Yes, No, Maybe So

YES, we had a beautiful ride on the Orange Beach Trail this past Saturday. Terry took some of these pictures. Thanks, Terry!

NO, we will not have an organized Saturday ride tomorrow (Sept. 3) because the rain and wind we are getting from the Gulf these next few days would not make a very enjoyable ride (also, it would be a Bad Hair day for those of us who still have it). Will anyone ride?

MAYBE SO, if it clears up enough, but since there will be no organized ride, you will just have to call around and have a disorganized bike outing. See you next week, however.

Orange Beach Trail Tomorrow 8-27-11

Tomorrow we are going to ride the lovely, shaded trail through the woods that starts near the Orange Beach City Hall. However, the starting place for most will be at the Floribama parking lot a few miles east (be there no later than 8:45 AM, departure time 9 AM sharp). Those who want to ride the trail only, park at the trailhead no later than 9:15 AM and look for us to join you by 9:30 or earlier. After the ride we will go for an early lunch!

Having Fun on our 8-20-11 Ride

Saturday August 20th Ride Starts at 7:45 AM

Late bulletin! Tomorrow's Saturday ride will start at 7:45 AM as we try to ease back to an earlier, cooler start time for the next few weeks (except for next week--a plan to ride the Orange Beach trail where we will meet at the Floribama around 9). Look for subsequent ride times to be at 7:30 AM for the next month or so.

About Our Club

Some of you have asked for more information about our club. I must apologize for the slow response; I do not check for comments very often! I hope to write a few words about the history of Freewheelers soon, but in the meantime: you can find out more about our club by emailing Rachel at seabikers2@bellsouth.net; if you'd like to ride with us we meet at the corner of Chief's Way and Old Corry (parking lot of Subway and Family Dollar Store) at 8 AM Saturdays. But please call first (850-934-6834, or 453-4207) to make sure plans haven't changed because of weather or special route. Thanks for asking!

A Time to Hold

How can you hold onto time? Some people can't wait for this hot, sticky August to be over with, yet folded into this year's humidity soup have been some beautiful, bike-friendly mornings when you just want to enjoy a little riding, before the heat of the day, with some of your closest friends. Not long ago was such a morning, a good one for a short ride. We had not gone more than a mile or two when David, the picture of physical health, began to weave on his bike, and fell. It was so unexpected that two bikers in close proximity were hit by his bike before they could get out of the way, causing them to go down, also. Those two were okay, other than a little road rash and some bruises, but David never got up.

Care and first aid were given to him immediately by our members, as well as some providential angels who came by, as if called by God--two doctors, a marine, a woman offering towels. There was even a man with a trailer who offered to transport bikes. The ambulance came along with police, and David went to the hospital. But David did not live. We were devastated, knowing that there was no collision with anything, and he was wearing a helmet (required on all of our rides). We found out later that the family had a strong history of heart attacks at an early age.

David's wife was riding with us when he fell, and you can be sure we enfolded her with all the support and love we could (and will continue to do so). After the memorial service she said she was sure that God had meant for David to be with his friends when he died, and to be doing something he loved.

If we could hold time back, we would want to hold onto you, David. But since we had to let you go, you can be sure we will hold everyone down here in our Freewheelers club close together in friendship as long as we're rolling together. Could you start a bike club up there?

The Summer of Our Discontent?

Last Saturday...too much rain. Saturday before...too hot. Last month...out of town. So many things can happen to mess up or cancel a bike ride, but we keep on going. Please, do keep on going. It's a slippery slope when weather happens, then travel interrupts, then guests arrive, then you are too busy or toooo tirrrred...and then you show up for a bike ride, and everyone else has been too...something, and you are all by yourself! I confess, this coming Saturday Jake and I are playing hooky because of company coming, but we are determined to come every Saturday we can. Hope you are, too.

Hot Time in July

It's next month already??? Well, hello, again. Jake and Rachel have been out of town, so this blog-writer has been curiously unbloggable. But we are so happy to be back here on our bikes, even in the heat, and look forward to the rest of summer in Pensacola. Member Don had a wonderful Independence Day party for our club and his neighbors (Don cooks the best brats in town). While we were there, we celebrated Freewheeler July birthdays.

Tomorrow's ride (July 9) will start at the usual Old Corry Rd./Chiefs way parking lot, 8 AM sharp. We hope to keep it brief to avoid the heat of the day, and also to get those of us who might be crossing the bridge to get home (ahem, who?) before the traditional Blue Angels Show traffic jam. It should be a lovely hot day!

