Arkansas Bicycle Club News 
Pic Of The Day:
Cyclist Served: 91926
 Training Ride, July 2008 |
Cyclist Served: 91926
| Place: | El Chico, 1315 Breckenridge Drive |
| Date: | Thursday, July 10th, 2008 |
| Time: | 6:30 pm |
| Info: | We'll have a few announcements and mostly a social time. No meeting is planned for August at this time. |
Arkansas Bicycle Club Meeting Minutes for July 2008
President Jim Britt called the meeting to order.
He announced that there will be no meeting in August. We will meet at American Pie in September if we can get space. We may put goody bags together then for the Arky. If anyone has a contact with a business to donate something for the bags, let Jim know at arky100@arkansasbicycleclub.org
Our member, Tom Ezell, is beginning the training rides for the Big Dam Bridge 100. Everyone will meet at the bike rental place or soccer fields each Saturday morning for 12 weeks. Meeting time is 8:30 AM. For questions, call Tom at 501-912-1047 or 501-682-0854.
Congratulations to Holly Hope for winning the Prediction Ride for 2008! She was presented the coveted trophy. Her prediction was one minute and thirty seconds close to her actual time.
New bike shop Community Bicyclist owner, Sam Williamson, will offer commuter bicycling lessons on Saturday July 26th at his shop which is just behind Block Buster in the Tanglewood Shopping Center .
One of our members present, Coreen Frazier told us how she has now bicycled in all 50 states! She has just returned from biking 65 miles (for her birthday) in Alabama . If you see her, congratulate her. She’ll soon take off to ride RAGBRAI.
Jim presented spiffy new caps to the club officers and board members that Ian and Tim had designed. He also previewed the hats to be given out to the Arky 100 riders later.
A short report was given by Don Gephardt that his Thursday morning, 9:00 AM, retired ride got off to a good start with 8 riders the first week. Coffee can be had at the River Trail Rentals before the ride.
Meeting was adjourned. Happy cycling.
Respectfully submitted,
Jamie Hazlewood, club secretary
From "The Ride"....
We had a great meeting last night with several city officials and a new cycling committee. We hope to see some “sharrows” in and around Conway within the year, and plan to have regular meetings to move toward being a much more cyclist friendly community. For more information on the direction Conway hopes to move with cycling check out www.bikeleague.org
Please visit and participate in Conway’s newest cycling web page, www.cycleconway.com. Post your own comments about safe/unsafe routes in and around Conway.
Ride on,
Erik Leamon
The Ride
We'll be holding the July Smart Cycling ( LAB Road I) class on Saturday evening, July 12, and Sunday afternoon, July 13.
Location: The Community Bicyclist, Tanglewood Shopping Center, 7509 Cantrell Road (intersection of Cantrell Road and Mississippi Avenue, on the south (back) side of the shopping center), Little Rock, Arkansas 72207.
Meet on Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m. and on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Contact Tom at tomezell@aristotle.net, or by phone at (501) 912-1047 or 682-0854 for a class schedule or for more information. Course material and outline available at http://pscyclepath.blogspot.com.
Course Fee: $50. (Scholarships can be available if money’s a problem… call Tom.)
JUST WHAT IS “ ROAD I”?
“Road I” is the adult bicycling skills course offered by the League of American Bicyclists, and taught by League-certified cycling instructors. It covers basic bicycle selection and fitting, fixing flat tires, inspecting a bicycle for safety, understanding state and local traffic laws that apply to cyclists, communicating with motorists, riding safely in traffic on various types of streets and intersections, selecting gear for foul weather and night riding, and avoiding crashes using defensive riding and emergency maneuvers. Even experienced bicyclists will learn many useful things from this course.
If you are new to bicycling, or would like to feel more safe and comfortable riding on the local streets and roads, you will find this course especially helpful. Road I is a 9-hour course divided into two sessions, a block of classroom instruction and discussion, and a block of practice and exercise on the bike. Most of the class will be hands-on, including bicycling on a parking lot and on neighborhood streets.
Anyone who registers should plan to attend both sessions. You don't have to attend both classes consecutively (for example, you can take the classroom phase on Saturday night and then the on-bike phase the following month, after you've have some time to absorb things and practice on your own... or if you've taken the classroom phase previously with another instructor, you can take the on-road phase on Sunday). You do need to complete both parts of the course in order to receive your certificate. And if you've taken Road I previously, you're more than welcome to sit in for a refresher at any time.
