BentLovers & Friends

Sometimes we look back over the photos we made of you when you purchased your bicycle or kayak to remind us of why we are in this business. We enjoy, again, your joy and hope, of fun and adventure with your new purchase. It remains our hope that we have contributed, in some small way, to that hope being realized. We invite you to visit the gallery on our website to remember how you felt at that time and maybe, still do!

If you need some encouragement, come out and join us for a weekday morning ride, a Saturday Bread Ride, or any of our annual events. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, folks leave the shop at 7:30 AM for about a two hour relaxing ride in the Bay area. The Saturday Bread Rides are a mix of laid back routes and some spirited routes that leave you breathing hard! Sometimes on Sundays, there are long and short rides scheduled. We occasionally even get in a kayak event, or two, in the summer.

So, at least recall your ambition for the Ride South purchase you have made by looking back over the photo gallery. Better yet, schedule the mini-vacation-like ride to get your brain relaxed a bit. Or even better, set out on a bike riding vacation! We can outfit you with the bikes and gear! We hope to see you soon!

BentLovers & Friends

Flags waving, wheels rolling and folks smiling… that was the theme throughout the weekend! We had rides Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday… about 170 miles total! (See group pics of the rides on Saturday and Monday on our web site.) Thank you to all who joined us! Thanks to Lane for securing the barbecue, beans, chips and special Flag cookie for the celebration after the Pelahatchie Ride on Monday! It was a welcome treat after a nice relaxing ride through Rankin county.

The Saturday Bread Rides are getting hotter! More folks are coming out for the morning rides to get in their workout before the afternoon heat. We will have good weather tomorrow for the 7:30 AM launch. Since Lane is out of town visiting her sister, we need a ride leader for the Bay Ride. Please let us know if you can help.

Our thoughts continue to be with Jan Morgan, the cyclist hit by a car near West Point last week. We wish for her recovery, and justice for the negligent driver. There are numerous articles in the Starkville papers. Please wear bright colors, use lights and have mirrors on your bike. It might help. Report cellphone using drivers when you can. You may save a life.

Please Ride Safely!
Jim

We are starting the Sunrise Series and Sunset Series Rides back this week. If you are interested in finding someone to ride with during the week, be at the shop on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays for a 7:30 AM launch (shop will be closed till 10:00 AM except Mondays, till 1:00 PM), or at the Reservoir Y (Lakeshore Park) on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a 6:00 PM Launch. Routes and speed are decided at launch time, so be prepared for a mixed group that may, or may not, stay together! There will be plenty of motivation, so put these rides on your calendar and accelerate your fitness program!

We need your feedback for the Biathlon Series we have done in the past. The events combine cycling and kayaking in a timed event on Saturday mornings. Please let us know if you are interested again this summer by return email. Generally, we find a couple of Saturdays in June & July to organize the races. If we have enough folks to commit we will work on it, otherwise we will continue the Bread Rides through the summer, as usual.

Thanks
Jim

Trikes, Turtles & Treats all converge on Sunday afternoons at Brusters, just off Spillway Road at the Reservoir! Bring your bike to the parking lot behind Brusters at 3:00 PM on Sunday afternoons and ride 2 – 10 miles with friends and finish with a discounted treat at Brusters. Ride leaders may change weekly and get a free cone for your trouble! Routes change with the ride leaders so there will always be something fresh!

BoatLovers & Friends

Ride South is partnering with MDEQ this weekend to host the 2011 Kayak Races at Lakeshore Park on Saturday April 16. The races will begin at 10:30 AM from the reservoir pier at the park. Please have your boat in the water by 10:15 AM with your pfd on. Any kayak or canoe can be entered, except motorized versions. The race will be from the pier to the first channel marker and back. There will be a Reservoir Water Patrol boat in the area during the race. Certificates and medals will be provided by Waterfest. Please come by the shop to sign up for the race. There is no charge.

The Rise & Shine Bread Ride is back on this weekend! The shop will be open for the launch, and bread will be set to be done about 9:30. That will give you time to swing by the park and watch the start of the kayak races! We are expecting all types of boats, including some Hobie Islands and Tandem Islands, so the start should be spectacular! We hope you can join us for one, or both events!

