Team Alameda News Archive
2007 NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mileage King Brian Aldrich completes 5 Double Centuries!
...and aims for a 10,000 mile year
This year, Brian Aldrich not only completed the California Triple Crown, which requires completing three Double Centuries, but went on the complete two more. He bicycled the Solvang Double, the Davis Double, The Grand Tour, The Knoxville Fall Double, and the Death Valley Fall Double.
Starting with Solvang in late March, the course was beautiful and fast, with only 7000 feet of altitude gain, mostly in the form of rollers. Next came Davis, which is usually a great course, turned into an out and back because of some roads closed due to ongoing fires, hitting some of the bigger hills from a steeper direction. The Grand Tour was next, which explores the San Fernando Valley between Malibu and Santa Barbara. Knoxville, which explores the hillier roads between Vacaville and Clear Lake, was the king of climbing, not only with 12,600 feet of difficult climbs, but some mechanical problems as well. To top it off was Death Valley, which never looked too steep, but wears you down with two hundred miles of moderate grades and stunning scenery.
He's done for the year, but still has to keep the pedals spinning for his 10,000 mile mileage goal. Next year's plan: ride smarter, do not ride as many miles, but still do as many doubles.
Team Alameda Annual Party
Fiesta de la Bicicleta!
Team Alameda's Annual Membership Party, "Fiesta de Bicicleta" will be held Sunday, October 21, and all current Team Alameda members, spouses and children are invited to to join in the fun and festivities.
Meet the Board of Directors and see what everyone looks like without their bike helmets and spandex!!
Featured this year is an Italian/Mexican theme with food catered from Linguini's and La Pinata complete with wine, beer and margaritas. We will even have a pinata with goodies for young and old AND there may be a few more surprises for those attending.
Only current Team Alameda members will be allowed to join in the festivities. If you have been procrastinating about renewing your membership, what better reason to do so than this!! If you aren't sure of your membership status, contact Team Alameda's Membership Coordinator at 510-520-1697 to confirm. Members can click here for details: Fiesta de la Bicicleta.
PBP results
Keith Beato completes PBP
Brutal weather tormented the Paris-Brest-Paris participants this year with rain, wind and cold temperatures. However, two Team Alameda representatives made the trip and Keith Beato completed the randonnČe riding nearly non-stop for 90 hours. Unfortunately for our other brave randonneur, Jared Brockway, an achilles tendon injury from earlier in the training season brought his quest for PBP to an early end at Loudeac, 400km into the event.
New Saturday Ride
Short, Fast-paced Drop Ride
Jason Poindexter will be leading a new short (25 - 30 miles), fast-paced "drop" group on Saturday. If you feel you can hang with the REAL big dogs, by all means, take off with Jason. Just be sure you can climb at a brisk pace, and know your way around the Oakland/Berkeley/Castro Valley areas because you will be dropped if you cannot keep up. There will be minimal regroups, and plans for intersection points with the regular medium/long ride so "Short, Fast, Drop" riders can get a race-paced workout and get some more miles in with the rest of the Team.
Jason's first "Short, Fast, Drop" ride will be this Saturday, August 11th.
Team Alameda Annual Party
Scheduled for October 21
It's that time of year again! Team Alameda's annual member barbeque will be held Sunday, October 21. Save the date! Details to come.
August Off-Island Ride Route Change
Tunitas Loop on the Peninsula
The scheduled off-island Tahoe Loop ride (originally scheduled for August 18-19) has been postponed, and replaced with a heavy-climbing route on the Peninsula Saturday, August 25. The loop is about 40 miles with 5,000 feet of climbing. It is supposed to be quite challenging. There may be SAG on the ride, will update when firmed up. Riders will carpool from Kaiser to the starting point, a Park n' Ride near highway 280 (details to come). This route brought to you by Death Ride Dan and Ride Captain Mark! For more information, contact
Ride Captain: Ride Captain Mark.
Family Ride a Rousing Success!
50 riders of all ages!
