RIDES ARE CANCELLED
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
|
|
by Anne C. M. Hyman — President PPTC
Happy October, Pedalers.
We’re reaching what feels like the last gasp of summer tailwinds, and we’re greeting cooler mornings and unfortunately shorter stretches of daylight. Some of the best “golden” hours of riding of the whole the year happen around this time, and I hope you all are taking advantage of this season to enjoy and appreciate what Mother Nature is doing with our region.
The Back Yards Century was fantastic! I’d like to thank the volunteers behind the scenes who made every aspect of the Back Yards Century not only possible, but successful! A HUGE congrats to all who participated and either met or smashed their goals! It was a tremendous joy to watch the miles roll by in the Strava club (almost FOUR THOUSAND miles officially logged!), and the photos and videos from the Scavenger Hunt flood our email. (Who wants to see their club mates on tricycles and riding in their work attire? We’ll post some highlighted pictures on social media in the days to come). Most importantly, I am moved by the kindness and generosity of our participants for raising thousands of dollars to benefit Phoenix Bikes and support our club. Something that this virtual century made me realize, and hopefully all of you as well, is that we have tremendous cycling opportunities right here in our own back yards, and even more opportunities when we get creative and ride off the beaten trails and out of our comfort zones. I honestly cannot wait to be on the roads with you all again in safer and healthier times, taking part in our time-tested tradition of exploring our region and sharing our passion for cycling.
Speaking of riding together, we held a virtual town hall for ride leaders who indicated that they would be willing to volunteer to lead small group rides in a safe and responsible fashion in these unusual times. I’ll reiterate my stance on this - if we can ALL be responsible and succeed in doing this, we can have nice things. A notice will be sent out when the flag drops to start posting and registering for rides again. Until then, all official rides are still on hiatus.
The Executive Committee has been working behind the scenes all summer to update and upgrade our website, and we’re hoping it will roll out by year end. We’re excited to introduce a better experience for both users and administrators, and it will absolutely be MOBILE FRIENDLY (and there was much rejoicing!). The new site will look fairly different from our current website, which in my personal opinion will be a GREAT thing. In the meantime, please take a moment to update your current membership profile on the PPTC website, so we have your correct information as we migrate to the new system.
Finally, be on the lookout for a save the date regarding our annual meeting on November 8th. Due to the pandemic and our responsibility to ensure a safe meeting, we will be holding the meeting online for the first time ever. We hope that this new format will encourage more people to join in to listen to the club updates, get to know the candidates for ExCom 2021, discuss the other ballot issue and other topics for the club’s future, and listen to our fantastic speaker that we have lined up. I will miss the potluck chili and desserts (and also making my Championship cookies for you all). This club is for you, and led by you, and your voice matters tremendously in shaping the future and ensuring the success of Potomac Pedalers.
Until our next meeting, or until I cross paths with you again on the roads out there, be safe, ride well.
Allez,
Anne
|
|
Annual Meeting Announcement and Call for Nominations
This year, the annual meeting of PPTC members will be held virtually on November 8, 2020 at 4:00 PM. There will be brief reports from the ExCom officers, a featured speaker, and an opportunity to vote in advance, virtually, for two club officers and an amendment to the Bylaws. Information on how to vote will be forthcoming once the slate has been written for the annual meeting's elections.
Nominations are needed for the positions of Deputy for Operations (currently Deb Reynolds) and Treasurer (currently Warren Farb). Please send nominations, including self-nominations, to office@potomacpedalers.org with the subject line “Nominations”, no later than October 19, 2020. Nominations should be accompanied by a brief statement of the candidates’ qualifications and interests in the position.
The current composition of the PPTC Executive Committee is stipulated in the Bylaws, as amended 12/4/2017, as:
- a President (whose official title shall be “President,” “Chair,” “Chairman,” “Chairperson” or “Chairwoman” as the person serving in that capacity shall prefer),
- a Secretary,
- a Treasurer, and
- four additional Members-at-large for a total ExCom of 7 individuals.
