Howdy Guys-

 

Just wanted to follow up after everyone's efforts today.  Thank You, Thank You, and THANK YOU!

 For those who volunteered for the Rest Stop, great job and thanks so much.  It was a hot day today and tough to keep the energy going.

For our Ride Marshals and Wingmen(people), great work today.  We had outstanding coverage on the course and on the last run from our Rest Stop.  Great job and the stories I heard from everyone were great.  And as you heard from Roger (from Medalist Sports) this morning, PV has set the standard for the other events.  This is the second year where we came to the event and put our stamp on it.  Now, it's the new standard for the other events.  Too bad for them!  ;)

Thank you Linda for the work you did on the Rest Stop.  You attended the LOC Meetings, represented yourself and our club well, and you did an incredible job making the Rest Stop happen.

 Carlo, thanks as always for your support and getting banners printed.  It looked awesome at the stop and your charming disposition always makes a PV hang, a PV hang ;)

 Finally, Mr. Matt D'Elia.  You were an incredible contributor to the LOC Meetings and bringing the Wingmen concept to today's ride.  Thank you for your organization, and for making this element happen.

We will be involved in next year's challenge.  As always, we'll post here what's happening.  When we bring it up, if you are wanting to further your involvement in this event, I'll hook you up.

 Thank again gang, congratulations on an outstanding event.

Kojak  ;)

Thanks John for the kind words!

 

I'd also like to share my deepest thanks to the team of folks today who braved the hot weather to help put this event on.  The North Plains rest stop team was a haven for weary travelers and it was amazing to see you guys after being on the road for 5+ hours.

To my team of ride marshal's and wingmen.  You guys and gals rule.  You were there when I needed you which allowed our club to put forth this amazing show of community involvement.  Like John said, you hear Roger from the LAF's comments about setting the bar for their future events.  We could not have done this without you.

A huge shout out to Tony, Todd, and Mark Castle for the last minute assistance with the 10mi route course before heading over to NP to hang out in the hot hot hot weather for a while and riding in with the last few groups.  I literally fielded the request Friday before the event and the three of you were able to adjust plans to handle it!  Also to Linda Jellison for the great coordination of the rest stop and getting us the sweet dog tags. :)

Finally a quick word of thanks to my ride group of MattC, Bryan, Jeremy and Scott Springer.  It was great suffering and eating chipotle with you today, and an awesome showing of PV's climbing skills. Couzens you were insane doing that ride on a 9 speed. ;)

For all those who didn't get the opportunity to help out with the LSC, we still have the Portland Bridge Pedal and the Harvest Century this year which we will definitely need help with!

Great job team...I had fun. I put in my longest day in the saddle ever due to riding to the start, for a grand total of 122 miles.  

For next year: might want to request that we have some kind of signage on us that says "course marshall", or that they announce our presence before the ride. I had people coming up to us asking what the yellow sashes were all about. I think maybe people would have been more likely to ask for help, or take it when offered, if they would have known we were volunteers. 

Also, there were SO MANY support vehicles that I never got a chance to change a flat or anything, it was crazy. I've never seen such a well-supported ride in my life. Pretty cool.

Thank you, JOHN, for giving us all the opportunity to take part and make a difference in so many people's lives!

Linda, Carlo and Matt -- Thank you too! You kept everything running so smoothly. Great organization, great rest stop. The wading pools w/ ice water were brilliant!

For everyone, you made me proud to be a member of PV!

-- "Falcon"

PS:  I had a great time yesterday, helped with three flats. (Ok, two of them were Dan's :-) I'm looking forward to next year.

Kristin Wille:

For next year: might want to request that we have some kind of signage on us that says "course marshall", or that they announce our presence before the ride. I had people coming up to us asking what the yellow sashes were all about. I think maybe people would have been more likely to ask for help, or take it when offered, if they would have known we were volunteers. 

Kristin:

There was supposed to be an announcement about it during the morning safety talk by Raul (the "eat and hydrate" head medic guy) but it got skipped over.  He also didn't mention the universal sign for "I need help" from the SAG wagon.. ;)

This was the first year for the sash's.  Hopefully we'll have it dialed in a bit more next year.

Awesome ride - amazing level of support. I was thrilled every time I rolled past a SAG pulling the floor pump out of the van - very good suggestion. As usual, west union was where many riders met the limit of fatigue or muscle cramping. Linda and I stopped to help one rider, and it took a lot of confirmation before the other riders who stopped to help would return to the ride. No really, ride marshal. Radio. See? :) My only concern was getting a response on the radio for SAG support - it took 5-10 minutes on a few channels before I got any response. I heard Lots of "Yay Portland Velo!" on the ride. I'm not sure if it was just us cheering each other on, but it was nice all the same. Well done everyone! Let's keep up the momentum and get even more volunteers involved with the Bridge Pedal!

A big THANK YOU to John, Linda, Carlo, Matt and to everyone organizing, coordinating and involved in yesterday's LiveStrong event. This was my first time riding the event and I was very impressed with PV's involvement and organization of so many details. I  appreciate being able to participate as a PV volunteer to help make a difference in people's lives.

