Hello new website, goodbye old blog!

That's right. This blog if officially over. Of course, it lives on, but only to show where we have come from. For all that you need to know about where El Grupo is going, what we are doing, and more, please go to our new website here.

Scavenger Hunt Recap

Thanks everyone for coming and making this 7th Annual event the best one ever. We had about the same number of adults, but more kids, and a better raffle, so a success was had. Thanks!!!

Pics are of course below provided by Kathleen. Check them out.

I really enjoy putting this event on, and am very excited to start searching for next years clues. I must say though when the event is in motion I get super anxious. I worry like crazy about sabatoge, so when it happened this year I felt crushed. However when I heard from all participants that it was no big deal, well, yes, I felt better, but still not perfect. But yes a great time was had so again thank you.

Below is a description of the fun that was had by Cherish, an El Grupo member in the waiting/making:

Hi, my name is Cherish and I'm 10 years old. My older brother, Nathan, and my older sister, Emily, are members of El Grupo. They have lots of fun biking all over Tucson. This Saturday I got to bike too. El Grupo had an event called the Headless Hunt, where you bike around and look for puzzle pieces hidden near downtown Tucson.

My mom and I decided to be a team this year. We made a good team. My mom and I would read the clues that were given to us, and then she would lead us to the general area where the puzzle pieces could be found. Next I would look around, find the box with the pieces and pull out the two pieces with our number. There were 12 places where we had to bike to. There were clues like find the large lizard sculpture, Tucson's greatest tree and the clock on the rock.

The street names near these locations were also given and that was my mom's job to get us there. It was much easier and more fun to do on a bike than it would have been trying to do it in a car. The slow pace gave us a chance to look at cool sculptures, architecture and other interesting things that we usually just drive by in a car without really seeing.

It was fun! I can't wait until next year's hunt.

2010 Scavenger Hunt Pics!

Here. (El Grupo Facebook)

Or if you prefer....Here. (Esens site)

More on Scavenger Hunt

Thanks Kathleen for the awesome photos from last year (scroll down). I hope those get you all very excited about Saturday's event - it is gonna be so much fun!

Please know that all El Grupo riders (and their friends, family, peers, etc etc) are expected to participate. It should not be a problem for each of you to come up with the $10, but if it is, please come talk with me. This is about having fun, and raising money so we can do more fun things all year long. Thanks so much to you all who helped to sort, paint, stencil and organize the puzzles - that means a lot to Ignacio and I to have you all involved in the process (and saved us from some late nights!)

Last, but not least, it would be great to have some baked goods out at the start on Saturday morning. We can make a few extra bucks and make sure that people are well sugared for the hunt. It is going to be a blast!

Contact me if you have questions. See you all Saturday morning! Daniela

Pics from 2009 Scavenger Hunt

Thought it would be fun to post the album from last years Scavenger Hunt so all the new folks can see the fun that's coming up! Here on Facebook.


Also, a reminder guys....you've gotta invite your friends to the El Grupo page so we can build it...the more we network it, the more on-line presence El Grupo will have. Please do your part to build the page, ok? Thanks!!!

Tuesday Practice

Tuesday October 26th

Objective: Make, paint, and stensile 75 puzzles for the Scavenger Hunt.

Come in plain clothes and strong minds to make 75 Disney puzzles.

We have to get these done so as to have a great weekend.

Thanks to all for a great Birthday as well. I had a great, memorable one and have all of you to thank.

Thank you!!!!!

Ignacio

Some pics from the bake sale and Coach Ignacio's birthday!

HERE on Facebook!

Weekend Notes

Thanks to everyone for helping with the bake sale. It was the best one ever!!! We made the most that we ever have by quite a bit and we handed out a ton of flyers.

Thanks everyone for the hard work. People were excited to see us out!!

Tomorrow's plans:

A and B teams will meeting at my house at 6:30am and will head out to ride all the way up.

All new riders will meet at the clubhouse at 8:30am and will head out and ride for an hour up the mountain.

Then all are invited to my house for pancakes and breakfast after the ride. The ping pong table will be out and the water cold.

See you all in the morning.

Ignacio

Weekend Notes

Saturday 23rd

Shoot Out: Start time 6:15am sharp
So if you want to get to my house early totally cool, however we are off and ready at 6:15am.

Bake Sale: 8:00am ish
Meet at the intersection of Euclid and University in the Main Gate Square area. Bake sale will be held in Geronimo Plaza. Kathleen, Rane and Daniela will be setting up at this time. Please join us when you can, or get baked goods to us before then.

Sunday the 24th: More news and notes to come.

Ignacio

Here's a preview

of today's practice!

Notice how smooth this rider is, he is not bouncing all over his saddle. He is going all out, yet still perfectly in control. Oh yeah, he is also doing this on rollers. Wow!

Practice

Practice

Practice

See you guys in a couple of hours.

+

Hunter

KVOA News

That's right we, El Grupo, will be on the news tomorrow morning.

KVOA at 6am and 4pm.

Please tape this or record it if you can so we can use the material.

Thanks and I hope you all get to watch.

Ignacio

If you think this is cute, then watch for Nathan and his interview.

Thanks!

Richard thinks Daniela and mine's pancakes are better than Bobo's.

Playing Table Tennis in Spandex is important for proper and effective arm motion.


I suppose this is just a general thanks to all for making this team so much fun.

Why?