Team Alameda sponsored a new event, a Family Fun Ride, for parents and children of all ages [Click here to see photo album!]. Prefaced by a safety talk, the ride then launched from the steps of Kaiser for a two-hour tour of our Island community, taking a scenic loop around the former Navy base and the Hornet before returning to Kaiser. A jolly time was had by all, and it was great to see all the little future Tour de Francers out there practicing their riding skills with their folks.
Another Family Ride may be on the horizon--perhaps to explore the wilds of Bay Farm! Stay tuned!
Death Ride Results!
Two complete 5 passes, one completes 3
Team Alameda members "Death Ride" Dan and TA Ride Captain Mark Pryor came back from the Tour of the California Alps (aka the Death Ride) with quantifiable Bragging Rights. Dan completed his 5th 5-pass Death Ride, and he has now officially retired from the Death Ride, but his legendary moniker will live on! He's EARNED it! Mark also achieved 5 passes, and has detailed his training and Death Ride experience in a Death Ride Diary of sorts. You can download it [pdf file] and read it here: Death Ride Training Camp Team Alameda's resident long-distance triple-crown legend, Brian Aldrich completed 3 of 5 passes. Congratulations Dan, Mark and Brian!
Best of the Bay Finishers
Four Team Alameda members participated in Cherry City Cyclist's annual "Best of the Bay" Century. The ride hits the most challenging climbs in the Bay Area for a whopping 10,300 feet of climbing. Ride Captain Mark Pryor, "Death Ride" Dan, Mike Strittmatter, and Paris-Brest-Paris'er Jared Brockaway participated.
Team Alameda Article in Alameda Magazine
Team Alameda is featured in a sidebar in Alameda Magazine's "Ultimate Guide to Biking in Alameda" feature in this month's issue. (July/August 2007). You can pick up the issue at Books, Inc. on Park Street, or read the article online here.
The article has several pictures of team members, and an overview of the Team Alameda rides. Check it out!
New! Team Alameda Official Blog
FlashBlog debuts
Team Alameda member Jim "Flash" Gordon, who has been dubbed the "Bard" of the TA Yahoo Group has been tapped to be the official Team Alameda Blogger. Flash and his trusty LeMond logs a healthy heapin' of miles each year, most with Team Alameda. He is usually the medium ride leader, and enjoys documenting the rides with exuberant prose and, occasionally, photography. We hope you enjoy his stories and insights. Visit FlashBlog and see what is on Flash's mind!
Team Alameda Accomplishments
Two qualify for Paris-Brest-Paris
After a series of grueling brevet qualifying rides, two of our very own Team Alameda members, Keith Beato and Jared Brockway have qualified for the Paris-Brest-Paris Randonnée event to be held August 20-24. This grueling ride allows 90 hours to complete a 1200 kilometer route that begins and ends in Paris and courses through the seaside town of Brest. Started in 1891, this event is held only every four years, and qualifying for it is in itself an accomplishment. Riders must complete a Randonneur brevet series of 200-, 300-, 400-, and 600-kilometer events in the same year as the PBP is held. They must ride constantly, through day and night, rain or shine, to meet the quailifying time. At Paris-Brest-Paris, our TA riders will be riding for up to 90 hours STRAIGHT!
We salute our PBP riders, wish them the best of luck and safe travels and are looking forward to their tales from the PBP!
TA in the Best of the Bay - June 23
Best of the Bay is a challenging local ride, with 100+ miles and 8-10,500' of climbing. Only 150 well-conditioned riders get a chance to challenge their legs on this route, and Team Alameda will be represented by Tim Cotter, "Death Ride" Dan Debardeleben, ride captain Mark Pryor and long-hauler Brian Aldrich.
TA in the Death Ride - July 14
The Death Ride is also just around the corner, and Team Alameda has several participants training hard for this ride as well. Of course, "Death Ride" Dan Debardeleben will be there, heck, he's nicknamed after it! As well as usual suspects Mark Pryor and Brian Aldrich, who is also aiming to achieve the "Triple Crown" this year--completing three double-century rides in the season.