There was a good showing at the Ridgeland Century Ride last weekend. We saw many of you mixing with the 500 cyclists enjoying the smooth Natchez Trace on Saturday. Here is a link to some Clarion Ledger photos of the event:
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=D0&Date=20110409&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=104090801&Ref=PH

BentLovers & Friends

Signature Ride Week this year was packed full of events, preparations and great cycling! Thursday, we sponsored another clinic in our Ride South Workshop Clinics Series. This one was on Cycling Safer. After Lane’s accident on the Northshore bike trail, we were especially interested in safety. Many thanks to Chief Perry Waggoner (Reservoir Patrol), Raymond Duke (Rankin County Sheriff’s Office) and Capt. Johnny Rawls (Retired Captain MHP) for their comments and discussion with a very interested group of cyclists in attendance. Chief Waggoner had some safety items for the group that were much appreciated. We hope everyone learned something that will help us all to cycle safer!

Friday, we had a brief pre-ride meeting to work out remaining details for the 2011 Signature Ride on Saturday. Everyone seemed excited about the ride and planned their participation. Perhaps, next year, we can have dinner together somewhere? More prep on Saturday morning and we were able to get the group launched at 7:05 AM! The weather was perfect with a bit of wind to keep us cool. The MHP officers were awesome and helped us cross busy intersections without slowing down! Thank you Officer Coffee and company for a safe and accident free ride!!

Lane was the perfect host, as usual, with hot Chick-fil-A mini sandwiches, fruit cups, cold gatorade and water served at the rest stops. Liz was also SAG support with available supplies. Thank you Liz! Pastor David Sartin was very kind to open the Harrisville Baptist Church again this year and the group was right on schedule all the way to Prentiss. Brandie was kind to pick up hot Chick-fil-A sandwiches & brownies and bring them to Prentiss for the converging groups from Hattiesburg and Jackson. Thank you Dudley for coordinating the Hattiesburg launch! Thank you Brandie, and thank you Chick-fil-A for your assistance and help! We were able to launch the group within 10 minutes of the scheduled start time in spite of some cramping issues from this rider. Subsequently, Lane & I drove to the Hattiesburg Holiday Inn to welcome the group in, give out the tee shirts, medals, wine, beer, cheese, sausages, left over sandwiches and generally have a good time! Check out the pics on our web site. Especially note the great pic of Drez & Brandie, fresh newlyweds! Congrats!!!

Although we were a little bit disappointed no one wanted to ride back on Sunday, the event was a success thanks to everyone who came, some from great distances, to participate! We hope you enjoyed the ride and want to do it again next year! Please let us know how we can improve the event. It seemed many of us ended up at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant after the ride. Maybe we should plan for that? Thanks for your participation and thanks for your concern about Lane. We are glad she is doing some better and grateful for her help! This ride could not have happened without it!

Ride South! The Way to Ride!
Jim

BentLovers & Friends

We will sponsor another Workshop Clinic in our series tomorrow, Thursday, March 24. The topic will be Riding Safer. We will have representatives from MHP, Reservoir Patrol, Rankin County Sheriff’s Office and Hinds County Sheriff’s Office here for your questions and comments. This is THE most important topic of all and we hope you will attend! Please be at the Ride South shop before 6:00 PM. The clinic will last until 7:30 PM and there is no charge.

Thank You,
Jim

Yesterday, March 17, 2011 we spoke with the responsible party for the constant water on the bike trails on Northshore Parkway. The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District built the trails and are responsible for the maintenance. We spoke with Mr. John Sigman, the director, at 601 856-6574. We had to go through two secretaries to get to him. Mr. Sigman agreed to address the problem right away. We documented workers today, March 18, on the trail trying to deal with the seepage and repairing a water leak at the site of Lane’s and the other cyclists accidents last Sunday. There is still water on the trails in many places, as there has been for years, even a week after rains. Until this problem is corrected for good, we strongly advise that you do not use this portion of the trail. If you want further information, please call Mr. Sigman.

The Ride South shop will be closed on Saturday, March 26, for our annual Signature Ride.

Thank You