NOTE: The next issue will be out in the second week of June. Welcome to these new members!

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1 Photo by G.Vidali Renewal Information 2 The Annual OCC Picnic 4 The 2007 OCC Vacation Ride 5 New Rides 6 Other Rides 6 Advocacy - May is Bike Month! 8 Ride Report: California Dreaming 8 NOTE: The next issue will be out in the second week of June OCC: Onondaga cycling Club is a Central New York State non-profit organization that facilitates the participation in the sport of bicycling. The club schedules and conducts bicycle rides, tours and sporting events from March through November. Meetings and social occasions are held throughout the year. Our Web-site is at: The OCC discussion list (listerver) can be subscribed to from our Web site. Welcome to these new members! Darle Balfoort Jordan Baum Laurel Baum Shannon Baum Faith Blatcher Rick Blatcher Steph Blatcher Connie Casciano Nick Casciano Becca Hahn Dylan Hahn Jay Hahn Kathy Hahn Dan Lent Cindy Rahrle David Rahrle Korey Rahrle Sean Rahrle Shane Rahrle Erik Rapp Jeff Rapp Kate Rapp Kathy Rapp Will Rapp Jim Reitnauer Steve Rush Geoff Socha Ana Thor Angela Thor Nissa Thor 2006 paid members: paid members: 331 PAGE 1

2 Renewal Information MEMBERSHIP REMINDER The Ride Schedules are all printed and have been mailed to all members whose membership is current. WILL YOU GET ONE? If you get your Spoke-n Word via USPS, check the mailing label on this issue to see if your membership is current or not An S2006, F2006, Y2006, or C2006 in the upper right corner of the mailing label indicates your 2006 dues were paid but NOT for year 2007 (BAD). Anything with a 2007 or greater indicates your dues are current (GOOD) and you are due a Ride Schedule. THE RENEWAL FORM The waiver at the bottom of the form (and the MINOR RELEASE on the back) needs to be signed and dated in order for us to provide insurance coverage for all our members. Anyone 18 or older must sign this waiver to renew membership. If you do not have under age children listed as family members, you can skip signing the minor release on the back. The treasurer collects mail from the Post Office box. He deposits the checks and sends the forms to me. If you just send a check, it may wind up as a donation since I may not get the necessary information to update your records and you are News for Riders and Ride Leaders Attention Ride Leaders counting on someone to remember to tell me that a membership has been received. Then, I will send you a form to complete anyway because we need the waiver to be signed and dated. If you've lost the form, it is OK to use a regular OCC application form. The form is on the OCC web site and available at the major bicycle shops in the Syracuse area. PROBLEMS? If you have paid year 2007 dues and the mailing label on this issue of the Spoke-n Word indicates 2006, or if your address is incorrect, your name is spelled wrong, etc., please contact Bob Ruth, membership chair at (315) or at ruthrob@twcny.rr.com. Photo by G.Vidali If you prefer to pick up the package (maps, signin sheets, insurance forms) as hard copy instead of downloading them from the internet, please contact me, Bill Goffe, either by or by phone goffe@oswego.edu, ), ideally approximately two weeks before the ride. PAGE 2

3 Please let me know as soon as possible to schedule the pick up. Thank you, Bill Goffe New Rides and Centuries: As we had last year, leisure rides will be held in conjunction with the Saturday rides in June, July, August, and the first week of September. These rides are designed for the less experienced cyclist: the routes will be miles, the pace Board of Directors moderate, and the terrain generally flat. They have their own ride leader and they will ensure that no one is dropped. These rides are ideal for friends or family members who are curious about cycling but don't cycle very much. If you know of anybody fitting thiscategory, please encourage them to come to these rides. Bill Goffe Club Officers President Vice-President Secretary Treasurer Bill Goffe Bob Spear Claire Reichl Mike Lyon Board of Directors and Assignments Fall Century Membership/Insurance Newsletter Editor/Advocacy Banquet/Mailing Racing/USCF Liaison Web Developer Ride Schedule Bill Goffe/Anne Diekema Bob Ruth Gianfranco Vidali Carolyn Sterritt Sam Sampere/ Marcello Prattico Marcello Prattico Rich Veenstra Cyclocross Merchandise Time Trial Publicity Cartographer At Large Jochen Woicke Kelly Wheeler Sam Sampere Wayne Miner Bob Spear Chuck Dominick Other Positions Earth Day Clean-up Annual Picnic Vacation Ride Point and Mileage Long Distance Riding John Baker Chad Bradshaw Jim Price Jim Price Jennifer Barber Almost 4th of July Century Equipment E-map Designer Listserver Admin Jennifer Barber Jack Lancette Jeff Palmer Tim Bingham PAGE 3

