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Date: 4/22/2021
Subject: April 2021 SBC News
From: Springfield Bicycle Club



SBC News - April 2021
In this month's e-newsletter:
- President's Message
- Membership Report
- Curb Your Car Active Transportation Challenge
- Bill Donels Memorial Update
- Volunteers Needed for Springfield Bike Count
- May 2021 Ride Schedule
- Board Meetings
 
 

President's Message

Finally! It is here: a bit of what we used to call “normal.”

Thank you to the board members Kathryn Hanlon, Jordan Litvak, David McDivitt, Jennifer Rockwell, Ted Sunder, who joined me at the Earth Awareness Fair Saturday, April 17 at Henson Robinson Zoo. Other than about ten minutes of rain, it ended up being a beautiful day! It was projected close to 1,000 people attended. Given the pandemic and possibility of bad weather, organizers say this was a great achievement. Next year’s Earth Awareness Fair will be the 30th anniversary and is scheduled for April 23, 2022.

This e-newsletter contains a May Ride Schedule! It is appropriate we are launching rides next month as May is National Bike Month. More on the Ride Schedule is available on the website and we will post events on the SBC Facebook page.

As we are still in a pandemic, here are a few guidelines when participating in group rides:

  • All SBC rides are limited to 50 riders (if a group of larger than 50 is present, ride leaders should form two groups).
  • If you have a fever, STAY HOME! Stay at home if you begin to feel unwell, even with mild symptoms such as headache and slight runny nose, until you recover.
  • If you have labored breathing or a cough when you take a deep breath, please stay home.
  • All riders should be symptom free for 14 days. Symptoms include fever, chill, fatigue, cough, upper respiratory infection symptoms, body aches, loss of smell or taste.
  • Riders should wear a cloth mask when stopped for extended periods.
  • If you must sneeze, cough, blow your nose, etc. drop back and ensure that no one is in your slip stream.
  • Bring a handkerchief or rag to carry on the ride. Paper products do not do well when mixed with sweat.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
  • Mind the gap. Ride side by side or more than 20 feet behind. The farther away the better. Distances of 20 feet are likely safe.
  • Do not pass water bottles, food, etc.
  • Bring enough food and hydration so that convenience store stops are not mandatory.
  • If you do enter a convenience store, wear a mask.

The annual Ride of Silence will be held in Washington Park on Wednesday, May 19. Just before we ride in silence at 7:00 p.m. there will be a short formal program at 6:45. Have you been injured by a motorist while on a bicycle? Or, do you know of someone who has been killed on a bicycle by an automobile? If so, please email me and let me know. I would like to include you in this special program.

Details for several of our larger rides are still in the works. It is my hope that we can release information about this year’s Challenge Rides early in May. Our biggest ride, the Capital City Century, will be held on Saturday, September 11 at Centennial Park. Registration details will be coming soon.

Do you have old cycling stuff that is sitting in your closet that is not being used? In June we would like to hold a buy/sell/trade event before a ride or two. Meet-up would be in a parking lot where you could have items displayed out of your car trunk or SUV.

As always, if you have any need to reach out, I am available by email president@spfldcycling.org.

Wave to me if we meet on the road or trail.


Troy Gilmore
President, Springfield Bicycle Club 

March 2021 Membership Report

Total Active:  352

You can now view names of new and renewing members on the Club's home page. SBC Home Page 

New: 4 memberships/ 6 members
Renewing Family: 9 memberships/ 18 members
Renewing Individual: 6 memberships/ 6 members

We wish to thank the following members, who provided donations to the club with their memberships. ( Donations to the Bill Donels Memorial are not included.)

Don and Melanie Caspary
Byron Nesbitt
Vaughn Morrison and Sherry Knight
Tony Kolbeck
Diane Mounce
William and Linda Castor

Curb your car

Bill Donels Memorial Fund Update

Thanks to the generosity of our SBC members, friends and family of Bill Donels, we have reached our fundraising goal. A bench and plaque have been ordered and will be delivered in 6-8 weeks. At this time, we are scouting for the best location to install the bench and will keep you updated as this wonderful project comes to fruition. 

Volunteers Needed - Springfield Bike Count

Do you like bicycles and want to help promote biking in the Land of Lincoln? Here’s your chance!

The Springfield Bicycle Advisory Council is coordinating Springfield’s inaugural bicycle count this May – a census of riders at key locations throughout the city. This count will help us to better understand where and how many people are currently riding around town.

Volunteers are needed for 2-hour shifts at designated locations to tally people riding bikes through the intersection. You can pick the spot and the time from an approved list. Time slots are available almost every day of the week, May 1 through May 27! Check out the map of all count sites here: https://tinyurl.com/bikecountmap (blue sites are weekday times only; red sites include a weekend count option). Each site should be counted during the indicated time slot on a particular day of the week: 7-9 am (Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday), 4-6pm (Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday), and 9-11am (Saturday or Sunday). These shifts are designed to capture the peak volume of riders at each location.

All volunteers are required to complete bike count training in order to participate. There will be a virtual training on Tuesday, April 27 at 5pm - register here: https://tinyurl.com/bikecountregister. The training will be recorded so if you are unable to attend you may watch the recording prior to conducting your bike count. Attendance at the live event is highly encouraged so you can get all questions answered!

This is a great activity for ages 14+ and may fulfill certain community service requirements.

Ready to reserve your count site? Sign up for a volunteer slot here: https://tinyurl.com/bikecountvolunteer. Note that the date listed by each time slot is the LAST DAY you can complete the count; it may be completed prior to this date on any approved day corresponding to the count time.

Thank you, and happy riding!


Ride Schedule - May 2021

Group rides will resume in May!

We realize that small groups have formed during this COVID time and that riders may feel most comfortable riding solo or in their small bubbles. Please be assured that we will follow safety protocols as defined by the State of Illinois - Restore Illinois

Board Meetings

Board meetings are held on the first Monday of each month. The board has been meeting via Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue this practice for the foreseeable future.  All club members are invited to sit in on these meetings.  If you would like to sit in on a board meeting, please contact Troy Gilmore at the email below:

SBC Website - Email Archive

You can view past e-newsletters like this one on the SBC website.  Go to the "Members Only" tab on the menu and find the "Club Emails" link.  You must be logged in to access the page. 

Copyright 2021 Springfield Bicycle Club, all rights reserved
Mailing Address:
PO Box 13035
SpringfieldIL  62791-3035
United States of America