Just some reminders on two upcoming events for next week:

Our May Meeting on Wednesday, May 24th will be hosted by Fitness Central (https://www.fitnesscentralinc.com/).  Come on out and see what they have to offer, talk to the mechanics and more.  As an extra bonus, Earl Ostrander is coming over to continue the First Aid and CPR discussion we had last month.  A short business meeting/club update will follow.  Please sign up on Meetup so the store knows how many to expect (https://www.meetup.com/lehigh-wheelmen-association/events/sdlbbtyfchbgc/).  

Also, on May 27 club member and pastor Larry Pickens will again host us at Ziegels Church for the annual Blessing of the Bikes (https://www.meetup.com/lehigh-wheelmen-association/events/293546873/).  Looking for ride leaders to post rides from the church following the brief blessings by Larry.  A great way start Memorial Day weekend.  If we don't see enough people signing up by Tuesday, we'll cancel the event.  

Ride safe.

Carl

Our May Meeting on Wendesday, May24th will be hosted by Fitness Central (https://www.fitnesscentralinc.com/).  Come on out and see what they have to offer, talk to the mechanics and more.  As an extra bonus, Earl Ostrander is coming over to continue the First Aid and CPR discussion we had last month.  A short business meeting/club update will follow.  Please sign up on Meetup so the store knows how many to expect (https://www.meetup.com/lehigh-wheelmen-association/events/sdlbbtyfchbgc/).  

Also, on May 27 club member and pastor Larry Pickens will again host us at Ziegels Church for the annual Blessing of the Bikes (https://www.meetup.com/lehigh-wheelmen-association/events/293546873/).  Looking for ride leaders to post rides from the church following the brief blessings by Larry.  A great way start Memorial Day weekend.

Carl

I know many of you are thinking - Hey, this is a great club and what more can I do for it?  Well, opportunities abound.  The fun part of any cllub is being involved.  Here are some opportunites:

Become a ride leader - I hear comments about a lack of rides in certain areas or few rides on Sundays, etc.  You can solve this by becoming a ride leader and sharing your favorite rouites with others.  Its easy and a great way to meet new riders and friends.  If interested, come to the ride leaders meeting this Saturday to find out what its all about and talk to other leaders to get their thoughts and why they do it.

Marketing - For some reason this club seems to have a high level of techies but few who feel they can really get our message out to the community.  As we look at a name change to refresh our image in the community and as we work to draw in more members it would be great to have someone to help get the message out.  Any interest, contact president@lehighwheelmen.org or come to one of our monthly meetings.  

Donut Derby Volunteering - This is our premier event and working at it can be as much fun as riding.  And less tiring!  There are lots of opporunities to help.  If interested, sign up opportunites will be circulating shortly.

For more, come to our next general meeting on April 26th (https://www.meetup.com/lehigh-wheelmen-association/events/sdlbbtyfcgbjc/).

Hope everyone has been out riding over these beautiful days.  Seems more like early summer than spring, Remember to enjoy the flowers and beautiful spring scenery in a way that you can do  only by being on a bicycle.  

There are two club events coming up to prepare us for the coming ride season:

• This Saturday is the Ride Leader Meeting for all the ride leaders and those that want to be ride leaders.  Come out and learn some rules and clues to ride leading and chat with fellow ride leaders.  There will be a short ride following the meeting and them pizza!  What could be better?  Details on Meetup (Ride Leader Meeting).
• At our club meeting this month on April 26th Earl Ostrander will once again keep us entertained while he keeps us on our toes about first aid on bike rides.  He's very engaging and you won't leave without learning something new or being reminded of something you used to know.  Details on Meetuup: (Club Meeting)

Keep riding!

Carl

Despite the snow flurries, spring and the outdoor riding season are coming.  For many of us, the outdoor season never stopped since the winter was so mild but more warmer days are ahead.  Look for more rides on Meetup in the near future.  There are some events coming up in the next two months to help prepare for the riding season:

March 22 - Club meeting at South Mountain Cycle and Cafe.  Come hear what they have new (and old) for this year.  Ask quesions about maintenance or issues with your bike.  The cafe will be open so have a coffee or snack while you're there.  A very short business meeting will be held after the general discussion.  There will be no Zoom connection for this meeting.  And Funks is a short distance away.  Meetup - https://www.meetup.com/lehigh-wheelmen-association/events/sdlbbtyfcfbdc/

