We are back!

 

Thanks once again to all of our ride leaders, we are pleased to post our schedule for this year, which can be downloaded as a file on the right of this page.  In deference to those who have retired or have flexible work schedules, at our planning meeting last week we decided to start our Tuesday Night Rides this year promptly at 5:00 p.m., so plan to arrive a few minutes early in order to receive a map and be greeted by your ride leader. Please feel free to bring a friend, and introduce your friend to the ride leader and other riders.

Cyclists can again choose to ride with the “B” group, which chats along the way at a relaxed 12 to 14 miles an hour, or in the “A” group in a pace line, which averages about 18 miles an hour. Both groups will regroup periodically along our rides, so that none of us gets dropped. If it is pouring rain, the ride will be cancelled or postponed. If the weather is questionable, the ride leader will call the West Hill Shop to let them know if their ride has been cancelled, and post a notice of any change on our Facebook page.

Because of the size of our group we want to be mindful of our impact on drivers with whom we share the road. When in traffic, please be sure to "ride right" in a single file on the right hand side of the road, to the right of the white line, and remind others who forget to do so. It helps to dress in bright colors and use reflectors to increase the chance that you will be seen by motorists, especially at dusk.

The West Hill Shop sponsors our club. Please stop by in Putney to introduce yourself and support the shop. The Putney Bicycle Club’s expenses are modest, but must nevertheless be paid through our dues. Last year we discussed our club's need for liability insurance in order to protect our ride leaders, sponsor, and the officers of our club.  The premium for that insurance through USA Cycling has caused us to raise our dues this year to $20 for individuals and $40 for families.  Please renew your membership or join now by sending your dues to Kathy Lapan at 78 Winter Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301. Your dues enable us to promote cycling, especially with new and young riders. Putney Bicycle Club members receive a 10% discount on cycling jerseys and shorts, tires and tubes at the West Hill Shop. A portion of your dues helps to pay for a barbeque dinner following our last ride this summer at the West Hill Shop on August 29^th.

Once again this year we are asking all of our members of the Putney Bicycle Club to sign a waiver, which can also be downloaded as a file on the right of this page. Although we now have the ability to pay our dues through Venmo, it will probably be easiest if you can print and sign a waiver, and either send it with a check for your dues to Kathy Lapan, or give them to her at one of our rides.

If you would like to invite others to join you on a ride, publicize an event, or post cycling pictures and videos for others to enjoy, please use our Facebook page. It continues to be popular, and we now have 306 members. It may be found at:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/PutneyBicycleClub/

We welcome your questions and suggestions, and look forward to seeing you on our rides. Please ride safely!

President: Joe Cook (802) 257-0609 jfcook3@gmail.com

Treasurer: Kathy Lapan (802) 254-6547 kathylapan@comcast.net

Secretary & Webmaster Bob Immler (802) 579-5034 roamic@gmail.com

~Joe Cook

 

Save the date!

 

         Pay no attention to the weather forecast! I have it on good authority that it will warm up. We will be meeting at Panasian on Tuesday, March 28th at 6:00 p.m. to plan our schedule for this season. The Putney Bicycle Club will provide munchies, and many of us will probably stay for dinner.
         Our plan is to have our schedule for this season completed before our first ride on April 10th. With your help, that can happen. If all of our members agree to lead a Tuesday night ride, we'll have it covered.
         We hope that you will be able to join us at Panasian on March 28th, and lead a ride. If you are unable to attend, please e-mail me a brief description of a ride that you are willing to coordinate, and a date. Please note that many local restaurants are not open on Tuesday nights. I will send a draft of our schedule to all of the trip leaders before we post it to our website at http://putneybicycleclub.blogspot.com/, and on our Facebook page.
         I look forward to seeing many of you later this month, and on the road. Please let me know if you have any questions in the interim.
         Thanks,
         Joe

         jfcook3@gmail.com
         (802) 257-0609

Another successful season

Although we had a relatively small turnout last week for our last organized ride of the season, an enjoyable ride was followed by a potluck dinner, with salmon and chicken grilled by Zach Caldwell.  This concluded an extremely successful series of Tuesday night rides, many of which attracted more than 20 riders.  Special thanks go out to all of our ride leaders, those who hosted potluck dinners in their homes, and to Kathy Lapan for serving as our treasurer once again. 

Weekly show and go rides will start at the Brattleboro Common, weather permitting, on September 6th at 5:30, and earlier as the days get shorter in the fall.  PBC members can communicate plans for these rides through our Google group, which has been a big success.   

We will plan to get together at the end of March at the Marina to make plans for Tuesday night rides next year.  Until then, ride safely!

 

 

Wednesday night rides

Our sponsor, the West Hill Shop, is once again offering a variety of off-road and women’s rides on Wednesday nights.  Details may be found at the link on the right side of this page.