The Police Ribfest Fall 2016

Cranks:

Thank you to every one of you who participated by either donating goods, volunteering at the event, or both. It was a group effort and we pulled it off. Powell was our official photographer and he did a FANTASTIC job of photo documenting the event.

Unloading all the gear from the trailer

This is Mikus right before he knocks over the entire line of police motorcycles

Flying our colors

Coppell Deli / Deliman Grill sign

I guess that the sign "Don't Touch" means different things to different people

"Look here, it's called a BBQ Grill and it cooks meat right before your very eyes"

Thanks to Deliman and Ace and Dickeys for helping us put on the event.

Tim and Jim trying to get out of a speeding ticket

Looking at those nice, juicy ribs makes me want to cry.

Jim and Dave pumping out the ribs

Jabos Ace Hardware to Sponsor Cranks Ribfest

Good news Cranks!!!

Jabos Ace Hardware has agreed to donate a trailer for us to haul grills around for this AND FUTURE ribfests. That is HUGE news. Here's how the conversation went:

Kit: Do you have a sign that we can hang from the trailer letting everybody know that you guys are donating this?

Ace: No. Can't you make one?

Kit: If we had funds to make a sign then we would be renting the trailer instead of asking you to donate it.

Ace: Well, we don't have one.

Kit: If we make a sign, will you commit to donating a trailer for every ribfest?

Ace: Sure

Kit: Done

Ribfest T-Shirts

Cranks:

If you want an official Coppell Cranks Ribfest T-Shirt then you have to order now. The cost is $19 and change for the shirt after taxes. This is not a money maker for the club. Just passing on the actual cost. No minimum order. I need to have the order by Wednesday evening in order to get them in time for the ribfest. You should be able to wash this shirt, put it away, and bring it out for the next ribfest.

Coppell Cranks Window Stickers

Hey guys!!!!

We are almost an official cycling club.

OH, what am I saying. We are totally an official cycling club. We have weekly e-mails. we have a blog. We have a Facebook page. We have a banner. We even have a cause that we support with the firefighter and police ribfest.

Now, we are even more of an official club because we have window stickers for your car.

I know, I know. I can hear you now. You're saying, "Why Kit, how do I get my hands on one of those fine stickers so that I can help promote this cracker-jack cycling club?"

Now anybody who had halt their wits about them would be happy to pay $20 for such a fine sticker. But we think too much about you to ask you to pay retail. And anybody who was only half as proud of this fine cycling club as you are would be chomping at the bit to pay only $10 for this dandy of a sticker.

Well, I'm here to tell you that I'm going to make it easy on you. If you act now by calling the toll free number blinking on your screen, two of these stickers will be help for you at the AMAZING price of $0.00. That's right. You heard me perfectly. I said zero, zilch, nada. You will pay nothing for this adorable adornment. Use it in good health.

Johnny, show then what the get:

Bike Lane on Parkway

http://www.coppelltx.gov/news-media/events/publicinputmeeting-parkwayblvdbikelanes

Let's give 'em a show of force on October 18th for the planning meeting about the possibility of adding bike lanes to Parkway Blvd.

Cranking it Back - Police Ribfest 2016

The HH100 was FANTASTIC

Cranks:

Check out the results tab for this year's HH100 results. I (Kit Vinson) happily reside at the bottom of the list. My goal was to finish and I achieved my goal.

The BIG winner this year was Carlos with a truly impressive time. I have a hard time maintaining his average speed while going downhill with a tail wind. KUDOS to you Carlos!

Tom and Dave did the 100K ride and they enjoyed the last ride of the Flying Frenchmen

I was fortunate enough to be able to ride with the duo one more time.

After splitting from Tom and Dave, I was lucky enough to hook up with Walt and his family peloton. Those guys are biking machines. Walt's sister, Missy(sp) was truly a diesel engine when it comes to cycling. That young lady never stopped, and she barely trained for the event.  The same goes for her husband Ryan. My hat's off to you guys.

Walt started way ahead of me and the ONLY reason that Walt didn't finish well ahead of me was that he was gracious enough to hang out with me for the remainder of the ride. Walt (Wally), you rock. Thanks.

This was my first HH100 and I am jazzed to have even finished. Now I have a time to beat next year.

Late News from Wade Peddy

Fellow Crank, Wade Peddy, had some GREAT news 14 months ago. I know, I know, you are probably asking, "Mr. Blogman, why did it take 14 months to get the news, and what is the news?"

