Princess Promenade

2009-04-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

Princesses at the Cinderella

2009-04-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

Here are two Princesses at the 2009 Cinderella Classic in Pleasanton, CA, working the Princess Promenade Booth. Congratulations to all you ladies who rode in the CC. Great job! Can't wait to see you in Sacramento this October.

Learn To Cycle Training Series #1

2008-04-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the ladies who completed the first Learn To Cycle training series of the season. I would like to hear from you regarding what you learned, what surprised you, and what topics you would like to see in the future.

Our next Learn To Cycle Training Series will be at two locations; City Bicycle Works in Midtown Sacramento, and we have added a Thursday evening class that launches from Bicycles Plus in Folsom. See the Training page at www.PrincessPromenade.com for details.

Janae

New Princess Jerseys and FREE SOCKS!

2008-04-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks go out to Kim Kennedy and John & Linda Elghart for designing our 2008 Princess Promenade jersey. You may pre-order yours now on the Princess store (www.PrincessPromenade.com). The first 300 registered riders will receive free 2008 Princess Promenade socks, which of course will color coordinate with the stylish new jerseys! Splendid!

We are considering staging a pre-Promenade dinner at the Delta King on Saturday night, October 4. It is just a way to get all you lovelies together, meet and greet, and have fun before our big ride in the morning. Please let us know what you think! (see www.deltaking.com)

2008-02-07T22:20:00.000-08:00

2008-02-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

Biker Girl's Christmas Party

2008-02-07T22:10:00.000-08:00

Hi Ladies! I know the new year has already started, but just wanted to post this lovely picture of our holiday get together. Thanks for making it such a fun time. Nicole's little girls are having fun with Slue and Janae--in fact, a good time was had by all, I think!
I can't wait to get our Monday evening rides started again. Hope to see you all soon.

sidewalk art birthday card

2007-08-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

2007-08-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

5-0 bicycle bash!

2007-08-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

I want to thank all my fellow Princesses for throwing me a surprise Bike Ride/Birthday Bash for my big 5-0 a few weeks ago! Wow! Janae arranged the surprise for me, and Slue, Karen, Holly and Mandy had fun dressing me up for my Birthday ride. We had noise makers, water pistols, and clothes-pinned Barbie playing cards to our wheels so the spokes would make a cool "motor sound". Woo-hoo! It was like being a kid again, which is just what a girl needs when she hits 50. We dined al fresco at Cafe Bernardo's. They didn't seem to mind when we practically took over the patio. Thanks so much, my lovely fellow princesses. Special thanks to Janae for arranging it, and for taking the big plunge before me in June. You made it look so easy! Slue, I think you're next....(???)

2007-07-28T00:40:00.001-07:00

I keep forgetting about the Monday night rides and I don't have a light - do you guys think I really need one?

Another Monday Ride

2007-07-24T22:26:00.001-07:00

Hi Princesses! Slue and I had another lovely Monday evening ride last night. We rode along the bike trail, then back to downtown Sacramento via H Street. We had a great dinner at Cafe Bernardo's on Capitol. We hope you all will join us next Monday evening. It is such a great time of day to ride...the temperature is cooling down a little, and the sky is so pretty at dusk. See you soon! K

2007-07-24T22:24:00.000-07:00

2007-07-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

Here is our new logo designed by Uptown Studios in Sacramento and Craig Stephens Design in Orangevale (yes, it takes a village!). We are currently designing logowear for the Princess Promenade. Jerseys will be made by Voler and are top notch! We are ordering the club cut jersey which is more comfortable than the racing style.
But, speaking of racing...

Better start notifying your racing friends about the Princess Promenade. There will be some interesting twists coming your way over the next few weeks!

Stay tuned! ~ Janae

Well done, Karen and Marianne!

2007-07-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

We had two more "firsts" this weekend as Karen and Marianne (announcing she'll be 70 next month!) negotiated the hills from Historic Folsom to Beals Point for the "Improved Turning & Descending" clinic last Saturday. Both felt it was the hardest cycling they have ever done, but once the climbing was over, the long, winding descent made the workout so sweet!

Karen learned something about herself. She is tougher than she thought. Sure. As if raising three girls isn't tough enough! She takes time out to nurture the athlete within by attending our clinics once a week. Thank you for making the journey from Sacramento to meet with us. (Lovin' that Light Rail and bike program!). Will you really design a clothing line for the rest of us? We love your skirt! Nickname PIT (Princess In Training!). Hey, great idea!

Marianne, I am pleased to hear your children are amazed with your recent cycling accomplishments. Aren't you glad you dusted off your bike and leaned more about it? And knowing that you have over 120 miles on your odometer is pretty impressive. This is only your fifth week, right?

Well, countdown to the Princess Promenade begins this week. We have 12 weeks left to get the word out and GET READY!

I have lots of surprises in store for you all.

Best,

Janae

Home Again!

2007-07-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hey ladies! I have missed you all so much. I have been gone for a month, and really miss our bike rides. I hear the new clinic is going great and we have some new friends ready to be Princesses. Janae and I crewed for Race Across America in June. She has probably already told many of you the tale of our adventure. What a wild ride! Seeing the countryside on the back roads was wonderful.
Anyway, I can't wait to see you all again. We are doing a "Downtown" bike ride on Monday, July 9, starting from my house in Curtis Park at 5:30. Let me know if you need directions. See you soon! ---Kim

TEAM Princess

2007-06-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Hi Gals,
We have some great news. Our Spring Season cycling clinics were a huge success. Such a great success, we are ready to form a team. TEAM Princess is on the path to become an official cycling club. Kimmie has agreed to be the inaugural team captain. Here is how it is going to work. Veteran riders and everyone who participated in the Spring Season cycling clinics is invited to be a member. We are going to continue having training rides for TEAM Princess on Saturdays at 8:30am. This way, we will have two groups: those taking the cycling clinics, and those who wish to continue riding with their new cycling friends to keep their fitness up throughout the year.

