The Most Important Question -Portland Bicycling Club

The Most Important Question

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling much better than I was a year ago. Not that I ever felt terrible, but I feel energized, optimistic, and ready to ride my bike.

Organizations are loading up the calendar with event rides – by that I mean bicycle rides which have a registration fee. You pay to participate, and they have organized rest stops with snacks and bathroom facilities. They may have S.A.G. (support and gear) vehicles to help you if you break down. They have a marked course for you to follow and presumably have permission from the authorities for a few hundred cyclists to use the roadway. So you pay, but you get something in return. Additionally, profits from these events go to the bike club, charity, non-profit or whoever decided to organize the event. 

Portland Bicycling Club has put on their own events in the past and hopes to resume that tradition in 2022. As a non-profit ourselves, we have determined some rules that organizations must conform to in order for our club (the executive board) to approve their event for PBC mileage credit. Some of those rules include:

  • The event is organized by a bike club or other non-profit promoting cycling.
  • A PBC member must agree to act as a ride leader for the event.
  • PBC members participating must register and pay for the event.
  • PBC members are encouraged to wear CLUB cycling gear to promote our club.

The board usually selects a maximum of ten rides each February. This year, with Covid-19 safety guidelines changing rapidly at that time, we held off to allow organizations time to decide if and when they would put on their traditional rides.

Let me add, this little tradition goes way back in our club history. The club is proud of its daily rides. Many members clamor for club mileage. How to encourage members to venture out and join with other organizations, socialize, ride, mingle with others and still GET CLUB MILEAGE? Seriously, I attended board meetings at which this topic was discussed. How could we encourage our members to support other clubs, etc., as we want their members to do with our events? It was determined that members would need to be able to earn club mileage for non-club events. Simple. And so it began.

This year our list of non-club event rides that the board has approved to date for club mileage are as follows:

    1. 05/15/2021  Reach the Beach (Modified)  Ride Leader: Dick Weber
    2. 06/12/2021  Columbia Century Challenge  Ride Leader: Scott Poindexter
    3. 06/12/2021  Strawberry Century  Ride Leader: Ashley Reynolds
    4. 07/24/2021  Ride Around Clark County (RACC)  Ride Leader: Dick Weber
    5. 08/08/2021  Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour  Ride Leader: Corey Eng
    6. 08/28/2021  Gorge Ride  Ride Leader: Dick Weber
    7. 08/29/2021  Monster Cookie Metric Century  Ride Leader: Dave McQuery
    8. 09/05/2021  Vineyard Tour  Ride Leader: Lynn Blanchard
    9. 09/11/2021  Harvest Century  Ride Leader: Kathleen Hellem
    10. 09/18/2021  Ride the Rim  Ride Leader: Andreas Mantzke CANCELED

Detailed information may be found on our ride calendar. Remember, you need to comply with any registration requirements that may be in place such as fees, signing waivers, etc. You may not ever see the ride leaders, so call or e-mail them after the event with your PBC member number and mileage.

So, the answer to the most important question (Do I get club mileage?) is: YES, you may receive CLUB MILEAGE for the above-referenced rides!

If you know of other rides you think should be included, please contact the board. As noted, certain criteria must be met.

Have a fun summer exploring and extending some support to the sponsoring organizations.

Ann Morrow, Vice President