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The Pedaler:  October 2012

The Pedaler Newsletter

Fall arrived last month.  Although we don't have as much color in our scenery as folks out east,  Texas is a great place to be in the fall.  I just took a look at the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday.  This coming weekend should be an ideal time to spend some time on your bike.

I recently posted the photo below on our facebook page.  It received many "Likes" because its message is so true.  Regardless of your age, you can get tremendous pleasure from putting on a helmet, clipping into your pedals, and pedaling your human-powered vehicle down the road.  So, on those rare occasions when you're hesitating about going for that ride, just think about how much enjoyment you'll get out of it!



There's still plenty of time for you to help us deliver a fun-filled Easter Hill Country Tour 2013.  The various committes are doing lots of planning to prepare for next year's event.  We'll be sending out brochures and posters and bringing the website online soon.  We've got a beautiful logo for the dri-fit  t-shirt.  Please send an email to ehct@sawheelmen.com and find out how you can help.

If you are not a fan of paying for your membership via active.com or bikereg.com, please use our new PDF-based membership application.  It has fillable fields that allow you to complete most of the application before printing it.  This means that it will be easier to ensure that your address and e-mail address are correctly entered into our membership database.  Please use this feature if you prefer sending in a check for membership dues.

Upcoming Rides
On Saturday, we'll be traveling to Welfare, TX, for a great ride, Big Joshua Creek.  It offers great scenery and plenty of hills!   Meet us at Floore's Country Store in Helotes for the Helotes-Castroville ride on Sunday.  You might want to check out another edition of Siclovia, which is also scheduled for Sunday.  October also offers a few charity rides, like the Bike MS:  Valero 2012 Alamo Ride to the River.  Please be sure to check our website's calendar or our Facebook events page for details.


President's Column
Let’s Make Them Feel Welcome
 
When doing non-Wheelmen rides I frequently hand out Wheelmen information and membership forms and invite people to try a Wheelmen ride. Sometimes people say they tried riding with the Wheelmen and got left behind so feel it is a racing club and thus not for them. Unfortunately, we sometimes are not very welcoming of new or visiting riders and give them the wrong impression of our Club.
 
The majority of ride starters make it a point to identify new and visiting riders and to make sure everyone has someone to ride with. Some of us do stay-together rides to accommodate new/visiting riders and help them learn the routes. Some new members are very strong riders but are not familiar with the routes and do not want to ride them alone. We are usually able to pair them up with club members at their skill level so they have someone with whom to ride. Still, some new/visiting riders fall through the cracks and follow a group of riders not knowing how fast or far they are going. If those riders fall behind and the group does not wait for them periodically, our Club earns a black mark with those riders and others with whom they share their thoughts on the club.
 
There are several things we can do to make visitors and new members feel welcome in our club. We are trying to do more stay-together rides, but many Club members view this as having to ride slower than they normally would to lead a stay-together group. That does not have to be the case. You can announce a stay-together ride at the pace you normally do; just announce at the pre-ride briefing what route you are riding and what the pace will be. Before you start make sure everyone in the group understands what pace you plan to ride. If someone falls behind, stop periodically – stop signs and turns are good places – and regroup. If someone is consistently unable to keep up, ask if they are comfortable following the map so the rest of the group can continue the planned ride. As a last resort, you may have to slow down a bit to accommodate the rider. Just think of the good will you will earn the club.
 
We have gained numerous Club members through the Road Riding classes and make an effort to invite them to ride with the instructors after they graduate. By riding with a group they meet others they can ride with at future rides. The same goes for new people riding with the Wheelmen. Stay-together ride leaders can encourage riders to meet again at future rides. If a visitor rides with your group and they seem to fit (speed and distance) invite them to ride with you again. Our Club has riders of various skill levels, and at most rides we can find someone to ride with new/visiting riders. Let’s do our best to make them feel welcome so they will ride with us again and perhaps even bring friends who will become Club members.
 
Cliff Hickel


Renew Your Membership
If you recently received an e-mail about renewing your membership, you can do so on bikereg.com (it supports PayPal) or active.com.  You can also complete the membership application, print it, sign it, and mail it to us.  We need your membership and we're constantly looking for your feedback on how we can improve the club.  Please feel free to e-mail your suggestions to membership@sawheelmen.com


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.


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  

Upcoming Events

 

Oct    6:  Big Joshua Creek
Oct    7:  Helotes-Castroville
Oct    7:  Siclovia
Oct  13:  Woman Hollering Creek
Oct  13:  Bike MS
Oct  14:  Rebecca's Mirror









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