March Update - Western PA Bicycle Club - Western PA Bicycle Club

The Tuesday night Cecil ride for experienced club riders

The Randonneurs Ride First

Daylight Savings Time starts Sunday March 12. The weather is still unpredictable for another month or two, but we will start to see some rides posted. The group that rides the most consistently over the next several months are the Pittsburgh Randonneurs. While the Randonneurs are affiliated with the Western PA Bicycle Club (they operate under our nonprofit charter and bank accounts), their rides are not club rides. Their rides are sanctioned by Randonneurs USA (RUSA). When riding their Populaires, Brevets, and Permanents, your are self sufficient, responsible for your own navigation. You need to be a member of RUSA to participate. You do NOT have to be a member of the Western PA Bicycle Club. The PGH Randonneurs’ Winter Warmup is on Saturday March 11, a 100 km Populaire starting in Millvale Riverfront Park, utilizing most of the riverfront trails around Pittsburgh. Now through Memorial day they are running all of 100 km, 200 km, 300 km, 400 km, and 600 km. See their Events Page for more info. We will not be cross-posting all their rides on the club calendar. Welcome new Regional Brevet Coordinator (RBA) Dan Blumenfeld!

Two Messages From Your Board

The board met on Sunday, February 26, and agreed to collectively focus on two messages this year. This means that it’s the board’s responsibility (Jim, Sarah, Al, Robin, Roger, Sarah, Dave, Dave, and Meghan), and NOT our ride leaders. The two messages are:

If you Ride With Us, Join the Club. Otherwise, feel guilty. Also “$20/yr for 3 year memberships is a steal right now.” We won’t be dicks about it, but by joining, you are ensuring the survival and operation of the club by giving meaning to what your ride leaders and club leadership does. Or else you are a leach. Know that if a Board Member is on a ride with you, they are secretly judging you. Part of the emphasis does come our club riding insurance policies. But the bottom line comes down to respect. Please respect your ride leaders and the club leadership, and just Join the damn Club. Note that the one and only way to join the club is on our website: https://wpabikeclub.com/
Club members can and should file claims under the accidental medical coverage if you are injured on a club ride. The policy covers up to $10,000 per incident. While there is a deductible and in excess of other valid and collectible medical insurance your have, let’s leverage this benefit more. Board Member Robin Woods is a big fan of it, as she has personal experience with it. General information on club ride insurance is HERE, including a link near the bottom on the Incident Report Form you need to initiate.

Thanks Laura McKee for the Club Instagram Account!

After Icycle Bicycle, Laura McKee created a club Instagram account. She reported:

The Instagram account WPABikeClub is up and running! I made a reel of my photos from yesterday’s Icycle Bicycle 2023 ride. And I added Lance Letterio’s photos to the stories. These are super fun to make. All you need to do is either tag @WPABikeClub with your own posts from Instagram or if you don’t use Insta, you can send them to me and I’ll get them up. Check out the 1st reel! Hit Follow and then Like the reel. And answer the Question in the Reel.
Laura McKee, Western PA Bicycle Club Members Only Facebook Page, January 2, 2023

Icycle Bicycle 2023 Photos by Gary Margeson

Every year photographer Gary Margeson just shows up and takes photos of Icycle Bicycle for us. Thanks Gary. And as Lance Letterio remarked, “There are 510 of them!” He charges a nominal amount for them, but he seems to do it because he really enjoys it. Still, be a good sport, look through them, and consider licensing one if you find a good ride photo of yourself. The club did license them all for the whopping price of $6.94. His gallery page for Icycle Bicycle is HERE.