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The Spokesman the newsletter and ride schedule of the Tri-City Bicycle Club Serving
Richland, Kennewick, |
Volume
XXX, No. 2 Northwest Crank April 28 -May 1 in Wenatchee SUPPORTERS OF THE TRI-CITY BICYCLE CLUB
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TCBC Officers and Board Members |
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President |
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Harold Udseth |
Tuesday and Thursday Morning 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.
Tuesday and Thursday Evening 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. Evening rides start at 6:00 PM.
Betsy Colburn will lead rides from the Columbia Basin Racquet Club at 6:00 PM on Tuesday and Thursday evenings
Saturday rides will usually start at 8:30 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:
Riding in the fresh air and sunshine is its own best reward.
Apr 1 - Chocolate Factory - Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 9:30 AM Cross Columbia River on I 182, out Court to Harris, left on Harris to Dent. Left on Rd. 68, right at fire station, out to Hwy 395, and lunch at the Chocolate Factory. Retrace route to return or continue to Sagemoor. Blue, 40 miles. Leader: Bill Painter, 946-1076
Daylight Savings Time begins Sunday, April 2
Apr 8 - B.C. to Prosser - Leave from Benton City Park & Ride at 9:45 AM or, for those wanting a longer ride, start from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 AM . Up Weber Canyon to County Wells Rd. Over to Patterson Hwy, and down into Prosser for lunch at Blue Goose. Back via Old Inland Empire Hwy to Benton City. Black approx. 35 miles (or 65 miles from Richland). Leader: Gene Weisskopf, 946-1316
Apr 15 - Over to Hover - Leave Espresso World in Kennewick at 9:30 AM, or get there from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 AM . Kellogg, Metaline, Edison, Columbia Park Trail, Fruitland to First Ave, left on First to Chemical Dr., 3rd, Yew, 7th, Havana, Finley Rd Riek, Meals and Hover Rd. to the Old Hover town site. Return via Game Farm, Haney, Bowles Rd., Oak St., 27th, Washington and 10th. Blue, approx. 35 miles. Leader: Dave Gerkensmeyer, 628-3084
April 22 – Webber-Clodfelter Loop - Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am Van Geisen to Rupert to DeMoss, then a break at the gas station. Up Webber down Clodfelter and home via Leslie. Black, 50+ miles. Leader: Gene Weisskopf, 946-1316
April 29 – Umatilla - Leave Espresso World in Kennewick at 8:30 am, or for those wanting a longer ride, leave Some Bagels in Richland at 7:30. Kennewick to Umatilla by way of Kellogg, 10th, Union, Hwy 395, Law Rd., Bofer Canyon Rd to Coffin Rd and on to I-82. Water, food stop in Umatilla. Return along Lake Wallula on Hwy 730. Take Hwy 12 to “A” Street. Black, ~80 miles. Leader: Howard Gardner, 943-9084
May 6 – Tour de Hanford - Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Go north out of Richland onto Rt. 4S to the Wye Barricade. Turn back on Rt. 10 to Horn Road to bike trail, Goethels, and Lee. Black, 48 miles. Leader: Harold Udseth, 946-1202
May 7 – The Scott’s-to-Scott’s ride is a 75 mile roundtrip through two states on Sunday, May 6. It starts at 8:00 am at our Scott’s Cycle and Sports store in Kennewick at 704 S Ely St at Highway 395, and heads to our Scott’s store in Hermiston, Oregon, then back again. For those who don’t want to attempt the roundtrip, we will have a van to take you and your bike back to the Tri-Cities. We will have lunch for riders at the Hermiston store, and there will be two or three feed stations on the route. Watch for the same cool favorite as last year—Popsicles! We’ll also have a variety of more filling food snacks. It’s a great ride that shows off a beautiful portion of these two states. Hope to see you there! If you have any questions, give us a call at our Kennewick store, 509-374-8424, or at our Hermiston store, 541-567-1848.
