Passion Spring News #13

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Today's Topics:

1. Downieville Summer Kick-off on the Solstice 6/20-23
2. More summer D'Ville trips: Make your reservations now
3. Ales & Trails benefit for IMBA-California in Marin 6/28
4. Barack Obama takes the kids for a bike ride
5. Breezers in the store
6. Wednesday Wride: Tank Tops, Tequila, and Tecnu
7. National Trail Day report: we gave the Waterdog a trim
8. 19 women for the First Friday Female Fiesta!




1. Downieville Summer Kick-off on the Solstice 6/20-23
We still have room for more volunteers for a Summer Solstice Trail Daze with the Stewardship: June 20 to June 23, 2008. The thread on MTBR has grown to EPIC proportions and it sounds like the trails are SWEET. We've squeezed into some extra campsites up at Packer Lake, and we're bringing a couple kegs, pancake makin's and so forth. Gonna be a great time!

Graphics and image courtesy of Kyle Maxwell

Read below about the schedule adjustments we've made for maximum fun. Our main priority is to provide some assistance to the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship to fullfill our sponsorship of the Big Boulder Trail high above Downieville. Patty will be claiming a few campsites just for volunteers.

We will head up Friday, hang out and socialize by the lake or get a ride in if we get up there during daylight, otherwise just pitch tents and crash. Saturday we will do some riding. A wide variety of rides are planned for that day; there will surely be a group to hang with. Saturday night is a party with raffle and beer. Maybe bike sumo. Sunday we will rise to some strong coffee and head out for a spell of trailwork in the morning. We are working with SBTS now to plan which trail we will be volunteering on. Sunday night will be a quieter version of Saturday, with campfire and relaxing. Monday (optional) we ride again and return. If you can only make a part of the weekend, that's OK too.

If you are interested in volunteering, please send Patty an email at patty@passiontrailbikes.com if you would like to get in on this great weekend in the High Country.

Nica on an SBTS project

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2. More summer D'Ville trips: Make your reservations now

We are starting to populate our and we have two weekends reserved at the Riverside Inn in Downieville, along with a bunch of seats reserved on the Yuba Expeditions shuttle for two(2) three-day weekends in Downieville. The first weekend is Friday through Monday, July 19-21. The second one is right after Labor day, so plan your two-week long getaway and join us in September, from Friday 9/5 to Tuesday 9/8.

The weekends are going to be fun, casual, and supported with logistics and meals. Given that most of the dining establishments are iffy these days in terms of actually being open, Patty will be doing a bunch of cooking, and serving several meals on the deck overlooking the Downie River.

Because we have paid for the reservations at the Inn, we require an actual $$ deposit of $100 per person for the weekend to reserve your spot. This commitment is required and is not refundable unless we can find someone else to take your space. send Patty an email at patty@passiontrailbikes.com to let her know of your intentions, and you can either mail a check to 415-C Old County Road, Belmont, CA 94002 to secure your spot, or make a payment at the register by whatever means you have when you are in the shop. Make sure Patty knows how to reach you and which weekend you are reserving a space for.

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3. Ales & Trails benefit for IMBA-California in Marin 6/28

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The fifth annual Ales & Trails is a fundraiser for the International Mountain Bicycling Association's California efforts and initiatives. It's the easiest way to support mountain biking in Northern California! Enjoy guided rides and clinics for all levels of riders. A skills progression course, bike demos and tune-ups, silent auction, fantastic BBQ and endless Beer, live music, pro rider skills demo, hefty swag bags for all attendees, and much, much more. Don't miss it!

Passion Trail Bikes will be there sponsoring the registration booth, throwing down some swag for the silent auction, and enjoying the great vibe.

Visit http://www.AlesandTrails.net for more information. You'll want to register and get your tickets in advance. Don't miss out!

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4. Barack Obama takes the kids for a bike ride


"We've been going at a pretty fast clip. I intend to take the weekend off, and I'm going to take my wife out on a date. I hope to go on a bike ride with my kids."
Barack Obama as quoted in the New York Times, June 6, 2008

We usually try not to get political around here, but we admit it was really nice to see Obama towing his kids out for a spin along the lakeshore. Fun and exercise! Yay!