4 The Annual OCC Family Picnic and Swap Meet Mark Your Calendar - The Annual OCC Family Picnic and Swap Meet is Saturday July 28th from 11 AM to 4 PM at Highland Forest. We are again using the Torbert Shelter located above the main parking lot across from the office (there'll be a sign). We do NOT have to pay the $1.00 parking fee since parking is included in the shelter rental fee. Bring the family, friends, something to grill and, if you're feeling sociable, a dish or treat to pass. In the past, deserts have been the main pass-arounds. Soda, beer, and chips will be provided as will hot dogs for those who forget to bring something. Bring your mountain bikes to try the great trails or to preride the race course for the following week's Highland Forest Classic. Last year s bike-parts swap meet was a success, so if you have extra parts or swag you d like to sell or trade, bring them along your old stuff might be just what somebody else needs to fix or complete a bike! The Saturday morning club road ride will leave from the lower parking lot at the foot of the sledding hill and should return just in time for lunch. Since there will be some extra food and drink, come on up the hill and relax with your friends after the ride. Last year we had a great turn-out and a good time was had by all. Call Chad Bradshaw ( ) for info or questions. Earth Day Cleanup - Thank You! The Onondaga Cycling Club gathered at Jerome's Fire Apparatus Co., (Caughdenoy Road,.5 miles north of Hwy 31) at 9:00 AM, Saturday April 21, 2007, for breakfast and our sixth annual cleanup of the five mile stretch of Caughdenoy Road that our club has adopted. Photo by G. Vidali I'd like to thank the 47 volunteers who worked today to clean up Caughdenoy Road: John Baker, Chris Read, Mike Lyon, Mark DeFilippo. Wayne Miner, Don Healey, Dave Baker, Mark Gummer, Paul Kocher Arnold Scarano, Paul Swinburne, Gail Ferrat, Jack Lancette, Mark Romer, Jimmy PAGE 4

5 Ryan, Joan Yungwirth, Rich Veenstra, Bill Goffe, David VanWie, Dick Matthews, David Baltoort, Kate Stewart, Dave Bilecki, Mary Jo Kiggins, Jim Markert, Mike Volo, Dick Blume, Tom Hotaling, Steve Reiter, Kelly Wheeler, Mark Walker, Larry Comfort, Andy Hadley, Kathe Woicke, Jochen Woicke, Dan Voutsinas, Gian Vidali, Eddie Luban, Deb Leal, Joseph Ronnow, Zeke Ronnow, Ken Brid (sp?), Janet & Lars Ohlsen, Ben Donzella, Bruce Lawton (Town of Clay), Steven Rush, Jim Rowley (Town of Clay), John Weidman and Richard Southwick. County Executive Nick Pirro and Town of Clay Supervisor Jim Rowley came by to say thank you to the volunteers. Sam Sampere, Jack Lancette, Mike Lyon, and Wayne Miner provided additional assistance in setting up the event. Finally, I'd like to thank the chief organizer, John Baker, for all the work he put into making today a success. He deserves a long round of virtual applause. Thank you John. - Bill Goffe The 2007 OCC Vacation Ride The plans for the 2007 vacation ride are now complete. It is August 12 to August 18. We will stay three nights, Sunday through Tuesday, in an historic hotel in Saranac Lake. I have maps and cue sheets prepared for four rides from that location. Two of these are over 50 miles and two are less than 50 miles. The longest ride has a remote start: a visitor s center near Paul Smith s College. On Wednesday we will move to a motel near Wilmington. We will stay there three nights, Wednesday through Friday. The motel is two miles from town in a spectacular location. It works because there are two restaurants on the property. We will have a group meal Friday night in one of these restaurants. I have maps and cue sheets prepared for three rides from that location. Two of these are over 60 miles and one is less than 40 miles. The price of the rooms at both locations is approximately $95. That is per room, not per person. August is in the busy season for the Adirondacks. Therefore, the reservation and cancellation procedures are rather strict. Please reserve a place with me by sending a check for $50 per person. (I have $1,000 tied up in deposits since the middle of March.) The deadline for me to receive your $50 per person deposit is July 15. I obviously would prefer to receive your reservation and deposit well before that. Send it to: Jim Price, 2892 Hoxie Gorge Freetown Rd., Marathon, NY Both places charge one night for a late cancellation. Those dates are different for the two places but quite early for both. But to give me time to do something other than manage your affairs, July 15 would be a good date. So July 15 is the deadline for reservation deposit and deadline for cancellation without charge. The late cancellation charge is the loss of the deposit plus a charge of approximately $45 per person. Upon receipt of your deposit for one of the 20 available spacees, I will send you more detailed information including the exact room charges. I will also send you the complete set of maps and cue sheets. Jim Price PAGE 5

