The Flying Wheel Newsletter of the Williamsburg Area Bicyclists (WAB) PO Box 2222, Williamsburg, VA 23187-2222 http://wabonline.org Volume 22, Number 10 Williamsburg, Virginia October 2018 Cycling Without Age Awarded $5000 Grant By Rick Nevins Cycling Without Age - Williamsburg project has been approved for a $5,000 grant from the Williamsburg Community Foundation! As you may know, Cycling Without Age - Williamsburg is a joint project of the Williamsburg Area Bicyclists and BikeWalk Williamsburg. This award will go a long way towards the purchase of a second trishaw so that we can extend this great community service to more people. The grant will be awarded at a grant award luncheon on October 24th. Thanks to Kitty Preston for being the overall coordinator/author of the grant application, as well as Ted Hanson, who made many valuable contributions to the effort. Finally, thanks also to Allen Turnbull who provided guidance and insights throughout the process! In this issue Cycling Without Age Awarded $5000......... 1 WAB General Membership Meeting.......... 1 Member Information...................... 2 Website Tip............................. 2 From the President s Desk.................. 3 CWAW Hits It s Stride..................... 3 Ride Calendar............................ 4 Advertisements.......................... 4-10 Out of Bounds........................... 5 Trail Mix............................... 5 Ride Classifications....................... 7 Fran Changes the Rules.................... 8 Racing Season Results..................... 8 On the Road............................. 9 Surface Tension.......................... 10 WAB General Membership Meeting Our next General Membership Meeting is Tuesday October 9th. Colonial Heritage Clubhouse 6500 Arthur Hills Drive Williamsburg, VA 23188 We will meet at the Colonial Heritage clubhouse as usual with meal service at 6:00 pm and meeting at 7:00. Dinner at 6:00 pm Spinach salad Rolls Beef Stew with carrots, potatoes, onions etc. Mashed potatoes Chef s Choice Dessert Tea, Coffee, Water bar Vegetarian Option: Quinoa, black bean and corn stuffed peppers. If you need another choice or have allergies, please contact Linda Coppinger at lindacoppinger@gmail. com, or call 220-3160. Business Meeting at 7:00 pm The slate of candidates for the 2019 WAB Board positions will be presented (voting to be done at the November meeting). Following the business meeting, Dave Coppinger will present a slide show of a very recent trip on the GAP Trail, with commentary by Allen Turnbull (who organized the trip), Mary Turnbull and Kathryn Blue, who test rode the route and then participated in the journey. This is ride adaptable for all kinds of riders and you may want to take notes. You WILL want to ride this trail!
Member information Welcome! Renewing members: William Cunningham, Dean & Carolyn Dunbar, Allison Jarvis & Trot, Truitt Flippin, Lynn Miller, Chris Pond, Gary Smith New members: Noah Batkin, Ray & Mary Lou Wassel, Arthur Brown Member Discount Don t Forget: Your WAB membership entitles you to a 10% discount on parts, accessories or clothing at these local bike shops and sports stores: BikeBeat, Bikes Unlimited, Conte s and Colonial Sports. *Discount does not apply to bicycles. Other items may not qualify for discount at certain shops - call store for details. The Flying Wheel is the newsletter of the Williamsburg Area Bicyclists or WAB. The Club encourages and supports all facets of bicycling in the Williamsburg, Virginia area. The Flying Wheel is always looking for stories or pictures connected to cycling. If you can help out, email the editor (editor@wabonline.org) or send a letter to: Williamsburg Area Bicyclists, P.O. Box 2222, Williamsburg, VA 23187-2222. Please send us your story no later than the 15 th of the month. League of American Bicyclists Affiliated Club James City County Division of Parks & Recreation Co-Sponsored Club Historic Triangle Bicycle Advisory Committee - see link for contact information: https://www.yorkcounty.gov/countygovernment/administration,county/planning/bikeways/htbacroster.aspx the minutes of the general membership meeting and a summary of the Board minutes are available online at http://www.wabonline.org/index.php/members-only/general-membership-meeting-minutes General Membership Meeting Signup We normally hold General Membership Meetings on the 2nd Tuesday of the months of September through November and January through May. The format is typically a meal at 6 PM followed by a program at 7 PM. We have used several different venues for these meetings lately they have been at the Colonial Heritage Restaurant. The restaurant offers several different meal options and requires a count by meal option four days prior (so normally by the Friday prior to the Tuesday meeting). On the WAB website is a simple form you can fill out to indicate your attendance and select your meal. Just follow these steps: 1. Login to the website with your username/password. 