Dear LWA/LVCC members and cycling friends,

     Allow me to express gratitude in behalf of the Sixth Street Shelter and Turning Point of Lehigh Valley for making the holidays brighter for many families through your generous contribution of gift cards.  This year, a total of $2200 was contributed and will be evenly divided between the two organizations.

     A further indication of the caring spirit of our members is demonstrated at the holiday party by the individuals who, just having received gift cards as an expression of thanks for being ride leaders, immediately placed them in the donation basket.  

    For more information on these charities: Turning Point at:  turningpointlv.org  /   Sixth Street at:   sixthstreetshelter.org

    If you would like to visit either of these locations, please sign up and join us for breakfast and/or delivery on Tuesday morning, December 5.  RSVP on Meetup.

If you are planning to go to the Holiday Dinner (and you should be) the deadline of November 25 is fast approaching.  See details below or go to Meetup and get the link to BikeReg there.

Sign up and pay here:
2023 LWA Holiday Party Online Registration
bikereg.com
Deadline November 25, 2023
Add your pictures from 2023 events here. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oMotPaTejfePTZ-Lu5mHcwuevV3g01lE?usp=sharing

Questions? Call Donalee 610.587.2355

Hello, fellow LWA (soon to become LVCC) members!  Hope all of you are doing well.

Our Club is very fortunate to have many willing and capable volunteers to help drive us forward.  Some continue to serve tirelessly year after year. However, every year, some are ready to step back and allow others to step forward.  

As we are now nearing the end of the year and our upcoming Annual Holiday Dinner & Club Meeting on 1 December (see LWA Ride Calendar on Meetup), it is time to reach out to all of you regarding CLUB LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES for the upcoming year.

There are nominees for some key positions, but we are always happy to hear from others to fill the following positions for 2024:

• President:  Carl Zvanut will run again for this position for a second term.
• VP of Touring:  Greg Schnable will run again for this position for a second term.
• Treasurer: Dave Sheffield is treasurer for life and will run again.
• Club Secretary:  Christine Penn has held this position for the past several years and done a fabulous job. Rather than continuing in this role for yet another year, Christine has expressed an interest in vacating the role and instead help the organization in other ways. Jack Helfrich has volunteered to run for this position.
• Member of the Board of Directors:  Two positions are open this year.  Steve Banko is running again for a second two-year term.  Donalee Frary has announced that she will step away from her position at the end of this and Christine Penn will run to take her place.
• Other: Beyond the positions listed above, we are always looking for new members with ideas, energy and enthusiasm. There are many positions available to help with, including Membership, Communication, Events (Donut Derby, Club Picnic, Grill-n-Chill, etc.) and more.  Please reach out to me with any questions and/or let me know if you have any particular interest in helping out during our upcoming year. 

Thank you!

PaDOT Adopt-A-Highway

This year, the Lehigh Valley Cycling Club (LVCC) accepted responsibility for maintaining the cleanliness of  two miles of roadway as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PaDOT) Adopt-A-Highway program.  Our ‘adopted’ section is Cetronia Rd. from Trexlertown Rd., at the Sheetz store, to Lone Lane. Permanent signs recognizing our club were installed earlier this year.

On Thursday, November 2, seventeen LVCC members came out to clean up litter from along the roadway.  This was our third clean-up outing this year.  PaDOT provided gloves, vests, trash bag and warning signs; LVCC provided the labor.

Thanks to the following members who joined to make our neighborhood a better place.

Paul Champagne

Here is an updated link to the December 1st Annual Holiday Party. If you haven’t already, please sign up now. The deadline is November 24th”

https://www.bikereg.com/lwa-seasonal-party

Greetings cycling friends,

It is once again that time of year to count our many blessings and show our gratitude for all that we have by sharing with those in our community who are less fortunate.  This year, Lehigh Wheelmen Association (LWA) members will again be partnering with the Sixth Street Shelter (SSS) and Turning Point of Lehigh Valley (TPLV) to support their clients. 

Donations in the form of gift cards are being collected and will be given to the organizations for distribution.  Last year through your generosity, we gave over $2000 to the two groups. Gift cards can be brought to the annual holiday party on December 1, or given to any LWA officer or board member, or contact Jack Helffrich (136 Cottonwood Circle, Allentown PA 18104 or call or text 484-347-3541) to arrange for pickup.  (If you are unable to shop for gift cards, a last resort is to send money to my Venmo account, jackhelffrich@gmail.com  Please indicated that the transfer is for LWA gifts.)

Gift cards will be delivered shortly after the holiday party.  Suggested gift card sources include: Amazon, Target, Walmart, Visa, Giant, Wawa, Wegmans, Weis.

For more information on the organizations, see the following:

https://jalopnik.com/study-finds-cyclists-are-better-people-than-drivers-1850964103

The club’s Annual Holiday Dinner will be on Dec 1 starting at 6 pm at the Green Pond Country Club in Bethlehem Pa. Go to Meetup for information or click on this link to register: https://www.bikereg.com/62802?preview=1

While this is mainly a social event, there will be a short business meeting for the election of officers and recognition of our key volunteers. It’s always a great evening with friends, so plan to attend.

There will be a rolling slide show during the dinner so we’re looking for pictures from rides over the year. If you have some you’d like to share save them to the club drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oMotPaTejfePTZ-Lu5mHcwuevV3g01lE?usp=sharing 

Hope to see you there!

Donalee Frary and Carl Zvanut

The 2023 edition of the annual Community Bike Works Spinathon was held on October 1-15.  The LVCC's eight-person team was one of twenty-seven logging cycling miles and raising money for CBW.