March 25 - Ride Leaders Meeting.  Come to the velo for a ride leaders meeting and training.  A short ride if the weather permits.  Many have commented on the lack of weekend rides or rides in areas away from the velo.  Become a ride leader to fix that!  It's easy and fun; you'll meet new people and share your favorite routes.  Meetup - https://www.meetup.com/lehigh-wheelmen-association/events/291994195/

April 26 - First Aid and CPR training with Earl Ostrander of CPR Roadtour.  Earl is back giving us his training focusing on cycling.  If you haven't been to one of his trainings, you are surely missing out.  You will definitely learn something and be entertained at the same time.  Don't miss it.  As usual, a business meeting will follow.  Meetup - https://www.meetup.com/lehigh-wheelmen-association/events/sdlbbtyfcgbjc/

April 29 - Skills Training - Craig Lambert has volunteered to offer his class on bike skills and safety for riders.  You'll participate in a variety of exercizes that will both test your skills and teach you new ones.  Great for new and experienced riders. Meetuup - https://www.meetup.com/lehigh-wheelmen-association/events/292122622/

The following is a message from Bruce White, the Event Director of the National Memorial Trail Alliance.  We will be joining them again as they ride through this area.  If you have interest in joining them in any of their other endeavors, contact Bruce directly.  He will also be coming to our May Grill and Chill to meet with club riders and talk about the events.

Carl

The September 11^th National Memorial Trail Alliance is  a non-profit organization that is developing a 1,300 mile multi-purpose trail connecting the Pentagon Memorial in DC to the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA to the Ground Zero Memorial in NYC and back to the Pentagon Memorial in DC .  The Mission Statement for this organization is clearly that we must “Never Forget” our fallen heroes from the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01.

In June 2022, a group of 25 cyclists completed a 23 day, 1,100 mile trip to all three crash sites, marking the first organized bike tour to complete the entire triangle.  The LWA met us in Fleetwood and guided us into the Velodrome and treated us to lunch and a few laps on the track.  It was truly a highlight of the trip.

In 2023, the 9/11 NMTA will be offering three events that we hope will interest members of the LWA.

We had very good responses from the last survey about the name change for the club.  There were no strong objections to changing the name although some did prefer to keep LWA.  Most commented that it was a good idea and offered suggestions like - include "Valley" since just Lehigh makes us sound like part of Lehigh University, use club instead of association to show we are a less formal organization, change the name but keep the history, keep the new name short (three words).  All good suggestions but difficult to satisfy all of them.  

We also received some additional suggestions so we thought it would be good to put out an additional survey.  It took on average less than a minute to complete the last survey and this one should take even less time.  Please give it some thought and vote for your favorite.  The board will be reviewing the results and selecting the new name in the near future.  The formal name change will probably not occur for another year due to legal and logistical issues.  Once we have the new name selected, we will need a project manager to coordiante all the work needed to accomplish the change.  

Here's the link to the survey: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CTNH5KL

Donalee and Carl

Here's  a reminder about the club meeting this Thursday, Feb 23 at 7 pm at Asbury Church.  Come hear Raina talk about her experience in Abu Dhabi and stay for the exciting business meeting.  Last month we had a good session on how we can improve the club and we'll be reviewing the ideas including the potential name change for the club.  There's a lot going on in preparation for the riding season, Donut Derby, Ride Leaders Training, etc., so come on out and support your club.

Details on the location and Zoom link if you cannot attend live are on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/lehigh-wheelmen-association/events/sdlbbtyfcdbdc/

Carl

Come to the next club meeting on Thursday, Feb 23rd, and hear Raine Fussner talk about her experience competing for the US Team (and doing very well) in the World Triathlon Championships in Abu Dhabi.  Raine says it was a truly unique experience and it will be great to hear a member of our club talking about it after  competing at such a level. In her words: "I’d love to share some of the highlights of this amazing country with you"

After the talk the club business meeting will follow.  Agenda for the meeting will be posted closer to the meeting date.

Carl Zvanut

At the club meeting last month we had a lively discussion about what the club does well and what we can change to do better.  A lot of ideas about improved marketing, types of rides, having events closer to home, more involvement with the velo, etc.  In the area of marketing and communication, the idea of changing the name of the club was brought up.  During the meeting (and after) several people tried to Google "bicycle clubs near me" and LWA was hard to find if it was there at all.

