In This Issue: Join Us for One of DATES Great Traditions The Annual Christmas Lights Ride (See Inside for Details)

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1 December 2015 Volume 26, Number 11 Join Us for One of DATES Great Traditions The Annual Christmas Lights Ride (See Inside for Details) In This Issue: Upcoming Rides: The Hilly Chili Ride Christmas Lights Ride Ride Leader Opportunity DATES Annual Meeting and Dinner Ride Reports DATES Blue Ridge Ramble DATES Tour Of the Trail System DATES Rides & Activities

2 DATES-LINE December 2015 Page 2 Annual Christmas Lights Ride Sunday, December 20 Meet at 5:00 PM / Ride at 5:30 PM Leaders: Kevin & Linda Vinson We ll meet in the Crate & Barrel parking lot at Knox and McKinney at 5:00 pm, December 20th. The ride will start at 5:30 pm. Headlights and tail lights are REQUIRED and decorative lights are always welcome. It s an easy pace through the most stunningly festive streets in the Park Cities! We will try to limit the ride to 60 minutes of easy riding, or less if it's cold. Dinner after the ride will be at Chuy s Mexican restaurant, which is one block south of where we are parking. A white elephant gift exchange is optional, but fun. (One gift per team). Please RSVP so we have a headcount for dinner and/or to let you know of changes due to inclement weather. RSVP to Kevin and Linda at: Cell: vinsonlj@sbcglobal.net A map of the Knox Street shopping district is provided below so you can find the meeting place:

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4 DATES-LINE December 2015 Page 4 The Hilly Chili Ride When: Where: How far: Friday, January 1st, -2016, 11:00 a.m. Donna & Steve Bishop s house 1016 Royal Lytham Ct Cedar Hill mile loop or 22-mile loop. Road type: 6 miles of frontage road, the rest rural/residential. Directions: Take Hwy 67 south through Cedar Hill to Lake Ridge Parkway. Exit and turn right onto Lake Ridge. Turn left onto Park Ridge. (Turn is marked with signs for Valley Ridge Park and Tangle Ridge Golf Course). Pass the park on your left and the golf course on your right. At the second opportunity, turn left onto Line Drive. At the second opportunity, turn right onto Muirfield. At the first opportunity, turn left onto Royal Lytham Court. Lunch: Other: Chili, cornbread, soft drinks and beer at Donna and Steve s house. Please join us, whether or not you are riding! Showers available Non-riders welcome Please RSVP for lunch and bring a side or dessert. Contact: Steve and Donna Bishop (972) thebishops6@sbcglobal.net We NEED your notices, ride reports, articles & PICTURES for the newsletter If you would like to contribute something, please send it to datesline@gmail.com by the 25 th of the month

5 DATES-LINE December 2015 Page 5 Ride Leader Opportunity We received the following from the public relations office at One Arts Plaza. Anyone who wants to lead a ride based on this info is certainly welcome to! Hi Mindy and Scott: I head up public relations for One Arts Plaza in downtown Dallas, and we are thrilled to announce that we just installed brand new bike racks for our cycle enthusiasts. I know y'all do social rides, and I was hoping you might have an event scheduled for downtown. Several of our restaurants in One Arts Plaza are running brunch specials specifically for our cyclists on Saturday and Sundays. I would love to share more information, and I would appreciate any social media posts or promotion for your newsletter or website. Thank you! Place: Blue Mesa Grill Montfort Drive Addison DATES Annual Meeting and Dinner Sunday, January 10, :30 pm A dinner buffet will be served, but please NOTE, this is NOT a BYOB establishment. Wine selection is limited, but they have beer and margaritas. Each team will need to run their own tab. Cost is $25 per person (yes, more than last year - no club subsidy this time!). Reserve your place by sending a check (payable to DATES) to Kris Carlson, 5616 Covehaven Drive, Dallas, TX At the meeting, we will elect officers for the 2016 year. With thanks to John McManus as nominations chair, the proposed slate for 2016 is as follows: DATES Coordinators - Scott and Mindy Mashburn Ride Coordinators - Ernie and Regina Coose Newsletter Editor - Alan and Renee Kailer Secretary - Glenn and Barbara Rudolph Treasurer - Larry Ronsko and Cindy Lee Membership Coordinator - Kevin and Linda Vinson Nominations will also be accepted from the floor. Plan now to attend - we look forward to seeing you there!