The ExCom proposes to amend the Bylaws to add 2 positions: A Vice President for the Century, and an additional member-at-large, for a total of 9 individuals. Of the current 4 members-at-large, one serves as the Vice President for Operations, and one serves as Vice President for Special Events. The remaining 2 members-at-large are actively engaged in communications, soliciting support for the club, outreach to the larger community, and other activities in support of the club’s mission. The ExCom views it as critical to establish the position of Vice President for the Century to enable the person serving in that position to have direct involvement with the management of the club, including addressing budgetary issues, and to support successful Back Roads Century event in the future. An additional member-at-large would be very helpful in expanding the social media presence of the club and further engaging in community activities. Addition of these 2 positions to the ExCom requires approval of the PPTC membership.
|
|
Summary of September 16, 2020 PPTC ExCom Meeting
November 8, 2020 is the date for the virtual PPTC Annual Meeting. Information will be sent to membership shortly to solicit nominations for ExCom positions and modification of the Bylaws.
Back Yards Century is going well. One company that usually has a number of their employees ride the Back Roads Century has raised over $5,000 for Phoenix Bikes, inspired by participation in the Back Yards Century.
The ExCom has approved transition of the club’s web services to Club Express. This should result in an improved website, calendar, and communications, as well as overall reduced costs in the long run.
Several ride leaders expressed interest in leading rides in response to the recent survey. After discussion with these ride leaders, the club may start opening small numbers of rides.
|
|
Meet the Owner
Jan Feuchter, Owner/Store Manager, Bikenetic
|
|
I started working in bike shops in 1999, halfway through my college career. After graduating from George Mason University, I worked full-time at an area bike shop, pursuing my interest in bike mechanics. Always a "tinkerer" and good with my hands, I quickly moved from mechanic to service manager to store manager. Years later, another store recruited me to manage the bike shop within the confines of an outdoor sports retail outlet. I eventually left this position for a great opportunity to work at an area non-profit...albeit behind a desk. Fortunately, I was able to stay within the industry part-time by helping to establish and run a new bike store in the area. I left the non-profit to manage this business full-time. |
|
|
The natural progression from there was to start my own bike shop, Bikenetic.
Tell us a little more about yourself.
I opened Bikenetic in 2011 in Falls Church. In my prior bike shop experience, I held several different positions: sales person, mechanic, and manager. I believe this experience translates into an owner/operator who truly understands the needs of my customers and my employees. After all, a happy staff makes for happy customers!
What makes Bikenetic unique?
Bikenetic is a full-service shop in Falls Church, specializing in service and commuter needs. We sell mountain bikes, gravel bikes, road bikes, fitness/hybrid bikes, and accessories. Our repair shop is stacked to the ceiling with the right tools to tackle small and large needs with minimal turn-around and a guarantee! You'll even get a complimentary smile...and if you're really lucky, a bad joke you've already heard several times.
At the risk of sounding kind of cheesy, Bikenetic is a bike shop for the cyclists, by the cyclists. We are constantly shaping and molding ourselves to offer the best products and services based on requests, suggestions, and recommendations.
Our staff is made up of knowledgeable CYCLISTS. We emphasize cyclists because we feel it is important to put our money where our mouth is. We won't hire someone simply because they're a great sales person or manager at a clothing (or other unrelated) store. We will, however, hire an avid cyclist because they will be a naturally great salesperson, manager, or mechanic because of their real-world experiences. You will notice that everyone who works here wears multiple hats. We want our employees to have at least a basic knowledge of how to run each department within the store. For our customers, this means no matter who is helping you, our employees can answer the basics of any question you may have.
How do you stay connected to the community?