2. Click on the Membership Meeting Icon on the home page. 3. This resulting page will show the date/time of the meeting and title of the program, along with a link to sign up to attend. Click on that link. 4. The page that appears next will show the mail choices scroll down to select your meal choice where it says Primary Member Meal. 5. You can also add two additional names of others attending with you and select their meals as well (Guest 1 Name, Guest 1 Meal, Guest 2 Name and Guest 2 Meal). 6. When you are done, click on Save & Close at the top of the page. Note: Even if you are attending the meeting only at 7 PM and not attending dinner we ask that you complete this form and just select No Meal Meeting Only in the meal selection. WILLIAMSBURG AREA BICYCLISTS PAGE 2 Rick Nevins, Webmaster - webmaster@wabonline.org
From the President s Desk The days are finally cooling off a bit. While it is still raining more than I d like and the humidity is higher than I prefer, it s still better than the summer we endured. Seems like the long, cold winter was followed by a long, hot and humid summer, with a very brief spring squeezed in between. But now it s fall and I hope it lasts for a while. Fall is my favorite season. Spring is pretty with flowers blooming, but for me that also brings allergy attacks which are often unpleasant. Having spent a good portion of my life living in a desert environment, I prefer warm dry air to high humidity. While I can spend hours watching snow fall outside while sitting in a comfortable chair next to a fireplace, fall to me is the best. Fall is warm sunny days walking among fallen leaves while marveling at the awesome colors the trees display. Fall is sleeping with the windows open to cool breezes. Perhaps it was all those years of living in the desert where trees were few and far between that has made fall so special to me. The shorter days will soon cause the Sunset Ride to end. In a few months, more rides will drop off the calendar for the winter. So let s ride as much as we can and enjoy this wonderful weather. Happy travels. Deana Sun, President Cycling Without Age Hits Its Stride By Mark Holt WAB s community service program, Cycling Without Age Williamsburg, has launched and is growing every month! Most recently WindsorMeade has approved the concept and plans to start scheduled rides on Monday late this fall. Currently Edgeworth Park rides on Tuesdays, Williamsburg Landing on Wednesdays and Verena at the Reservce on Fridays. The program has provided over 21 ride days to over 81 total passengers and 45 unique passengers. The large number of repeat passengers shows the popularity of the program. With more temperate fall weather on the way we expect the program to become even more popular and running four days a week should make the numbers grow quickly. Thirty-one pilots have passed the training program which is great but so far only 12 have actually signed up and given rides. If you are one of the 19 that went through the training program but haven t yet been an active pilot go for it. You will find your passengers are truly grateful and the experience is one of the most satisfying that you can have on a bike. Sign up for the Edgeworth Park Tuesdays can be found at: https://www.signupgenius.com/ go/70a0d4fa5a82fa7f49-edgeworth1 and the Verena Fridays can be found at: https://www.signupgenius.com/ go/70a0d4fa5a82fa7f49-verena There are still a lot of new things happening with the program. As noted on page 1, we recently received WILLIAMSBURG AREA BICYCLISTS PAGE 3 notice of a $5000 grant award from the Williamsburg Community Foundation thanks to a grant application written by Kitty Preston with assistance from Ted Hanson and Alan Turnbull and those funds when added to the $2000 plus already in hand get us about 70% of the way to the amount needed for a second trishaw. Fund raising to complete that purchase will commence now and if you have ideas on how to raise the $3000 to $4000 needed please contact Rick Nevins or Mark Holt (you can reach them by email through our web site). Our CWA Committee is also exploring storage options for the second trishaw and is approaching other Senior living Facilities in the area about becoming clients and or sponsors. This program is already a success, get involved and help us make it a bigger one! CWA Demonstration at Windsormeade
