Rochester Bicycling Club

Annual Pizza Party and Elections
Friday Nov 7th 6pm
Carmen Clark Lodge
777 Westfall Rd
Rochester

Bring a pizza to pass (the club will provide beverages and tableware) Then sample some of the stuff others have brought. Bring whatever toppings you like, there is sure to be someone else who also likes the same….even anchovies?

We actually get to eat first and then have a short meeting to elect the officers for next year. There are a few positions open, so if you see anything that you might be interested in, let any board member know. Nominations will also be taken from the floor.

The new slate of officers for 2009 is

President-  Karen Managan
Vice President- Richard DeSarra
Secretary-  —-open——–                
Treasurer- Brad Jensen
Rides-  Otto Muller-Girard
Membership- Karen Managan
Maps- Brian Managan
Newsletter- Dale VanOcker
Publicity-  Cindy Stachowski
Education-  Mike Barber
Past President- Mike Barber
Member-at-large- Cynthia Cooper
Member-at-large- Dave Natrop
Member-at-large- Jim Parker
Member-at-large- Andrew Henke
Member-at-large- —-open—–
Awards- Mike Brisson
CD Publisher- Brian Managan
Legal Rep- Mark Bezinque
Librarian- Hank Walck
Time Trials- Scott Gerritz
Trail Access- Richard DeSarra
Web Site- Todd Calvin
Ground Truthing- Barb Chudanski-Barber

Thanks to a dedicated corps of RBC volunteers, the Ground Truthing Program introduced this year was quite successful. During the 2008 riding season, a total of 42 maps were validated or corrected by our corps of Ground Truthers resulting in a more accurate mapset.

To date, one third of the mapset has now been “truthed.” The entire RBC membership directly benefits from the ground-truthing process that ensures that road names, amenities, mileage and the map itself is wholly accurate.

Our Maps Director, Brian Managan, contributes his considerable expertise and time to update the CD-ROM and Members’ Area of the Website with the corrections and accompanying cue sheets as submitted by our Ground Truthers.

On behalf of the Board and the general membership, we wish to acknowledge the efforts of our 2008 Ground Truthers and to extend our thanks for the miles they rode and their determination to provide accurate data–sometimes riding a route, or portions thereof, more than once! Our helmets are off to:

Mike Barber, Tami Brown, Bill Crowe, Brian Managan, Karen Managan,
Dave Natrop, Jay Rachfal, Mark Robbins, Hank Walck, John Zachman

I would like to encourage all RBC members to participate in this worthwhile and continuing effort by joining our GT Corps next year. With your help, we can achieve a goal of having at least 50% of our mapset ground-truthed by the end of the 2009 riding season.

Please contact me at bchudster@rochester.rr.com to indicate your interest in joining the program or with any questions you may have. All Ground-Truthers will receive club miles and volunteer points for maps completed.

Again, many thanks to all those who supported our ground-truthing efforts this year.

Barbara Chudanski-Barber
GT Coordinator

Friday Oct 17 at 6:30pm
Christ the Good Shephard Church
1000 Winton Rd N
Rochester

If you volunteered for and completed a task for the club over the past year (starting last Sept), you are eligible for a FREE dinner. You should have received a letter via e-mail informing you of your eligibility. If you were unable to help us with any events, or you want to bring a guest, you can still attend the dinner for $13 per person.

Volunteering consists of any of a number of things from as simple as getting a new member to join the club (hopefully you remembered to put your name on or tell the new member to put your name on the application form) to helping out as a ride leader, adopt a highway, festivals, writing a newsletter article, ground truthing etc.

The dinner will be catered by Donnelly’s and the menu will be similar to last year which seemed to be a bit hit!…….. all you need to bring are your appetites!
The menu this year is pulled pork, chicken, beans and rice, cajun corn, salt potatoes, salad, corn bread and of course desserts (provided by board members as our way of saying thanks!)

Door prizes will be given out again this year and anyone who volunteered will be eligible for the drawing, but you must be present to win!