If there were a downside to our "everybody bikes" approach it would be that occasionally we need to take a West Coast style approach to our business hours. While it's rare, there are some events which require our entire staff to attend. Whether it's supporting a race or participating in one, every now and again we'll post on our Facebook page well in advance if we need to close because no one is available to work...we're sure you understand.
|
|
Status of DC Area Local Bike Shops During COVID-19 |
|
This is the list of all currently open bike shops in the region and what services they are offering. Click the Button below to see the full list. |
|
The Potomac Pedalers’ 2019 Order of the Cast Iron Crotch
By Bruce Johnson
With 2020 well underway, it is past time to remember a better year: 2019. We had 25 members who submitted their riding statistics for the 2019 Order of the Cast Iron Crotch -- that hardy bunch who manage to ride more than 5,000 miles in a year. The king of the leaderboard for 2019 was Barry Sherry, who racked up 10,150 miles of riding and rode every day during the course of the year. (Perhaps we need a Stainless Steel designation?)
There were 25 members of this elite group last year, and they rode a total of 162,956 miles. The safety record was down a bit, with a ratio of one crash per 23,000 miles vs. one per 32,000 miles in 2018. The median age of this group is 65 years, with three gentlemen holding the “oldest” ranking at 78 years. Three of our high-mileage members are women.
I was curious about the ride lengths these people are riding and added a couple of columns to my spreadsheet to calculate the average ride length for days ridden and was a little surprised to see that Barry averaged 28 miles per day and 195 miles per week. It’s not so much a matter of going out for long rides as it is just getting the bike out the door and pedaling.
I need to close with a note of apology for the delay in getting this together. People who know me know that I am as distractible as a squirrel, and the distractions of 2020 did a number on my to-do list. If it looks like I’m taking too long with this next year, please send me an email to nudge me. May the rest of your 2020 be filled with fun, safe riding.
|
|
Pedal Patter is collecting member's cycling stories to share. |
|
Tom’s 2020 Adventure
by Tom Fedewa
|
|
It was the summer of 2020. Sick of COVID-19 event cancellations, I shipped my touring bike via UPS to Spokane, Washington from Maryland, and drove to the family homestead in central Michigan. I then flew to rejoin my bike in Spokane for a solo 2300 mile, 29 day ride back to central Michigan. In normal times, I'd travel with my bike on Amtrak, but these are not normal times. It was to be my personal COVID quarantine and big summer adventure.
My bike arrived with a rear rack bolt sheared off at the frame. Something heavy had fallen on the bike box en route. The UPS damage claim service was next to useless; however, a kind UPS contractor on site tracked down a bike shop willing to fix it and dropped me off there.
The first really cool place I passed was Sandpoint, Idaho. It was a cute town next to a big deep glacial lake. Traveling on US-2, I encountered several more picturesque glacial lakes in northwest Montana.
After three days of riding, I coasted into a municipal campground in Libby, Montana. In a few minutes, a guy pulled up on a heavily loaded touring bike, also to camp. He was only one of four bike-packers that I met on the entire trip. A merchant en route told me they usually see over a hundred every summer.
The next morning the fellow bike-packer and I chit-chatted. Turned out he was a South African named Peter who had spent the last 6.5 years of his life bike touring the world, with 2 more estimated years to travel down the east coast, fly to England, then ride back to South Africa along the east coast of Africa. He and I rode east on US-2 together. The guy was a wealth of information on bike touring equipment, technology and methodology. He also had a million magical trip stories to share.
I was going to avoid Glacier National Park's (NP) famous "Going to the Sun" road and proceed east on US-2, but without a lot of effort, Peter talked me into riding into the park and up the highly scenic road. It was a heavenly ascent up the Sun road to 6644' high Logan Pass and the Continental Divide. The route was devoid of cars due to COVID-19 restrictions. The road was closed east of the divide, due to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation being closed at the Park's East entrance. Riding cross-country, it was going to be a tough pill to swallow for us to flip back west 50 miles and ride out of the park the way we came in. Also, Glacier NP's campgrounds were closed due to COVID restrictions. We disobeyed the road closed signs, as bikers sometimes do, and continued east down the Continental Divide. Near the bottom, park police held us for two hours in the road, ticketed us, and then told us to turn around and ride up, down and out of the park the way we came in, as there was no camping in the park. Peter tried to talk our way out of the mess, but to no avail.