Hot Day, Cool Cattle

No, last Saturday we did not bike to a ranch out west-- these are city cattle in Pensacola, Florida, not far from Dog Track Road. They were smart to stay cool in the shade. Tomorrow (June 11) we will start at 8 AM again, same parking lot, hoping you will join us.

Good Ride

Thanks for a good ride at Orange Beach! The lunch later was fun, too (we find interesting places-- see photo). We're gonna have to go simple this coming Saturday, so it'll be the ol' parking lot at 8 AM.

Planned for May 28-- Orange Beach Nature Trail!

This Saturday's plan is to meet at the Floribama parking lot at 9 AM to ride to the Orange Beach nature trail entrance, pick up any riders who would rather start there, then ride the beautiful wooded nature trail. See you there!

Remembering Joe Reed

I did not know Joseph K. Reed. But after our club pedalled to his memorial service at First Methodist Church of Pensacola this past Saturday, I wish I had. Several of our members rode with Joe when he was a member of the Freewheelers back in the 1980's, which is why we rode our bikes to the service, and trooped in wearing our bicycle shorts, bike shoes, and jerseys or t-shirts. Larry rode one of Joe's old bikes-- a blue Schwinn Joe took to Europe to ride the Tour de France route. You might picture him as a young man then...well, he was a young man in his 60's. He was a retired physical therapist, having served in the Coast Guard, Veterans Administration, and the U.S. Public Health Service. He had worked many years in Hawaii and Louisiana with patients who had Hansen's Disease (leprosy).

When Joe retired to Pensacola in 1984, he became a full-time volunteer, working with many different organizations including the Salvation Army, Loaves and Fishes, Habitat for Humanity, Baptist Hospital, Manna Food Pantries, and of course, First Methodist Church. He went to Ethiopia to work with leprosy patients there. He was named Escambia County's Outstanding Senior Volunteer in 1998.

You'd think Joe would have little time for anything else, but he was married and had a family, and he and his wife were avid bicyclists. They led bike tours and logged over 19,000 miles in the U.S. and overseas. That's a lot of bike tires, folks.

After the very nice service, we attended the reception at the Perry House next door-- a beautiful, historic old home that is worth seeing (inside there's a coffee shop open to the public ).

We met Joe's family, great people who expressed sincere appreciation for our riding bikes to the service, and especially for riding Joe's old bike. They asked Larry to bring it into the house so they and other people could see it.

I wish I had known Joe. But I'm glad I got to hear the stories, and ride alongside his bike.

This is Us

In case anyone reading this needs basic information about us, here it is.

We're Tired

Bad Joke: Why won't my bicycle go faster? It's two-tired.

Bad Tire Day: (no joke) when you have more than one flat on the same ride. That's happened the last two Saturdays! Fortunately, we had excellent riders who got things fixed and back on the road. It's a good reminder to always bring extra tubes, patches, levers, and a tire pump or CO2, not to mention a cell phone if you have to call someone. Bright side: whenever you watch someone change a tire, you will usually learn something new. But we're getting tired of those lessons now...

A Warm (but not too hot) Welcome

Our May 7 Saturday ride was delightfully mild, but not too hot, in more ways than one. We hope new member Karen felt more welcome than the heat, as she cheerfully stood with us on on the side of the highway when another member had a flat. As is frequently the case, some of our first rides with new members are not too hot because of those little unexpected interruptions that pop up on bicycle club rides. Another of our recent new members on her first ride with us had the pleasure of a long wait with relative strangers (us) when we sent out a search party for someone who hadn't shown up. But perhaps these first-time adventures are a very good thing, because (1) they are excellent learning opportunities for new riders about "what to do if...", and (2) they are living proof that our club really does care about every member, and will come back for you, share tools, expertise, and whatever else we have that might help. That's how we roll.

The Sound of Musing --April 30

Our Saturday April 30th ride was a perfect day to just enjoy familiar surroundings, and muse about them, at least if you have an a-musing, and probably somewhat la-la mindset that one-half of the Jake-Rachel

tandem team attributes to the other. Anyway, our attendance this morning consisted of Jake-Rachel and Lloyd, and one of us wanted to go east. We pedaled Mobile Hwy.-Cervantes to 17th and into East Hill, getting as close to the west side of Bayou Texar as we could without getting into the water. After noting the dog beach and Community Center Cancer Relay goings-on, we wandered into the Land of the Large Houses and Annoying Hills. The scenery was nice enough to keep us going for quite a while, but when we finally turned westward to meander our return, one of us who didn't have to steer, only pedal, started musing about the sights of this and that which we viewed on our return trip.