Otto will be there with the new ride schedule, so you can sign up for your favorite rides…. start collecting those points early.

If you did not receive a letter and feel you are eligible for the dinner, please let me know and I will check it out for you.

Contact Karen for more information
654-9624
rbcmembership@rochester.rr.com

Introduction to the Genesee Valley Greenway (GVG) Trail Bicycle Ride Saturday October 4.

Meet at 9:45 a.m. for a 10:00 a.m. start at the trailhead in Canawaugus Park on River Road (Route 251) in Scottsville for a 15 mile ride.

The GVG is a flat trail with a hard packed dirt surface. Fat tire or hybrid style bicycle is best suited for this trail ride.

Bring water. Lunch in Scottsville after the ride is optional. Helmets required.

Ride Leader: Richard DeSarra,

rdsbike@rochester.rr.com

The League of American Bicyclists on Wednesday September 24 announced the recipients of the 2008 Bicycle Friendly Community Awards - http://www.bikeleague.org/news/092408bfc.php.

The City of Rochester and Monroe County of New York were sited as honorable mention.

The League awards a four-year designation to communities that have made impressive, measurable efforts to integrate bicyclists into the community. There are four levels—platinum, gold, silver and bronze—awarded twice each year.

The League’s Mission is to promote bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation and work through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America.

This is the first year the Rochester Bicycling Club has applied for designation on behalf of the City of Rochester and Monroe County.

Richard  DeSarra, Rochester Bicycling Club Board Member, Trail and Road Advocate.

We have already begun the planning stages for the 2009 riding season. Otto Muller-Girard our Ride Director, Tony Constanza our Slow & Easy Ride Coordinator, and Andrew Henke our new Sweep Ride Coordinator, will soon be getting their ride schedules together. Once their schedules are done, they will be soliciting ride leaders to fill in their calendars. Please step forward to fill in the calendars. If you have never led a ride and are not sure how to do it, please contact one of the ride coordinators or myself and we will be more than happy to explain the procedure. It is very easy to do and you are granted a Volunteer Point for each ride you lead, which guarantees you an invitation to the Volunteer Dinner in the fall.

It is also time to submit nominations for RBC Board Officers for next year. The Nominating Committee is looking for a new Secretary and 4 new Members-At-Large.

Here are the descriptions for the positions available:

SECRETARY

1. Take minutes of all Board and General Membership meetings and forward the minutes to the Board and to the Librarian in a timely fashion.
2. A summary of the minutes shall be submitted to the Newsletter Director.

MEMBER AT LARGE

1. Act as liaison between the Board and the general membership.
2. Bring new ideas to the board.
3. Initiate and/or coordinate projects

If you are interested in either position, please let me know. Also, if you know someone who you feel would be great in either position, let me know and the Nominating Committee will contact them to see if they might be interested.

Michael Barber
President
bikerochester@rochester.rr.com

RBC members may have read the article in the July issue of the Flower City Cyclist announcing an opportunity to participate in casual daytime weekday rides. Twenty RBC members have indicated their interest, and more are welcome!
Our newly-formed group of “Day Riders” has been enjoying weekly excursions into the countryside and along the Erie Canal. We’ve wandered through Webster, peddled in Penfield, toured along the canal trail to Palmyra, and meandered between Mendon and Honeoye Falls. We’ve stopped along the way at quaint cafés or tailgated with snacks and refreshments upon our return.
These casual, social rides are approximately 25-30 miles in length with a pace of 12-15 mph. They take place at 10:00 AM on a day of the week when the weather is forecast to be pleasant. Day Riders are notified of the ride details by e-mail several days in advance.
If you are an RBC member who would like to join us, please e-mail me at bchudster@rochester.rr.com.

Barbara Chudanski-Barber

Saturday, August 9, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday, August 10, 12 noon to 5 p.m.

Start your Omnium weekend fun at Strong National Museum of Play.

On Saturday, see artist Nancy Goethel create a colorful bicycling scene made entirely of…balloons! (Her completed work will be on view Sunday.)

