Jordan Daniels, Jordan, J Strips (insert bacon emoji), Jordo, Jordy Boy, The Kid, Hey You, are all names I will answer to.
I have been enjoying bikes since I could walk. I ride both mountain and road bikes. When I am in the dirt, I turn the computer off, leave the phone in the car, put on some loose shorts, a cotton t-shirt, and go slam some berms and scrub some tables with the boys. What I love about mountain biking the most is how sketchy it can get: being able to react to every bump, berm, climb, decent, jump, drop, rock, root while on the trail at a high rate of speed is something I look forward to.
On the road, I prefer the tap dancing outfit with shiny white shoes and form fitting Lycra to squeeze out every possible power watt, while riding in a group or solo, around Central Oregon. What I love about road biking is digging deep into a mental hole and asking myself why I chose to be here and doing everything I can to climb out of it in order to hang onto a wheel or just finish the ride- what ever distance that day brings. It is amazing what distance 10+ strong riders can cover when they all work together. I didn't realize what passion I would have towards the sport until I started sharing the workload with others and really becoming an efficient machine.
A little bit about myself. I have lived in Oregon my entire life. I grew up in Klamath Falls, Oregon, moved to Ashland, Oregon in 2008 to begin college. After obtaining my undergraduate degree, I moved to Portland Oregon in 2013 to live with my now wife, Camelia Mayfield, while she finished her Bachelor's in Social Work. We moved to Bend in 2015. Camelia later finished school with a Master's in Social Work and I pursued my career in business. I am a Edward Jones Financial Advisor here in town and absolutely love my career. Camelia works at St. Charles in the ER as a social worker. While I love to bike and play with numbers, she is an absolute beast of a runner. Together, we love being surrounded by the mountains and playing in them as much as possible. I am happy to call Central Oregon my home now and likely forever.
I sought out the COW's group at the end of Summer 2019 and found myself enjoying the sense of community it provides. That is what kept me coming back time and time again. The welcoming everyone gave when I was still the funny new guy of the club is hard to recreate in any other riding clubs around Central Oregon. I hope to pass along the same hospitality to any potential new members in the community as this is such a wonderful group to not only find new routes, and eat way too much at the Christmas party, but to establish new long lasting friendships. I find myself now wanting to meet up with people I've meant through he group outside of COW's to go on rides, ski, BBQ etc. and I feel like that is pretty irreplaceable.
Go ride your bike.
The upcoming Bend Transportation Bond in May is important to the future of biking in Bend. We'll keep you informed starting with:
https://www.bendbikes.org/backstory-to-the-upcoming-may-19th-transportation-bond-request/
RideWithGPS Club is a great way to navigate our rides. Go to Central Oregon Wheeler RidewithGPS Club (free), and click "Apply to Join".
Using their free mobile app, you get Voice Navigation on your phone, and Offline Maps on your phone. Other benefits too! We have a list of over 100 sortable COW routes.
For most members this post is irrelevant. Last night the Board decided to cancel our $90 a year PO Box that mainly collected junk mail. In the past year about 4 members joined or renewed by mailing a check vs the online credit card payment method. To make matters worse for the mail picker-uppers, recently the post office hours for using the PO Box went from 24 hours-7 days a week, to a Monday through Friday 9-5 system.
As an all volunteer organization, we have always preferred credit card payment. We will still accept checks, but they will need to be hand delivered to me. Thanks for your understanding.
Balance does not remain constant with age. For a variety of reasons (OTC drugs, eyesight, cognitive losses, arthritis, etc, etc) as we age we lose our sense of balance. And as we already know, we lose our sense of hearing. What you say? Hearing I say. Why do I bring these annoying facts up?
Your safety while riding in a group depends on your motor functions. Here is a test. As you ride your bike down the street, turn around and look behind you, like you would if you heard a car. Are you still in the bike lane or did you just wander into traffic? I bet you wandered. And if there was someone riding to your left they probably needed to swerve into traffic to avoid your swerve. And that is why you’ll often see two riders, riding abreast, separated by 6 feet! Not good.
The issue of balance is compounded by hearing loss. Without good hearing, you will not sense the car behind you. So the car is near you, you turn to see, you swerve, your riding partner swerves, and we have a mess. I see this happen way to often.
Part of the problem has to do with the dynamics of time. We don’t view ourselves as creatures who change. The world changes, but not us. You might still think you have the balance and hearing that you did just 5 years ago. Do the swerve test.
What can you do? The most immediate solution is to do is buy a mirror so you don’t lose your balance when looking behind you. Most people like the nickel sized mirrors that fit on sunglass frames. But if you are far-sighted you’ll probably need a different type of mirror. Any mirror is likely to help.
The long range goal is to improve your balance. I provide two articles that describe the balance issue and suggest plausible improvements. You’ll read that cycling helps your balance a bunch.
https://www.berkeleywellness.com/fitness/injury-prevention/article/keeping-your-balance-you-age
http://theconversation.com/explainer-why-does-our-balance-get-worse-as-we-grow-older-48197
Since we are a group riding club, we don’t want swerving riders, we don’t want riders separated by the width of a lane, and we don’t want car-oblivious riders. If you don’t stay in your lane when you look behind you, consider purchasing a mirror. Thanks from me and your riding buddies.
