Springtime Passion Trail Bikes News! Issue #14

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This week's Topics:

1. Summertime!
2. Downieville Trail Daze Final Call 6/22
3. More summer D'Ville trips: Make your reservations now
4. Ales & Trails benefit for IMBA-California in Marin 6/28
5. Wednesday Wride: Sock Hop
6. July Friday Female Fandango will be 7/11, focus on beginners




1. Summertime!
Welcome to the last newsletter for spring 2008! Summer is right around the corner, and we are psyched! Three months of warm days, warm nights, road trips, great local riding, and hanging around outside with our friends. What could be better? I know, you want a newsletter with fresh content! Well, apologies for re-running some stuff below. You wanted the reminders, didn't you?

Here are a couple of seasonal reminders:
-- If you are planning a mountain biking vacation, make an appointment for a tuneup for your bike one to two weeks before you go. Give us a call at 650-620-9798. Make the appointment NOW, and we will hold the spot for you. As the time for your service appointment approaches, begin taking notes about what you want done on your bike. New tires for summer conditions? Bleed the brakes? New brake pads? Check the fitting and suspension set-up? Lube and torque all your pivots? New chain and middle chainring? You get the idea. When you bring the bike in we will go over your list and start to work. Give yourself peace of mind with this little bit of planning. We will have time to order any obscure small parts your bike might need if we don't have them in stock, and get your bike back to you in time to test it out and make sure everything is as you like. Ahhh, an awesome running bike to get the most pleasure out of your valuable free time.

-- Stinkyness abounds in Charles' closet right now. Summer means sweating, and there's something about the polyester fibers in many cycling clothes that fosters bacterial growth and results in something that smells way worse than fresh sweat. Because we usually wash everything in cold water to protect the stretchiness of lycra, we may not kill the bacteria that takes up residence in the fibers.
-- Tips:
----- Don't leave your sweaty clothes in a zipped nylon gym bag in the back of your car. Use a mesh bag when changing out of your ride clothes, and wash your clothes promptly. Air circulation is your friend.
----- Wash your helmet and camelback frequently. Body armor too. Use a mild laundry soap and a bucket or sink to wash out sweat, salts, and trail funk. You can also give your shoes a rinse this way too. Air dry. Blot a drop of tri-flow on your cleats to keep them from rusting.
----- Wash your gloves after every ride, silly. They stink, and who knows what you wipe against the terry on the thumb.
----- When the stink won't come out and you can smell yourself within 10 minutes of pedaling off from the trailhead, retire your jersey and shop for something stylish and sweet (not sweat) smelling.

-- Beware of leaving certain items in a hot car. We have had customers bring in blown speedball seatposts that were left on the black deck of the minivan all day long when the car got up to something over 130 degrees inside, and probably MUCH hotter on the black surface. Air expands when heated and can put pressure in a direction a seal isn't prepared to resist. Black lycra will also suffer heat-induced fiber failure if over heated. And all helmet manufacturers warn you about leaving your helmet in a hot car because the plastics and foam are not designed to withstand extreme temps.

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2. Downieville Trail Daze Final Call 6/22
Responses to our call for volunteers has been, shall we say, um, weak. We need a few more volunteers for a Summer Solstice Trail Daze with the Stewardship on Sunday June 22. We will be camping at Packer Lake, near the shuttle drop. The thread on MTBR has grown to EPIC proportions and it sounds like the trails are SWEET. We've squeezed into some extra campsites, and we're bringing a couple kegs, pancake makin's and so forth. Gonna be a great time!

Nica on an SBTS project -- Jay says this is the BEST. TRAILWORK. PICTURE. EVER.

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. If we don't have at least 5 volunteers we may cancel the project. 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. It pretty much depends on turnout, but its looking like Big Boulder. Sunday evening we will break camp and return.

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.

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

We are starting to populate our summer calendar 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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4. 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 and to get tickets. Please pre-register and get your tickets in advance, as the event size is limited. Don't miss out!

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5. Wednesday Wride: Sock Hop

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 8:29pm this Wednesday 06/18/08. 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: Sock Hop. We like cool socks with funny stuff on the ankle. Show off your favorite, and give us your thoughts on what kind of socks you'd like to see us stock in the store. Prize at 9:00pm for the best socks as determined by a thoroughly unbiased decision by Judge Patty. Prize is your pick of any one pair of socks in the store.

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 6:10 PM. This week Patty sez "don't be late."

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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6. July Friday Female Fandango will be 7/11, focus on beginners

Next month we will have our Female Fandango on the second Friday, July 11th, since the first Friday is a holiday. We will focus on providing supportive rides for women who are beginner mountain bikers, including a fireroad-only toe-dipping kinda outing, maybe a mellow singletrack sampler for those ready for narrow tracks, and a special "Tips and Tricks" ride with the FBG that will include a heavy dose of coaching and a small amount of mileage. There will also be faster and longer rides for those long-legged ladies with pedaling power.

Patty will be looking for ride leaders to help with the beginner-level rides. If you would like to assist, drop her a note at patty@passiontrailbikes.com.

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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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