This year's team members were:

Jack Helffrich - Captain

Raine Fussner & Jeff Fussner

Paul Champagne

Just a reminder that we will have a club meeting this Wednesday at 7 pm at Asbury Church.  No special topic this month but a lot of club business to finish out the year.  All members are welcome to attend.  Details on Meetup:  https://www.meetup.com/lehigh-wheelmen-association/events/290164501/

 If you are  interested in joining me on the SpiceRoads tour from Hanoi to Laos., February 18 to March 2  email me:  pdh5775@gmail.com.     SpiceRoads in one of the leading global bike touring companies and is the "Backroads" of Asia.  I've taken many tours with them.  I'm interested in the Remote Vietnam to Laos ride and would like company.   Here is a link to the tour with all details.       https://www.spiceroads.com/tours/vietnam_laos

For Sale.  Trek T-2000 road tandem, size medium,  aluminum frame, carbon fork, Ultegra cranks, Shimana Deore XT derailler, rear disk brake.  Some of you may remember Karen and I riding this bike,  which we really enjoyed.  It was not used a lot, probable less then 5000 miles total and is excellent condition.  $800

If interested contact Paul Smith - pocono723@yahoo.com

Monday, September 29, 2014.  My 66th birthday.

Earlier, I had posted a bike ride on the LWA website to Daniel Boone Homestead, planning once again to ride my age in miles.  Nine of us met at the Velodrome and headed southwest on a beautiful, calm, warm and mostly sunny autumn morning.

About twelve miles out, as we were entering the town of Bowers, I hear an unusual noise from a bike behind me, followed by the cry, "Mechanical".  We slowly spun around to find out what had happened and to whom.  We discovered that Roy Derr had hit a pothole and broken a spoke.

It was his front wheel, a Mavic, the type that has only 18 aluminum spokes.  So whether it was because of the wheel design or force of hitting the pothole, the wheel went far out of true.  Our designated mechanic, Tim Reilly, immediately took charge.  He loosened the front brake to provide more clearance.  He attempted to tighten the opposing spokes.  He pressed on the rim in an attempt to straighten it.  He muttered a few incantations to the wheel.  All to no avail.

Meanwhile, Sylvia had phoned the nearest bike shop, The Sleeping Dog, in Topton, where she had purchased her bike and knew the owner.  He answered the phone, but the shop was closed on Monday, and besides, he was out on a bike ride.

When I look back on memories of a lifetime of bicycle riding, it’s not the bikes or the particular rides I remember as much as those with whom I shared the experiences. On this 100,000-mile milestone, I want to acknowledge a few of those who joined me on this amazing journey.

Miles Before Recordkeeping:

My cousin Bill Miller and I grew up 60 miles apart but spent time together on bikes whenever we could. We explored my small hometown of Arkansas City, Kansas thoroughly—there wasn’t any place where it wasn’t safe to wander in those days. Our frequent destination while in Bill’s hometown of Wichita was the trails of Oak Park; trail-walkers beware.

My childhood and forever friend Tommy Gillock and I explored the streets and alleys of Ark City and beyond the city limits with rides through the city dump, along the Arkansas River and many rural backroads as well as a few railroad bridges (not recommended!). Tommy and I shared the experience of our first 50-mile ride in Kansas headwinds as we earned our cycling merit badges in Scouts.

I had precious memories of riding with my dad on Sunday afternoons. He was hard at work in his barber shop during the week but on occasional Sunday afternoons, I’d hop on my Schwinn and Dad would get on my sister’s bike and we’d head out exploring. Can’t beat father-son time on a bike ride.

Shimano has recalled about 700,000 of their cranksets due to failure that has led to several recorded injuries.  If you have a Shimano crankset, check their website to see if yours has been recalled: https://bike.shimano.com/en-US/information/customer-services/corrective-actions/11-speed-hollowtech-ii-crankset-recall-notice.html.  Contact your local bike shop if you have questions or concerns.

Carl

Kelli Bertoni is looking for volunteers at the Fall Velofest on September 30th and has offered a free 10’x10” Wheelman vendor spot for those that volunteer.  She's looking for folks who can do 2 hour shifts or more for the following times:

6:45am-9am (escorting vendors to their spots)

9:15am-2:30 (2 hr shifts at the front gate)

2:30pm-3:30pm (tearing down fencing)

If you ride with the LWA (soon to be the Lehigh Valley Cycling Club) chances are you’ve shared the road with Jack Helffrich. An indefatigable athlete and dedicated cyclist, Jack has been riding with the LWA since the mid 1970s. Now himself in his mid 70s, his approach to riding is a bit different, but his passion and commitment remain the same.

He began riding a motorcycle when he was 19, but switched to cycling when his best friends opened a bike shop. “I bought a white Fuji S10S road bike from them,” he remembers, and he’s been riding ever since. He has ridden tandem with his wife Linda, has done some mountain biking, and he takes a fat-tire bike to the Florida beaches, but road biking is his preference. In addition to many shorter rides, he has completed the Sierra to the Sea Bicycle Tour and rode across the USA with Wandering Wheels.

His riding may have slowed a bit over the years, but his competitive spirit and the joy he derives from the activity have remained steadfast. “Once you’ve committed to a healthy lifestyle it feels good to keep doing it,” he says. He loves riding solo - “being alone with my thoughts” - but the social aspect is a very strong motivator.

Hi All,

The Donut derby was a success again this year because of all your help. So thank you to everyone who volunteered! I would mention names but I know I might forget someone and I don’t want to do it. I received many positive comments about the DD and some also mentioned the vast number of volunteers. So thank you all for making the day a success!

Chuck

The slideshow for the 2023 Donut Derby is now online.  Here's the link: https://youtu.be/iMqJloVC10c  Enjoy!