I accept responsibility for the delay in reporting. The news is HUGE!!!! 14 months ago Mr. Wade was the father to a baby girl.

Here you can see a photo of both of Wade's girls driving a grocery cart. Thank GOD that neither one of the girls look like Wade.

So the next time you see Wade you can offer a belated congratulations.

Who's doing HHH this year

OK boys. HHH is almost here. Let's get a list of who will be attending. Here is who I know will be participating this year.

1. Tom Hudon (multi-year participant)
2. Dave Bouchard (multi-year participant)
3. Walt Berend (multi-year participant)
4. Kit Vinson (newbie)

Let's look at the results from previous years:

Of course, Tim Mikus has the time to beat. Seeing that it takes me an hour and a half to drive 100 miles, I don't expect that I will ever get anywhere close to Tim's number. However, if Carlos has continued work with his private trainer, he should be able to give Tim a run for his money.

I am expecting to put in a full day's work when I do HHH this year. If I cross the finish line before 8:00:00 then I will be happy. I will be good and ready for a cold beer when I get done.

IF you are a Crank AND you have participated in HHH in previous years AND you know your time AND you are not listed in the scoreboard, then send them to kit.vinson@franman.net and I will get your name added to the master list.

Remember, the most current version of this list is always on the blog and accessible by clicking on the "HHH Crsanks Scoreboard" navigation tab at the top right part of the screen.

Good luck to everybody.

We have a new potential future CRANK

It would appear that one of the core members of the Coppell Cranks is a grandfather today. Congratulations to Bill Pagels and his family for the addition of Miss Lucy Marie.

Cranking it Back to the Community - Police Ribfest

Alright Cranks! Listen up!

Last year's Cranking it Back to the Community Firefighter Ribfest was a HUGE success. This year we are doing the same thing with the Coppell Police Department.

In light of the recent tragedy I think that this will be a great gesture to the Coppell Police Department that we support them and that we appreciate them for what they do every day.

MARK THE DATE

Saturday October 22nd

When we get closer to the event I have made arrangements with the manager of Kroger for them to store the ribs that we buy so that we can buy the ribs and not have to haul them from house to house. The only catch is that they can't store meat that isn't Kroger meat, so we will have to buy our ribs from them. The manager has already agreed to kick in two racks.

HHH - Who's With Me

OK boys, I did it. I registered for the HHH 100 mile ride. I guess I had better go buy a bike now, and maybe an extra water bottle.

What the hell was I thinking?

Here is the good news, Tom and Dave will be traveling in to do the 100K ride so we need to represent out there.

Who's with me?

I SAID WHO'S WITH ME!?

I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!!!

WHO'S WITH ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's more like it. Now if you haven't done so yet, get registered and let's go show the world what the COPPELL CRANKS are made of.

http://hh100.org/

When you register you will need the Coppell Cranks website. Here it is:
http://coppellcranks.blogspot.com/

If any of you happen to see me on the side of the road and I appear to be dead, just splash some water on me, kick me in the nards and put me back on my bike.

Memorial Day Ride

As we remember the men and women who have served our country we took advantage of the day off of work to get in a good ride. It was the best cycling weather of the year

Dude, we're gettin' the band back together!

The Cranks are still cranking in Coppell

Don't be left behind. Let's get the band back together.

Please Attend These Meetings

Jim Harris and his band of ruffians have been doing a lot of good for cyclists in Coppell and they need our help in the form of a show of support at some of the meetings. I hope that you guys can carve out a little time from your schedule to help him out.

First one is the Parks and Rec meeting, this Monday 2/1 at 6:30 at City Hall, 2nd fl. conference room

Let's really try to help a fellow Crank out.

A Crank was Interviewed

On the Coppell Cranks blog, we would like to hear good news headlines from our members so we can share them. Things like "Hey, last year Wade and his wife had a baby." Wade never sent me photos to post on the blog, but that is the sort of thing we want to post here throughout the year.

So, I will get the ball moving with this post.

I was recently interviewed by another of our fellow cyclists, Henry Lopez. You may know Henry from the Bicycles Plus Tuesday and Thursday rides. Henry's company consults small businesses/entrepreneurs and he asked me if I would be a guest on his podcast. The interview turned out really well and I used it as an episode of my own company's podcast.

Check it out

http://franman.net/the-franchise-manual-podcast-episode-3/