One Week Til Fiasco 27

Holy Crap, Kids! There is just one week until the 27th Full Moon Fiasco! Do you have your back to school clothes ready? Do you have a dollar for a spoke card? I hope so.

As usual, we will be meeting at The Swamp at 8:00p.m. on Friday September 4th and taking a short ride to a ROCK SHOW. Tell me you are not excited and I will tell you that your pants are indeed on fire.

Trail on the 395

(click sign for pictures)
Yesterday was one of the rare daytime rides of the FBC. Rarer yet is the 11:00 a.m. start time. I was pleasantly surprised to have a turnout of about 25 or 30 riders.

Taking the Centennial Trail as far as we could, we had to continue on streets to get to the trail head North of Francis and Freya. From there, the trail was not your typical rail trail. There were turns and climbs that made the trip all the way out there more fun. Though we did get free hot dogs and a bottle of water, I don't think they expected everyone to be so thirsty because they ran out of water about an hour into the thing. The car show was cool and being able to hang out in the middle of the interstate was fun. As far as the ceremony, it was your typical flatbed of politicians where everyone said that they were going to make it short and went on to congratulate themselves on a job well done for the next fifteen minutes. Thanks to Skip for our pizza and beer at Pacific Pizza. I don't think I would have made it up the hill without it.

NEXT FULL MOON FIASCO

I was in the store a few days ago buying paste, a Trapper Keeper and some scratch-n-sniff stickers when I realize it is time for the Back To School Ride. Along with a dope ass theme ride, we will also be able to enjoy drink specials and a rock show at our destination bar.

So get those band uniforms, cheerleader skirts or your plaid out of the closet. If you are one of those that needs a new outfit for the first day of school, get down to your favorite thrift store and stimulate that economy 50 cents at a time. You've got just under two weeks to get some school shopping done. This will be the 27th Fiasco and it will take place on Friday September 4, 2009 at 8:00p.m. As usual, we will meet at The Swamp. Put it on your calendar.

Here's Something You Can Do Today

To keep you from biting you fingernails all day in anticipation of tomorrows morning ride, you can cast an easy vote for one of my best friends and Lifetime Member For Life, Beth Mort.

There is an opportunity for Pedals2People to receive a huge grant. If you are unfamiliar with what they do, check them out at the link above. I know she would really appreciate it as would I.

GO HERE, REGISTER, VOTE(rate)

As for the ride tomorrow, meet at the fountain downtown and we will leave at 11:00 a.m.

Performance

New Trail Ribbon Cutting

Saturday August 22nd will be the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Children of the Sun Trail. I can't tell you how many emails I have received about this. Apparently they would like The FBC to attend. They also suggest that I try to give them an idea about how many people may show up. That's not going to happen. What is going to happen is that we will be leaving from The Fountain at 11:00a.m. I know that's not exactly a regular FBC time and getting some of you to wake up that early on a Saturday is a challenge, but see what you can do.

We will be riding North on the Centennial Trail to Lincoln and Freya. Hopefully we can find somewhere up there to grab some lunch and a beverage before our ride back.

For this and other bike stuff, check out the Bike To Work Spokane site.

Sat. Aug. 22nd 11:00a.m.-Fountain

Hillyard Festival

(click photo for more)
Saturday August 7th, 8th and 9th was the annual Hillyard Festival. Saturday Pedals2People was there with a booth set up to work on bikes. This was the second tune up where we got to use the new bike trailer set up. They worked like a charm. A couple of the trailers are loaded with a canopy, parts and promotional items. The others are independent tune up trailers complete with an array of tools, stand and table. When we all come together it's a bit like Voltron.


There was even a Rat Rod Show on the way home. Of course now my thoughts about building one are reignited so if you have a 32 Ford laying around that I can have, you let me know.

It Rained. Big Deal

(click card for pics)
Before I left the house I was all about checking the weather over and over. Led to believe that the rain would miss us all together, I relaxed, grabbed my bike and watched as it began to rain. Shit.

It soon stopped but I was convinced that this ride would not be as successful as the other summer rides with their counts over 125 people. I made it to The Swamp and more and more bikes started to show up. We were all enjoying our pitchers on the patio and having a good time when it really started to come down. There were more of us than there were places inside. When that filled up a few of us stood out under a small canopy and others just stood outside in the rain. Troopers. There were oohs and ahhs with every lightning strike and a cheer would go up with the thunder crash. And I was worried that no one would show up and those that did wouldnt' have a good time. What was I thinking? Though when I started rounding everyone up for a bike ride, I got a few curious looks and even a "Really?". Well, we came for a bike ride, let's go ride our bikes.

The first half of the ride was a little damp with some sprinkles but it went through town without indecent. We were able to stay in one lane, stop at red lights and otherwise play well with others. Lane choice and turn instructions, even potholes and obstacles were pointed out to others. I also notices more lights on this ride. Thanks to all the Lifetime Members For Life and their efforts to maintain a safe and fun environment. Some of the LMFL's stationed themselves at strategic points along the route so everyone would know where the hazards were. Standing in the cold rain pointing out slippery steel, noble.

After we regrouped at the fountain and made our way down the Centennial Trail, we made it to that bridge with the half wood planks, half diamond plate steel. There has to be a reasonable explanation for the two different surfaces, but as far as I can tell the metal side is designed as a way to throw people off their bikes in the rain. For that, it is a successful design.

Litz's was ready for us thanks to BS stopping by and giving them a heads up so there wasn't any waiting around for brews. It's a great place for all the things you expect out of a bar along with beach volleyball. Thanks to them and their awesome staff.

I was even presented with an awesome jersey by what I will now refer to as The Veggie Crew. They really went above and beyond by creating a few FBC baseball style jerseys and giving me one. You guys shouldn't have done it, but I love it. Thanks to the entire Veggie Crew.

If you have pictures, you can post a link to them either in the comments section here or on the FBC page on Facebook. (link above)

150+ riders; Low 63, scattered showers and cloudy

A COUPLE OF THINGS:

Last month on The Knog Ride, there were some spills along a road that runs through the GU campus. At the time of the ride, this road had new, incredibly tall speed bumps that were not painted and perfectly camouflaged against the black asphalt, causing some wrecks. One particular wreck sent a man to the hospital with several serious injuries. I did not see the incident nor would I be willing to comment further on said incident. Though, if you did see him go down, he is looking for witnesses. He is a reader of the blog and I welcome him to post his information in the comments section.

Saturday is the second day of The Hillyard Festival at Harmon Park. I have yet to attend this event, but I will be there with Pedals2People wrenching on kids bikes from 10-2. Feel free to stop by and say hello, enjoy the festival and the popular beer garden. It would be great to see friends of the FBC when the sun is out. There is apparently a hot rod show there as well so bring your camera. (Harmon Park on the Map).