March Club Meeting
We will be at Donato’s “Only for You!” Restaurant
in Winchester
for the monthly meeting on Wednesday,
March 12th, 2008. The
business meeting will be held at 7:00pm.
The address is 229 S.
Loudoun St., Winchester, VA.
January and February Club Meetings
Our January club meeting was held at Donato’s
restaurant. February’s meeting was
canceled due to weather. To follow are some highlights of January’s meeting:
·
Treasurer’s
Report:
Checking $1,255.82
Savings $2,462.91
·
Youth Cycling
Tour – Summer 2008
Jon Turkel, from Frederick County
Parks and Recreation, has
met with several members of the club to assist with the planning of the youth
cycling tour this summer. The plan is to
bike on the C&O Canal and Allegheny Passage trail from Harpers Ferry to
Pittsburgh. He is asking for volunteers
to participate with the event.
·
Winchester Wheelmen Racing Team
Erik Beatley presented to the club a proposal for the addition of a
racing team. Several sponsors have
verbally committed to supporting this endeavor.
The team would be an extension of the club. Mark Granger has been instrumental in
developing the WWRT Sponsorship Agreement form.
A committee is forming to manage the details of the team. Ken Tenney has agreed to participate on the
committee as a liaison for the club, in addition to Erik Beatley, Mark Granger,
and Shawn Carrico.
Call for
immediate ACTION – WV Wilderness
As
has been noted, some are asking for “Wilderness” federal lands designation for
parts of the Monongahela
National Forest. The lands are already largely protected as it
stands now. This “enhanced” designation
will remove the ability to mountain bike in some of the best MTB areas of the
entire state! Please contact Congress
members from the state of WV, esp. if you are a WV landowner. Particular affected areas are Dolly Sods
North, Roaring Plains, and Seneca Creek.
See this URL for some details: http://www.imba.com/news/action_alerts/02_08/02_13_dolly_sods.html. The Congresswoman for these areas is Shelley
Moore Capito (RE: http://capito.house.gov/index.shtml) Please contact Susan Musante for additional
details on how to respond. Susan may be
contacted via e-mail at susanmusante@yahoo.com. Quick, succinct action is necessary to save
these trails for future use.
Mionske Talk on
March 3rd, 2008
VeloNews columnist Bob Mionske is to speak about his new
book, "Bicycling and the Law", with special consideration of whether
there is bias against cyclists in accident situations.
Mr. Mionske is a US National Champion and Olympic
cyclist who has become a nationally known lawyer through his work in VeloNews,
especially. He exclusively represents
cyclists in his practice, and he is an advocate for cyclists. For more
background, see: http://www.bicyclelaw.com and http://www.velonews.com/author/71301
Winchester Wheelmen cycling club has arranged for Mr.
Mionske’s talk at the Winchester Medical Center’s
Conference Center.
Everyone who is a road cyclist should have a keen interest in this
speaking engagement. Know your rights AND
responsibilities (it’s not always the motorist who is at fault in accidents and
incidents).
We are requesting $10 per person to attend the
event. There will be no charge for
current law enforcement and gov’t officials.
Additionally, some copies of Mr. Mionske’s book
will be available for purchase at the event.
Mr. Mionske’s writing style makes for compelling reading and is easy for
non-lawyers to understand.
If you would definitely like to attend this event
or have any additional questions, please send a message to Ken
Tenney
at ktenney@visuallink.com. There
is limited seating available. Please
RSVP, if planning to attend.
Saturday, March
15th, 2008. Winchester
Wheelmen Day with Habitat for Humanity.
Please join your fellow cyclists from 9:00AM-4:00PM to swing a
hammer and provide a home for a family in need. Habitat has a busy schedule to complete 5 more
homes by June. We will be working at 144 Baker Street, Winchester,
which is across from the new Habitat for Humanity office.
I will know closer to the date exactly what we
will be doing. You do not have to have
any construction skills to participate.
Habitat has assured us that there will be someone to train us. Please contact Robert
Golightly by March 5th at 540-535-9986 or at RobertGolightly@comcast.net so
Habitat can be prepared for our group and we can be sure to have enough
lunches, which are being graciously donated by Honey Baked Ham. Please feel free to contact Robert with any
questions.
2008 Membership
Renewal
Please fill out an
application for membership if you haven’t done so yet for 2008. The number following your name on your
address label will tell you if you are renewed for 2008. An “-08” means you’re renewed. A “-07” means that you need to renew
still. Without renewal, this newsletter
will be your last. (Note that if you mailed
renewal forms in since ~26 Feb 2008, that is not reflected in the address label
yet. – Ed.) Membership fees are
unchanged for 2008, $16 for an individual and $20 for a family. Please note any address changes. Please make sure you check the box for
receiving the newsletter by e-mail. If
you have any questions, please write to the PO Box or send an e-mail to info@winchesterwheelmen.org.
