This week's Topics:

1. Wednesday Wride: hustle and squeak it in before dark
2. Steelhead trout creek survey helpers needed weekdays Sept 25-Oct 1, Soquel Forest
3. Trips For Kids warehouse & thrift shop sale Oct 4th San Rafael
4. Mere Mortals taking kids mountain biking Oct 4th, Shoreline Park
5. DATE/DAY correction! Demo Day at Passion with Specialized Sunday October 5th
6. Biketoberfest in Fairfax Oct 18th
7. ROMP Christmas Party date is Friday December 19th


1. Wednesday Wride: Hustle and Squeak it in before dark

Sunset is at 7:04pm this Wednesday 09/24/08. Twilight ends and darkness falls shortly after 7:30pm.

Special theme for this week: Arriving with your shorts on and your camelback already full of water. Let's make a really good effort to actually launch the rides at the alloted time. Stragglers will have to straggle and make up their own ride. No waiting around!

P. L. E. A. S. E. . . . P. U. T. . . . L. I. G. H. T. S. . . . O. N ! ! ! !

Please remember to put a light on your handlebar and have a blinky ready for the ride back to the shop! CA vehicle code requires it. Don't get caught out on the streets in the dark! Also, a reminder that we need to be super conscientious about stopping at stop signs and lights, yielding to pedestrians, and operating our bikes predictably and responsibly while on the roads. While we are not the only cyclists out there we are certainly the biggest group and the easiest place to lodge complaints. Let's be safe and kind out there.

For all the details about what makes each group unique, please refer to this webpage. If your questions aren't answered there, you can also email us for info at info@passiontrailbikes.com.

There will be the usual variety of rides on the twisty narrow singletrack that makes Waterdog famous. All rides start pedaling from the shop: Passion Trail Bikes, 415 Old County Road, Belmont, CA 94002 650-620-9798

The EARLY ride will go out at 5:15 PM.
The FBG or Fat Bottomed Girl ride will go out at 5:25 PM.
The WHITE SOCKS ride will go out at 5:25 PM.
The RIDICULOUS ride will go out at 5:30 PM.
The REGULAR ride will go out at 5:30 PM.
The STRAGGLERS ride goes out at 5:45 PM.

All groups will meet back here at Passion Trail Bikes right around dark for the usual story telling & beverage enjoyment. We will have stuff for the BBQ along with some carbo laden side dish, chips and fatty snacks and EANABS to pair up with the Devil's Canyon Brewery's Full Boar Scotch Ale, Silicon Blonde Ale, and Backpack Babe Root Beer. 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!

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2. Steelhead trout creek survey helpers needed weekdays Sept 25-Oct 1, Soquel Forest


The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) will be surveying steelhead trout in Soquel Creek the last two weeks of September. We are in need of volunteers to help with this important work. Please call or email Dave Swank (NMFS) as soon as possible if you may be able to help. His work phone number is (831) 420-3974 and email is david.swank@noaa.gov . See below for additional details. Please forward this on to anyone you think may be interested.

Each year the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, with the assistance of several agencies and volunteers, has sampled the fish populations of Soquel Demonstration State Forest (SDSF). This is part of an overall effort to monitor steelhead trout in the Soquel Creek watershed in the Santa Cruz Mountains. For the seventh year we have the good fortune of having the National Marine Fisheries Service play a major role in this significant research. In fact, they have initiated new studies (that go beyond our initial monitoring goals) that include monitoring juvenile steelhead growth.

The NMFS fieldwork is scheduled to occur September 25, 26, 29, 30 and October 1 (Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday). Volunteers are being sought for this rewarding project.

The same five locations within SDSF are inventoried each year. Fish are netted and collected in buckets after they are momentarily stunned by an electrofishing device. Steelhead trout are the primary fish present, but lamprey and prickly sculpin are also occasionally found. Most of the steelhead inventoried are known as "young-of-the-year." Young-of-the-year are fish that hatched in the spring from eggs laid in the streambed gravels by spawning adults in the winter. Young-of-the-year are usually 2 to 3.5 inches in length when measured in the fall.

Each field day begins at approximately 8 a.m. and ends at approximately 4 p.m. Volunteers assist in netting and measuring the fish and collecting other information. Two of the five days involve a challenging hike over difficult terrain to get to the creek. Individuals can volunteer for one or more days, however, a full-day commitment is necessary due to the logistics involved.

The scenery and company are terrific, and the project is a great way to learn more about the local fishery and watershed. For more information, or to volunteer, please call Dave Swank. Please feel free to forward this information to anyone you think might be interested. Thank you for your assistance.