May 13 – Group Health Inland Empire Century Bicycle Ride
May 20 – Basin City - Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am Head south to Columbia Point and cross Columbia River on I-182 bridge bike path. North on Broadmoor Blvd to Harris, West Court and Dent. Left on Rd 68 to Sagemoor. Taylor Flats to Rickert and Rd. 170 to Basin City. Water and food stop in Basin City. Return by continuing east on Rd. 170 to Glade, then south on Glade to Matthews Corner. Eltopia West Rd. to Taylor Flats Rd, Rd. 68 and Sandifur Parkway to Broadmoor Blvd, Harris and West Court and over the I-182 bridge bike path to Richland. Black approx. 70 miles. Leader: Howard Gardner, 943-9084
May 27 – Finley/Windfarm ‑ Leave Espresso World in Kennewick at 8:30 am (for those wanting a longer ride, start at Some Bagels in Richland at 7:30 am). Ride through Kennewick and Finley up to the end of the pavement at the windfarm. Lunch stop TBD. Blue, 40 miles. Leader: Gene Weisskopf, 946-1316
June 3 – Wannawish Dam - Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Bike path thru Howard Amon Park and Haines to Van Giesen, out to Fallon, Canal and Grosscup to Harrington. Follow Harrington to the pavement end beyond the Wannawish Dam. Return to West Richland via Grosscup. Return to Richland by retracing route. Blue, approx. 25 miles. Leader: Dave Gerkensmeyer, 943‑0815
June 10 – Sagemoor Loop ‑ Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Bike trail to Columbia Point and across Columbia River on I‑182 bridge bike path. West on Court to Harris, west on Harris to Dent, follow Dent to Columbia River Road near Douglas Fruit. to Sagemoor and up the hill. Return on Taylor Flats Rd to Rd 68, right on Sandifur, Rd 100, Harris, Court. Retrace route back to Some Bagels. Black, approx. 35 miles. Leader: Ed Nordquist, 627-1195
June 17 – Coffin Road - Leave Espresso World in Kennewick at 8:30 am or for a longer ride Some Bagels in Richland at 7:30 am.. Kellogg, 10th, Union, Hwy 395, Law Rd, Bofer Canyon Rd to Coffin. Climb to top of Coffin. Return same route. Black, approx. 35 miles. Leader: Harold Udseth, 946-1202
June 24 – Prosser ‑ Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Riders can meet at the Kiona gas station at 9:45 for a 40 mile ride. Van Giesen to Ruppert Rd to DeMoss Rd to Benton City. Five mile climb up Webber Canyon. County Well Rd to Hwy 221 to Prosser. Water, food stop at the Blue Goose. Return on Old Inland Empire Highway. Black, approx. 75 miles. Leader: Larry Thomas, 942-1266
July 1 – Zintel Dam – Leave Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am. Take Goethals to the I-182 bike path up to Queensgate. Left to Keene Rd to Gauge, right on Leslie, cross Badger, and around to 10th Ave. Right on Union to 27th. Ride up to Dam. Continue through Canyon Lakes to Ely. Left on 27th and retrace back to Kellogg, down to 10th. Lunch stop at the Sandstone on Washington in Kennewick. Over the Cable Bridge and back to Richland on the Pasco bike path. Black, about 40 miles. Leader: Ed Nordquist, 627-1195
July 8 ‑ Chocolate Factory and Beyond ‑ Leave from Some Bagels in Richland at 8:30 am Cross Col. River on I‑182, out Court to Harris, left on Harris to Dent. Left on Rd 68, right at fire station, out to Hwy 395 and lunch at the Chocolate Factory. Return via Hwy 395 north and take Sagemoor towards home. Black, 40 mi. Leader: Bill Painter, 946-1076
Northwest Crank April 28 - May 1, Wenatchee, WA
Ready, set, crank!
Mark your calendar and prepare your bike! Join your fellow cyclists in Sunny Central Washington from Friday, April 28th through Monday, May 1st for Northwest Crank, a spring cycling festival. Don’t miss this great opportunity, hosted by the Seattle International Randonneurs, to build your spring base miles and have a great time with riders from all over the region. Experience life at its purest for 4 days: Ride, eat, sleep, lie - repeat! Details:
http://www.seattlerandonneur.org/rides/nwcrank/
After two years of dedicated service as president of the Tri-City Bicycle Club, George Kyriazis has decided to pass the reins and just enjoy riding his bicycle. I am sure that I speak for the entire club as I offer heartfelt thanks for his selflessness in leading the club for these last two years. During that time the Inland Empire Century (IEC), our clubs primary event, underwent significant change with a new route last year, increased ridership, and an enthusiastic endorsement by the participants. As a result, this year we were approached by Group Health (which also sponsors the Seattle to Portland (STP) event) and were interested in becoming the principle sponsor of the event. If you have visited our website lately (www.tricitybicycleclub.org) you can see that we gladly accepted. This sponsorship will allow us to do more of the things that we have always wanted to do for the event including improved rest stops and better advertising. We are anticipating even greater participation this year and that means that more help will be needed to ensure that the participants have an enjoyable experience. This year’s IEC committee consists of the hard working members Ellie & John Ittner, Kathleen & Ed Nordquist, and Dave & Sue Gerkensmeyer (628-3084) who is organizing the volunteer help. It is in the best interests of the club to make this an outstanding event and I encourage everyone to help where they can and to reach out to others in the community that may be interested in helping to promote participation in local fitness events.
