January - February 2004

OLD AND NEW PROGRAMS

By the time you've received this newsletter the Winter 2004 Frostbite Series will already be well underway. By now it's a very traditional and popular ride series, for the hearty winter cyclist. What's new is a series of occasional rides I am offering that will explore some nearby urban areas, offered under the name "Freezer Jam" since the destinations may be improvised. The emphasis of these rides will be to explore some industrial areas that are often overlooked. This winter also marks the return of the Temperature Regulator series with Jesse Brown and friends. Join Jesse for a fast 40 miler up through Westchester.

Returning this Spring will be the club's regular series of Montauk Century Training Rides and the revival of the Metric Training series. The metric series runs from mid-April while the standard series starts at the beginning of March. The final training rides are held the weekend between Bike New York and our annual Montauk event. Most of the Century Training rides will have a "quick-spin" option for those who want to get there and back without the point-drop-sweep.

HOW COLD IS TOO COLD TO RIDE?

Naturally wind is a major factor in deciding whether or not to go out, as is precipitation. Riders are advised that in dry conditions the FROSTBITE RIDE series will go out. I asked Eddie D. about this and he was quite clear. Temperature alone does not cancel his rides. Please be sure to dress appropriately for all winter rides.

Virtually all other ride leaders will use additional determinants and may possibly cancel due to severe cold or windy conditions. Each ride leader has to make the call on a given day, and I encourage leaders to include cancellation conditions in winter ride listings. Please note that if a ride listing does not specifically say so, then the following conditions are the general rules to cancel :

1. wet or icy conditions
2. precipitation, either rain or snow at the start
3. winds greater than 15 mph at the start
4. temperature less than 32F at the start

BETTER LEADER-TRIPPER CONTACT

Many times prior to a given ride a number of trippers will have questions about the ride. Especially in winter, when the weather can be uncertain or threatening. To this end I am asking ride leaders to include contact info - either telephone or email in their write-ups. I hope that this can encourage more leader-tripper dialogue and help trippers decide which rides they would prefer to do.

REVIVING THE 'REGIONAL ROUNDUP' LISTING

I believe that there are a number of groups in our area that offer rides and organized events that the 5BBC members should know about. I intend to include both annual events and a small selection of familiar and popular rides - rides that I and others recommend.

Side note: a couple of years ago Transportation Alternatives removed the club bicycle ride listings from their regular publication. What this did was affect the number of potential new members our club and others could reach through those ride listings. This was a great way to get new people involved in club rides and activities.

So what I'm looking to do is to find new ways to get new people involved in club events, and what I hope is that through the regional listing with other groups there will be more of a crossover of people who attend rides and events that are organized.

The caveat here is that for the most part these rides are not led by 5BBC leaders but they are worth noting and I think they are worth checking out. (Trudy Hutter, organizer of the Weekday Cyclists, is of course an excellent 5BBC leader though many of her rides are not listed on the 5BBC calendar.)

I'd also like to make this an inclusive listing of events in the region, so if you know of an event that our members should know about please write to me directly so that it can be included.

Please email me (daytrips@5bbc.org) with comments, questions, concerns or additions to any of the rides and series you see listed here.

Danny Lieberman
Day Trips Coordinator, 2004