President's Column
Dear Fellow Members,
Hope you’ve been getting out this spring for some great riding. The weather has been a roller-coaster, nevertheless we’ve had some terrific days with more to come. Be sure to check out the calendar for a full slate of rides coming up.
Plan to make it for the Bear Moon Bakery ride this Saturday. We’ll start at Bullis Park and our halfway point is the bakery in Boerne. As president I hereby issue an executive order giving you permission to indulge in the delightful treats contained therein. What the heck, you’ll burn it off in the second half anyway. The next day, come ride with us starting at Brietzke’s in New Berlin. You know it’s always good riding out there and the club will even pop for a piece of pie afterwords.
Sandy Barsun and Bonnie Bartow have been trying to get a Wednesday morning ride going at Cibolo but the weather gods have seen fit to scuttle those plans so far. Undaunted, we’ll try it again on May 18th. So if you’re free at that time why not get in a nice midweek ride?
There are many other of our favorite rides this month, so saddle up and get on out there.
Rider Education Series:
Congratulations and welcome to our newest RES graduates:
Karen Calhoun
Laura Cavaretta
Lisa Coburn
Stacy Foremski
Clarissa Pearson
Craig Pearson
Ken Pope
Polly Smith
Thank you for putting your trust in us and we look forward to you joining our club rides. And a big thanks to our training ride leaders for taking the time to teach and mentor our students.
Lead Instructor: Ray Rodriguez
TRL's:
Cliff Hickel
Italo Samano
Bob Marroquin
JD and Steve Simpson
Bernard Mendoza
This truly is the best new rider teaching and training program in the city and it is so because of the willingness of some of our more experienced members to sacrifice a little of their riding time to help others. I’m sure, to a person, they would all tell you how satisfying it is to help these new riders. If you are an experienced rider, please consider helping with a future class; the next one starts in September. Email Cliff Hickel for more info.
SAW Summer Picnic: Mark your calendars for June 11th. Once again, the ride will begin at Pickrell Park in Schertz, followed by a post ride summer picnic. Your families are welcome to attend. Check out our website for more details.
What rides are you doing this year? Each year we hear about members going off to exotic locales such as Napa Valley, Australia, Seattle and Sioux City, IA, for special rides. We’d love to hear about your experiences and feature you in a Pedaler edition. If you are doing a multi-day ride like RAGBRAI, keep a journal and share it with us. Be sure to take photos to include with it. Whether it’s a multi-day or one day ride, we’d like to share it with others. Vicarious experiences are vastly underrated. Send your stories to newsletter@sawheelmen.com.
Club History: You may have noticed that we are starting to collect and archive items and articles pertaining to the history of the club. Sadly too many of our records may be lost. If you are in possession of news articles, club award/achievement certificates or even old printed Pedaler copies, we’d love to have them or PDFs of them to keep for posterity. If you have some documents to add, please scan and send to newsletter@sawheelmen.com or bring to a ride and give to a board member.
At the risk of beating that dead horse into oblivion I’d like to appeal to our members to volunteer to be a rider starter and/or no drop leader. We are a club made up of several hundred members and is typical of any organization, 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people. If you regularly participate in ride, why not be the ride starter? You just need to show up a little earlier, have maps and the sign-in sheet (the club will pay for the copies), do the typical ride announcements, and away you go. Nothing to it. If you’ve ever seen me start a ride then you know that anyone can do it. Please contact Cindy Kuenzi for more info.
And finally...
Be sure to reserve September 24th for the Reading and Riding 100. We’ll need your help to man rest stops, drive SAG vehicles, work the parking lot, and help with registration and post-ride activities. This is our big fund raising ride benefiting Each One Teach One of San Antonio--please dedicate one day of your time to help with this worthwhile cause. Please email us to let us know you’ll help.
Bill Blackford
Our Ride Committee needs YOU!
The scheduled rides are the best part of being a Wheelmen and the Ride Committee needs your help. The more voices and hands we have from all types of riders, the better our rides will be for the San Antonio bicycling community.
Do you have ideas for new rides or better routes? Would you be willing to investigate old rides that have been forgotten? Could you collaborate on the ride schedule every few months? Or keep track of liability waivers? If you have only a little time or lots of time, there is a place for you! Contact the SAW Ride Committee Chair today!
Cindy Kuenzi, Ride Committee Chair
rides@sawheelmen.com
Our Sign-in Sheet and Insurance
At every club ride all participants are asked to sign our waiver. This documents serves several purposes but first and foremost it is a release and waiver of liability which means that by signing it each rider understands that cycling is a sport in which serious injury and/or death may occur and each rider accepts personal responsibility their choice to ride including all financial responsibility for any damages which may occur on a club ride. Please see a copy of the waiver for the exact verbiage. But the point of it is pretty clear - the club and it’s officers and all related folks who serve the club in any capacity are not responsible for rider injuries. By signing it, all riders agree to the statements on it.
Club insurance: The insurance the club carries does provide for minimal supplemental coverage in the event a member is hurt while participating in a club ride and requires medical attention. It DOES NOT cover the entire cost of a rider’s medical care. All it does is pay a portion of a rider’s own medical insurance deductible. The rider’s own health insurance is their coverage, not the club’s insurance. Only club members who are current with their dues and who have signed the waiver for that day’s club ride are eligible for this coverage, guests and visitors are not eligible for it.
Bicycle Education
Contact Cliff Hickel to inquire or sign up for the next class starting on September 10th, 2016.