Well on Saturday the A and B teams went out and rode the Old Man shoot out and were just fantastic ambassadors for our team. Super polite, road kindly and respectfully, and then beat the pants off everyone to the bridge. Alex Strickland initiated the move and made a break and along went Logan, Nathan and Donovan. The younger boys went 1,2,3 on the bridge all alone, while Alex held for a very respectful showing. Lizzy was also out and almost, almost made it to the bridge. We were within the last mile. D-Son went on his first shoot out and Richard was there to take care of him.

Not what I most proud of though. What did I like best?

Well it was when we got back to the house and everyone immediately started playing with Damiano. They have really taken him on as a little brother and I know he loves it. I really enjoy watching it as well. I want to thank everyone for the time they take to be super great to him, thanks.

Also thanks all for the help with the Swap meet bikes. Hopefully we can make some money off of them for the team. So that way we can have more pancakes after the rides.

Marcos Did It!!!!!!

Marcos just called. He completed the Mt. Lemmon Marathon in an amazing 3 hours and 56 minutes!!!!!
Congratulations, Marcos! We are so proud of you!

How You Can Help with Scavenger Hunt

Here is some additional info on how you (parents, riders, friends, etc) can help with the Headless Hunt bicycle scavenger hunt coming up on Oct. 30th. As we have said before, this is our one big community fundraiser of the year, so we need all your help to make it a successful one.

Here are possible ways to help:
1. Don't just hand fliers out, but truly get people to come. The more people that participate, the more money we make, the more fun.

2. Bake some goods! We will have a bake sale next Saturday, Oct. 23rd at Main Gate for the end of the "Shootout ride", which will probably be set up at 8:30am to 10am (more details on this later). We will also have a bake sale at the start of the scavenger hunt to fuel up riders. Plan on baking something or helping to "staff" these bake sales.

3. We want to have a bike decoration station at the start of the scavenger hunt, just for fun. We may have prizes for folks with the best decorated bike at the end. So I need a parent/rider or several to take on soliciting some donations of fur, sparkles, fake flowers, etc etc from around town businesses (or purchasing them if that is a possibility). A good friend of El Grupo, Janet Miller, organized bike decorating during Cyclovia and it was a true hit. She is on board for this, but needs us to take the lead. Anyone interested? We will also need folks that morning of the event to help folks decorate their bikes as we register folks.

4. Registration. This always takes a little time, which is why we will have baked goods and decorations to entertain in the meantime, but we would like to make this as smooth as possible. I need a couple parents or board members who are willing to think through the best process with me and help get people registered (i.e. record names & contact info, get money, etc)

5. We will be making new tshirts for this event and selling them at the event. We will need help that morning (probably one person) with selling the shirts. Unfortunately, time is a bit scrunched for our printer, Dwight, and it is the same cost either way, so we will not be printing the shirts ourselves this time. (sorry Kathleen!)

6.One sweet raffle: Chad, one of our lovely board members, has put together at least 10 awesome raffle prizes and will be selling tickets the day of the event for them. We will want help from folks in selling these and letting people know how cool the prizes are (i.e. bike from REI, a painting, one-hour massage, free yoga passes, etc etc)

7. Get people to come! That means you, too!

Please let me know what questions you have and where you can help. Thanks so much!

Daniela 777-8629

A Few things

Sorry Marcos- Last night Daniela and I did some homework and discovered that we will be unable to join you this Sunday for the marathon. The event organizers have structured the event quite rigidly wanting to ensure safety, which makes it impossible for us to cheer you on.

So I am sorry, however good luck and the best to you. To the rest of the team I suppose we will just have to ride up the mountain next week.

Scavenger Hunt!!! Can't tell you how important it is. It is our only fundraiser of the year and we need funds. So please tell your friends, family, and neighbors to come. I would like to have 200 people there. Today at practice I am going to give you all flyers to post around town and to hand out. So please help with this.

DRINK WATER ALL DAY LONG!!!!!!

Saturday October 23rd we will be having a bake sale like in times past after the Shoot Out.

I am sure there are a few more things to comment on but I will start here.

thanks

Ignacio

LIGHTS!!!

Hola mi amigos

Just a reminder that the sun is setting earlier and earlier now. Bring those lights of yours, so we may be seen on our ride back to the clubhouse.

lights lights lights

see you at practice

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hunter

Tucson Velo Rocks!

Just want to give a well-deserved shout out to Mike McKisson who runs TucsonVelo.com. He is also one of our most passionate supporters, and joined many of you out on the ride on Sunday. Thanks to Mike for covering entry into Saguaro East National Park for El Grupo riders. You have been a real asset to the bicycle community over this past year, and we sincerely appreciate your support!

Check out his daily posts on all you need to know about cycling in Tucson here.

Scavenger Hunt now posted on the El Grupo Facebook page.

Ok Team...the event is now listed on the El Grupo Facebook page. It is your job to share the link with ALL of your Tucson Facebook Friends and ask them to come support your team! Use the "SHARE" button or "Select Guests to Invite" and it will go directly to the buddies you click. This event is your biggest fundraiser of the year...it's success will depend on how much you promote it with your friends and family. Go for it!!!!
Right HERE!

Hey, hey, hey.....

Logan fell asleep yesterday after practice while hanging up his clean clothes while still in his stinky jersey. This isn't posed...he is passed O-U-T!

Moslty Mandatory

A-B team ride tomorrow morning. 6:30am start. My house.

See you then.

Ignacio