We saw some runners returning for, or from, either Cure for Cancer or Crawfish, not sure which, since both were being celebrated within a mile of the other. For some reason police had closed the lane for runners to run against traffic. We were glad for either cause, and it made at least one of us glad we were on a bike.

The Post-Run Celebration

The Crawfish Festival






A few blocks west (and north?) This old building (but not that old...30's, 40's, maybe?) made me think about times when buildings were expected to be a monument to something that would always be made or represented within its walls...like a church. This monument to Coca-Cola must have been a proud addition to Pensacola...might have been a bottling plant, company offices, or both. Do you know its history? The Coca-Cola logo and glorified soda pop bottle are carved in stone, a permanent adornment on a solid brick building. I wonder what the building is being used for now? Why did Coca-Cola leave? Where is Pensacola's cola bottled now?

Getting closer to "home"...the good old Barrancas Street Bridge crosses the bayou where you can see a small island through the railings. There are trees growing on that island. Is anything else on it? Is it owned or used by anyone? It's just big enough to make me imagine someone hiding out on it. Does it have snakes? Do birds build nests there?

Almost back...whenever I see someone's attempt to communicate on a public cultural (anthropological?) icon like a bridge, bus bench, rail car, etc., whether it is graffiti, gangsta signs, geek doodles, Phoenician or Martian, I am impressed that someone expects at least one other person to understand it.

This sign I do understand. If you've got lines for 99 cents, and beer for $2.00, it's the beer they are selling. But at least we've pedaled there for free, back to our starting point just across the street.

And it's much too beautiful to be inside bowling. We'd rather be rolling our bicycles outside, Freewheeling.

Where's Waldo? or, The Case of the Vanishing Rider

Dum, da-dum-dum (Dragnet music). This is the city...or perhaps we should say the highway between cities, where a most puzzling and amusing thing happened on today's Saturday club ride. Our name is...call us Jae-Rae, that geezer couple on the tandem recumbant. This is a true story. Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Saturday morning, 8:15 AM. The Freewheelers Bicycle Club riders assemble at the usual Pensacola parking lot. It is decided to ride to Lillian, Alabama, to enjoy the beautiful water view crossing over the bridge from one state to another. One of our members has not come to the ride start. We know he lives in Lillian, and decide to call him in case he would like to join us there. "Waldo" (not his real name) answers the phone and says he would be delighted to join us at the foot of the Florida-Alabama Highway 98 bridge.

We make the turn from Chiefs Way/Old Corry Road onto Navy Boulevard and down to Highway 98, where we head west towards Lillian. It is a perfect spring day, clear, temperature in the 70's, blue skies, fresh green grass and trees, colorful wildflowers and waterlillies all along the roadside. The warm, fresh air is intoxicating.

Even better, we have a new member riding with us. The ride leader makes a Brief Scenic Detour through a neighborhood off the highway so we can look at the nearby water, sparkling blue. We turn back onto the highway after less than a few blocks. We're getting close to the Alabama bridge.

Someone is riding a bicycle east, towards us. We recognize her as "Mrs. Waldo," and call out. She meets us and asks, "Where's Waldo? He was ahead of me."

"Wasn't he going to meet us at the bridge?" Yes, but he decided to ride ahead and meet us on the highway.

This results in brief confusion until we quickly realize that Waldo must have missed us while we were on our Brief Scenic Detour. Uh oh.

Mrs. Waldo calls her husband on the cell phone, but he doesn't answer, so she leaves a fairly frustrated message.

Since our club motto is Descido Nemo, (leave no one behind), Jae-Rae decide to find Waldo.
We tell everyone else to go ahead to Alabama and enjoy the view. We head back east, expecting to see Waldo at any minute. It is such a beautiful spring day, we can't help but enjoy our search for the Vanished Rider. We pedal for miles, looking for a moving helmeted speck just ahead.

We spy a couple of bike riders, one in a parking lot who might be Waldo, but wasn't, and another one headed back west. We yell "WALDO!" at him, but he just waves, happy to let us know he is not the prodigal peddler.

Finally...after about 10 miles we reach Fairfield Drive, and there is Waldo. He is peddling back west, and we cross the highway to meet. Waldo says he bicycled all the way to the ride start in Pensacola, and never saw us. Says it was getting warm, and was on his way home. We call the other Freewheelers waiting in Alabama and tell them the suspect has been apprehended and we're bringing him in. Jae-Rae enjoy the ride back, as the roadside continues to be warm, green and bright with wildflowers.