6 New Rides Special Olympics Pedal for Medals 300 Mile Ride: June 27,2007 through July1, 2007 Pedal for Medals is a four-day bicycle ride of nearly 300 miles to raise funds for New York Special Olympics. Riders will gather in Dwyer Park near Preble on Wednesday, June 27and are bused to Saranac Lake to begin four days of riding the following day by riding to Canton; day 2 to Watertown; day 3 to Oswego; and the fourth day -- Sunday -- will bring us back to Dwyer Park, for a concluding barbecue. Each of the intervening days will be filled with beautiful views, great camaraderie, abundant food and drink, and the rewards of accomplishment. Special Olympics New York provides a program of skill development, training, and competition for children and adults with mental retardation and other intellectual disabilities. As they prepare for and compete for medals at regional, state, national, or international games, these special athletes gain self-esteem and social skills that help them in educational, vocational, residential and community settings. Special Olympics' Healthy Athletes program provides the athletes health services ranging from hearing and vision screening to tobacco use prevention. Special Olympics New York delivers all of these services year round at no cost to the athletes or their families. Funds raised through Pedal for Medals will help us to offset these costs and expand our programs and services throughout the Central Region of New York State. Please join us on this ride and in this very worthy cause. Support and Accommodations -- Once they arrive in Saranac Lake, riders are fully provided for, with double-occupancy hotel rooms, breakfast, lunch and dinner, and water stops approximately every 20 miles throughout the ride. A nurse practitioner and sag vans accompany the riders each day, linked by ham radio operators, and a mechanic provides repair and maintenance support before and after the ride each day. Riders can park their cars at Dwyer Park on Wednesday, June 27, and return to their cars at the end of the ride. Fund-raising -- Riders must raise a minimum of $650 to participate in the four-day ride. To make fund-raising easy, a special website is set up where each rider can have a special account. Riders raising $900 will receive a commemorative ride shirt and those reaching $1500 will receive a ride jersey. Sign-up and Information Check out the ride website at More information can be had by contacting Laurie Kennedy, Special Olympics Regional Director, at or Other Rides B.I.K.E. - Syracuse - see also poster on page 11 "24 Hours of b.i.k.e.-syracuse" A charity ride to benefit the inner city children of Syracuse. b.i.k.e.-syracuse, is a non-profit, 501 (c)(3) "inner-city bike club" that mentors children from the ages of We need riders to bring in pledge money and volunteers for staffing. We are raising money to provide meals for the children during our Saturday meetings/rides and buy better biking equipment for the children. Bikes capture the kids hearts as we work to keep them in school (we work with the Syracuse School District) and out of trouble. Bikes are an outlet both emotionally and physically for the children. The bikes build their confidence and PAGE 6