6 DATES-LINE December 2015 Page 6 DATES Blue Ridge Ramble Hosted by Marc and Susie Mumby Report by Scott Mashburn In attendance: Marc & Susie Mumby, David Dres, Mary Jackson, Ernie Coose, Stuart Rogers, Keri Bloomer, Scott & Mindy Mashburn The Mitas Hill Vineyard and Winery just outside of Melissa was the starting point for the Mumby' s DATES ride on Saturday November 14. It was one of those days that started out cool and grey with the threat of rain lingering in the back of everyone's minds but not enough to stop us from hitting the road. The modest turnout of nine souls made getting a consensus to go ahead easy enough. Why the odd number for a tandem ride? Ernie's better half, Regina, was on the injured reserve list so Ernie rode solo. There were two routes, 38 and 54 miles, both meandering through the small towns and backwoods of Collin County. At the 12-mile point we were in Blue Ridge and this was where the two routes split. The David & Mary duo and Ernie, the lone wolf, followed the shorter route and the Mumbys and Mashburns, along with the Big Wag team, Stuart and Keri, went for the 54. Somewhere along the way, I think about mile 30, we found ourselves facing what appeared a long stretch of rough unpaved road. Not knowing how just how much of this lie in front of us I decided to consult the two fellows working on a car in front of the house we had just passed so we could decide whether to ride on or turn around. We had already gotten to know their dogs because they visited us as we were stopped on the side of the road deliberating our situation. I rode the tandem over to talk to the two guys and they assured me there was only another half mile of rough road, after which the road was paved. They were pretty fascinated with the tandem and especially with the fact that it could be broken down into pieces and put into suitcases for travel. One of them asked me how long it took me to put it back together. I replied three beers to break it down and three to put it back together. He responded by saying, "wow minutes, that's not bad". I must be a slow drinker because it really takes me about an hour. Anyway I just laughed and

7 DATES-LINE December 2015 Page 7 thanked them for the information and road back to the group. We moved on and thankfully they were right, for in about a half a mile we were back on decent road again. The traffic was light and the weather, while staying grey and cool, was really pleasant for the remainder of the ride. We made a stop in Princeton and then finished the ride back to the winery. Once at the winery, we were greeted by David, Mary, and Ernie. Also Regina Coose and Kris Carlson had driven over to join us for lunch. By the time we got there, they had finished with lunch and they were about to head home so we chatted for a few minutes. They all had boxes of left over pizza in their hands and were raving about it. The six of us took a table outside on the beautiful patio and ordered pizza. There was no hyperbole in the compliments the other group had paid to it. It was perfect by everyone's account. Keep in mind that we had just finished riding 54 miles and the road kill was starting to look better and better. With that said it was still very good pizza. Both Mindy and I were complimentary of the Zinfandel. It was fruity and, all in all, a good expression of Zinfandel and it went really well with the pizza. The other folks at the table had wine flights, consisting of the Zinfandel, a Rosé, a Tempranillo, a sweet wine whose name has been lost and last but not least one called Squeezepenny. Everyone seemed happy. The service was also good, so I hope we have more rides out there in the years to come. Thanks Marc and Susie for making this ride happen!

8 DATES-LINE December 2015 Page 8 DATES TOTS (Tour Of the Trail System) Ride Hosted by Beckie & Lee Wilson Sunday November 8 th, 2015 Ride Report by Kevin Vinson This year s edition of the DATES TOTS ride had a whole new look. Instead of the traditional Tour of The Stars route this year s route included four of Dallas city trail systems. Linda and I thought the new route was great. On Saturday November 7 th, Lee & Beckie along with Pete & Laura rode the route to make sure everything was good. It was a good thing they did this test ride because they discovered a portion of the route that was muddy due to the rains. No matter, it was a great ride! The plan was to 9:30 a.m. and ride when everyone was ready. There were nine tandem teams and two singles. The weather was cool but there were no clouds in sight. After the pre-ride picture and the presentation by Beckie & Lee we made our way towards Highland Park and beyond. This ride included the Katy Trail, Trinity Strand Trail, Trinity Skyline Trail and the Santa Fe Trestle Trail. Hence the name Tour Of the Trail System.

9 DATES-LINE December 2015 Page 9 Riding the Trinity Strand Trail, Trinity Skyline Trail and the Santa Fe Trestle Trail would be a first for Linda and me. I was very impressed with the trails. Once we arrived downtown via the Katy Trail, we made our way through the Victory Park area to the Continental Avenue Pedestrian Bridge where we had our first rest stop. If you are wondering what Scott is laughing about see the next picture. According to Linda, this attraction received the most attention from the Captains.