If I missed your participation on one of these rides, please email me and I'll add you! email: webmaster at the above domain!
2007 Team Kits in Production
Coming soon on a cyclist near you
Below are renderings of your new Team Alameda Team Kit! They are in production now and will be debuting on Team members in the very near future. If you have an order in, here's a preview of your goods.
KPIX-TV Bike to Work Segment
Taping Friday, May 11 in San Jose
KPIX TV (CBS-5) is taping a segment about Bike to Work day this Friday, May 11 at noon in downtown San Jose. Alameda Bicycle is involved in this segment, providing tips on biking to work from its expert staff. The producers want a group of cyclists to be on bicycles, ready to ride at the shoot this Friday at 12:00 noon (sharp!) If you, or any of your constituents, friends, peers, fellow cyclists would like cast a positive image of cycling on TV, please show up: Friday 12:00-12:30 p.m. at the plaza in downtown San Jose (Circle of Palms - at San Fernando and Market streets).
Off Island Ride Series!
Begins May 27 on Three Bears
Beginning Sunday, May 27th, Team Alameda will have a series of rides that take us far off of the island... so far that we will use non-bike transport to get out to our jumping off point!
We're going to start with rides that are "mild" and gradually build up to "spicy" rides as the summer continues. Come out and join us! All rides will launch from the Kaiser building at 8am.
May 27th: ...and Goldilocks rode each of the hills and thought that none of them was juuuuuuust right.... Casey will lead a ride to the BART, then to Orinda where the group will tackle The Three Bears. 25 miles.
June 17th: A great way to spend Father's Day would be to wake up early and pal around with your cycling buddies! Join Brian on the Palomares loop. We'll take BART out there, so round trip will be 32 miles.
July 22nd:.. Bay Area summer getting to you? Get out to the wine country for a great 50 mile ride. Brian will lead. Carpools will be happening, so let someone know if you can drive!
Bike Safety Classes
April 29 & June 16
BikeAlameda is offering 2 FREE bike safety classes. The first class is on April 29th from 9:00-1:30 at Perforce Software, 2320 Blanding Avenue in Alameda. It will cover material that every street savvy cyclist should know. The second class will take place on June 16th. The first class and a bicycle are prerequisites. The class is a hands-on approach to street savvy cycling and is essential for commuters, newbies, roadies and anyone who rides a bicycle. Ages 16+.
Sunday Ride Made Official
The Sunday ride formerly known as "casual" is now an official Team Alameda ride. It will be, usually, a shorter route, either flat or only a little climbing and a easy to medium pace. This ride meets at 9 am every Sunday in front of Peet's Coffee at the corner of Central Ave. and Park St. in Alameda.
New Sponsor: Linguini's Pasta & Vino
We are happy to announce Linguini's Pasta & Vino at 1506 Park Street have signed on as an official Team Alameda Sponsor! Thank you Linguini's!
Linguini's features a full menu for the entire family to enjoy including tasty pastas, seafood, steaks, pizzas, salads, appetizers, hot sandwiches and to-die-for desserts.
Linguini's has two separate areas to sit, relax and enjoy your meal. One area is a casual to semi-formal style with wonderful old Italian photos and music; with an aroma of garlic herbs and spices.
The other area is more casual and relaxed with a great bar, ball games on TV, music, sports memorabilia, a pool table and video games for the kids.
Click the link above to check out their delicious menu. You know you're hungry after your ride!
Team Alameda Group Rides
Team Alameda hosts group rides every Saturday. Members and non-members welcome.
Rides launch every Saturday morning at 8 AM. We now meet in front of the Kaiser Permanente Alameda Medical Center at 2417 Central Avenue, just south of Park Street. (Just a few steps south of Peets, our former meeting place). Riders can choose a short, medium or long ride option and all rides are no-drop, meaning we'll happily wait for the last person up the hill. We might even cheer.