Club Member Profile – Buck Hefner
Ask
yourself sometime, "How did I get into cycling?" What was the path
that led you there? Buck's path followed a long and winding road with lots of
uphills and downhills. He started as a
jet engine mechanic in the navy, the became a train engineer for the
Pennsylvania Railroad, got his pilot's license and flew small aircraft, then
became an antique dealer, and finally followed his love of building and
restoring things which made him a true "jack of all trades." He
recently went to Gulf Port,
MS, to help the Frederick County
Rotary Club work on a Katrina project.
So what made him decide to ride
a bicycle? Well, he put it this way, he
had reached 245 pounds and was feeling terrible. He went to his doctor and asked for
help. The doctor's solution: lose weight
and ride a bike. Buck followed that
advice and now stands at 180 pounds and rides 4,000 to 5,000 miles a year. Ask him how he feels, and all you will hear
is "great." It is a story told
by many cyclists. Bicycling has given them back their lives, relives their
stress, and opens a new world to them. If you don't believe it, ask Buck.
When asked what some of
his best cycling memories are he responded by telling of his ride to the top of
Kitts Peak in Arizona, his 52 mph holeshot through Mule Mountain into Bisbee,
and his ride into the Red Rock Canyon of Nevada and the Slick Rock Trail in
Moab, Utah. What he doesn't tell you,
unless you pressure him, is his love of the Skyline Drive. In 2007, Buck rode on the
Skyline Drive 106 times with a total of over 3,800 miles. Now if you know the Skyline Drive as this writer does, that
means 1,900 miles of climbing! Buck
knows every crack in the road, calls some of the deer by name, and probably has
played with the bear up there just for fun.
Buck will be 60 years
young in May, but don't let that white beard fool you. He can ride a bicycle,
and when asked why, he will just say "I love to ride."
This
writer celebrated his 65th birthday by riding on the Drive on a beautiful day
in January. And who would I ask to ride along and share that day? Thanks Buck!
- Mike
Perry
Rider Report - Tales from the Southwest from
Doug Keim
I couldn’t pass up the chance to
ride in shorts in January. So, when I
went to a meeting in Phoenix,
my bike went with me. Arizona has a great bicycling web page that
links to bicycling clubs all over the state.
In fact, I looked under Sunday rides and found that a club, Phoenix
Metro Bicycle Club (PMBC), was riding early that morning. I emailed the ride leader, and he said I
could join them.
However, there were no shorts that
Sunday morning. I found that 8:30AM is
still cold in January in Phoenix. When we rolled out, it was in the low
40s. While I took arm and leg warmers
and gloves, I did not take shoe covers.
My toes eventually thawed. We had
a group of about 30 at the start. Within
5 minutes, I met a woman who knows Jim Kellett through gliding. We rolled out at a nice pace of about 20 mph
before stopping within 15 minutes for a quick regroup. Then we got going. Before I knew it, we were rolling along in a
double pace line at 20-25 mph in the bike lane.
We started in Chandler,
which is in the southeast portion of the city, and headed south and out of the
city briefly onto an Indian reservation, mostly desert with casinos, before
looping back into city limits where we did two circuits on what they called a
hill. It couldn’t have been a mile at
about a 6% grade. By doing the circuits,
people could wait at the regroup spots and then rejoin. You know it’s flat when, even with the little
hills, you do 60 miles in 3 hours.
Of course then Pam decided to truly
blow my thighs by making me hike up Squaw
Mountain afterwards. The hike ascends 1,200 feet in 1.2 miles to
the peak at 2,600 feet. We were amazed
at how many people of all ages were doing this hike and the number going up and
down fast. Apparently, it’s a big deal
to see how fast you can go up and down.
When Pam was getting a drink later that evening, the bartender asked
what she did that day. When Pam told
her, her question was “what was your time?”
What a cool culture to see people so active.
Surprisingly, the same group was
riding Monday at 8:30AM. I was wondering
what these guys did for a living until I realized it was Martin Luther King
Day. This time, we rode about 40 miles,
heading north from Chandler, through the Papago Park,
around Camelback Mountain
and then up the backside of Mummy
Mountain and back to the
start. Mummy
Mountain is in Paradise Valley
which is where the other half lives.
These were some amazing houses.