The PV Rest Stop was a highlight and was very much appreciated. It was wonderful to chat with PV folks and to get energized for the final stretch. The mist spray, tacos, and the ice water wading pool were absolutely wonderful. I had been picturing taking my shoes off at the stop for several miles, so the cold pool was incredibly nice.

I did my part to clean up glass around Hagg Lake! Allen, thank you again for your help with very quick tube swaps. And I had nearly new tires! We also briefly chatted with many riders to check for heat issues. Early in the ride several teams of PV riders stopped to check on a rider with a flat when we were still relatively close together. A PV expert quickly proceeded with the repair (the other teams moved on). The rider said that she was very impressed with the support!

PV's involvement certainly set a high standard. I am proud to be a member of the group and am looking forward to helping with this  and other events in the future. I had a great time. Thank you again to everyone involved.

 "Merlin"

I have to chime in here & echo what John & Matt said.  Everyone was just awesome - I can't thank them all enough for helping out. The volunteers at the PV rest stop went above & beyond to make sure everything was ready for the riders and that they all had what they needed.  It's just amazing how well it all came together.  Wish I could thank each & every volunteer personally, but it would just be way too long to post here. Photos will be available for viewing in the gallery soon. 

Big congrats to you John for having the foresight to get PV involved in such a worthwhile, community minded event.  The time and energy you put into the LAF project is nothing short of amazing and we're all grateful for your endless energy and excitement for this event.

As badly as I wanted to I couldn;t be there yesterday due to an injury but I've already had a couple calls from folks who were registered riders yesterday telling me that PV folks were the best, that the North Plains rest stop was like an oasis in a desert and the PV ride marshalls were so cool, helpful and suppotive they were just stoked to become club members and be a part of future PV community events.

To Matt, Linda, Carlo and all the "wing-people", ride marshalls etc thanks for taking the time, riding the miles and offering a helping hand and or supportive words of encouragement to those in need yesterday.

Job well done folks, and thanks for doin' the "club colors" proud, the rest of the club thanks you.

A proud PV member,

KRhea

Wow. This reallys says it all.  What an honor. I was very proud to be a part of PV gang yesterday. 

... telling me that PV folks were the best, that the North Plains rest stop was like an oasis in a desert and the PV ride marshalls were so cool, helpful and suppotive they were just stoked to become club members and be a part of future PV community events.

KRhea.. we miss ya. Look forward to catching up with you.

We (Team Iota) had a great time!  We got to help two riders; one with an almost exploding tire, and one who was not carrying a spare tube and didn't know how to fix a flat anyway (!)  Plus Cecil got to tell riders when they asked what she did: "oh, we help folks who are having trouble, and tell other riders to TAKE THE EARPHONES OUT."  Some of them even got it.  Cecil did a heroic chase down of a rider who continued on Spring Hill, rather than turning onto Fern Hill.  Of course, HE had earphones on as well.

I got to be an "ass clown" and yell "Single UP!" a few times.

The icewater pool and hose were brilliant...

Oh, and my pics from yesterday are here

Lynne Fitzsimmons:

Oh, and my pics from yesterday are here

And mine are here: http://tinyurl.com/4ag3rw

I am continually amazed at the awe-inspiring dedication that folks in our club show event after event, year after year. This has been a busy year indeed - with much more to come - but I know we can always count on Velo to come through and bring their talent to the table when it counts.

Three special cheers for John, who brought this crazy idea to the leadership team last year and has seen our participation grow thanks to his leadership. Matt, for stepping up, organizing and leading the riding course marshalls activities. And to Linda, who did a stupendous job on the rest stop, filling in the blanks and coming up with idea after idea for how we could make the stop more fun for everyone. Of course, I'm still hearing The Theme from Top Gun and "Danger Zone" when I'm by myself, slightly out of tune. :)

I would also like to give props to all our riding course marshalls who braved the heat and made sure everyone made it back to Nike safe and in good shape. I heard stories from riders all day about how well Velo represented themselves. Equal kudos to all our rest stop volunteers - I wish we knew earlier that the post office was actually open, we could have set up shop in there. But especially to the folks who stayed until the bitter end to tear down the stop, muchos gracias!

Finally, a big hug and kiss (from Ty) to Doug Rennie, who has ridden with courage these past few weeks and for whom this LiveStrong Challenge takes on a special meaning, at least for me. Doug, you're an inspiration!

Take a moment - and a deep breath - and think about what Velo accomplished this past weekend. I am proud to be a part of such an incredible community of cyclists and friends.

-CD

 

Carlo, thanks for the reminder of what Velo's involvement in the LiveStrong event is all about.  

Martin, t would be great to get the photos added to the gallery - Lynne and Cecil took some great shots, both out on the course and at our stop in North Plains.

I'm really glad to be part of Portland Velo.  It really is great to have the opportunity to meet and ride with so many amazing people that all look out for one another.  That's the kind of cycling community I was looking for.