OCTOBER RIDE CALENDAR WAB Special Rides Following are special rides for the next month as of the date of this newsletter. Please refer to the WAB calendar @ http://wabonline. org/index.php/ride-calendar for full details. Check the Message Board posts that the ride leaders generate. Non-members are always welcome. Date TBD Metric Century Paul Baker is considering leading this ride in lieu of a regular Jamestown Settlement Ride sometime during October. Watch for a Message Board post. Friday, October 26 to Sunday, October 28 Harrisburg Bike Club (HBC) will be in town Coordinator: Rick Nevins There will be many rides offered Friday thru Sunday. Check the calendar for details. Monday, October 29 to Tuesday, October 30 - WAB / HBC Overnight Ride to Richmond and back Coordinator: Rick Nevins Check the calendar for details. WAB Recurring Rides Following are recurring club rides as of the date of this newsletter. Please refer to the WAB calendar @ http://wabonline.org/index. php/ride-calendar for full details and actual schedule, which can vary. Check the weekly Message Board posts about the rides. Non-members are always welcome. Monday - Charles City County Ride - 9:00 AM Start: Charles City Courthouse, Charles City, VA Coordinator: Fran Wenbert Paces: generally B/B+ & C PACE FOR RIDES: A... 18-20 mph B+...16-18 B...14-16 C... 12-14 D...10-12 Casual... Up to 10 mph, with no one left behind Please note that these are average speeds. If you are new to club rides and aren t sure what pace you can maintain, be conservative with your first ride! Direct all questions, cancellations or updates to Rick Nevins at ridecoordinator@wabonline.org. Helmets are required on WAB rides. Updates and cancellations are posted on the Members Only message board. Ride leaders are obligated to collect waiver signatures prior to the ride. Monday - Sunset Ride from JT Settlement - 5:00 PM (note earlier start time - bring lights!) Coordinator: Paul Baker Paces: generally B/B+ and C Tuesday - Surry Ride - 9:30 AM (note later start time!) Start: Surry County Government Offices, 45 School Street, Surry Coordinators: Fran Wenbert and Jack Huber Paces: generally B & C Wednesday - Upper James City County Ride - 9:00 AM Start: Liberty Live Church (unless otherwise noted) Coordinators: Jim Gullo and Rick Nevins Paces: generally B/B+ & C Thursday - Sunset Ride from JT Settlement - 5:00 PM (note earlier start time - bring lights!)...continued on page 8 WAB Jerseys! If you missed out on the last two orders, but would like a jersey, please contact Dave Cosgrove at jersey@wabonline. org. Once we have enough new orders, another batch will be ordered from the supplier. WILLIAMSBURG AREA BICYCLISTS PAGE 4
Out of Bounds by Ken McFarland (kenmcfarland482@gmail.com) October is just about the end of the season for the most popular Virginia centuries and bike events. In the Out of Bounds link on the WAB website (http://wabonline.org/index.php/suggested-links/out-of-bounds-upcoming-wab-andnon-wab-events?start=20), for October, there are 11 events listed. Two popular ones are the Sea Gull Century 10/6 and the Shenandoah Fall Foliage Bike Festival 10/19-21. (The Between the Waters Ride 10/27 is sold out.) There is one local event in November that may be of interest to some - The Big Pig Bicycle Tour in Smithfield 11/10. It s not too early to make vacation plans for 2019. Consider joining fellow WAB members at the Cycle NC Coastal Ride in April in Edenton. That s about it for 2018. Hope you have had a great year of cycling. Trail Mix by Ted Hanson (thanson@earthlink,net) * Updated Website If you haven t visited the Virginia Capital Trail website recently, please take a look: www.virginiacapitaltrail.org. Over the past year the website has been completely redone adding information on amenities, lodging, eating, attractions and more. Improvement is still needed on the Trail maps, but inputs have been offered and should be considered in the next update. * Trail Clean Up Event and Party In what is hoped to be an annual event, Saturday October 20th from 12 noon to 2pm will be Trail clean up and maintenance day, followed by a hosted parties (2pm-5pm) in both Williamsburg (Billsburg Brewery) and Richmond (Stone Brewery). Orange trash collection bags (to be picked up by VDOT along the Trail), gloves and pickers will be supplied. You can either work alone for a one mile section or as pairs covering two miles. Here s a link to sign up: https://goo.gl/ forms/k1ivlwfct1sghcfk2 For more information email rothert@virginiacapitaltrail.org - MENTION THIS AD - receive $5.00 off a $25.00 purchase Does not include gold card and other coupons or specials. Two decades of supporting Park 2Park, local races, and events. Providing health and performance products for the biking community. Many thanks and appreciation to our valued customers. Ride safe! Why cycling for joy is not the most popular pastime on earth is still a mystery to me. Frank J. Urry (English Cycling Journalist) Dean Dunbar piloting for CWA-W WILLIAMSBURG AREA BICYCLISTS PAGE 5
THE FLYING WHEEL OCTOBER 2018 WILLIAMSBURG AREA BICYCLISTS PAGE 6