Thomas Sutfin, Forest Manager

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3. Trips For Kids warehouse & thrift shop sale Oct 4th San Rafael


TRIPS FOR KIDS RE-CYCLERY BIKE THRIFT SHOP HUGE BLOW-OUT SALE

Saturday, October 4 from 10 am - 4 pm
Don't miss the huge one-day sale at two locations. Trips for Kids is opening its San Rafael warehouse to the cycling community. At the same time, we are offering discounts on selected items at our Re-Cyclery Bike Thrift Shop in downtown San Rafael. Bike frames (including 23 Giant OCR frames with forks), forks, wheels, tires, helmets, bike racks, clothes, cycling shoes, and lots more will be on sale at bargain prices. Product donations from bicycle manufacturers and private donors have piled up and its time to make room for new shipments. PLEASE NOTE: Payment must be by cash or local check with a valid Driver's License and bikes are not further discounted.

The Trips for Kids Warehouse is located at 125 Larkspur St. Suite 119, San Rafael. The Re-Cyclery Bike Thrift Shop is at 610 Fourth Street in downtown San Rafael. For more information call (415) 458-2986 or check our website http://www.tripsforkids.org There is no visitor parking allowed at our Warehouse so please park on the street.

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4. Mere Mortals taking kids mountain biking Oct 4th, Shoreline Park



Mere Mortals Mountain Biking would like to invite you to our Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day Event
When: Saturday, October 4th, 2008
Where: Shoreline Park 3070 N Shoreline Blvd
Mountain View, CA 94043
Itinerary: 10:00 am – Noon (or until you get tired)
Meet at Parking Lot in front of lake
Be sure to bring a bike and helmet for each rider.
Waiver form is required, we will have them the day of the event.

This is a great opportunity for you to pass your passion for pedaling on to kids. Plan to go mountain biking on the first Saturday in October - and bring a kid along for the ride! We are currently seeking interested participants (Kids and Adults) as well as volunteers for all aspects of the event.

For more information please email Tiffini at tiffiniclark@gmail.com

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5. DATE/DAY correction! Demo Day at Passion with Specialized Sunday October 5th


Its demo time again. Sunday October 5th will be the first chance we’ll have to ride the ’09 Specialized line and we are going to have a party while we are at it. The shop will have the newly re-designed Epic and SX Trail as well as a full fleet of Stumpjumper, Enduro, Pitch, Stumpy 29er and Safire bikes available for a dirty demo ride. There will be rides launching from the shop at 9, 11 and 1 o’clock through Waterdog Park as well as big bike rides We will have ride leaders and the pace will be social. As usual, there will be great amounts of grilled goods as well as great amounts of socializing.

Note the DATE/DAY correction! Sunday October 5th

If you are looking to get into a new bike in ’09 or even just want to see the new technology come down and hang out!

All bike reservations can be made by sending Daniel an email at daniel@passiontrailbikes.com or by calling the shop at 650-620-9798 to let him know what size bike you ride, which model you want to test and at what time.

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6. Biketoberfest in Fairfax Oct 18th

Volunteers and attendees sought for Biketoberfest! Saturday Oct 18th, 2008 Fairfax

Access4Bikes and Marin County Bicycle Coalition present Biketoberfest, Saturday, October 18, 2008, at FairAnselm Plaza lots, Center Blvd, Fairfax, from 11am-6:00pm. Join in on an Octoberfest and bike festival rolled into one: Biketoberfest! Over a dozen micro-breweries, local organic gourmet food purveyors, live music, group rides, entertainment, kid's activities and the Expo Marketplace filled with great gear, buys and info. from northern CA bike frame builders, manufacturer's, bike stores, bike teams and advocacy organizations! www.biketoberfest2008.org

Volunteers needed and loved! In order to keep this a free festival, it is exclusively volunteer driven. Shifts of 2 hrs. (Coffee, beverages & snacks provided), 4 hrs. (Plus lunch & beer chit) or...? (Plus some swag!) Thanks everyone!!!!!

Volunteer needs: Set-up and break-down/ hefty truck and driver for table &chair pick-up and drop off locally and Santa Rosa/ Volunteer Coordinator(s)/Volunteer Check-in/Vendor Check-in/Ticket Sales/Food and Beer assistants/BBQ Chef & assistant/Music assistant/Kid’s Activities Coordinators/Kid’s Rides Coordinators//Poster-flyer distribution/Sign design and production/Raffle Prize seller(s) and more!

Vendors: Great rates and lots of exposure-see contact below:

Contacts:
General Info. and volunteers:
Heidi Adler hcadler@comcast.net 415-686-1526
Vendors:
Tom Boss tomboss@mac.com 415-272-2756
www.biketoberfest2008.org

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7. ROMP Christmas Party date is Friday December 19th


Save the date! ROMP's annual Christmas Gala is Friday December 19th, and will be at Michael's Restaurant at Shoreline Park, Mountain View. Guest Speaker TBA. This is always a wonderful event. We go every year and have a great time. Good people, good times. Don't miss out!

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To contact us, email us at info@passiontrailbikes.com, or call the shop at 650-620-9798.
Happy Trails, the PTB crew
Charles, Patty, Berry, John, Bret, Sterling, Daryl, Daniel, Peter, Reba and Buster