On both Saturday and Sunday, cruise over to a special display of bike-related photos, toys, and cycles from the museum’s renowned collections including a 1890s bicycle built for four.

Make a sun visor and a sign to cheer on the bicyclists before you head out to the races.

All activities are included with general museum admission fees. For more information and easy directions visit www.museumofplay.org.

Seasonal Exhibit on Bicycling August 1 to September 30.

The museum has tapped into its world-renowned collections to create a special bicycle display in honor of the Rochester Omnium.

See modern and historic cycles including a four-in-hand (a cycle built for four riders from the 1890s); a 1910 safety bicycle with a skirt guard (designed especially for women); several modern racing bikes; and children’s bikes and tricycles of various eras.

Also on view are historical photos, paper dolls, and paper toys that document the popularity of cycling over the past century.

This exhibit will be on display on the museum’s second floor from August 1 to September 30.

Richard DeSarra

Our Scheduled Open Houses are over for the year, but I’m still being asked about them, so keep checking back here and if I add another Open House, I will post it. Also if you have a small riding group from work or from the gym that is considering joining the club and would like more information, let me know and I could set-up a private meeting with your group. If you are an individual who would like more information, please email me.

At the Open Houses we talk about the types of rides, our ride calendar, member benefits, maintenance classes, maps, social events, loaner equipment available to members, and much more.

Mike Barber
President
bikerochester@rochester.rr.com

20th annual Andrew Spiller Memorial Picnic and Challenge Ride

Saturday July 26th
Farmington Town park
7am -7am the following day

Open to everyone, the only entrance fee is a dish to pass! This is a great chance to push yourself to ride further than ever before.

So, if you are up to it, this is your chance to ride mega miles, or just spend the day socializing. How you spend the day is entirely up to you. Some opt for riding 24 hours, others just part of it, still others just come for the party (no alcohol). This is the club’s annual picnic/ride held at Farmington Town Park in where else?… Farmington. The park sits in the middle of a figure eight loop, with each loop being 25 miles. This way you are never more than 12.5 miles from the start (or finish depending on how tired you are). What better way to challenge yourself to ride farther than you ever have before without getting too far out and wondering how you are going to make it back? After each loop there will always be food, beverages and encouragement waiting.
For night time riding, lights are a must, and reflective gear is recommended as well. For safety reasons, everyone must ride the night loop after dark which is only 12.5 miles. This not only makes it easier to keep track of where everyone is, but the route is set up entirely with right hand turns and only crosses one major intersection. This loop is often used during the day as well for families not wanting to ride the longer loops. All the loops except the night loop can be ridden in either direction.
Riding starts as early as 7am and continues for 24 hours rain or shine if there are willing bodies. We ask that everyone bring a dish to pass (fruit, salads and pasta are nice, and cookies and……you get the idea). Beverages and tableware provided. Although there is food of some sort available all day, the actual “picnic” begins around 11am and lasts until the food is gone.
The ride is not supported, other than with encouragement, except at night when a “chase” car drives the route to make sure everyone is accounted for.
With special permission from the town of Farmington, the event has always been offered as a 24 hour event, except for the year one of our members was killed by a drunk driver while riding north of Albany in an ultra marathon event. In memory of him and his love of ultra marathoning, the event was renamed and is officially known as the Andrew Spiller Memorial Challenge ride.
This event is sponsored by the club every year for its members to enjoy as they please, make it your event by challenging yourself to ride a little more. Andrew would want it that way.

Directions: take Rt 96 east to Rt 332 (north of Canandaigua) take a left
at the light and go to Collett Rd. Another right at Collett Rd, through the
next intersection, over the RR and just past the highway dept garage puts you
amost at the driveway to the park. Another way, is to take Rt 96 eastbound, past the Rt 332 intersection. After turning left at CR #8, a few miles up the road just after crossing the railroad tracks, the park is on the left (corner of Collett and CR #8)

For more information contact ………. Brad 872-4468 bkjensen99@yahoo.com
Simon 872-4518 scooper2@rochester.rr.com