At the first regroup, I met John Zebatto. He was the chair of the PPTC in 2005 and then
moved to Winchester. He knew and asked about Mike Perry and Ken
Tenney. Small world, bicycling.
The third day, I planned to ride
from the resort at which I was staying to South Mountain
to do a 7 mile climb there. Riding by
myself in the city and having to stop and look at a map every 10 minutes and
not sure if I was still in a safe part was not fun. However, this time it was the afternoon, so
it was warm. It was 20 miles from the
resort, straight through downtown Phoenix, to
the edge of town and then South
Mountain Park
looms. While the ascent is 7 miles, it’s
a fairly gradual grade, 4-5%, with only a few 9% sections. The view from the top was worth it. The entire city of Phoenix
stretched north and beyond Camelback
Mountain, over 20 miles
away, and the Indian reservation I rode through on Sunday stretched south. The ride back was much easier. I just rode one long street without trying to
make a bunch of turns like I did on the way down. I finished by riding a paved/hard gravel path
along one of the canals.
I always like to look
for ideas to bring back to Winchester. Although I rode about 150 miles in the city,
it was fairly safe. There were many wide
bike lanes. In addition, the bike lanes,
on both sides were usually on 4-5 lane roads.
So, if you were in the bike lane, traffic often moved over to the other
lane. What a concept! The locals also had a free map of Phoenix with all the bike
lanes as well as advised and popular routes marked. Also, the PMBC had all the riders sign in at
the start, provided basic maps (all of which were on their web site), and used
their cell phones to let the ride leaders know if they had a mechanical or were
bailing early. All in all, well worth
taking my bike. The meetings were good
also.
- Doug
Keim
Ride the C&O Canal
– In a Day!
We will attempt to ride
the entire length of the C&O
Canal towpath trail – 185
miles – in a single day. Ride date is June
21. Rain date is June 28. Cyclocross bikes recommended. We will begin the ride in Cumberland,
MD and end in Washington, DC,
with 14 hours or more of pedaling. Ride
will begin before dawn, so staying the previous night in Cumberland, MD
is necessary. All participants need a
“bail option”: somebody to provide pickup if you or your bike are unable to
complete the ride. We are also seeking
friends/family members as volunteers to drive SAG support and deliver food at
key points on the trail.
Anyone
is welcome. For most people, this ride
should be considered an ultra-endurance
event. The ride should only be
attempted by those willing to commit the time and effort to train appropriately
and who have the proper equipment. Note
that there will be a “test ride” on the Canal towpath trail before the actual
ride date. This date will be selected by
the group of riders choosing to participate.
The duration of this test ride is TBD by the group, also.
Ride leader is
Chris Stubbs. Please contact Chris at chris_stubbs@comcast.net or mobile (540) 336-9232 if interested.
Miscellaneous Notes
·
CD-ROMs.
Ken Tenney is late in putting these resource discs together. Data is compiled, but disc duplication hasn’t
started. Look for the disc sometime in
the month of March via US
mail.
·
Sunrise/sunset page. http://www.sunrisesunset.com/usa/Virginia.asp
·
New feature at Google Maps. Probably everyone who is Internet connected
has used Google Maps. They have recently
(not sure exactly when) added a “Terrain” button that shows remote imaging
elevation for Earth. This is a truly
stunning difference from the USGS-derived data “Topo” button that was used
previously.
Future/Out
of Area Rides 
Sunday, April 13, 2008 –
Harris-Roubaix – Harrisonburg,
VA. The annual running of the Harris-Roubaix. Riding
from Court Square Harrisonburg
12:00PM. This is a celebration of gravel
road riding. Bring your road bike (25c
tires suggested!!), mountain bike, fix gear or tandem. All bikes are welcome. A casual ride from Court Square for 8 miles
to the North West
section or the Valley. Here we will have
a marked (and mapped) 12 mile loop for people to experience the great gravel
roads of the valley. Of course there will be an informal crowning of the first
person done with three laps (and of course obeyed all road rules). For more info, visit http://www.svbcoalition.org/home.php.
Saturday, April 12, 2008 –
7th Annual Pedal for Pooches – Charles Town, WV. A bike tour to benefit Briggs Animal
Adoption Center.
10:00AM, rain or shine. Pre-registration
$25.00 before April 4, 2008. $30.00 registration after April 4,
2008. Choose a 16, 21, 30 or 37mile
ride. Tour day registration begins at
8:30 am. T-shirt guaranteed to pre-registered riders. Come take a tour of the doggies and
kitties. Door prizes will be awarded
before the ride. Family activities throughout the day. For more info www.baacs.org
email volunteer@nhes.org phone 304-724-6558.
