Ride Calendar – Fall 2005

Tuesday and Thursday rides start at the Richland Community Center (meet on the north side by the bike racks). These are leaderless rides, with the destination chosen by the group. Morning rides start at 8:30 AM, but that changes to 9:30 after Daylight Savings Time ends on October 30. Evening rides are discontinued until spring.

Saturday rides generally start at 9:30 AM from their scheduled locations, as specified in the ride calendar.

Ride Codes: Green – less than 15 miles with nearly level terrain; Blue – 15 - 40 miles with moderate terrain; Black – greater than 40 miles with moderate terrain, or fewer than 40 with asphalt moguls.

Riders: No need to call ahead unless otherwise indicated. Just show up at the start. Feel free to call the ride leader for more information.

Leaders and Sweeps: Ride leaders and sweeps are always needed. As a leader, you can choose a ride that’s been done before, or create the ride of your choice and have it immortalized in this Spokesman ride calendar. The day you lead the group on your ride, you may be surprised at the number of riders who have never followed your route before. Ride sweeps provide the “rear guard” for the ride, ensuring that slower riders or those with mechanical troubles don’t fall back behind the pack. Call Tom Klinckman at 543-7714 to volunteer.

And two more Very Important Notes: First, WEAR YOUR HELMET! Second, please obey the rules of the road at all times. The Club is active in community affairs, which helps us promote legislation that could provide better facilities for cyclists. Don’t ruin it by blowing through stop signs, tailgating left turns, or riding against traffic. If you wouldn’t do it in a car, don’t do it on a bike!

Beginning riders and those who want a shorter ride: Show up at the longer rides and let the ride Sweep or Leader know you’d like a less strenuous ride. They can help you with a shorter route and try to match you up with someone to ride with. We won’t leave you dangling.

Ride Leaders – Some hints for an enjoyable and successful ride:

• Introduce all the riders before starting.
• Make sure everyone is wearing their helmets
• Brief all riders on the route, where to regroup, any problems expected. (If you are unsure of the route and its conditions, ride it yourself the week before the ride.)
• Provide maps. You can get some maps on the Web, or ask John Ittner for maps, xxx-xxxx.
• Ask about the riding abilities of the group, if you are not personally acquainted with some of the riders. Ask someone to act as sweep (rear guard) if there are riders who can’t keep up with the leaders.
• Ask riders to let you know if they will be leaving the group before the end of the ride.
• In hot weather, carry extra water in case another rider goes dry.
• After a particularly good ride, if the ride leader should ask for a tip, offer him or her the previous one..

Riding in the fresh air and sunshine is its own best reward.

Oct 29 – Nostalgic Ride – Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 AM. Bring your oldest bike and wear your oldest clothes. Ride up Sandifer to Rd. 68th to Burden to Rd. 36 to Andy's and enjoy 10 cent coffee. Blue, approx. 30 miles. Leader: Bill Painter, 946– 1076

Oct 30 –Rides start at 9:30 AM now

Nov 5 – Sagemoor Loop – Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 9:30 AM. Rd 100 to Harris to Dent to Rd 68 at Douglas Fruit. Rd 68 to Sagemoor. Return on Taylor Flats Rd. Black, approx. 35 miles. Leader: Harold Udseth, 946-1202

Nov 12 – Benton City – Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 9:30 AM. Ride to B.C. via Rupert and Demoss. Lunch in Benton City. Return via Kennedy and Bombing Range Rd. Blue, approx. 40 miles. Leader: Bill Dunbar, 627– 0167

Nov 19 – Loop the Parks – Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 9:30 AM. Ride through Chiawana Park. Return via Cable Bridge and Columbia Drive through Columbia Park. Blue, approx. 25 miles. Leader: Tom Patten, 547-2317

Nov 24 – Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov 26 – Pick a ride – Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 9:30 AM. After careful negotiations over a bagel, the leader will lead the ride. Leaderless Ride

Dec 3 – Wannawish Dam – Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 9:30 AM. Bike path and Haines to Van Giesen. Van Giesen to Grosscup and Harrington. Follow Harrington to the pavement end beyond the Wannawish Dam. Return same route. Blue, approx. 25 miles. Leader: Tom Patten, 547-2317

Dec 10 – Zintel Dam – Leave Espresso World in Kennewick at 9:30 AM. Take Kellogg to 10th, then Union to 27th. Ride up to Dam. Continue through Canyon Lakes to Ely. Left on 27th and retrace back to Kellogg. Black approx. 25 miles. For those wanting a slightly longer ride, start at Some Bagels at 9 AM. Leader: Harold Udseth, 946-1202

Dec 17 – Rachael – Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 9:30 AM. Go up Rachael and down cottonwood and back to Leslie, stop at Subway and return home. Blue, approx. 30 miles. Leader: Bill Painter, 946– 1076

Dec 24 – Free Ride – Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 9:30 AM. Take a few turns ride for a while and come back. Leaderless ride

Dec 25 – Merry Christmas!

