Club News

 

Winter Recovery Party

The Winter Recovery Party will be held on Saturday, January 28 at the home of John and Teri Olbrot. Stay tuned for more details.

Currently the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club is in need of a Social Director. If you would like to help the Club and your fellow cyclists contact a Zolton or other member of the Executive Board. The demands on your time are minimal, with the main event that needs to be planned being the Recovery Party in January. In the past we have had co-social directors, and this has worked well.

Inclement Weather Policy

Riders are urged to use common sense and good judgment when deciding whether to embark on, or continue, bicycle rides in inclement weather or when a high heat index has been posted by the National Weather Service.

In rainy conditions, pavement and any metal material, like manhole covers and railroad tracks, can become slick. In additions, braking distance is greatly increased and visibility can be severely compromised. Puddles can conceal potholes and other defects in the road surface. Auto drivers may have a difficult time seeing riders on the roadway.

In windy conditions, tree limbs can fall unexpectedly either onto the roadway or onto bicycle riders. Bike control may be hard to maintain, particularly with crosswinds.

If the weather looks at all threatening, be sure to check local media outlets or the national weather service before starting a bike ride. Kalamazoo Bicycle Club policy with respect to National Weather Service severe weather warnings is as follows:
In the event of a TORNADO WARNING – where a tornado or funnel cloud has been sighted in the area, or has been identified on radar – all KBC events, including regular club rides, time trials and special rides will automatically be canceled.
In the event of a TORNADO WATCH – where conditions are conducive to tornado formation – or a severe thunderstorm warning, riders may ride regular evening club rides at their own risk. Club ride leaders might not be present at times when tornado watches and severe thunderstorm warnings have been posted. Club rides, time trials and special rides may be canceled in the event of a tornado watch or severe thunderstorm notification, at the discretion of the ride leader or event organizer.

Member's Ride Maps

KBC member Terry Butcher has been kind enough to share ten of his local ride maps, ranging in distance from about 31 to 132 miles. The maps appear on the website mapmyride.com, and most start from Breakaway Bicycles in Portage. Here’s the link to his library: http://www.mapmyride.com/profile/broncoterry/ . Once you get to his home page, click on “routes” and the individual maps will appear.

Bear in mind that some of these rides were mapped a while ago and conditions may have changed (road surface degradation, for instance) in the interim. But give one or two of them a try sometime and discover some new riding venues in the Kalamazoo area.

As KBC webmaster I am grateful for Terry making this resource available to the club. If others would like to share any routes they have please email me at webmaster@kalamazoobicycleclub.org.

Benefits

 

Free KBC Membership with bike purchase

Buy a bike at Alfred E. Bike, Breakaway Bicycles, or Village Cyclery and fill out this form to redeem a one-year membership to our club (new members only)