So after 70 years, it is time to give the club a bit of a facelift.  "Wheelman" is a very old (1800s) name for a bicyclist but it is not really used today.  It also projects to the outside world that we are a male only club, which we are not.  We've also been refered to as only fast riders and racers, which we certainly are not.  The board would like to keep the history associated with the name Lehigh Wheelmen Association (LWA) while projecting to the outside world that we are a friendly and inclusive bicycling group. 

To help with this, Donalee Frary has put together a survey for club members to fill out.  It's quick and painless.  We'd like to get input from the club members while we work on the legal issues around the name change.  Please click on the following link and fill out the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YTFYW2R

The board will be reviewing this input, along with the legal and logistical issues, to extablish the best path forward.  

Carl Zvanut

Asbury has closed the chruch for the day so the meeting tonight will be Zoom only.  Here's the link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9198065094

Hope to "see" you there.

Carl

Hope many of you have gotten out on some of these "warm for January" days.  As a cross country skier, I miss the snow but I know many don't share my feelings.

LWA is a great club but all good things can use improvements and changes.  Come to the meeting on Jan 25th and share your thoughts about what the club does well and ways to improve;  There will be a 45 minute session to collect comments from club members and interested cyclists.  So come out socialize a bit and contribute to help the club grow stronger and conitue to promote safe and enjoyable cycling in the Lehigh Valley.  

Go to Meetup for detials and to sign up:https://www.meetup.com/lehigh-wheelmen-association/events/sdlbbtyfccbhc/

Hope to see you there!

Carl Zvanut

LWA members bought $2000 of gift cards and donated $1000 each to Sixth Street Shelter and Turning Point of the Lehigh Valley.  This really shows the club's holiday spirit in helping those in need in these tough times.  The gifts were greatly appreciated and they will go to good use for needy families.  Thanks to Jack Helfrich for coordinating this again this year.

Four LWA members (Jack Helfrich, Raina Fussner, Jane Derby and Carl Zvanut) participated in CBW's Bikes and Brunch event from downtown Allentown.  The intent was to show that people who live in downtown Allentown can safely ride to the parkway and have a great ride.  Although I was skeptical, it turned out to be true.  The CBW folks led the way and we were all amazed at how much fun it was.  Of course, a ride followed by brunch is hard to beat.  

Thks was all part of CBW's current fundraiser.  If you'd like to give, click on: https://www.pledgereg.com/Users/Donor/Default.aspx?tid=20147&amt=0.  

Once again this year LWA has a team in the CBW Cyclle Challenge (formerly the Spinathon).  Members are Dave Sheffield, Paul Champagne, Raine and Jeff Fussner, Jack Helfrich, Clyde Odom, Jane Derby and Carl Zvanut.   We'll be cycling and logging our miles while raising money for this most worthy charity.  If you'd like to donate to team LWA go to: https://www.pledgereg.com/Users/Donor/Default.aspx?tid=20147&amt=0

If you would like to participate on your own or form another team go to www.pledgereg.com/communitybikeworks.  This year's 12-day challenge will take place from Thursday September 22 to Monday October 3.  Earn miles by cycling, spinning, walking, running wherever you please while raising money for Community Bike Works’ bike mentoring programs.  Any exercise which tracks distance is acceptable as long as you are self-propelled. 

The LWA has a team in  the Spinathon for Community Bike Works.  It's a friendly competition and the rules are simple - just record your miles.  Team members: Rich Ferrera, Lenni Maguire, Raine Fussner, Steve Crampton, Jane Derby, Clyde Odom, Jack Helfrich and Carl Zvanut.  This is a big fundraiser for CBW, an organization we all know and appreciate for the good work they do.  If you can, please make a contribution.  Here's the link to our team's site:

https://www.pledgereg.com/3930/Team/17148

Thanks and stay safe on the roads and trails.

The weather may not be cooperating, but there are true signs of spring in the Lehigh Valley:

We all miss riding in groups with our fellow club members, but let’s take some time to enjoy solo riding during these difficult times.  It is spring, the trees and flowers are blooming, and the days are getting longer and warmer.  I find myself in the same situation I was seven years ago after retirement.  Riding solo, working around the house, doing some computer work and reading.  It was great to hook up with the LWA and start riding in groups and develop the great friendships of club members.