The folks of Bicycles Inc and The Racing Post did a fantastic job in putting this ride in Copperas Cove, Texas together in memory of Megan Baab.

A memorial bike race attracted around 500 people to the city last Saturday in memory of a fallen cyclist.

More than 300 racers took part in the local cycling competition, renamed the Megan Baab Memorial Road Race to honor the former participant who was killed last year while training in North Carolina.

“She was everybody’s sister,” said Andy Hollinger, secretary for Team Bicycles Inc. “She started on my team, and there was no drama with her. She was an incredible woman and athlete, and we did this in her honor.”

Many people involved with organizing the race also were familiar with Baab, including Betty Price, president of the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce.

“I see a lot of these folks twice a year, and I didn’t realize I knew this girl and her father,” said Price. “Two years ago, I remember her being here at these races. When I did realize who Megan and her father were, it was traumatic even for me.”

Source: kdhnews.com
Click here to read the Full Story

The 24Th Freeze Your Fanny run and ride will be held Feb.4 in Longview, TX.  OK, so it’s the 24Th year while we all know that the 23rd year was canceled.  Hopefully, all will go well and the icy roads will be left until after the event.  This once a year fundraiser benefits East Texas Lightnin, a not for profit organization, that provides recreation and athletic training for individuals with mental disabilities.  The organization services 200 athletes that participate in seven Special Olympics events in the East Texas area, as well as, state competitions.

FYF offers a 5k/10 run option and a bike tour boasting a metric century, 50,40,30 and 10 mile routes. Another boast is that you will never be hungry when you participate in this event, the early morning continental breakfast, homemade cookies at all rest stops and Wendy’s chili at the finish line.  No, you don’t go to eat but it never hurts to cover your bases.  The scenic routes are worthy of a camera if you take the time, and you have the opportunity to stop and pet the cows as long as you remember that the course closes at 2:00p.m.

Registration for the event can be done electronically at www.active.com or you can go to the website www.freezeyourfanny.com for a hard copy of the registration form.  While your on the web check out the event on facebook.

Top 10 questions for Freeze your Fanny, David Letterman style

10.  Are there any hills?
9.  It doesn’t get that cold it East Texas. Does it?
8.  Is that a motorcycle cop behind us?
7.  What does the long sleeve tshirt look like this year?
6.  Was that a cow on the road?
5.  Will there be oatmeal raisin cookies at the last rest stop?
4.  Are they really homemade?
3.  Did I intentionally sign up for the 62?
2.  Will there be hot chocolate this year?
1.  (drum roll) Are frozen bananas healthy?

For more information on the event go to the website or contact pmjc@sbcglobal.net.

The Wheelbrothers.com tribe has spoken – Ryan Tibball and Douglas Emberton swept away the competition, with their inspiring stories, pictures and overall votes, in our first annual ‘Wheelbrothers.com Christmas contest’.

P.S. Ryan, they say the Uclear HBC 130 is rain proof but please do NOT take it swimming with you. It’ll break… (Yes, he is an Aggie – you have to spell those things out for him!)

Uclear was gracious enough to give us 2 Uclear HBC 130 helmet communicators as Grand Prizes for our contest.  However, before we announce the winners later on, we would like to give you a bit more information about this wicked technology that can be found here.

Using these headsets, you can ride over 30+miles an hour, while folks you are talking to, will not be able to hear the the annoying wind noise they normally get, when you use one of those iPhone headsets.  You can listen to music or use them as intercom and communicate with other riders in your group.  They work via bluetooth technology and you can use them in both ears or in just one (I would suggest just one so you can pay attention to what’s going on around you!).

According to Jeff Blood, V.P. of Uclear, the Uclear brand was created a year ago by ‘BITwave’.  BITwave  is a high tech R&D company that has provided crucial communications technology solutions and is licensed to and used by major corporations, the US Army and Homeland Security.

BITwave holds 12 patents in the fields of audio and speech recognition technology and it’s technology and have taken its military and industrial grade, patented audio technology and lucky for us, applied it to its UCLEAR consumer products line.

The HBC 130 Bike helmet communicators is one of the consumer lines now available for purchase.  According to Jeff, this technology was first used in the traditional motorcycle industry when he and his friends went skiing and the proverbial light bulb came on for them.  What ELSE can we use this technology for?

This lead to the development of the HBC 120 for the slopes and since their cyclists friends didn’t want to be left out, the HBC 130!