7 enables them to get out of their neighborhood and turn their backs on poverty for a few hours every Saturday "The 24 Hours of b.i.k.e.-syracuse" will take place on June 9th and 10th. It is a 20 or 10 mile loop (rider's choice) around the City of Syracuse. The event is sponsored by Hartford Insurance Company, the Syracuse City Parks and Rec Department and City Police...safety is our main concern for all bikers..the route will be monitored by City Police and Probation Officers during the evening hours. The goal is to keep riding for 24 hours Saturday at 2:00 p.m. - Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Tents will be allowed to be set up in a secure area of Skiddy Park located on Oswego Street for riders' rest. Food is available at the event and entertainment will be provided. There are prizes for the individual and the team with the most laps completed in the 24 hours, and for the individual and the team with the most donations. Please check out our web site for all the details and registration for the event. Jerry Kerr Tel fax Ride for the Rescue As The Pedal Turns (vol 2): When we last heard from our intrepid hero, he was contemplating: Should I do the metric or the full century at the Ride for the Rescue this year July 15th? Well he still hasn t decided. Perhaps it was because he forgot the internet link where he could get the information ( Main_Page.htm). Perhaps it was the fact that his significant other and maybe the little ones want to come and he didn t know what they could do while he was on the road (they could do the five mile family ride or hang out at the fun filled tents and there is a rumor of a bike rodeo). Perhaps he couldn t believe that the entry fee was only $100 donation (more on this in the next episode). Perhaps he hasn t been able to get out and ride enough (me either) and feels he won t be physically ready (hey there is still plenty of time to get in condition). Perhaps someone should remind him that this ride is to raise money for the local Rescue Mission. One of the great things is that unlike many other fund raising events, all of the money stays in our community. The Rescue Mission is the only place where people can get a hot meal and place to sleep every day of the year and that includes leap years. Each of the routes begin and end at Cazenovia College. Besides the century and metric century, and five mile Family Fun ride there is a 20 and 40 miler. Our own Jeff Palmer did the maps and they show the route (well of course) as well as the water stops. After the ride they will feed you and I hear there is going to be a massage tent for that post ride rub down. The longer routes are rolling to hilly but you get to go by picturesque farms and through small communities in Madison and Onondaga counties. Don t forget the windmills. The shorter lengths are great for novice cyclists. Did I mention that after the rides, there will be food and other activities PAGE 7

8 (???) for the entire family; that is if you don t care about the food. Bring that non-cycling significant other. I am (name this time, Mike Lyon) the contact for the club and if you look ahead in the ride schedule, I am the ride leader, well at least sort of. For more info, go to the above link or me at ridebent@twcny.rr.com. I know that you can t wait for the next installment of As the Pedal Turns to see what happens to our fearless cyclist. See you next month. Pedal On Bike and Build My name is Shira Evans, and I have been, and continue to be, a member of the Syracuse running and cycling community since running cross country and track for Fayetteville-Manlius High School and Ithaca College. This summer I am hanging up my sneakers, and traveling by bicycle from Virginia to Oregon to raise funds for and awareness of affordable housing efforts with a non-profit organization, Bike and Build. Along with other participants, we will be stopping in communities where we will meet with local residents, give presentations about housing issues, and build affordable homes with local housing groups. I need your help! It takes $ to participate in this trip. So far, through generous donations from friends, family, and area businesses, I have raised $ I need to raise $ more by May. The proceeds from this event will be used to gain media attention around the affordable housing problem and to fund affordable housing projects by other young people- empowering a generate to make larger contributions to our communities. If you believe in affordable housing, not only for central New York, but for all, then donate to this worthwhile cause! Please make a check out to: Bike and Build. In the memo section of your check, write cyclist Shira Evans. Send your check to: Bike and Build, 190 North 10th Street, Suite 308, Brooklyn, NY Support me as I pedal to end poverty housing. If you have any questions, please feel free to me or call me at Most sincerely, Shira Evans Advocacy Remember that May is Bike Month! The League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Week from May and Biketo-Work Day on Friday, May 18. For ideas on what to do on those days, check the League of American Bicyclists Website Ride Reports California Dreaming - Part I Text and photos by Paul Swinburne My son moved to Oakland, California last summer so I now have great reason to visit the SF Bay area. My son and six of friends have a large apartment in an old factory. It is an unconventional apartment but has 5 bedrooms (sort of) lots PAGE 8

