Ray's (Milwaukee) Women's Skills Clinic - March 9, 2012

[Bexter]

Ladies, it's a rainy day and I've got riding on my mind! So, I turn to the Internet to get my fix... Looks like the women's skills clinic at Ray's Milwaukee is March 9th. http://www.raysmtb.com/mke/index.php...d=56&Itemid=89 My game plan is to drive to Milwaukee Thursday night after work hitting some place midway for dinner on the way up, stay the night at the Sheraton Four Points ($75 a night), enjoy the ladies clinic on Friday, enjoy an evening in Milwaukee Friday night, ride Saturday and return home Saturday night. Ray's is closed to the guys during the ladies clinic, so if the guys opt to join us, they won't be able to ride til 3 PM on Friday. Sheraton Four Points: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/fourpo...propertyID=949 Who is interested? So far, there are 4 of us going and LAMBA, FORC and PAMBA will be represented!

[Bexter]

People have started asking about lodging and travel arrangements. As far as lodging, please make your own reservations (most of us are trying to stay at the Sheraton -- the Ray's special is $65.16 plus tax a night which comes out to about $74 a night and the hotel is nice). The women's skills clinic was a pretty big event in Cleveland and I'm guessing the same will be true of Milwaukee. Don't want anyone to be sorry who waited to long to make a reservation and the hotel was full. If you're comfortable sharing a room with someone to defray the cost a bit, you may want to consider posting here and coordinating with others. Those who plan to go thus far are: Me, Kathy Ramp, Karen Ketelson, Sorya Nees, Vonda Johnston, Kristin Jordan, Janel Gonzalez, Michelle Barker and another gal from Cedar Rapids, and a couple gals from Peoria. Hopefully I haven't forgotten anyone. Once we get closer to the event, we can discuss travel arrangements in case people want to car pool. My gameplan is to drive up to Milwaukee after work on Thursday -- the clinic starts at 9 AM on Friday. I'll be headed back to the QCA Saturday after riding.

[Vibrato]

Done!

[Bexter]

OK, now that landmark events that I had been really looking forward to (winter riding on snow-free trails, the chili cookoff) are done, I need topics to daydream about to keep me focused while ... sigh... spinning indoors. I know there is talk of a FORC gathering in February, but in terms of riding, barring a trip to somewhere warm like last year (which I cannot afford this year since I bought a NEW BIKE -- did I mention that I have a NEW 29er)... it's time to set our sights on Ray's indoor mtn bike park. I can't imagine there won't be a few trips in the next couple months, so stay tuned. However, this thread is all about the Women's Weekend. Chatting with Michelle Barker on Saturday (great to see the LAMBA and ICORR crew, by the way), I learned that 4 or 6 gals (forgive my memory, I was overtaken by noxious methane post-chili fumes Saturday) from the IC/Cedar Rapids area are joining in on the fun at Ray's in March. Add that to the 6 gals from FORC and 2 or 3 gals from Peoria/Bloomington and we've got a heck of a group heading up (and this doesn't even include their menfolk). Just an update.