Rick Nevins piloting for CWA-W By Rick Nevins Ride CLassifications There has been some discussion (and possibly confusion) lately about our ride classifications, as well as the responsibilities of both the ride leaders and the ride participants when on a club ride. This is not a simple topic to address, but I will do my best! First on the subject of ride classifications as shown on our website calendar, we define them as: A 18-20 mph B+ 16-18 B 14-16 C 12-14 D 10-12 Casual Up to 10 mph, with no one left behind These are average paces that you should have at the end of the ride. The range reflects the fact that the final average pace may be impacted by terrain, group makeup, wind or other factors. Please keep in mind that in order to finish with an average pace of (for example) 14 mph, means that at times the rolling pace may be significantly higher or lower than 14 mph it does not mean that the rolling pace will always be within the designated range. The actual rolling pace at any time will be influenced heavily by the wind and grade. The ride leaders should: Ride at a pace that results in a final average within the classification range. Keep track of all the riders and ensure all are OK. This may mean adjusting the pace and/or re-grouping at intersections. Consider designating a sweep to ride with the slower rider if needed. The participants should: Clarify with the leader the planned pace and terrain if unsure. They should be comfortable they can maintain the pace, or at least know the roads and be OK with riding alone if necessary. Refrain from riding faster than the planned group pace (ahead of the leader) unless it is agreed with the leader and re-group locations are designated. I hope this helps but if you have any questions or comments, please email me at rick@nevins.com WILLIAMSBURG AREA BICYCLISTS PAGE 7
(Continued from page 4) Coordinator: Jamie Clark Paces: B/B+ Friday - Friday Friends Ride - 9:00 AM Start: Williamsburg Community Chapel Coordinator: Fran Wenbert Paces: generally C & D Saturday Poquoson PBA / WAB Ride - 8:00 AM Start: old Farm Fresh in Poquoson, PA Coordinator: Linda Carter Pace: C Dates: 10/13, 10/20, 10/27 Saturday - Jamestown Settlement Ride - 9:30 AM Start: Jamestown Settlement Coordinator: Paul Baker Pace: B+ Fran Changes the Rules by Mark Holt As everyone knows, Fran Wenbert is running away with the annual WAB mileage race for another year riding circles around her nearest competitor, aging Mark Holt. As of this writing Fran has 8765 miles and Holt only 8635. Holt had hoped to be named King of Something this year and had challenged Fran to a contest to see who would ride the most centuries in 2018 and in actual centuries ridden so far this year Fran has 13 to Holt s paltry 5. Fran is nothing but gracious though and at the recent Monday Charles City ride she told Holt ok, we ll make this more interesting, you can have extra credit for every century you ride in the mountains with a full century credit for every 5000 feet climbed. What Fran didn t realize was that Holt had just finished the Alpine Loop out of Harrisonburg at over 10000 feet so that runs his total to 7. He quickly signed up for five more climbing events inflating his possible total to near 20. Informed of Holt s event applications in the mail Fran laughed and said she would just do ten more centuries this month putting the title out of reach and sending her knees into oblivion. Early Vegas odds suggest neither Wenbert or Holt will be ambulatory by end of year so the contest is likely to be more interesting next year. R acing Season Results By Mark Holt Fall means the end of the road racing season in Virginia and while WAB is not a race club, many of its members pin on numbers during the year and test themselves in various competitive events ranging from road races to time trials to triathlons. Many of our members had great success this year and a number did their first events in 2018. Contact any of them if you want to try racing. Charles Wynder entered the National Veterans Golden Age Games in Alberquerque, NM in August and came away with six medals including a silver in the 10k Cycling Time Trial despite failing to pack his cycling shoes. Charles was also inducted into that Games Hall of Fame this season. Lisa Pitman finished her first full season of USAC and Senior Games racing with 10 wins, the USAC Virginia BAR and Omnium Championships, the MABRA Time Trial Series Championship, three individual Virginia State USAC Championships (out of 4 possible), and double Golds in both the Virginia and Maryland Senior Games. Mustafa Cayci rode his first race early in the year at the William and Mary Road Race and pinned on a number five more times winning a Silver in the Virginia Senior Games Criterium and a Gold in the Maryland Senior Games 10k Time Trial. William Harris took two Silvers in the Virginia Senior Games in the 5k Time Trial and 20k Criterium. Those positions qualified him for the National Senior Games next year in New Mexico. Last year s WAB Most Improved Rider, Luis Morillo, entered his first race with the William and Mary Road Race and is looking to do more as he gets stronger and stronger. This newsletter editor managed 19 starts so far this year and happily avoided any falling off the bicycle incidents while racing. Cole Casey and Martha Gullo flirted with the dark side adding running and swimming to their bike racing completing several Triathlons between them. Lisa Pitman Winning Another Time Trial WILLIAMSBURG AREA BICYCLISTS PAGE 8
