The Pedaler Newsletter
As usual, March has turned out to be a great month for riding. We all should take advantage of the weather when temperatures are in the 60's and 70's. This past weekend, I saw a lot of riders having fun on their bikes in Gruene, Cibolo, Garden Ridge, and Schertz. A few riders were even stopping to take photos with a background of beautiful flowers. Of course, daylight savings time provides us with an opportunity to get in a ride after work. I'll take the hour-long ride after work over the gym any day!
Our by-laws call for four general membership meetings per year. We normally designate our
annual picnic, the holiday party, and two other occasions as general membership meetings. The
Cibolo ride on Saturday will be classified as a general membership meeting. We'll have a few short announcements before the pre-ride briefing. Come to this ride wearing your
Wheelmen jersey so we can show our “colors”. Please join us for lunch at Catalano’s Pizza at noon following the ride. You have to be present in order to win some of the SAW items that we'll be giving away during lunch!
On Sunday, we'll be riding in
Castroville. There will also be a leaderless ride leaving from
Bullis County Park.
Please note that the start time of our rides will change from 9 AM to 8 AM on Saturday, April 14th.
President's Column
Wear the Wheelmen Jersey:
I frequently see other bicycle clubs and teams out riding and they usually wear their club/team jerseys. Wearing club jerseys makes a statement to the community that bicyclists are organized and shows pride in our club. Unfortunately, at the Wheelmen rides only a couple of riders wear their club jerseys. While I realize it is not practical to wear the same jersey at every Club ride, we should show some pride in our Club by wearing the jersey. We are going to designate one ride per month as Wheelmen Jersey Day – usually in conjunction with a ride that has a social event following the ride. Come to those rides wearing your Club jersey to show our “colors” to other cyclists and the community. If you don’t have a Wheelmen jersey contact Vicki Smith (there is a link on the web site) to purchase one of the new jerseys (nicer material than the current jersey).
Let’s wear our Wheelmen jerseys on Saturday, April 7th, at EHCT to show our participation and help advertise for next year when we run the event.
2012 Easter Hill Country Tour:
The EHCT will be held April 6-8 in Kerrville. Put on your Wheelmen jersey and join us for the rides.
I will be riding Friday and Saturday and will do stay-together rides of about 40 miles at a moderate pace on both days. We will meet in front of the registration building for a 9:00 start. If you have not done this event in the past, you are missing one of the best cycling events in Texas. It takes less than an hour to drive to Kerrville and the ride is well worth the drive. The wildflowers should be great this year!
Help Needed:
Pedro Balawag volunteered to fill the VP Newsletter position. However, we still need a volunteer to replace Tom Manning, our current Ride Committee Chair, who will start working full time as Director of the 2013 Easter Hill Country Tour (it is the Wheelmen turn again next year) later this year. The changeover will take place late this summer. We have “permanent” ride starters for many of our rides and have a ride sequence list so this position mainly involves getting the schedule posted and making occasional changes. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who would like to be involved in helping with our efforts to develop new Wheelmen routes (you will have plenty of help with the new routes). Call me at 210-957-0464 if you are interested or want additional information.
Six Week Ride Schedule Sequence:
The SAW ride schedule has been running on a four week sequence for the past several years. Many members asked why we don’t do some of the rides we did in the past. Unfortunately, we have been in a rut with the same rides every month on the same Saturday and minor rotation on the Sunday rides. With a four week sequence, it was difficult to work in a variety of rides due to the popularity of some rides (Bullis Park, Boerne, Cibolo, etc.). In May we will start a new six week ride schedule sequence which will incorporate many of the rides we haven’t done in some time and some new routes. The most popular rides (based on attendance) will be held on Saturdays and we will rotate other rides on the Sunday schedule. If your favorite ride is not scheduled on the first two six week sequences, notify the Ride committee Chair and we can work it into the schedule on a rotational basis. The Board wants to maintain a ride schedule that will appeal to all members of the club regardless of their preferences for hill or flat rides, and areas to ride. We are also interested in developing some new routes, so if you have a favorite route that we don’t ride do a rough map or turn by turn list and we will get it mapped so other members can ride it. We have two new routes going west from Bullis Park that will be ready as soon as we can update the maps.
Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee Minutes:
The monthly BMAC minutes can now be accessed through a link on the
Pedaler section on the SAW web site. The BMAC advises the Metropolitan Planning Organization on bicycle-related transportation facilities (bike lanes/paths, etc.). The Wheelmen have a permanent seat on the BMAC which enables the Club to make inputs on matters of interest to bicyclists and to stay informed on what is happening regarding bicycle facilities. The BMAC minutes will enable you to stay informed on bicycle related facilities and activities in the San Antonio area. The next evening meeting will be held on May 8
th at 6:00 pm. The meeting will be in the Community Room at VIA Metro Center located at 1021 San Pedro Ave. This meeting will feature updates on the Linear Parkways, the Mission Reach (a new section opens in May), City activities such as bike lanes and bike racks, VIA plans for buses that carry bikes onboard and other items of interest to cyclists.
Rider Education Series:
We always need experienced riders to help teach the Road Riding 101/201 classes. You will find it very rewarding to work with the new riders and pass on your knowledge on how to ride safely while having fun. Contact the Bicycle Education Committee Chair, Bob Marroquin, at 210-667-6709 if you would like to get involved. If you are an experienced rider (at least two years of riding) and would like to take the Intermediate 301 class notify Bob. If there is sufficient interest, we will schedule a 301 class. The 301 class teaches skills such as emergency maneuvers, sprints, hill repeats, and pace lines.
Cliff Hickel
Wheelmen Annual Picnic and Ride
This year, we're going to hold our annual picnic earlier than usual. The
Wheelmen picnic is scheduled for Saturday, May 12
th, in Pickrell Park at 102 Aero Avenue, Schertz, TX. Our ride will start from the park and we'll do the usual Cibolo routes. The park has a large covered area for sitting and eating and it also has playground equipment for kids--bring the family! Rudy’s will cater the event and we will have a drawing for prizes. We'll start serving food at 11 AM. Each plate will be $5.
April Social Event
Wear your Wheelmen jersey and join us for the
New Berlin Ride on Sunday, April 15
th. The wildflowers should be great in that area AND the Wheelmen will pay for pie at Britski Station after the ride! Park in the field next to Britski Station. NOTE: the ride starts at 8:00.
Routes with GPS Files
Do you have a GPS-based cycling computer that accepts GPS files for turn-by-turn directions? A Garmin 705 or 800 supports this feature. If so, how would you like to test a GPS file for one of our routes? If you are interested, please contact
Jose Rojas.
New Wheelmen Jersey
The latest Wheelmen jersey has the same great design, but more lightweight material and a reduced price--$55! Please contact
Vicki Smith.
Ride Starters
As you know, SAW rides would not go off as well as they do without members who step up and volunteer to be ride leaders. If you have considered being a ride leader, now is the ideal time to volunteer. Don’t be concerned about what’s involved in being a ride leader. The responsibility is relatively painless and primarily involves showing up early at rides to post the maps, setting out the sign-up sheets, and conducting a pre-ride briefing. We also offer ride leader training. If you lead four rides during the year, your annual SAW membership is free! To join this group of volunteers critical to the success of our club, contact our Ride Committee Chair,
Tom Manning via e-mail or phone at 210-496-2351.
Your Opinion Matters!
We are always looking for feedback on how we can improve the club. Please feel free to e-mail your suggestions to
Tony Beauford. Do you have a new route that you would like to share? Please contact
Tom Manning.
The Pedaler Online
President's Column
Articles
Upcoming Rides
New Members
Member of the Month
BMAC Minutes
SAW Board Minutes
Tony Beauford
VP, Membership
www.sawheelmen.com
