new roads through Orange County.  Following nearly a week of rain in Windbreaker country, the skies cleared for a beautiful and crisp Saturday morning meet-up and drive to the West Corona Metrolink station to begin our latest "special edition" ride. After meeting longtime Windbreaker friend Vince and other cycling friends from the Corona area, California Roll XIII rolled out at approximately 7:30 am headed for the Santa Ana River trail at the Green River Rd trailhead.  We diverted from the bike trail at Gypsum Canyon Rd, heading for the Anaheim Hills  and points south.  At Mile 10 we were greeted with a pretty aggressive hill climb up Serrano Rd to wake the legs.  But soon enough we were over the ridge and greeted with a beautiful view of Orange County.  And shortly thereafter we were on the road we were looking for: Santiago Canyon Road.

Santiago Canyon

Santiago Creek to our right had plenty of water from the week's rains and the hills were carpeted with a beautiful green landscape.  

Chris motors past on Santiago Canyon Rd.

We continued through Santiago and Modjeska Canyons past Cook's Corner into Mission Viejo.  

Famous Cook's Corner - Santiago Canyon Rd.

Following a regroup at Avery Parkway we completed the ride through San Juan Capistrano, and Doheny State Park eventually joining Coast Hwy and El Camino Real for our destination at Pizza Port in San Clemente.  

Lunch on the patio at Pizza Port San Clemente

Following lunch and beers and visits with good friends we backtracked to Docent Brewing in San Juan Capistrano for a celebratory round before boarding Metrolink for the return ride to Corona.  61 miles and approximately 3,200' of climbing - a great day!  

Cheers to a great day on the bike!
Docent Brewing San Juan Capistrano

We missed some of our regular weekend cycling buddies who had to miss due to illness or other commitments but look forward to more great rides soon.  Another California Roll in the books - Ride On!

Vince, Joe and Chris on Coast Hwy.

Happy New Year 2019

Happy New Year from the Windbreakers - Ride On!