Ride Report: Special Edition Ride - San Gabriel River Trail

June 27, 2020.  The Windbreakers gathered on a cool overcast morning near the top of the San Gabriel River Trail for a spirited ride to the coast.  

Nitro and Silver Bullet roll out

Rolling out at Santa Fe Dam

It was wheels down at Encanto Park in Duarte, over the San Fe Dam and then south through the Whittier Narrows and along the river edge to Downtown Seal Beach for coffee at Bogart's.  A slight tailwind helped us back north following the coffee break then over the dam and back to the park for lunch and laughs.  73 miles round trip and good times. A few of the guys had to miss the ride but we'll catch them on the next one.  Ride On!

End of the trail at Seal Beach

Riding with Care #3; Memorial Day 2020

May 25, 2020.  

Some of our "herd' on Puddingstone Pass; Memorial Day 2020

As the State of California and County of San Bernardino began lifting restrictions and eased into reopening of business in Windbreaker Country, we lads gathered for some beautiful morning rides over the Memorial Day weekend.  Still a ways to go before we return to "normal", we will continue to Ride On!

The earliest "social distancing" 

Riding with Care #2

April 19, 2020.  

California, the U.S., and the world at large continue to deal with the massive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. For us in Windbreaker country, this has meant illness for at least one of our club family members, stay at home orders, business closures, and social distancing.  In order to keep some measure of normal and to preserve sanity, we have continued with our weekend group rides, but with proper social distancing and extra care. Now entering Week #5 of the stay at home order, early signs indicate we may be turning a corner in a much hoped for return to normal sometime soon.  Ride On!

Riding With Care

March 21, 2020.  The Windbreakers gathered this weekend for rides on both Saturday and Sunday under a cloud of concern following the Stay at Home order issued by the California Governor just 3 days prior.  The order was issued to slow the spread of COVID-19, the highly contagious and dangerous virus wreaking havoc in California, the U.S. and the world.  We did our best to ride carefully, while employing "social distancing" practices all the while. Ride On and stay healthy all!

The lads gather at Nealy's Corner

A Profile in Courage

Marshall Walter "Major" Taylor
(November 26, 1878-June 21, 1932)

As we close the books on February 2020 and pause to take note of this past month as Black History Month, we recognize the courage and accomplishments of American professional cyclist Major Taylor, nicknamed the "Worcester Whirlwind".  As Taylor gained notoriety as an amateur and professional in the late 1800s, he did not escape racial segregation and discrimination.  His career as a professional cyclist came at a time when the League of American Wheelmen changed its bylaws to exclude blacks from membership; however it did permit them to compete in its races.  Many of Taylor's fellow racers refused to compete with him, others resorted to intimidation, verbal insults, and threats of physical harm.  Despite these many challenges, he persevered and succeeded as a celebrated champion in the sport.  His major wins included the LAW Sprint Championship in 1899 and the National Sprint Championship in 1900.  A true champion in every sense.

Windbreakers on the Road

Carpinteria State Beach

February 2, 2020.  Ridemaster Joe and yours truly recently returned from a weekend trip with friends to Santa Barbara to attend family wedding festivities for a longtime family friend. 

While there, we squeezed in a beautiful Saturday morning ride to Carpinteria and back through the Montecito Hills to Downtown Santa Barbara and State Street, finishing with coffee at Handlebars Coffee Roasters.  Ride On!

Happy New Year 2020

Lots of miles and smiles planned for 2020.
Happy New Year and Ride On!