Member of the Month for July 2013

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Delaine Hall has been a Wheelmen member for three years and currently is the Social Events Coordinator for the Club. She organized the great picnic many of you enjoyed in June and is already working on the December holiday party. She was born and raised on the south side of San Antonio and graduated from Highlands High School in 1975.

Here is how Delaine describes her riding experience. “I have ridden a bike most of my life. As an adult rider I started off with a Trek Navigator. This would be considered a bike to ride around the neighborhood and enjoy all the work your neighbors have done to their yards and homes. When I rode my Navigator 30 miles and the last few miles were climbing the HUGH hill on Sonterra I knew I loved distance riding and I needed a new bike for distance (she now rides a Trek Pilot). One of my favorite rides is the ride down along the new section of the river walk and back through the Hemisphere Park. I enjoy a ride with scenery.”

Her absolute favorite bike riding experience was the Bike Out Hunger Ride in 2012 when she rode 435 miles from San Antonio to Dallas in 5 ½ days. She did the ride using clips because she had not learned to use clipless pedals! She said the ride was the most exciting thing she has done in her life. She added: “I didn’t know I had it in me to complete this ride.”

Delaine describes herself as an outdoor person who loves doing yard work and being out in the water. She also enjoys doing volunteer work and spending time with her children and grandchildren. She works at Ft. Sam Houston in the Headquarters U.S. Army Medical Command.

Member of the Month for June 2013

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Pedro Balawag is a familiar sight on numerous Wheelmen rides and has been our web site editor for the past two years. He is a retired teacher from Georgetown Prep high school in Washington DC who moved to San Antonio after his retirement in 1991. He currently works part time for Judson ISD.

Pedro started riding about 10 years ago when he was 100 pounds heavier. He had high blood pressure which made him “a walking heart attack ready to happen”. Since he did not want to take medication he started jogging to control his weight and blood pressure. He then started biking to work since it was faster than jogging. Now he rides everywhere including the grocery store, Wheelmen Board meetings and many of the Wheelmen weekly rides. He is a serious bicycle commuter and an enthusiastic recreational rider. The riding has paid off for his weight and health. He is a strong rider with lots of endurance.

Pedro has two bicycles; a Titanium Lynskey Helix OS and a Steel Gunner Roadie. He did not list a bicycle he would like to have, so is obviously pleased with the two bikes he currently rides.

Pedro rides numerous Wheelmen routes, but his favorite is the Woman Hollering Creek Ride. He normally rides routes in the 35 – 45 mile range. You will frequently find him helping with stay-together rides at Cibolo and Woman Hollering Creek.

Prior to starting cycling, Pedro was an avid handgun competition participant. He exclusively shot the .45 ACP in the 1911 full frame size. He is a proud lifetime member of the NRA, IDPA and USPSA.

Member of the Month for May 2013

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Italo Samano joined the Wheelmen in 2010 and took the Road Riding 101 and 201 classes that year. After completing the classes he became an active Wheelmen rider. He has been a Training Ride Leader for several recent Road Riding 101/201 classes. He is always willing to help with the stay-together rides, especially at the Cibolo and Woman Hollering Creek rides.

Italo currently rides a Fuji 101 Roubaix. He would like to ride a Pinarello ROKH or Cervelo S2 but says he is “just waiting to win the lottery”!

Like many of us, Italo prefers riding on flat terrain, so his favorite ride location is Cibolo. However, he does not hesitate to take on the hilly rides and is frequently seen at the Bullis County Park rides. He likes riding in a group due to the camaraderie. He enjoys biking and the experience of freedom it provides from an office job. He also enjoys a post-ride beer as a reward for a good morning ride with friends.

Italo was born in Mexico City and is “happily married to Sandra, a local court reporter”. They have two adult children and twin grandchildren. He has been living in the USA for 35 years, but is “still struggling to speak the local dialect”. He describes himself as: “Sixty years old and ready to live another sixty”. He is a Psychologist in private practice at the Alamo Mental Health Group.

Member of the Month for April 2013

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Patti Hale has been an active Wheelmen member since 1999. She served as Vice President in 2000 and later held the position of Ride Chairperson where she revived the stay-together rides. She has been a very active ride starter and along with her husband Steve, has organized and led an annual July 4th ride in Fredericksburg for the past 7+ years. She is currently serving as the Co-Chairperson for the 2013 Easter Hill Country Tour (this is her second time in that position).

Patti grew up in Portland, Oregon and moved to Texas in 1986 to work as a nurse. She started out in McAllen, moved to Corpus Christi and then to San Antonio in 1995. She is currently a nurse with Health by Design in San Antonio, teaching wellness education in the corporate setting. She describes her husband Steve Hale as “my best buddy”!

A Cervelo R3 is Patti’s ride and she does not want anything else – “at least for now”. Her favorite local ride is River Road from Gruene on a quiet weekend morning. You will frequently find Patti and Steve at the regular Wheelmen ride of the day on Saturdays and Sundays.

Patti has done rides in Oregon, California, Utah, Colorado and Germany. She says, “I like to ride in groups and over the years I have found people to ride with almost any day of the week but I also like to go out by myself occasionally – helps me clear my mind. I started riding when I was fairly new to San Antonio and was working crazy hours and it totally changed my life. I get a workout in but cycling opened up my life in ways that I’m grateful for – I’ve met great people, married someone I met in the club and can share common interests with, and I have been able to experience the outdoors in ways that I would never get to in a car!”

Patti has other interests in addition to cycling. She likes to go to the gym where she does Bodypump, and occasionally Pilates and Yoga after doing a cardio workout. She loves to garden and finds yard work relaxing. Somehow she also finds time to volunteer with Meals on Wheels. 

Steve and Patti have a dog and cat – Casey and Sunny – and her mother-in-law says she wants to come back as Patti’s pet in her next life because of the way she spoils her pets and lavishes money, time and love on them!

If you get a chance, join Patti on a Wheelmen ride for some great exercise and stimulating conversation.