Sat., May 17, 2008 – 3rd
Rich Rau Memorial Bike Tour & Pancake Breakfast - Berryville, VA. The Town of Berryville will be sponsoring the second
annual Rich Rau Memorial Bike Tour & Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, May 17,
2008. Registration begins at the John H.
Enders Fire and Rescue Social Hall on South
Buckmarsh Street at 7:00AM with breakfast being
served to cyclists, families and friends from 7:30AM to 10:00AM. We will again have three routes (15, 30 or 50
miles) to choose from in the beautiful countryside of Clarke County. Additional information and a link to online
registration can be found on the Town's web site (www.berryvilleva.gov). You can also contact Christy Dunkle at planner@berryvilleva.gov or by
calling 540-955-4081.
May 16-18, 2008 – Tour de Chesapeake – Matthews, VA. Celebrate the
arrival of spring with a bike tour through the wonderful, scenic and flat Mathews County
backroads along the Chesapeake Bay. Mark Saturday, May 17th on your calendar now
and join a thousand other riders on the Tour de Chesapeake X. This tour is
perfect as a family’s first biking adventure, or maybe the intermediate
rider’s, and even the experienced veteran’s, season warm-up. Cyclists can
choose tours of 17, 40, 60 and 80 miles in length. (www.bikechesapeake.org)
Sunday, June 1, 2008 - SHENANDOAH VALLEY HERITAGE RIDE - Winchester, VA. The Northern Shenandoah Valley Boys and Girls
Club invite you to our first annual Shenandoah Valley Heritage Ride fundraiser.
Join us on a ride through the historic, beautiful contryside of the Shenandoah Valley. This is a self paced ride for everyone
from the recreational to the serious cyclist. The ride includes a Family Ride,
30 mile, 50 mile and 70 mile courses. http://www.svhride.org/
June 7-8, 2008 - Tour de
Vine - (MS 150 ride) – plan to
participate or donate. RE: http://tinyurl.com/yuczxw
June 8, 2008 - Tour de
Cure - (Amer. Diabetes Assoc. ride) – Please join/support the Tour de Cure team at Reston Town
Center. Team Name:
Wheel Energy - Golds Gym Winchester. Contact:
kedwards@goldsgym.net RE: http://tinyurl.com/2twrgj
June 20-25, 2008 – Bike
VA – 21st Annual Tour – The Crooked
Road Tour, SW VA. www.bikevirginia.org .
Winchester Wheelmen March
2008 Ride Schedule 
Weekday
Rides
Thursdays. Retired//Day Off Ride, Frederick County,
VA. Mike Perry is leading this road ride. Meet at Macedonia Church
just off Rt. 522 south at 10:00AM. The church is located just off of route US 522, about 3 miles south of Winchester. Distance of the loop is 25 to 30 miles with a
lunch stop at Locke's Store. No ride if
the roads are wet at start time. Mike
may be reached at mperry@visuallink.com
540-877-1795.
Weeknight
Rides
Weeknight rides are
starting back in March. (Daylight Saving Time will begin 09 March 2008.) Remember to check the listserv on Topica.com
(http://lists.topica.com/lists/wwlist)
for any last minute changes to rides, especially since the weather will be a
strong concern in March than it would normally be in April. (Sunset
times: March 10th: 7:14pm, March 15th: 7:19pm, March 20th: 7:24pm, March 25th:
7:29pm, March 30th: 7:34pm)
Mondays, starting the 10th,
White Post Loop, starting at White Post Restorations. No ride leader. Meet at White Post Restorations at 6:00PM for an 18 mile
loop. Here's a URL for the map for where
White Post Restorations is located, for anyone who might not know: http://www.whitepost.com/about.html Here's the URL for loop map: http://www.winchesterwheelmen.org/Maps/White%20Post-Rockland.pdf
Tuesdays, starting the
11th. –
Alternate location for March.
Boyce Elementary
School, ~20 miles, route TBD, pace will be at ~17mph to
finish with enough light. 6:00PM ride start. Others may ride at faster/different pace. There is no ride leader for the month of
March. Starting at Boyce Elementary School
for March will alleviate concerns about riding “into the sun” on US 340. (Will move to Food
Lion Plaza
in April.)
All Wednesdays. Wednesday
evening MTB Rides: Meet at the Millbrook HS entrance to the Third Battle
of Winchester Trail at 5:30PM. Lights and helmets are required to
participate prior to the time change.
Please check the
WW listserv prior to heading out for this ride.
Wednesdays, starting the 19th (No ride on the
12th; club meeting.)