With this change of President it is appropriate to ask the membership how their interests have changed and what the club should undertake in the next year. The club is chartered in the State of Washington as a non-profit organization that organizes recreational rides, provides advocacy for cycling and organizes social events. The club organizes a ride every weekend of the year and weather permitting undertakes each scheduled ride. The intent is to encourage participation and to that end the pace of the rides is moderate, stops to regroup are undertaken regularly and a stop for lunch/food is scheduled on most rides. As we strive to increase participation I would like to remind the members that it is expected that participants will ride at different paces and split into groups on the Saturday outings. I would like to encourage participants in the Saturday rides to be sure that new or infrequent riders have someone to ride with them and to vary the groups of people that you ride with. As the weather improves and participation increases we should keep in mind that recreation and socializing are primary objectives for these events.
In the late 80’s a series of evening rides on Tuesday and Thursday were started as an experiment. These were reasonably successful for a period of time, but participation has fallen off and they have been discontinued at this time. I would like to get a sense from the membership if they are worth trying again and what an appropriate format might be. One possibility is to try and encourage family participation with children. By necessity these would be quite short rides with an emphasis on bicycle safety and handling skills. Another possibility is to try and reach out to other adults who might be interested in improving their bicycle skills such as the Fun Fit and over Fifty organization. Again short rides and efficient cycling would be emphasized with the idea of improving peoples riding skills, overcoming their concerns/fears of the “narrow” seats that “we” ride on and looking to develop interest in longer rides and participation in the Saturday rides.
I am interested in all suggestions about what you want the club to be and how we might increase participation. Participation is the key to allowing the club to undertake more events and gatherings. In the past the club has also organized a Summer tour (there has not been sufficient interest expressed this year for us to undertake one) and Dinner/Social meetings with speakers, either club members or invited who would talk about tours they have been on, trips taken or issues of interest about bicycling advocacy. The club is a volunteer organization and only with the active participation of the membership can we undertake these more ambitious tasks. Please feel free to contact me either by phone (509) 946-1202 or by e-mail at info@tricitybicycleclub.org.
Harold R Udseth
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED MAY 13, 2006
(TYPICAL SHIFT = 2 HOURS - WILL ADJUST TO FIT)
REGISTRATION - RIDE START/FINISH – HOWARD AMON PARK - 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM
BENTON CITY REST STOP - 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
SAG SUPPORT – AUTOMOBILE – ALL OR PART DAY
Contact: Dave Gerkensmeyer 628-3084 or dgerkens@charter.net
Ellie Ittner, 2006 IEC Chair
Notice the change to the name of our Century. After 25 steady years, we finally become a big player in Northwest recreational cycling. Group Health sponsorship has allowed us to make purchases of supplies and equipment that we formerly had to beg, borrow, or requisition. For example, we will have our own water coolers; no more having to wonder what kinds of bugs are in the borrowed, beat-up barrels we used in the past.
To put us further into world-class territory, we have partnered with Active.com to provide online registration. This is the registration service used by Cascade Bicycle Club and hundreds of other sports clubs to streamline sign-ups for their events.
Judging from the survey filled out by riders in the 2005 IEC, TCBC puts on a great event. With this year’s improvements, we could break 300 entrants. (The 2005 IEC broke 200 for the first time.)
Group Health had few conditions governing sponsorship of the IEC. First, they want us to have a successful event. Second and last, ‘Group Health’ must figure prominently in the title of the event. The 2nd condition is easily and eagerly fulfilled. To meet the main condition, we need all TCBC members to get involved (cycling, volunteering, or both) in this event. The preparations have been ongoing for months, but the day of the ride requires a lot of help to pull off another well-liked IEC. If you have a little time and energy to contribute to the success of this great ride, please call Dave Gerkensmeyer at 628-3084.
Thanks are extended to the following TCBC members who have been instrumental in the initial preparations for the ride: Dave Gerkensmeyer, Sue Gerkensmeyer, Ed Nordquist, Kathleen Nordquist, and John Ittner.
Hope to see you on May 13th or before!!
Ellie
The 2006 IEC T-shirts are available for purchase. The shirts are light gray, with a logo similar to the 2005 anniversary design. The price for the short sleeved T is $15.00. Contact John Ittner at 627-1858 to buy a shirt.
Volunteers Needed
Tri-City Bicycle Club has agreed to help Stevens Middle School get their students to school safely. The Stevens Principal has observed many unsafe practices among the students who bike to school. With Spring upon us, more of the students will be back on their wheels.
We have chosen two Saturdays, April 22 and 29, to hold a bike maintenance clinic and safe bike operation class. We need volunteers for the April 22 session to help get the bikes into shape, show how to fix flats, get helmets adjusted, etc. On April 29, we will demonstrate safe practices for on-street riding.
Both sessions will be held from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Stevens Middle School in Pasco, on N 22nd Ave, between Sylvester and Court streets.
Please call Ellie Ittner at 627-1858 and let her know you will be there to help.
SUPPORTERS OF THE TRI-CITY BICYCLE CLUB
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