Hi, all! Happy New Year! A great year of cycling is stretching out ahead of us. Winter cycling is here, with wet lycra, wet polypropylene, wet Gore-Tex, wet PolarFleece, wet neoprene...layer up and come out for a (wet?) ride! Before you know it, you’ll be warm from the inside out, happy to be out there, and well on your way to the nearest coffee house, with a bunch of friends, if you’re lucky!

Don’t forget the new/temporary meeting place for the Saturday rides - at the Circle Avenue Beanery. Please go out of your way to patronize this shop if at all possible - they are being very gracious in letting us use their facility during what is actually a pretty busy time for them.

Well, what’s YOUR cycling "resolution" for 2000? Mine might be to log FEWER miles than last year - a worthy goal, but one that I might have trouble meeting. Here’s one that’s a little easier, though: I hereby resolve to WAVE at everyone I can - fellow riders, motorists, truckers, passersby, pedestrians, kids in strollers and on rollerblades, and possibly sentient pets - when I’m out riding.

Why is the simple act of waving a good thing? Simple - it promotes good will, and reinforces the idea that somewhere, under all the neon yellow Gore-Tex and black Lycra, a real human person is pedaling a bike. In case you haven’t noticed, this is an idea that rarely crosses the mind of some motorists. If you wave at someone, there is an unstiflable reflex - at least 75 percent of the time, they wave right back. It might be a meager, little, fingers-wiggling-as-they-loosen-their-death-grip-on-the-steering-wheel wave, but - a wave’s a wave. And there’s something buried in the small print of the unwritten human code of conduct that will prevent someone who’s just waved at you from cutting you off, passing too close, or cursing your general existence. I’ve even noticed that truckers who I can extort a wave out of give me a much wider berth when passing. Really.

Use a wave as a "hey, thanks!" to drivers who go out of their way to be courteous &/or safe around you when you’re riding, or who you know you are inconveniencing (just a little bit) as they go about their own busy days. Everyone likes to be appreciated, and a little positive reinforcement goes a long way. Also, some of the people you’ll find yourself waving at genuinely need a wave. Maybe they’ve had a rotten day, or maybe they’re out walking on a Saturday morning because they have to because they’re recovering from a heart attack. A wave acknowledges them for who they are - fellow sojourners along a common road.

Execution of the Wave is not difficult, but there are a few important considerations:

Safety first! If you need to have both hands on the bike, everyone will understand.

A few "practice" waves, in a low-traffic area, might be a good idea if you are not used to removing a hand while riding. Make sure that you maintain a straight and steady course. Bonus: your bikehandling skills have automatically improved!

Look at the person who you are waving at, if only briefly.

If your previous experience with motorists has left you a little, um, jaded, you may find that mitts or lobster gloves make good transitional training tools for learning to wave with ALL your fingers. This is why the New Year is such a good time to get started!

If you get really good at waving, you might find yourself trying some advanced maneuvers, such as the Wave and Smile, or Wave and Ring (if you have a bell).

Tandems teams have it easy in the Wave And Smile department (actually tandem teams have it easy in just about EVERY department, come to think of it!) - the stoker (aka She Who Must Be Obeyed) can pull off the actual Wave, leaving the captain the sole task of grinning broadly, which he was probably already doing. Heck, she can even Wave and Ring, at the same time!

I hope you’ll all give The Wave a chance this year - try it on a couple of rides. I think you’ll like it!

With a goal of avoiding this year’s routes of Cycle Oregon and The Oregon Bicycle Ride as well as continuing the search for dry weather, the Loop Tour Planning Team has decided to go back to the South Coast route. The last time the MVBC used this route was in 1994; that year the weather was great for both tours. Long-range guesses indicate a high probability for similar weather this year.

The tours will begin and end in Winston with the first tour starting on June 17 and the second tour beginning on July 29. Overnight stops include Myrtle Point, Sunset Bay, Humbug Mountain, Harris Beach, Jedediah Smith State Park in California, Lake Selmac, Jacksonville, and Three Horn County Park. Increases in campground fees are driving an increase in the registration fee to $45, still an outstanding value.