If you want to know how the technology works and want to get all geeky, click here:  Uclear Digital Microphone Array Technology

If you would like to buy one of these technology marvels go to their online store:  UClear Online Store

Thank you Jeff and the rest of the Uclear folks for supporting the Wheelbrothers and Texas cyclists!!

Matt Leuck’s entry into the contest are two awesome pictures.

My entry is memorable to me on several levels.

First I am a Wounded Warrior stationed at Fort Hood Texas. I am in the Warriors in Transition Unit here under going treatment and transition. This picture was taken by Aloha Joe, and is one of his many pictures taken during the Texas Ride 2 Recovery in May 2011.

This picture shows the end result of the determination of the many people who helped plan and execute the ride. I ride to help and support my other Wounded Warrior Brothers and sisters but I also ride for my own therapy. This picture sums up all that is good about John Wordin and all the many R2R staff, Civilians,Volunteers, and supporters who make these rides possible.

It is impossible to put into words how it feels to ride with these Warriors most who have serious injuries whether seen or unseen and watch the determination on their faces, you know they will not quit just as the people who support us will not quit.

This is a picture of people working together not forgetting our Military or injured. To me this is what we are fighting for.

This is America.

V/r Douglas Emberton

I have attached 2 photos because both were & will always be most memorable.

This is my youngest grandnephew at the finish of the 2011 Hotter n’ Hundred. His name is Zane T. MacFarland & he’d turned 8 years old the week before the ride this year. Of course, this isn’t his first ‘rodeo’ as he’s been riding with me for 2 – 3 years since he was 6, & has done the Tour d’Italia three times, the Richardson Wild Ride twice. Up until this year, he’d only ridden the short family distance routes but at the Tour d’ Italia in June he rode the 42-mile route. Being able to do the distance at the Tour d’Italia had to do with the fact that I got a new road bike this year & he was able to ride my old Specialized road bike. But, as with all true road bicyclists in Texas, you must be able to say that you’ve ridden certain bike rides & the HHH tops the list. Zane’s mother grew up in Wichita Falls & rode HHH as a little girl. His grandmother, Wanda Wallace, still lives in Wichita Falls, so he was determined to ride it this year. He also knows that you have to earn the right to wear certain jerseys. He’d saved his money & bought both the jersey & some better cycling shorts at the vendor show. He talked the talk & walked the walk, finishing his first HHH. He was a little annoyed that we had to ride the 25-mile route as HHH had no route in the 40ish-mile distance but jumped up to a 50-miler. He’s already said to me, “Next year, we’re doing the 50!”

This photo is of my grandnephew, Brady H. MacFarland, who’s 10, and lives down in Round Rock, TX. In October, we rode the Outlaw Trail bike rally for the 2nd year in a row. This year, he too rode my old road bike & we did the 40-miler route.. What makes this photo memorable is that we are coming in to the Dell Diamond park & headed for the finish line. To me, his look says it all about what he learned on this year’s ride & just how hard it was. First, he conquered the distance, jumping from the shorter family distance to the longer 40-ish one. A good portion of the shorter rides had long distances into a headwind to battle this year & one part was a long drag up hill.. He learned to persevere & grind it out. He learned to be more aerodynamic into the headwind. Yes, he stopped to rest a couple of times but he didn’t quit & he was getting tired. Finally, we’re only a couple of miles from the finish when the clouds gathered & down came the rain in torrents for 5 – 10 minutes along with a stiff wind. He’d never had to ride in the rain before. He rode well & even though he was drenched, he kept pedaling, never giving a bauble at any corner. Normally, Brady rides a BMX bike. Last year at this bike rally he rode my old Schwinn Moad mt. bike with road slicks on it. This year, he rode my Specialized road bike. He can ride anything & take on the elements.

I’m the proud grandaunt, Mary McLachlan, & I’m a member of Lone Star Cyclists in Dallas. I’ve been road bicycling & a self-contained road bicyclist for about 10 years. Nothing thrills me more than a screaming downhill than to see the youth enjoy bicycling.

Mary McLachlan

Darrell Hale submitted this picture for the contest with the following write up:

Plano Bicycle Association put together a group ride for the Hotter ‘n Hell 100 and I just think that the picture that Tim Elliott took over his shoulder was superb.  This picture was taken at approximately 70 miles into our ride.  I believe the final numbers were 18 started with 18 finishers!  We had all Century Men and Women with a finishing temperature of 109 degrees.  There was even one gal that had just started training with PBA six weeks prior.  The group was composed of members of our Tweeners group (led by Mark Hayes at the time) along with some DB Lite and DB2 (DB stands for Distance Builders).

A great group of folks.

Darrell