Participation is by pre-registration only, so that we can have sufficient handouts and class material available for everyone.
The ride was rained out. It will be rescheduled soon. Dates being considered are Sat., July 26 and Sundays, July 13 and 27. Go to the Forum / Rides / Tour de Oink to post any preference.
Holly Hope is the winner of the 2008 Prediction Ride, being only 1 min., 33 sec over her estimated time. Congratulations! Her name will added to the trophy that goes back to 1981. Total competion times ranged from 2:02 to 3:40.
The Trail will be closed from 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM this week, apparently at the quarry through the bluffs area and perhaps to the boat ramp area. There is only a sign by the quarry for the upriver riders to see so it's hard to know where the work zone ends. They seem to have the trail cleaned off for riding after their work shift. So far a retaining wall is going up at the slide area of the bluffs. Thank you, North Little Rock.
We have donated to the Boys and Girls Club in McGehee for the Tour de Hoot and also to the Central Ark. Boys and Girls Club. Peggy Muncy is riding across the U.S. from May 11th for 7 weeks to raise money for the Club. Check her progress, photos, and blog and donate at
Info
.
Robb Ayers will be offering his famed flat repair clinic and excellent advise and tips at the Arkansas Cycling and Fitness store on 315 N.Bowman Road, Little Rock, Wednesday, 7:00 PM, May 28th. There is no fee. Donations will be accepted for the MS 150. Call him at 501-680-5065 (cell) with questions.
Our club met at El Chico Rodney Parham on May 8th, 2008. President Jim Britt called the meeting to order.
Monty Cole delivered the first report of the meeting. He has graciously volunteered to head several community outreach programs that will involve our club. The first program is the Ride of Silence which will occur on Wednesday, May 21st at 7:00. We will ride two abreast, with no talking the entire ride. This ride honors the bicyclers who have been injured or died while riding their bicycle. This ride was stared by Chris Phelan who had a friend who was killed while riding his bike in Texas . Monty and Ian brought the concept to our community. The ride will take place on the road and not a trail. It will begin at the I-430 bridge and Big Dam Bridge .
Monty is also involved with the organization of CASA. It is an advocacy program for kids in foster cares. Monty is working to find out how we can better help this agency. Look for our help with this program starting in 2009.
The National Trails Symposium is set for November 15-18, 2008. It will occur here in Little Rock . It will be a huge deal for our community. Volunteers are needed in every aspect. Go to the symposium site and sign up www.americantrails.org with all sorts of jobs and times being available.
It time for another Back to Work ride. The next one is scheduled for Friday, May 16th. Check the BACA website for details.
The June Prediction ride is around the corner. Judy McDowell needs assistance with timing the event. We are also in need of a SAG to provide support to the bikers and help provide cold drinks to take up the hill. Call Jim at 912-1449.
As always, keep in touch with the ABC website for more info as it evolves
With no further discussion on the table, Jim adjourned the meeting.
Respectfully submitted, Jamie Hazlewood, Club Secretary
Join members of the Arkansas Cycling Community in a ride of remembrance
Who:
Cyclists especially, but also runners, and others who legally share
the road.
What:
The Ride Of Silence™
When:
May 21, 2008, 7pm
Where:
Beginning at the Round-A-Bout on the Jimmerson Creek Section of the Little Rock Trail (Between the I-430 bridge and the Big Dam Bridge) and ending just past The Alltel Building on Riverfront Drive in Little Rock.
Why:
• to mourn those cyclists already killed by motorists
• to raise awareness (among motorists, police, and city officials) of
cyclists on the road
• to have motorists know we only want to share the road we ride on
• to show that cyclists are not going away
THE RIDE OF SILENCE WILL NOT BE QUIET
Please Show Your Support. If you have any questions please contact me:
Monty Cole
ABC Community Outreach Coordinator
cyclingzen@yahoo.com
This event is a cooperative effort between ABC and Bicycle Advocacy of Central Arkansas (BACA).
More Resources Here
Bike Journal - Log your miles!
Central Arkansas Recreational Pedalers - Mt Biking at Camp Robinson
The River Trail! - The name says it all!
Road Bike Rider - A Great Cycling Tip Site.
Regional Clubs - Clubs In Adjacent States.