Dec 31 – Happy New Year’s Eve! Polar Bear Ride – Ride a mile for each degree (whatever that means). Meet at the Fingernail in Howard Amon Park in Richland at 9:30 AM. ~20 miles. Leaderless ride

Jan 7 – Benton City – Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 9:30 AM. Ride to B.C. via I– 182, Kennedy, Dallas and Badger. Lunch in BC. Return via DeMoss, Ruppert and Van Giesen. Blue, approx. 30 miles. Leaderless ride

Jan 14 – Queensgate/Wannawish – Meet at Some Bagels in Richland at 9:30 AM. Out Queensgate and up to Bombing Range detour road, down Bombing Range to Wannawish Dam and back to Golf Course Café. Blue/Black, 35 miles. Leader: Bill Painter, 946– 1076

Bicycle Safety Tips

The following is excerpted from the Washington Bicycle Commute Guide. You can download the entire guide (about 330 KB) in Acrobat format (PDF) from the following link: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/bike/pdf/commute.pdf

• Ride in the direction of traffic.
• Obey all traffic signals including stop signs and lights
• Travel as far to the right in the travel lane as is safe when moving slower than traffic, except when utilizing a left turn lane or avoiding a right turn lane when traveling straight.
• ALWAYS PASS ON THE LEFT
• Utilize turn lanes when available
• Maintain as straight a line of travel as possible – avoid swerving in and out of the parking lane. Keep approximately three feet from parked cars so that an opened door will not obstruct your path. This will also make you more visible to drivers approaching from side streets or driveways.
• Be alert when riding in traffic. Continually scan for potential hazards such as road debris, potholes, car doors, other road users pulling into your path from side roads or driveways, etc.
• Cycling two abreast in Washington State is legal, though it is illegal to block the flow of traffic.
• At stop signs and lights, do not advance to the stop line by passing cars on the right. Instead wait in the traffic queue unless you are in a striped bike lane or utilizing a turn lane.

Message from Bikeleague

From: Andy Clarke andy@bikeleague.org
To: Tri-City Bicycle Club
Date: 9/21/2005 2:35:46 PM
Subject: Bikeleague - Club Enews

Greetings George,

Six weeks ago as century season shifted into high gear, we were busy analyzing the impact of the more than $3.5 billion dollars for bicycling in the federal transportation bill. Just last week I had the pleasure of riding a few days of Cycle Oregon and every conversation confirmed the amazing versatility of the bicycle and the importance of what we do. The price of gas was on everyone's mind, as was the devastation of Hurricane Katrina - along with ideas on how bicycling can help alleviate the transportation needs of those who have lost their cars, their jobs, and their homes.

WHAT $3.5 BILLION COULD MEAN FOR BICYCLE CLUBS

The federal transportation bill (SAFETEA-LU) has been signed into law and over the next five years more than $3.5 billion dollars will be turned over to the states for bicycle-related projects. This money can be used for things like widening shoulders, teaching bike safety, buying share-the-road signs, and building trails. This coming March (1-3), the League's National Bike Summit will focus on ensuring the money is well spent - so please save the date and make sure your club is represented.

ADVANCING CYCLISTS RIGHTS NATIONWIDE

I am off to Omaha in October to conduct a bicycle-friendly community workshop with the help of the Omaha Peddlers. In it, we will discuss strategies to make Omaha a better place for cyclists to ride. At the end of October I'll be off to Florida to learn from the Boca Raton and West Palm Beach bicycle clubs and to continue working with them on improving conditions for bicyclists, especially along state route A1A.

BIKE EDUCATION DVD IN FINAL STAGES

Our long-awaited BikeEd video/DVD is in the final stages of production. We're excited to have our first preview tomorrow and hope to have copies ready for use by late October. The DVD will be an excellent teaching tool for beginner club cyclists and ride leader training. Watch for more details on ordering a copy for your club.

Safe riding,

Andy Clarke
Executive Director, League of American Bicyclists

P.S. - Please let me know if there is any other information we can provide. Also, don't forget to share the newsletter and update with your fellow club leaders.

Inland Empire Century 2005 a Success

(but needs new leadership)

Jane Sereda

May 7, 2005 was a great day for a bicycle ride and more than 200 cyclists signed up to make the 25th Anniversary INLAND EMPIRE CENTURY bicycle ride a very successful event. This participation is a new record of ridership for us, and a great response to a courageous plan by the organizers. We changed the route, redesigned the brochure and T-shirts, moved the Start line, involved REI, and gave out beautiful souvenir wine glasses to finishers. We partnered again with the Prosser Chamber of Commerce, and had good support from all the Police departments, athletic Clubs, Some Bagels, and local bicycle shops. The bottom line for the Tri City Bicycle Club was: $1600 in proceeds to our budget, and tired but mostly happy volunteers. The Rider Survey filled out by returning cyclists (so they could receive the nice wineglass) told us that 80% of cyclists thought the ride was terrific, had a good time, and thought they would return next year to do the ride again!!

Special thanks go out to the co-director Dave Gerkensmeyer, Food organizer Vicki Patten, route planners George Kyriazis, Bill Painter and Bob Morford, publicisers Jerry Lewis, Gene Weisskopf, Ginny Sliman and Betsy Coleman, Saggers John Ittner, Dave, and Jim Britton, Registraters Ed Nordquist and Bill Dunbar, Rider Surveyors Howard Gardner and Gene Weisskopf. and more than a dozen volunteers who staffed the ride Rest Stops and Registration area. Hundreds of hours of work go into preparing a successful ride and we have benefited from a generosity of spirit among our membership again this past year.

The Tri City Bicycle Club typically begins to plan next year's ride by Christmas and ride volunteers get to work seriously early in the new year. As Ride Coordinator for the past 3 years, I have to give notice that I will not be able to continue in this role next year. Goerge and I will be away for the 6 weeks before the usual ride date, May 13th, 2006. Dave Gerkensmeyer, Ride Coordinator or Co-director for the past 6 years has given a similar notice of stepping down. Both of us are happy to give advice and pass along reams of notes about how the ride has functioned over the past years.

The Tri-City Bicycle Club Board of Directors needs to know about any members who are interested in taking over some or all of the tasks involved in next year's IEC. We have worked together in the past to create a ride we can be very proud of ... now we need some new leaders to take it from here. Please contact me at 375-1977 (jsereda at verizon.net) or the Board with your interest or questions.

Its been fun working with all of you over the years. Thanks for your support.

Jane Sereda Retiring
IEC Ride Coordinator

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