Deal with the Devil, or in this case Mike and Jeff

A group of us made a deal with Revolution to clean

and paint the old shop in return for the cleaning

deposit to put towards racing. Pictured above are;

Troy, also known as master ceiling painter, master

light bulb screwer inner, and master of all other

things that need to be done; Donna, master taper

and tape holder, master painter of herself, and most

importantly master soup maker; Erin, master painting

detailer, and if not master cinnamon roll maker then

master of knowing who to call when cinnamon rolls are

wanted; Larry, also Master taper, and way too nice to be

hanging out with the rest of us. Not shown is Deb, master

of repainting already painted walls, we tease because we

care Deb. It took a bit longer than we expected, but it

didn't really matter. It was 17 degrees and snowing,

we had hot soup, cinnamon rolls, and great company.

We had fun, and are hoping Jeff and Mike actually get

the deposit back.

Another Great Ride - Tour De Blast

Once upon a time I made a big mistake, I did the Tour De Blast out of shape. Also along, but in shape were Lloyd, Troy, Julie, Erin, Shannon, Jim, Allane (Welcome back), and Dave. I didn't see them much. And that's ok because I like to be alone when I'm sobbing in pain. That was two years ago I think, and I'm just getting back in decent condition. If you haven't done the Tour de Blast it's well worth it. When the sun is shining the views are spectacular. I honestly did not think I was going to make it back to the start. Being one of the later riders to arrive at the food stops they were often out of food, and eventually water as well. I had to scarf a hot dog at the top to make it back. I don't recommend this, hot dogs don't go down easy while dehydrated and riding. Corn dog maybe, hot dog with bun no. Whenever I'm struggling up a hill I think of something Lloyd once said to me on the final climb of the Tour De Lacs, "Damon, if you go any slower we are going to have to put caution slow moving rider signs on you". That always makes me laugh and gives me a nice burst of energy.

The New Revolution

The new Revolution is open on Fruitvale just east of the old

shop on Fruitvale. It's a great spot with great atmosphere

for local cyclists. Just watch out for the poisonous octopus

like monster Max was telling me about. Apparently it's about

4 feet tall, 3 feet wide, can run a sustained 20mph and has

four arms. It not only has venom in its fangs, but can also

shoot venom. And the worst part, it needs to eat 20 people

a day to survive.

Winter Trainer Blues

It's been a long winter, but you don't have to suffer alone

on the trainer. Why not suffer with this group? Trainer

rides will continue at the old shop through the end of

January. Since the new shop is a bit small for the trainer

rides we will either call it good for the winter, or find a new

location. Join the others for the last of the rides at the old

shop on Tuesday and Thursday at 6:00pm. No one gets

dropped. Troy occasionally crashes on the rollers so set

up at least his height away from him. I shouldn't speak, I

would not even think about getting on the rollers.

The great news this year is that daylight savings is just

around the corner, March 9th I believe. So hang in, the cyclist's

winter is almost over.

Cycling in Search of Sloth

Another favorite bike ride, this one in Costa Rica to visit the sloth sanctuary. The great thing about travelling is the ability to always find a bike to ride. It may not be what you are used to but it's always a great ride. How can you go wrong on a bike with a basket. In 2006 we rented these two single speeds to ride 40 miles round trip to fulfill a long time dream of mine to visit the sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica. The trip was well worth it being able to see all the different sloths including the baby pictured above. Later while hiking in the forest we actually found one in the wild.

Club Meeting Recap

We had a great turn out for last nights meeting, 15 to 20 people. Here is a recap of the discussion.

1. I have been speaking with people from the downtown association about putting on a criterium downtown in 2009. I'm getting nothing but positive feedback and willingness to help. My hope is to make this an annual event and grow it each year. I'll be meeting with the downtown association within the next couple of weeks and keep everyone informed.

2. Cross race in fall of 2008. Mark Cleaver with all the help we can give him is up for taking the lead on a cross race some time this October. This will be a great event to get junior racers involved with racing. I'm very excited about this event, mainly because I'm amazed at what people are able to do on cross bikes.

3. Racing in 2008. The first race people plan to attend is the Jack Frost Time Trial February 24 in Vancouver, Washington. There will be a few of us going, if you want to go and need a ride email me at dgrcycling@clearwire.net. The following weekend is the beginning of the Mason Lake road race series in Mason Lake Washington. The Oregon schedule can be found at http://app.obra.org/schedule the Washington schedule can be found at http://www.wsbaracing.com/events.asp

4. Charity Event for this May. May is national bike month and May 12 through the 16th is ride to work week http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/ We are looking and doing a bike-a-thon either for the month or the commute week. Get a team of two together, collect donations per/mile either for the month, or the commute week depending on what we decide. Top 3 teams will get prizes and this year the money collected will be donated to the Yakima Greenway Foundation Each year we will donate the proceeds to a local charity. Shannon also brought up a great idea to use proceeds to create a scolarship fund for a local cyclist. We will be looking in to this more. So, get your team together and start harassing people for money.

5. Corey Sinclair attended the meeting representing the CWU Cycling Club and had some great news. They are planning to put on a collegiate stage race this year in Ellensburg. I asked him to keep us informed and we would be happy to help any way we can. A collegiate stage race in Ellensburg will bring the top collegiate cyclists in the Northwest to Ellensburg. A criterium in Ellensburg would be a great way to spend an evening.

Those are the highlights of the meeting. Also, Revolution is moving bikes from the old shop to the new shop beginning at 9:00 am this Saturday morning, if you have a car with racks they could use the help. Follow it up with a ride led by Troy at 11:00.

See you on the road

Dantes View Death Valley

Welcome to the Chinook blog. I decided to start this blog

off with my favorite ride, Dantes View in Death Valley. The

ride from Furnace Creek below sea level to Dantes View, 6,533

feet above sea level is the most spectacular ride I've done.

The road gets steaper as you go ending with a quarter mile

over 14%. And the view truly is spectacular. It's too bad

I'm usually too dizzy and eyes too blurry to enjoy it.

Chinook Club Meeting this Friday January 11th at

Revolution cycles. Not sure if it will be the old shop

or the new shop, just check in. I'll try to post which

one by Friday morning.