Campsite limitations mean that the first tour will be capped at 25 riders while the second tour can accommodate only 15. The Planning Team hopes to have the registration form in the February Spokesman. Spaces will be filled in the order that registrations are received.

The charge for sagging gear will again be $20. Stan Smith will sag the June tour. He can carry gear for up to twelve people if everyone is careful about how they pack. Richard Burgess will sag the second tour. Sag capacity for this tour has not yet been determined.

The Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour is scheduled for August 13, 2000 and the club has big hopes for its continued growth. Recently, the board asked the CBBT committee to increase its financial contribution to club operations. We expect growth in ridership again this year, but that will not be enough on its own. We also need greater success in finding sponsors for the event.

We expect between 500-600 riders at CBBT2000. That's a good audience for local merchants who want to be seen as supportive of the cycling community; in this sense sponsorship is a effective marketing expense. The event contributed $1000 to Children's Farm Home in 1999, we expect to increase this contribution in 2000. In addition, several other local charities benefited through donations from the event. In this sense the CBBT is an opportunity for a worthwhile charitable contribution.

Do you know someone who might be interested in sponsoring this event as either a marketing expense or a charitable contribution? Personal contacts are more effective than a blanket mailing or a cold call. We have created a "sponsor's letter" that covers the history of the event and details about what they can expect for different levels of support. If you know someone, or are interested yourself, please contact tour director John Morris at 758.8135 or johnlmorris@home.com .

We couldn’t do it without you.

Monday, December 13, 1999, 7:00 p.m.

Kell’s Restaurant

Present: Alan Acock, Susan Christie, Lyle Dalton, Martha Hankins, Sandy Kenny, Nancy Meitle, Joe Monteleone, Walt Prichard

LAB Membership. The LAB would like to have the Northwest Tandem Rally mailing list. Sandy will contact Betsy Reid and ask her to forward the list to Maureen Becker (LAB staff), with the stipulation that the list is to be used only for activities and information related to LAB, not for bike magazine ads, etc. The club will pay a fee based on size of membership.

Storage Shelves. Dan Youngberg will build the shelves, spending around $350. The treasurer is authorized to spend about that amount.

MVBC Brochure. Betsy has taken the brochure to the printer. It will be printed on blue paper, with black ink, which turned out to be the most cost-effective approach.

The board spent considerable time adjusting and finalizing the calendar of rides and events. A challenge this year is that we cannot use room 2 at the school when there are holidays. We’ve set alternate dates for the next 3 months, and Richard has lined up speakers.

January – Charlie Steinmetz (trip to Australia, New Guinea)

February – Heartland Humane Society (Dogs and bikes)

March – Chuck Dallenbaugh (his cross-country ride)

Martha will confirm key dates from the new MVBC brochure.

Bike Nite and Pig Out Ride. Nancy Meitle will take the lead for Bike Nite, which this year will be transformed into Bike Saturday. She will reserve the Boys and Girls Club on Saturday, May 13, for a 4-hour time slot. Joe will take the lead for the Pig Out Ride, Saturday, May 6. An appeal for volunteers for both these events will appear in the newsletter.

July 4 Mary’s Peak Ride. The board discussed setup times, registration times, and other logistics. Starting times should be staggered, so riders aren’t grouped together on the hill on Hwy. 34.

Potluck Picnic, Saturday July 15. This event has stagnated and needs a change. After some discussion about dates and places, the board decided to hold the event on Saturday, July 15, at Bellfountain Park and arrange for the regular Saturday rides to end at the park. The event will still be considered the general meeting for July. Details and logistics for delivering food will be worked out and reported later.

Loop Tour Dates. Loop Tour 1 dates will be either June 17-25 or June 24-July 2. Loop Tour 2 dates are also still uncertain. The board needs input from the Loop Tour committee. (ed. note: Loop 1 starts June 17)

Dallas Pancake Breakfast Ride. This event will be cancelled because of automobile events taking place the same day.

Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour. The CBBT will be August 13 this year.

Other Events and Rides. The board added tentative dates for century rides and other special events, such as STP, the MS rides, Cycle Oregon, and the volunteer dinner.