All-comers road ride, starting at Orchard View
Elementary School. Ride pace will be determined by those present
for March, as there is no ride leader.
Ride start time is 6:00PM. Orchard
View Elementary
School is located on Middle
Road (SR 628), about 3.75 miles from the traffic
light at Middle Road
and Valley Ave
(US
11).
Thursdays,
starting the 13th
Meet at the Cow Pasture
(intersection of Senseny Rd
(SR 657) and Triple J Rd
(SR 632) in Clarke County, VA.) This is a fast paceline ride that
starts at 6:00PM.
The paceline road ride is about 25-1/2
miles. If enough show, there are
“faster” and “slower” groups. There is
no ride leader.
Note: Winchester
Wheelmen Racing Team will be conducting training rides from the Tuesday &
Thursday locations. These rides will
start 5 minutes prior to the general club ride.
Anyone is welcome to start at either time; however the WWRT rides will
not be stopping to regroup as often as the general ride.
Winchester
Wheelmen March 2008 Ride Schedule 
Weekend
Rides
Saturday
road rides. Meet at Blue Ridge
Bicycles. Start time is 1:00PM, weather
permitting. No ride if raining or snowing. Ride loop will vary depending upon riders
present. Typical ride is 17 miles, but
can be lengthened or shortened. There is
no ride leader for this ride.
Sunday,
March 2nd – Orchard View 20 – Orchard
View Elem.
School, Frederick County,
VA. Meet at Orchard View
Elementary School on Middle Road (SW of Winchester) at 1:00PM. This is a moderately hilly 20 mile road
ride. Orchard
View Elementary
School is located on Middle
Road (SR 628), about 3.75miles from the traffic
light at Middle Road
and Valley Ave
(US
11). Ride leader is Ken Tenney and may
be reached at 540-722-9224 or ktenney@visuallink.com.
Sunday, March 9th
- Impromptu Ride – James Wood Middle School,
Winchester, VA. Meet at the school at 12:00PM for a road ride
to be determined by those riders present.
The school is located on Amherst
Street (US 50) on the west side of town.
Sunday, March 16th
– Brucetown Loop – Frederick
County, VA. Meet at the Clearbrook Park Brucetown Road
entrance at 10:00AM.
Robert Golightly is leading a 35 mile
road ride at a casual pace. Route will
be through Brucetown and into Clarke
County. Robert may be reached at RobertGolightly@comcast.net or at
540-535-9986.
Sunday, March 23rd
– Impromptu Ride – James Wood Middle School,
Winchester, VA. Meet at the school at 12:00PM for a road ride
to be determined by those riders present.
The school is located on Amherst
Street (US 50) on the west side of
town. (Note that this is Easter Sunday.)
Sunday, March 30th
- "National Fruit Ride" - Frederick
County, VA. This is a road ride led by Mike Perry. Meet at Apple Pie Ridge Elementary at 1:00PM. 25 to 30 miles at an easy/moderate pace over
rolling hills. Mike at 540-877-1795 or mperry@visuallink.com. No
ride if the roads are wet at start time.
Saturday,
April 5th 2008 - 3rd Battle of Winchester Park Day. The Civil War Preservation Trust (www.civilwar.org) has organized a
nationwide "Park Day 2008" to clean up and otherwise maintain all of
their battlefield sites. If you're
interested and committed to helping on Saturday, April 5th, please notify Mike
Perry at mperry@visuallink.com or
540-877-1795. RE: http://www.civilwar.org/parkday/
(The Winchester Wheelmen Park Day clean up will start at 9:00AM from the Red Bud
Run parking area. The work to be done
includes brush and limb cleanup, trash removal, and general trail maintenance.)
Note:
Impromptu rides are set up when no one has volunteered to lead a ride.
Where they go and how far they go is determined by the cyclists who show up to
ride. They are planned for those who can't always make a commitment to a
day or time. If you would like to see an impromptu set up at a different
location or time, let your newsletter editor know (ktenney@visuallink.com). Better
yet, volunteer as a ride leader. Rides can be short or long, morning or
afternoon.
GENERAL
CLUB RIDE NOTES
Approved helmets are required for all rides.
If you are not a club member, you must sign a waiver prior to the ride.
For all scheduled rides with a designated ride leader, please contact the
leader for details (confirmation that the ride is a 'go', weather concerns,
other). For rides without a leader, visit the Winchester Wheelmen Topica
listserv for the latest information. The direct link to that web page is:
http://lists.topica.com/lists/wwlist. You can read all of the postings without
joining the list.
Winchester
Wheelmen, Inc.
P.O. Box 1695
Winchester, VA
22604