The membership will be $25 for the year and will include a cute team shirt, access to training plans, routes, bike shop discounts, destination rides (like the Little Red Riding Hood Ride in Utah next year!), administration, and more. Invite your friends to ride on Saturdays at 8:30am. Afterwards, meet up and have breakfast with the girls who are taking the cycling clinics. As the ladies "graduate" from the clinics, hopefully, they will join TEAM Princess too!

2007-05-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Carrie and Tish!

2007-05-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

Here is Super Tish (left) pictured with her friend and cycling mentor, Cecelia after our ride on Saturday. Tish hit a milestone by cycling 27 miles, the furthest she has ever been on a bike. Carrie also hit a personal goal. After several weeks out of town, she was able to come back, off the couch, and do a quick pace with us up to Hazel bridge. She then finished the lake loop on the back side while we went on down to mile 15.5, our turn around for the day.

We saw deer (ok, Slue and Mandy saw the deer) and other scenic sites along this new stretch of trail for the group. Our mileage for the Princess Promenade cycling group is really racking up for Bike Commute Month. If you have any miles to log, do them under the "team" category on the Bike Commute Month website, http://www.bikecommutemonth.com/ Overall, Princess Promenade is in 41 position, and only a handful of us are signed up on the team list.

Ok, time for me to get out and do a ride myself! Tell your friends about the new round of cycling training classes starting on Saturday, June 9. We have a lot of women to reach, so spread the word!

2007-05-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

More and more Princess are joining the effort to get women out of their cars and on to their bikes! It seems to take a bit more than a nudge, however. One of my friends who loves to ride but never takes time for herself FINALLY signed up for the Princess Promenade, but only after her daughter begged her to do it!

Paceline Guideline

2007-05-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a schematic on various types of pacelines. These are considered "default" patterns. So, unless some other type of arrangement is agreed upon at the beginning of the ride, when riding on the bike trail, the lead person at the front of the pace line will "pull off" to the LEFT and drop back to the end of the pace line. Call out "I'm ON" or something to that effect. That information can be called up the line (to the person in front of you) to keep everyone informed.

If the pace line speeds up and takes off before you can get on, call out "GAP" indicating that there is a gap of space between you or some other riders in the pace line, which makes it a pretty in-effective line, now doesn't it? : )

By the way, when it is your turn to "pull" at the front of the pace line, take care not to speed up. Look at your current speed before the lead rider pulls off, maintain that speed during your pull. This will prevent the line from doing a "yo-yo" in speeding up and slowing down.

Princess Diaries, May 7

2007-05-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Diary,
Wow, what a learning experience we had on Saturday! Can you say "gear ratio" without cracking up? Our bike skills clinic on Improved Shifting & Hill Climbing ended up making each rider more confident, efficient and pleased with her ability to use the gears properly. Well done, ladies!

I was worried there for a minute when Kim summarized that the terms used to describe shifiting are low, high, big, little, harder, easier, oh my, no wonder most women find it confusing! To make matters more complicated, here I am teaching you to "shift by feel." What? By feel? Yes. By feel.

As you all learned on Saturday, shifting by feel is a great way to use your gears. All of them. Whenever you want or need them! Once you know the basics, (which are chain rings, which is the cluster or cassette and how do you get from big to little) then, you just pay attention to the road ahead and select a gear based on how you feel! If you are going uphill and the peddling feels harder, shift into an easier gear. When you make it over the hill and it feels too easy again, select another gear until it becomes a bit harder to pedal. Not too hard - just right, to keep your leg turnover rate where you are comfortable.

I heard some wonderful feedback from the participants including, "This clinic was worth every penny spent to participate in this training series. I have wrestled with this concept for years, and now I know what I am doing."

That's great news, indicating that we are really moving forward! And, now upon launching this blog, anyone can post their comments, give feedback, make connections with others for training rides during the week, share their own tips, all that stuff. Please pass the blog address on to your gal pals who could benefit from the training. We want all women to have an opportunity to get beyond their cars and enjoy confidently and safely riding their bike; near or far, to improve their health and the environment.

To post a comment, look to the bottom left of this light pink page for the word "Comments." Click on the comments link and it will allow you to type in your feedback, ask questions of other members, like "I am riding on Wednesday and would like someone to join me. I'm leaving at 3:30pm for a 20 mile ride," for example. Try it! Mandy has a special offer on photography she can post in the comments field. Hello, Mandy, are you there? Here is an action shot Mandy took of our princess "wrench," Joanna Petterson. Have fun with the comments field, gals!

This coming Saturday, May 12 we will learn Improved Descending & Turning. Drop in rate is $30. (go to www.NoblePursuitInc.com and select cycling training to purchase). Start time is 8:30am at the bike racks at Karen's Bakery Cafe, Historic Folsom. Clinic and on-course drills will last 90 minutes. Optional ride follows and breakfast after that.

And now for our weekly motivational quote:
"You control of over 70% of how well you will live. Make yourself the world expert on your body."
~ Dr. Mehmet Oz, Author: You: The Owners Manual to Living Younger