There are two fun days planned for Lehigh Wheelmen this month of June.

On June16, we have been invited to meet up with and welcome a group of true adventurers passing through the Lehigh Valley. Overall, these cyclists will ride a 23-day, 1,070 mile triangle tour of the 9/11 Memorials in each of the three cities directly impacted by events that September 11. Their journey will start at the Pentagon, ride to Flight 93 memorial near Shanksville, then over to NYC, then back to the Pentagon. They will pass through our area mid-tour, on June 16, as they ride from Reading to Easton, and they would appreciate support from the Lehigh Wheelmen. We will also host lunch for these riders as they make a rest stop at the Velodrome.

This is a "guinea pig" route for the volunteers, with hopes to shift the Tour to encompass the 9/11 week itself a few years from now.

A few days later, on Saturday June 18, we have the rescheduled Blessing of the Bikes. LWA member Pastor Larry Pickens will once again perform a “Blessing of the Bikes” at Ziegel Church at 9:00am. Afterwards, rides of various level will depart. 

We hope that you can attend one or both of these events! See Meetup postings for details.

At our recent Members meeting on April 27, our guest speaker, First Aid and CPR Instructor Earl Ostrander, updated attendees on current CPR guidelines. 

First Aid was only briefly touched upon and will be the topic of a future Member meeting. However, Earl did review the need for cyclists -- and Ride Leaders in particular -- to assemble a small pack of supplies in case of treatable injury, i.e a fall and bleed situation. 

This "Crash Pack" would be a small stock of supples you could carry in either a back pocket or bar bag. A pre-packaged kit was given to some Ride Leaders a few years ago as a recognition gift. It is certainly time to refresh those dried-up supplies inside! You may assemble your own pack using a zip-lock baggie. Here are some items to include:

• latex-free gloves--size L to fit over your cycling gloves
• assorted bandages
• gauze
• antiseptic wipes and/or iodine pads
• adhesive tape
• extra zip bag for used supplies
• individually packaged acetaminophen.

This list of items is a good idea for any rider to have on hand.

REMEMBER: Assess the situation before treating anyone. If needed, e.g. head injury or loss of consciousness or breathing -- call 911.

Here is the final installmemnt of our series to let you know about our newest LWA Ride Leaders.

The LWA has now had ten members become Ride Leaders since the Spring. You may have already met some of them on a recent ride. All have filled out a questionnaire as part of the process, and here we share some of their answers (some edited) with our cyclists.

1) Meet Patty Wilson:

Here is continuation of our series to let you know about our newest LWA Ride Leaders.

The LWA has now had ten members become Ride Leaders since the Spring. You may have already met some of them on a recent ride. All have filled out a questionnaire as part of the process, and here we share some of their answers (some edited) with our cyclists.

Here is continuation of our series to let you know about our newest LWA Ride Leaders.

The LWA has had nine members become Ride Leaders since the Spring. You may have already met some of them on a recent ride. All have filled out a questionnaire as part of the process, and here we share some of their answers (some edited) with our cyclists.

Meet....Andy Samuels:

I rode bicycles as a means of transportation here in the Lehigh Valley as a teenager. As an adult, I got back into cycling in 2006. I am a member of RUSA and like randonneuring. My favorite type of cycling is climbing although I am quite slow. 

When I plan routes, I like to stay as far away from automobile traffic as I can get. In the past few years I have been riding on trails more often.

Here is continuation of our series to let you know about our newest LWA Ride Leaders.

The LWA has had nine members become Ride Leaders since the Spring. You may have already met some of them on a recent ride. All have filled out a questionnaire as part of the process, and here we share some of their answers (some edited) with our cyclists.

Meet.... Karl Peters:

The LWA has had nine members become Ride Leaders since the Spring. You may or may have met some of them already. All have filled out quesionnaires as part of the process, and I would like to share some of their answers with our cyclists. (Some edited)

First to meet..... Kathie Zapotoki:

Pennsylvania will lift all Covid-19 restrictions, except for the order to wear a mask in public, on Memorial Day, May 31.

The LWA Board has decided that ride participant numbers will no longer be limited to 12. However, it is strongly recommended that the practice be continued, and that additional ride leaders and separate groups be provided when the number reaches 12+. 

Rider total will be posted at the Ride Leader's discretion/comfort level.

Remember -- The virus has not disappeared. Not all are able or wish to be vaccinated. With that in mind:

• Continue to bring a mask to wear for entry into commercial establishments at rest stops, and to protect the unvaccinated when not social distancing.
• Please stay home or ride solo if you have any COVID-19 symptoms, have tested positive for COVID-19, or have been recently exposed to someone that has COVID-19.
• If you develop symptoms or test positive within a week of a group ride, please contact a Board member for contact tracing efforts.

There are many road crews out there, and tar and chip is occurring as well. We ask that you respect "Road Closed" signs as best as you can.

In words sent to me by one of our valuable Ride Leaders, "Just because it is possible to ride through it doesn’t mean that we should. I’ve been on a number of rides where the group just blasted through anyway, and that is not a way for us to make friends with the road crews, whose job is tough enough without us in the mix."

Know your routes, approach slowly and ask permission if necessary, then be prepared to take detours. 

Thank you, ride on.

Kathy Crampton, LWA VP Touring

LWA Board member Rev. Larry Pickens perfomed a Blessing of the Bikes at Ziegels Church on May 1, 2021. God was asked to hear our prayers covering all aspects of cycling -- for the bikes and their many parts, for the safety and fitness of the humans that ride them, for protection from the winds and sunrays that all encounter, and more. 

Hello Riders!

The snow is melting, the days are getting warmer, the sun is staying up longer. A busy ride season is just around the corner.

At our Zoom member meeting on February 24, our guest speaker, Earl Ostrander, presented us with a review of First Aid. Covered situations included head injury, bleeding, sprain and fracture, heat exhaustion and stroke, loss of tooth, frostbite, and when to call the ambulance. If you were unable to attend, it might be a good time to review this matter in any way you can on your own.

The Virtual Holiday Party was held on December 6. Ride Leaders who led greater than or equal to 10 rides from December 2019 through November 2020 were recognized. Their names appear here. This year, in appreciation from the Lehigh Wheelmen, they will recieve gift cards to their preferred Local Bike Shop. An email will be forthcoming.

Our Ride Leader of the year is Tom Donnelly, with 53 rides.

THANK YOU to ALL of our Ride Leaders !

Tom Donnelly               53