10 DATES-LINE December 2015 Page 10 Below are more pictures from the rest stop.

11 DATES-LINE December 2015 Page 11 We weren t able to ride the Trinity Skyline Trail due to the mud on the trail. Beckie & Lee did an excellent job of improvising and getting us to the Trinity Strand Trail. I had no idea this trail even existed. After the Trinity Strand Trail we made our way to the Santa Fe Trestle Trail. Riding the Santa Fe Trestle Trail allowed us to see the high waters of the Trinity River. Even though the water had receded the river was still very high and the debris left from the high waters was amazing. We took the Santa Fe Trestle Trail to Oak Cliff and the Bishop Arts District for our second rest stop.

12 DATES-LINE December 2015 Page 12 From the Bishop Arts District, we made our way back towards downtown Dallas where we came up through Dealey Plaza and taking Main Street through Deep Ellum and onto historic Swiss Avenue. From Swiss Avenue, we made our way north on Alderson Street into the Lower Greenville area. We took Monticello Avenue west through the Greenland Hills area. We crossed over US-75 and back to the Knox-Henderson area and the starting location. After the ride, several of us made our way to Fernando s for lunch. Thank you to Beckie & Lee for a great ride. Looking forward to next year when we can ride the Trinity Skyline Trail.

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14 DATES-LINE December 2015 Page 14 RIDE OR ACTIVITY DATE START TIME START PLACE HOST PHONE # / DISTANCE DETAILS Annual Christmas Lights Ride Sunday, December 20 Meet at 5:00 a.m., Ride at 5:30 a.m. Crate & Barrel parking lot at Knox and McKinney Kevin & Linda Vinson (214) vinsonlj@sbcglobal.net ~ 1 hour Please RSVP for dinner headcount See Newsletter for Details The Hilly Chili Ride Friday, January 1, 2016, 11:00 a.m Royal Lytham Ct., Cedar Hill Donna & Steve Bishop (972) thebishops6@sbcglobal.net 22 miles or 38 miles Please RSVP for lunch and bring a side or dessert See Newsletter for Details DATES Annual Meeting and Dinner Sunday, January 10, :30 pm Blue Mesa Grill Montfort Drive Addison Kris & Chuck Carlson (972) mac.carlson@mac.com kris365@sbcglobal.net See Newsletter for Details We Need Ride Leaders! Contact Mindy Mashburn at smashfamily@sbcglobal.net. Get the most recent information on the DATES website:

15 DATES-LINE December 2015 Page 15 DATES-LINE is generally published monthly by and for members of DOUBLE DATES. Information contained herein is for the general good of the tandem community and June be copied without permission; credit to DOUBLE DATES and DATES-LINE is appreciated. All comments and contributions are welcome. We reserve the right to edit all submissions. Generally, Monthly Issues are ed by the end of the previous month. Notices and Articles must be received a week prior to the ing date to be included in the next issue. Machine-readable copy is required, preferably in MS WORD. Copy should be ed to mailto:datesline@gmail.com. Advertising Rates (per issue): $10 - Business card size ads; $35 - ¼ Page ads; $50 - ½ Page ads DOUBLE DATES, the, is a recreational club for riders of tandem bicycles. Membership dues are $25 payable annually in February. If a team joins mid-year, the dues are: Jan June $25; August Oct $12. Teams joining in November or December pay $25 and are paid up for the following year. DATES is affiliated with or a member of the Tandem Club of America, the League of American Bicyclists, BikeTexas and BikeDFW. DATES COORDINATORS Chuck and Kris Carlson (h) mac.carlson@mac.com kris365@sbcglobal.net DATES-LINE EDITORS Alan & Renee Kailer (h) datesline@gmail.com RIDE COORDINATORS Scott & Mindy Mashburn (c) smashfamily@sbcglobal.net MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR Linda & Kevin Vinson (h) vinsonlj@sbcglobal.net TREASURERS Larry Ronsko & Cindy Lee (h) lronsko@gmail.com SECRETARY Barbara and Glenn Rudolph (h) Rudolph.Barb@gmail.com WEB SITE Kevin & Linda Vinson admin@doubledates.com c/o Alan & Renee Kailer datesline@gmail.com Dallas, TX