Volunteer Banquet. The board agreed that it is important to start publicizing the annual meeting and volunteer banquet early! Martha will write thank you note to Burton’s Restaurant. She will also include a small "thank you" ad in the newsletter. Regarding the date, this is the outgoing president’s event, so the date will remain the same. However, the board discussed combining this event with the annual awards.

General meetings. The board discussed the low turnout at meetings, especially the October awards meeting. Perhaps a change in meeting place would be helpful, if an appropriate place can be found. Susan will check on the charges and registration process for the library conference rooms. The Corvallis Disposal conference room is free for any community organization. We would be willing to spend $25 a meeting.

President. In the interests of time, Sandy deferred the discussion on family rides. On the subject of new membership, she suggested that when someone joins or renews, we should send an acknowledgment. Lyle has the database of new members, which makes it easy to send out letters. The board also discussed having membership cards, with expiration date. Martha will put a "welcome notice" in the newsletter, with a list of new members. Lyle said he could set up an additional database of labels for people whose memberships have lapsed.

Vice President. Not present. No meeting report.

Treasurer. Not present. No treasury report.

Recording Secretary. Susan will use a simple MS Word style for the minutes, to make it easier for Martha to insert the report into MS Publisher.

Tour Captains. Alan has a new e-mail address; the old Proaxis address will be good only for a few more weeks. He will send out a new file for the ride/events calendar.

Newsletter. Martha submitted the newsletter to the printer, Saturday, December 11. Martha has put the newsletter into a Word file for Melinda to post on the web. The next challenge is to do more with graphics and photos of rides while still being conservative in the use of paper. Nancy will provide a smaller electronic version of the banner. Ads for the newsletter vary widely in style and quality. Martha hopes to be more specific about what businesses provide. Martha and Kim Fawcett are streamlining the procedures for billing for ads and will present the new procedures at a board meeting soon.

Membership Secretary. Lyle distributed the mail to Sandy. Other items, such as bills, will go to the treasurer. Martha will give CBBT mail to John Morris.

Advocacy/At Large

Joe: Key tasks for the first of the year include reserving Bellfountain park for the July 15 picnic, sending a note to the Siuslaw National Forest about the Mary’s Peak ride, and reserving Roaring River and Timber Linn Parks for the CBBT. Joe and Martha will coordinate the current roster to put in the newsletter in January.

Walt: On April 12 and 13, 2000, the Transportation Research Institute (TRI) at OSU will present a workshop on designing facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians led by Michael Ronkin, ODOT Bicycle/Pedestrian Program Manager. Walt would like the club to sponsor his attendance. The decision to pay all or some of the $170 fee was tabled until the next meeting.

Membership: Joe suggested that we need a truly accurate membership count. He thinks it is at least 200. An accurate count would enable us to be more effective in advocacy.

Joe: Walt is not technically an elected member at large, as are Nancy and Joe, but the President has the discretion to declare Walt a voting member of the board.

Helmets: The discussion on purchasing and distributing helmets to kids (see last month’s minutes) was postponed until the next meeting.

Tandem rally report: Jim Lawrence will be invited to attend the next board meeting to present a full financial report.

Taxes: Joe read an e-mail message from Dick Running, CPA. The process to resolve our tax-related concerns is underway. Joe wants to meet with Dick, Sandy, Tim, and Don to further the process as quickly as possible. Sandy will call Dick, arrange a meeting, hopefully for next weekend, and inform Tim and Don.

Saturday rides start at the Beanery in the Rite-Aide Shopping Center.

There are days to ride in spite of the rain

that pours down, made horizontal by cold winds

and days to stay inside

While warm and dry inside, to give in to entreaties

by the non-bicyclist in the family

about it being time to clean out the dresser drawers

And so we open them up and take out musty t-shirts

and rearrange and re-fold

and each one tells a tale, or better, gets me to rhapsodize

on that event or this ride or that tour

each bearing a mark on a shirt

and that, as a hologram,

opening up memories and stories

smells, sights, smiles

of each ride that I thought was gone

and sunny, dry days shine behind my eyes

forgotten are sore muscles,

flat tires and long uphills

just the downhills, the campsites

the friendship

Saturday, January 22^nd 9 AM - Noon

Corvallis Public Library in the Lower Level Conference Room