We make our way back to the Alabama bridge and across the water, where everyone is glad to see Waldo safe and sound. Waldo's cell phone, though, is implicated in this case, as it neither rang loudly enough or vibrated vigorously enough to turn Waldo around. The moral of this story is: when you ride, ride with a buddy who also has a cell phone, in case you vanish. And remember to have friends like the Freewheelers, who will look for you!

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 23, we plan a "regular" ride at 8 AM, starting at our usual parking lot at Old Corry/Chiefs Way. We might start out in some fog, but it will clear quickly. Roxanna has asked a friend to ride with us, so let's see what kind of ride would be best for our "guest". Last Saturday I was a little under the weather (not the fog) so I missed out on riding with a small group-- Jake, Lloyd, Lois (who else came?), but I heard it was a nice couple of hours. I plan to be there tomorrow; hope you will, too. --Rachel

Let Stacey Know

Hi, Freewheelers-- if you are reading this, then you have discovered the nice blog site Stacey has created for our club. We owe her a great deal of thanks! We also each need to let Stacey know if you like the blog's public accessibility, or if you'd rather it be more restricted. Personally, I think it is fine, since no one should ever post anything, even on a restricted site, that they don't want the public to see. There are too many clever people in the "public" who know how to get around most safeguards in any internet site...so let's keep this site reasonably appropriate!! Also, Stacey, Carol Sweeney and I need to know from everyone if we can have your blanket permission to post your picture from bike rides, your name, general info about you, etc. If there is anyone in our club who does not like any of the above on our blog, we can (1) make the blog less accessible or (2) just be careful to omit what you do not want, or (3) both. E-mail us, phone us, or just tell us on the next ride. I will be asking you if Stacey, Carol or I do not hear from you. Thanks!!! AND THANK YOU, STACEY AND CAROL, for posting our very first blogs and pictures. They are terrific! I say, let's keep telling and showing how much fun we have together. What a lucky group of bikers we are. ----Rachel

On Apr 10, 2011, at 4:04 PM, Carol S. wrote:

Hi everyone!

Dave and I were so glad that you could come to the April birthday party!  He was so worried about having enough food, but I knew that things would work out!

To Don: thank you for bringing Lisa and friends Laurie and Scott! Hope they all had a good time! And congrats to you one winning the gift card!!

To Sandy: thank you Miss Sandy for your helping out in the kitchen. More hands are always more fun to have when feeding those hungry cyclists (and those who work hard by just socializing!!  LOL)

To Jake: for demonstrating the fine art of eating animal crackers and Nutella! Whatta a way to go!!

To Larry: for his excellent grilling skills and his continuance of letting Dave know who is in charge of Pensacola NAS. It is the Navy and not the Air Force!

To Lloyd: for handling the wonderful clock with the chili peppers on it and not watching it go up in smoke from too hot chilis!

To Lois: who truly inspires me to hang in  there and bike until the bitter end of the day! And she has the energy to do all this in this humidity!

To Tina: for her wise and wonderful stories that I love to hear!

To Hugh: for cheating and wearing an Azalea Trail Run t-shirt and making us think that he is a hot-shot runner!  (grin!)

To Stacy and Roxannette: for bringing you lively spirits into the group, and for the wonderful salad that is loaded with complex carbohydrates!!

And to Rachel: without whose efforts I could not have pulled this off!  Rachel you are a true friend and thank you so very much for all your help, reminding and planning!!
Happy Birthday to Miss Lois, Mister Lloyd and to me, Miss Carol!!

Kind regards,

Carol and David S.

Pensacola Freewheelers -- Sat Apr 9 2011 (April birthdays)

Sat Apr 9 2011 3PM --   The group met for a birthday bash for Freewheelers born in April.  Had a nice bike ride before enjoying great company, grilled chicken and brats, lots of delicious appetizers/side dishes, and topped off with birthday cake and ice cream. 

Happy Birthday to Freewheelers born in April -!       && Thanks to all for a great time -!!  

Before we hit the road in Lillian (& this was Lisa, Scott, and Laurie's first ride) --



Great company --

            

Everyone enjoyed food, drink, and fun (& Don won the prize) --



Happy Birthday to Freewheelers born in April  --

               

Celebrated with birthday cake and ice cream  --

Awww, the fun almost over (cleaning up) --