On The Road By Rick Nevins, Ride Coordinator I ve noticed that we ve had an uptick in ridership at our recurring rides in September. I guess this is due to the end of summer vacations and cooler temperatures. Looking ahead in October we will continue to run all the weekday morning rides. The only slight change is the Tuesday Surry County rides will start a half hour later (9:30 AM) in October. Normally we end our evening rides at the end of September but have decided to continue the Monday and Thursday Sunset rides through October with earlier start times of 5 PM on Monday and 5:30 PM on Thursday. Since we will likely be encountering darkness on the return legs, we will keep the return strictly on the VCT and ask all rides to have bike lights The other highlight for October will be the joint rides with the Harrisburg Bicycle Club the last weekend of October and the overnight ride to Richmond on Monday, 10/29. We have 38 people signed up for the Richmond ride (about ½ WAB and ½ Harrisburg), which includes a few non-cycling spouses. The official deadline for the room block at the Holiday Inn has passed but you can still probably get a room if you d like to join us. You can find more detail in the August Flying Wheel and on the website calendar here: http://www.wabonline. org/index.php/ride-calendar/1138. Let me know if you have questions or decide to come. In addition to the ride to Richmond there will be a wide variety of WAB led rides for the Harrisburg club on Friday, 10/26, Saturday, 10/27 and Sunday, 10/28. These are detailed on the calendar and all WAB Members are welcome to join us! We are expecting 84 Harrisburg Club members to join us this year. WILLIAMSBURG AREA BICYCLISTS PAGE 9
Surface Tension by Linda Coppinger Stoker s attention has been glued to the surface. This morning the surface was tile, freshly wet from a body leaving the shower, dripping on tile, shiny and slick enough to land Stoker in an unpleasant memory of another slip with a fall attached. This morning the toes maintained contact and the only mishap was the hiccup from the quick inhale as hands grasped the counter. No harm, no foul, no fall. Is tile the best surface for the floor? What s the best surface for the bike to traverse? Last week s journey tested several theories. Day one, we launched from a hotel at the intersection of two trails. We rode away from the front door on city pavement, then across a gravel and grit parking area of potholes and puddles, and onto the C and O towpath in Cumberland. We only rode a couple of miles, just to stretch the legs. Western Maryland had been hit by the Gordon hurricane as it moved north through Mississippi, and the towpath was soggy. The surface of the towpath is earth, sometimes covered with plants, but mostly just plain dirt. Mixed with water, it becomes mud. In our five little miles the bike gained ten pounds. Stoker was grateful for the fenders. When riding became an uncontrolled slip n slide, we turned around, and pedalled to mile marker zero, laid into the surface of the now brick and block trail. A few more feet, and the trail was painted onto a paved parking lot, and then crossed a busy city street. Beyond that, it was paved for about a mile, and then the paving ended in a pile of rubble next to a large puddle. Again about face. We would see this bit of trail again at the end of the journey. Two days later the surface was Pittsburgh city paving. Riding a bike in a downtown of skyscrapers was a new experience for Stoker, whose downtown rides had been limited to three stories before. Now, the surface was paved, except where it was brick that had been set down but not mortared. Stoker made a note to contact her dentist, as the surfaces of her teeth were grinding away. We rode through parks with cement sidewalks, paved roads, historic locations with ballast stones for roads, construction sites with broken bottles for paving. The GAP trail runs through Pittsburgh next to the rivers, which had flooded the week before, so at one point the GAP trail surface was flowing water, several inches deep. Later, between cities, the trail surface was fairly consistent, draining well, not too soft. Occasionally a fallen tree would cover the surface. Sometimes there were bridges. Late in the trip the trail moved in close to the tracks, and the piled up stones slid down the banks of the train tracks into the path, obscuring the surface. Once there was a serious washout, where the surface disappeared underground. The tandem took it all in stride, built as it is for comfort and not for speed. Stoker s favorite surface, however, was plainweave at 200 threads per inch. At the end of each day s pedal, there was that cotton surface that promised a better tomorrow. Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Enjoy your surface, whatever it is. Michael Kaspareck Piloting for CWA-W WILLIAMSBURG AREA BICYCLISTS PAGE 10