Rookie Rides
Good news! It’s happening! We are adding another Portland Bicycling Club ride series designed to provide a club ride option for new riders or those who have been off their bikes for a while and aren’t ready to ride 20 miles at almost 15 mph.
We have some great volunteers who are already planning to schedule rides in May and on through the summer. The hope is to offer at least one every other week. Our volunteers are full of good ideas and sincere in meeting this need in the cycling community.
These rides will be 10 or fewer total miles. The pace will be geared to the slowest rider in the group – probably 10 to 12 mph. That’s right – no drop – no rider left behind. The objective is to help those who have recently purchased bicycles or those who haven’t been riding much to “Take Life by the Handlebars!”
Each ride will have at least two “leaders” to meet the riders’ needs. Safety will be a big focus. Some routes will be exclusively on bike paths such as the Springwater Corridor Trail. Others will use surface streets to help riders learn to ride with traffic and generally to cycle around town. We will make every effort to include some socialization in the form of a bakery or café as we all agree that personal interaction is key to helping new riders become passionate about riding.
We are choosing “Rookie Rides” as the name of the series and it will include the verbiage “or Back in the Saddle Again” as we do with the “Meet PBC” rides. So, watch the ride calendar starting in May for “Rookie Ride or Back in the Saddle Again”:
Of course, you don’t have to be new to cycling or coming back to it after a hiatus. Come help us form these rides and welcome any new riders and share your expertise.
Right now, I think we have enough volunteers to get us through a few months, but the hope is this will be an ongoing series presented in the warmer, drier months on a regular basis. We are hoping to meet a need and welcome more cyclists into the wonderful world of bicycling. We’re going to get the series up and running and then focus on publicity in the bike community to generate more outside interest.
Thank you for your support and please send our way those you know who could benefit from our Rookie Ride. Thank you also to our volunteers: Cindy Bernert-Coppola, Alan Coppola, Lynn Blanchard, Dave McQuery, Warren Ford, Kathleen Hellem, Dennis Hogan, and John Joy. More evidence that when everyone does a little, no one has to do a lot.
Ann Morrow, Vice President