By the time we reascended to Logan Pass it was dark, partly because we had to wait 30 minutes for a mama grizzly and three cubs to clear the road. We then descended the Continental Divide in the dark, and rode 50 miles back to our bushwack “unofficial” campsite of the night before, finally exiting the park at 3:00 AM.
We awoke mid-morning the next day to a drizzle. We packed up our damp camp gear and proceeded west on US-2 to Marias Pass, elevation 5216'. We camped out at a Forest Service campground in a constant mist on the pass. A number of rumbling freight trains passed by throughout the night. The site was the lowest elevation pass over the Continental Divide in Montana. The trains each had 6 or more high-powered diesel locomotives to haul up and down the mountain. I used every layer of clothes I brought that night, in the middle of summer, to stay warm. We camped there because we had to descend the mountain, and ride through the entire Blackfeet Indian Reservation without an overnight stay.
Peter and I parted ways the next day. He wanted to rest a day and to use library WiFi to reconnect with his world. I had cell phone coverage, had spent a week in the mountains, and wanted to make time to travel with my daughter Lauren to Maryland from Michigan. Also, Peter wanted to angle south to see friends in Chicago, and I wanted to ride north through the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan
People I met were saying; "See this, see that." However, 30 miles off route on a pack bike means another day on the road. Two spots I'd have loved to have seen were a sacred Indian site on a windswept ridge near Cree Crossing, MT, and the site of an old fur trading post at the mouth of the Yellowstone River where it meets the Missouri River just into N Dakota. Perhaps another time.
I passed through 10 or more Indian reservations on the trip. Their lands were clearly managed in line with their natural and cultural heritage. Coming off the Rockies into the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, I saw the most beautiful wetland I have ever seen! Further on, in a show of neighborly kindness, a couple Native American women stopped and gave me a cold water. On a bumpy construction zone, unbeknownst to me, my tent fell off my bike. A couple of friendly Native Americans tracked me down and returned it to me.
I really enjoyed passing through North Dakota. Especially pleasing to my eyes were the prairie pothole region, where wetlands and agriculture mixed, and the Devils Lake region.
US-2's shoulders were the worst in Minnesota. I think it was there that a driver stopped and chewed me out with pretty rough words for riding on the road and not the shoulder. If only a car or two was behind, I was letting them pass me. I’d hit the road shoulder if many or big vehicles passed. I tried to explain to the complaining driver that there was a lot of flat-causing debris on shoulders. The further from the road, the worse it gets. He wasn't buying it. We agreed to disagree. I pulled out riding on the shoulder. He actually flipped around to see if I was still on it.
The bridge over the St. Louis River between Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin had an amazing bike lane on it. So fun to cross!
I had experienced nice tailwinds in eastern Montana and North Dakota. At one point, I covered 430 miles in 3 days. However, the gods of the winds turned on me in Minnesota and through the UP of Michigan. It was lots of work that I mitigated through refreshing dips in rivers that I passed over.
The mosquitos were pesky from east of the Rockies onward. From eastern North Dakota on, they were a downright nuisance when I pulled up to camp. I'd set up my tent close to dusk, and they'd just about carry me away.
The tourist traffic on US-2 was heavy the entire way. Seemed everybody was searching for some form of COVID-19 relief. In the UP of Michigan, I switched to M-28 for traffic relief, to no avail. I partly wanted to pass by Lake Superior. It was there I had my nicest bushwack campsite of the entire trip, on a bluff overlooking a beautiful secluded beach “By the big lake they call Gitche Gumee,” as Gordon Lightfoot famously sang.
PPTC stalwart member Ron Tripp graciously offered to meet me at Saint Ignace, just above the Mackinaw Bridge, haul me over the “Big Mac,” and stay with him and his wife at their cozy troll (a UP Michigan thing) cabin on Lake Michigan, just below the bridge, of course! A fabulous whitefish dinner, a staple of northern Michigan, followed.
I closed out the trip in 3 more days of riding. It seemed like a lot of slow progress in comparison to driving. It was quite an experience to see the gradual change of climate and landscapes throughout the trip. I feel like I got one over on all that COVID-19 misery too.
|
|
 |
Logan Pass, with the author on the right. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