9 of open space for art work and music projects. I decided to try a folding bike (Bike Friday) to make traveling with a bike a bit easier. I located rides in the bay area through various club web sites. The Almaden Cycle Touring Club ( has a very extensive schedule of rides with multiple rides almost every day of the week. My visit to California was from 3/28 to 4/ 2. 3/29/07 The first ride that did with ACTC was the Mt. Diablo, Morgan Territory loop. This was listed as about 65 miles with two really big climbs (Mt. Diablo and Morgan Territory). While ACTC does not have maps on their web site they do have lots of grade info. The photos below from the 11.2 mile, 3700 ft Mt. Diablo climb. started gradually and then got much steeper with many switch backs near the top. Following are some photos from Morgan Territory Road. The decent on the south side was a bit scary. The road was sort of only one lane (white stripe on each side). You needed to be careful with the somewhat blind turns. The climbs in California are very different from Central New York. The roads tend be rather narrow with many switchbacks and sometimes not such good road surfaces. Small rock/ mud slides sometimes block some of the roadway. Also it is often hard to tell where the top of the climb is located. This was a great ride except for the flat portions between the climbs. This is where traffic becomes much more of a problem. Fortunately there is not much traffic on the winding mountain roads. We did the north side of Morgan Territory which is listed as 1755 ft and 6.3 miles (from Marsh Creek). This was a nice shaded climb which Fortunately the turn for Morgan Territory was not far away. After the rather quick descent on the south side of Morgan Territory, the return was to the start at Danville (Crow Canyon and Camino Tassajara) was uneventful. Fortunately most of PAGE 9

10 the traffic was going the other way. This was all commuters returning home to the now bedroom community of Livermore. They were on this rather small rural road (Highland Rd.) instead of the crowded I-680 and I-580 Freeways. whole ride. They did block an entrance to I-280 to make sure that Critical Mass didn t get on the freeway. 3/30/07 This was my planned day for riding in San Francisco. My plan was to ride over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and then back to SF in time for the monthly Critical Mass ride. I know that many people disagree with the Critical Mass protest approach but I just want to see what it was like and since this all started in San Francisco it seems to be a bit more accepted or at least tolerated there. The pathway on the west side is only for bikes but is not open on weekdays before 3:30 pm. I went over on the east side, dodging walkers of all sorts and back on the west side, much quicker. San Francisco is actually a very good city for bicycling. They have many marked bike routes and bike lanes and I have very good map. My only problem was that when the bike routes made turns to switch to different streets the signs were not always there or easy to see. Consequently I went off the route several times and sometimes had to stop to check my map. Eventually I was on Bay Street which was headed where I want to go (back to the Embarcadero). Bay Street is not a recommended bike route but still wasn t that bad. The Critical Mass ride starts at 6 pm near Market Street (last Friday of every month). People begin meeting in the plaza at 5:30 and show up with all sorts of weird bikes. There were several SF police motorcycles that seemed to just try to monitor things. Some of the police motorcycles did few strange things like riding on the sidewalk to move up through the The ride started very slow. I mean so slow that it was difficult to maintain balance. I seemed to wind around through downtown sort of following Market Street but also on several other streets. We did get to the Civic Plaza in front of the very beautiful city hall. Then we headed south on Van Ness and on to Mission but after that I wasn t not sure exactly where I was. Below is one photo during the ride that gives you a bit of an idea of the number (I would guess maybe a thousand or more bikes). Part II will be published next month. PAGE 10

11 JUNE 9 10, 2007 Sign-in opens June 9 th at 8:00 a.m. (315) 428-bike (2453) Visit our website for details Help our kids!!! 24 Hours of b.i.k.e.- Syracuse A fundraiser to benefit inner city children Ride a scenic 20 or 10 mile loop (Rider s choice) through the streets of Syracuse!! On Saturday, June 9 th, from 2 p.m. through 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 10 th, riders will ride a selected course through greater Syracuse, starting from Skiddy Park, the home of b.i.k.e. Syracuse. Riders under 18 are free and may enjoy the 10 mile loop, if accompanied by an adult. Hand in pledge sheets & donations at Sign-in. Prizes for the most money raised and the most laps completed Registration - -$40 Limited to the first 150 adult applicants. Space FOR RIDERS TO PITCH TENTS IN THE PARK!! MUSIC BY THE CRITICS and THE MARIGOLDS ( Reserve your spot now! Visit our website and complete our registration form. Our corporate sponsor PAGE 11

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