Team Yabani News
Featured Article: Two of the brethren got into a heated E-mail discusstion over the definition of "What is a bike". Some people like the road type, some like mountain bikes, and some like a recumbent. I was asked to step in and look up in the by-laws the correct definition. So here it is in three part harmony: The Yabani code is Article 12, section 8, para 39, which states: If it has pedals, wheels and moves when pressure is applied to the pedals with any appendage(s) the rider so chooses to use, then its "A BIKE". Now I knew what the next question was going to be "Why did the founders word it this way?" So a short history lesson from the texts of our founders is in order. The story goes as follows.
As we all know the original Yabani was Kas Kandra who was born at the turn of the century in what was then known as Macedonia. Life being somewhat dull in this region Kas desired some intellectual enlightenment. He decided to become a missionary and immigrated to northern Minnesota to bring Christianity to the Ojbway Indians through interpretive dance. This almost immediately became a failure because Kas had trouble in getting the taps to adhere to the Indians moccasins and when he did you couldn't hear them because of the pine needles and soft dirt. Not to be totally disillusioned Kas moved to Fantod Washington, which is located southwest of Twisp in the Okanogan region to become a blacksmith. As you know Fantod is known for the hill "Old Unclimbable" (route 623, picture at my desk), which is a famous hill that even today must be repaved by securing the road equipment to a stout tree at the top of the hill and wincing them up as they pave the road. Anyway Kas had some great fun devising different ways to go down the hill. But back to the Yabani part of the story. As Kaz was moving to Fantod his train had a delay in Chicago where he met Ignaz Schwin who he corresponded with on a somewhat regular basis. Now Ignaz had heard about "Old Unclimbable" and wanted to try out one of his new road devices on it, so he just up and sends one to Kaz. Now the air freight system back then had some problems and the device arrived minus the roundie things that made it roll around. Kaz being the precocious type after looking at the picture on the box attached some wagon wheels to the device and the rest is history.
Team Yabani Ride Tip: How to take that uphill ride quicker? Pedal faster!
Ride News:
Stage 1 — Morning time trials postponed due to weather. Safety officials state that the fog along the river does not allow for good visibility. Riders will do the regular course today. If the morning time trials cannot be held this year the old time of 1:13:43 held by "The Animal" and "Boom-Boom" will hold and prize money will be divided equally among this years winner's.
Stage 2 — Easy day for the most part. Finish times were somewhat off from last year and for no apparent reason.
Stage 3 — Some strong headwinds made the run today extremely slow and the riders showed a lackluster performance with a few dropping out of the competition.
Stage 3 — A strong tailwind on the afternoon session made for some very good runs. The overall times are now better than last year.
Stage 4 — A good number of the riders have dropped out today after a very hard ride with 16 to 18 mph headwinds. Only a few dropped out in the morning, but a large number have done so in the afternoon session.
Stage 5 — Was mastered by "The Animal" in record time. He took overall first place and was the only Yabani to complete the race. Next year we need to get a yellow jersey for this. This has been a bad year for Team Yabani with the strike and busy work schedules. We hope that they will recover and make a better showing next year. The victory celebration was held in downtown Kent at SPIRO’s restaurant with prizes distributed to the winners.
Editors Notes:
I have more problems with pedestrians than cars. As I ride up and let them know I am passing them, they are slow to realize what’s going on (Like "Duh"). It reminds me of the deer in the headlight thing. Am I getting too militant or what?
Next Issue:
Remember, "If its not a Yabani, its just another bike ride!"
Tour de Duwamish:
Team Yabani showed up with the highest percentage of team members than any of the other teams in this year’s competeion.
YABANI DOWN:
Dennis "The Menace" was riding home from work on the sidewalk when a driver made a right turn at a intersection and clipped his rear wheel. It knocked him down and fortunately he was not hurt, however his Iron Pony suffered a bent rear wheel. This kinda makes you think some people should not be operating automobiles. "The Menace" didn’t press any charges or pursue the matter further. At least we as a team should make up a few signs and picket the driver’s house just to let their neighbors know to keep any small children and animals indoors whenever this person chooses to operate a motor vehicle unsupervised. Do any of the team members have any close calls? Send them in and I will share them.