Club members can load route files to their Garmins from the RidewithGPS.com site. There are two ways to do this. One is with a wired connection as laid out here: https://ridewithgps.com/help/export-routes-to-garmin-device
The other way is with the Garmin Connect IQ app which will allow you to wirelessly sync routes. Here is the help page on this: https://ridewithgps.com/help/iq/
To get a club route to sync with the Garmin Connect IQ app, you will first need to Pin the route to your account. Pinning can be done from the app or website. On the app while viewing a route, tap the three dots in the upper right and select Pin (see screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/9ujOlNn.png). On the RWGPS website while viewing a route, click Pin in the upper right (see screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/n9hyYAx.png).
You can also sync recorded rides from Garmin to Ride with GPS. Follow the steps as laid out here: https://ridewithgps.com/help/automatic-sync-with-garmin-connect
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From WebCyclery Workshop:
Needed:
Garmin Device - Edge 1000, 1030, 820, 830, 520, 530, etc
A computer or phone
Ride with GPS Account (Ride with GPS App helps too)
Garmin Connect App on your phone
Wired Connection to your Garmin Device OR
Ride With GPS Connect IQ App
Ride with GPS account
Visit https://ridewithgps.com/
Create a free account
Download the app from the App Store or Google Play
Get the Garmin Connect App on your Phone
Pair your Garmin Device with your phone
Use the Garmin Connect iQ app store within the Garmin Connect app to download and install the Ride with GPS CIQ app on your device. https://ridewithgps.com/help/iq/
Wired Connection
Go to COWS Calendar
Find the ride you want
Click ‘LINK’ this opens Ride With GPS
Click the little 3 dots next to ‘SEND TO DEVICE’ Don’t select - SEND TO iPHONE (or Android) - these require paid account
Choose TCX and download the file
Plug Garmin edge unit into computer
Open Garmin edge unit in browser and choose file labeled “Garmin”
Select: NewFiles
Downloads: Drag and drop TCX file
Confirm file is loaded into folder
Safely remove Garmin unit from computer
Using Ride With GPS Connect IQ App
Click PIN in the top left corner
On the Garmin Device, Go to the IQ app ---> Ride with GPS
Click ‘Pinned Routes’
Click on the route you pinned
Click Download
Now it shows up in ‘Courses’ on Main Menu
Advocacy
Have you experienced a passing vehicle quickly accelerating and seemingly intentionally spewing exhaust on you? This encounter, known as “rolling coal,” has been reported on a number of COW rides. We would like to be informed of such incidents to determine their frequency and severity. If you believe you have been a victim of such behavior, please contact Board member Kevin Briggs.
COW’s Thursday Night TT: Week 3- June 6, 2019
Skyliners brought out the elements last night for four very tough competitors!!
Temperatures in the 40’s and a headwind on the Ascend. Shelby Jones was quoted upon completion “Was it snowing up top?” Despite the brutal weather Ken Brinich knocked off 35 seconds from his previous best for a time of 36:18.
Overall winner Colin DuPlantis set PR’s in the Ascend and Descend (according to Strava), and as a result has the the fastest time of the season for our Thursday Night Time Trial of 32:01. Great effort everyone! See you at the next one on June 20th! I am putting in for temps in the 70’s and a tailwind for both the Ascend and Descend :)
Last night’s results
Name
Overall Time
DuPlantis, Colin
0:32:01
Staiger, Brian
0:33:51
Brinich, Ken
0:36:18
Jones, Shelby
0:41:57
Overall Best times
Best time
Sailors, David
0:33:33
Wolfe, Patti
0:34:54
Staiger, Therese
0:35:19
Robbins, Ken
0:36:29
Shaeffer, John
0:37:13
0:39:59
COW’s Thursday Night TT: Week 2- May 23, 2019
Another very pleasant Thursday evening at Skyliners. Newcomer Shelby Jones was our sole competitor (I brought my bike up early to ride, only to have left my helmet and shoes at home!!). Shelby recently moved to Bend originally from North Carolina and most recently Chicago. Welcome Shelby and great effort tonight!! Come join us on our next TT on June 6th. - Brian Staiger (Organizer)
Overall Place
1
COW’s Thursday Night TT: Week 1
Kudos to all riders many of which have never participated in a TT, including our TT KOM of the evening David Sailors! It was evident that everything was left out on the course as each rider flew across the finish line! Many riders then casually rode down to town to meet at Good Life for $4.00 pints! How sweet our Bend Life is! Come join us on our next TT on May 23rd. - Brian Staiger (Organizer)
2
3
4
5
0:36:53
6
We are starting a contest to get more photos and more people in COW jerseys. "Where's Your COWs Jersey Been?" Submit a photo wearing a COW jersey in a rad location. Contest ends the week before the 2019 Holiday Party.
It was a great KO meeting. Thanks all that were able to attend. If you want to see the presentation click on this link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KmY9U0mcuz7slmX-8opEJbNM5h7-nONjycUYplS4eTU/edit?usp=sharing
Central Oregon Wheelers is a 501(c)7 non-profit organization.