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5. Breezers in the store


Say what? We saw these prices in Los Altos a week ago.

If you've been thinking about getting a commuter bike, we wanted to let you know that we are now an authorized Breezer Bikes dealer, and have a couple bikes in the shop. Daryl has one built already, so come on down and check it out. Breezers are purpose built for transporting you to work, shopping, or other urban destinations. Leave your car at home once a week and see how commuting makes you fitter and happier when you arrive at the office. Note the lights, reflective wheels, racks, kick stand, and other cool features.

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6. Wednesday Wride: Tank Tops, Tequila, and Tecnu

For the long-winded version of the Wride Write-up, with all the important details, please refer to this page on our website. If your questions haven't been answered by clicking on the previous link, you can also email us for info at info@passiontrailbikes.com.

Note: The new Weekly ride page will be updated weekly on Tuesdays for the next day's Weekly Wednesday Ride.

Sunset is at 8:27pm this Wednesday 06/11/08. Come on down and enjoy the twisty narrow singletrack that makes Waterdog famous. All rides start from the shop: Passion Trail Bikes, 415 Old County Road, Belmont, CA 94002 650-620-9798

Special this week: Tank Tops, Tequila and Tecnu. It's hot, we're cutting the sleeves off our jerseys. And what goes better with a sweaty mountain bike ride than a post-pedal margarita? And since we're riding Waterdog, we'll have tecnu handy to wash off those bare arms when we get back. Come join us!

The EARLY ride group will go out at at 6:15 PM.

The REGULAR ride group will go out at 6:30 PM.

The FBG or Fat Bottomed Girl ride will go out at approximately 6:10 PM.

For those that can't sneak out of work on time, or are habitually late, we will be offering a STRAGGLERS ride group that goes out at 6:45 PM.

Please bring a blinky light for the back of your bike, and a white handlebar light for the front.

All groups will meet back here at Passion Trail Bikes shortly before dark (about 8:45pm) for the usual story telling & beverage enjoyment. We will have stuff for the BBQ along with some carb laden side dish, chips and fatty snacks and EANABS to pair up with the Devil's Canyon Brewery offerings. We will hang out until about 10pm, so come on down, even if you can't make the ride! Passion Parties are better with YOU in the mix!

Reminder: Even if you don't join the ride, the shop is basically open until really late. Like, 10:00pm! So if you want to shop, or drop off or pick up a repair, we will be here LATE on Wednesday nights, although there's a strong possibility there will be a frothy cold pint o' beverage on the counter. Yes, you can have one too. Please bear with us if you have to go into the lounge to find the help. Yes, you can have some chips too.

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7. National Trail Day report: we gave the Waterdog a trim

On National Trails Day we joined up with thousands of other trail lovers accross America to give back to the parks that keep us smiling!

Waterdog was getting really overgrown, with a lot of vigorous growth along the singletrack was starting to shred our jerseys. Last week the City of Belmont Parks and Rec Dept. stopped off and delivered a gas-powered hedge trimmer to speed the process of hacking back the vegetation.

On Saturday we gathered up on Hallmark and spread out to attack the brush from three trailheads. 16 Volunteers divided and conquered, using loppers on the thick stuff, and rakes and other implements of destruction to move cut brush off the trail. We were able to give a good whacking to the vegetation on John Brooks Trail and Rambler Trail up at the top of the park, from the Chaparral Trail to Finch Trail. Our efforts made the trail corridor wide enough so we can now stay out of the brush and pass other users.

We also had the great good fortune to see a mama hummingbird sitting on a nest. We left that branch alone!

More work remains as the rest of Rambler and Finch still need brushing. We will let you know when we are planning another project.

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8. 19 women for the First Friday Female Fiesta!

What a great time we had on Friday, with nineteen women attending our first ever ladies night at the shop. Charles and Jay did the hospitality while the women went out to ride. Awesome! When we came back we were treated to Margaritas, a taco bar, a clothing swap, and lots of fun hanging out.

Next month we will have our Female Fandango on the second Friday, July 11th, since the first Friday is a holiday.

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Happy Trails, the PTB crew
Charles, Patty, Berry, John, Bret, Sterling, Daryl, Daniel, Peter, Reba and Buster

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