Cyclerides.com Weekly Update
11/28/07 

Greetings Riders,
Well, you know what they say about "the best laid plans". They sometimes go awry. That is kind of what I am feeling right now as I look at the weather report for this Saturday, the day of the Cyclerides.com Toys To Kids Ride. Everywhere you look, the forecast is for rain on Friday and Saturday, lots of it. But as always, when things aren't looking that good, you try to find that one ray of hope that could be your saving grace. In this instance, it is the Accuweather.com forecast. In the past, this has been one of the best weather forecasts that I can find. You can drill down to hourly forecasts with this service, which I have done. And if they are correct, the rain is supposed to stop by 3am Saturday morning, just in time for it to dry out a little bit so that we can get our gifts delivered to the kids. We will follow the original plan.

But, if Accuweather is not as accurate as I hope it is, and it is pouring down rain, there will still be 100 kids at Westgate hoping for some Christmas presents. So we have come up with a contingency plan to keep the kids dry, the riders dry and allow the riders and/or car drivers to still participate in the event and deliver their toys to the kids. We now have a Plan A and Plan B, 

So if it is raining and you don't want to ride, that is fine. Don't bail out on the event, the kids will still be there, the show will go on and we will need the toys. Just hop in the car, come on over and enjoy the show, then have lunch at the new Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville after the event.
 
Plan A: The original plan if it is NOT raining Saturday morning.
When: Saturday, December 1st, 2007
Where: Downtown Glendale, 58th Dr. and Glenn Ave. Dickens Caroler's will perform from 9am - 10:30am.
Time: Lineup 8am - 11am. Ride Leaves at 11am.
Ending: Westgate City Center at the Dancing Fountains, 93rd Ave. and Glendale Ave. First 200 bikes will park on Coyote Blvd. next to the Fountains.
Activity: 100 Homeless Kids from Pappas Schools will be there to receive your gifts. 30 minutes of entertainment on stage including a Children's Choir, a Juggler Act and Elvis making a return visit to the Toy Ride before the kids get their gifts.
What to Bring: Unwrapped gifts for boys and girls ages 6-12 and $5 donation to be used to pay for costs of the event and buy clothes for the kids.
Extras: The Kids will be waiting for us to arrive at Westgate. You may bring candy to throw to the kids as you ride by.
Click Here for Map
 
Plan B: If it IS raining Saturday morning. We still need your toys!
The activities will remain the same at the end, but it will be under cover at the Renaissance Hotel at Westgate.
When: Saturday, December 1st, 2007
Where: The Covered Parking Structure attached to the new Renaissance Hotel located in the Westgate City Center at 9495 W. Coyotes Blvd. in Glendale. 2 blocks South of 95th Ave. and Glendale, just East of the Loop 101. Click Here for Map. Enter the structure from Coyotes Blvd.
Time: Arrive by 11:00am. The entertainment will start at 11:15am. 
Activity: 100 Homeless Kids from Pappas Schools will be there to receive your gifts. There will be a stage set up with 30 minutes of entertainment on stage including a Children's Choir, a Juggler Act and Elvis making a return visit to the Toy Ride before the kids get their gifts.
What to Bring: Unwrapped gifts for boys and girls ages 6-12 and $5 donation to be used to pay for costs of the event and remainder will be used to buy clothes for the kids. Click Here for pictures of the shopping from last year.
Click Here for Map
 
All restaurants in Westgate will be open after the event including the new Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and Fox Sports Grill. Food may be available by the fountains weather permitting.   

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When To Stop For Riders On Side of Road Update!
Take The Poll 

I had a lot of response to the letter last week about when to stop for a rider on the side of the road. If you didn't read that letter, Click Here to Read and get up to speed. I'm sure you can relate.
 
The concern I had was that there are a lot of reasons that riders stop on the side of the road these days. And usually it isn't because of a bike that has broken. So to save other riders the time of stopping or turning around to help someone that is just checking voice mail, I thought that there could be a Standardized method of letting other riders know for sure when help is needed. A lot of you mentioned the placing of a helmet a few feet from the bike. That is a good idea, but in Arizona not everyone wears a helmet. Another suggestion that a lot of people use is giving a thumbs up or down as you approach the bike on the side of the road. That is a good one IF the other rider is looking at you. If not, you still don't know for sure if he needs help.
 
My idea was that if you are stranded and need help, to have a yellow ribbon, cloth, bandanna or any piece of cloth tied to your outside handlebar. This would signal to other riders that you do in fact need assistance of some kind and would not require a response from the rider. This would take all of the guess work out of it for approaching riders. I am including a poll that I would like for everyone to participate in.
It asks the question:
Which of the choices below should be the standard for letting other riders know that you need help?
1.  Tie Yellow Ribbon or Cloth to Outside Handlebar

2.  Thumbs Up/Down

3.  Other
 
If we get a good consensus, I will take the initiative to get the word out to the riding community via all means of media to let all riders know what will be the standardized signal of needing roadside assistance on a motorcycle. If the choice is a yellow ribbon, Cyclerides.com will provide the first 2000 ribbons to be distributed throughout the valley motorcycle shops.
 
Click Here to take the poll. Please forward this to all of your riding pals and groups so that we can get a good consensus on what everyone would like to use as a standard. Cut and paste this section into an email or just forward the newsletter. Thank you for your participation. If you would like to see the current results, Click Here. 

If you would like to sign up for the Cyclerides.com Newsletter, Click Here

Next Week 

Sunday, December 9th
5th Annual Poker Run Benefiting Arizona Action For Foster Children. Sign in 9:30am - 11:30am at the Rusty Spur Saloon located at 7245 E. Main St. in Scottsdale, AZ. Last card pickup at 6pm. $20 single and $25 couple includes T-Shirt for the rider, $10 for passenger shirt, 1 free raffle ticket each and 1 free poker hand each. Best Hand $50 and worst hand $50. For more information call 480-425-7787. 

Extras 

This one is for the Baby Boomers out there, which is most of us. It is pretty funny but some of it is a little too true. I'm sure you will get a kick out of this one. Click Here to View.
 
Oh my Gosh! I laughed out loud at this one, several times. This is a bad case of air sickness. And the pilot wasn't helping the cause. Click Here to View.
 
This is a great video with music showing the weightlessness of items and people in the Space Shuttle. Very fun to watch. Click Here to View.
 

If you would like to sign up for the Cyclerides.com Newsletter, Click Here 

 
I look forward to seeing all that can make this Saturday on the Cyclerides.com Toys to Kids Ride. It will be a fun time as always. Thanks for your participation.