News Blog

We are sad to report that Jerry Vogt passed away on November 21st.  Many of you know Jerry suffered a bike accident resulting in very serious injuries.

More information in the D&C Obit below:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/democratandchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=jerry-vogt&pid=187343356

Todd Calvin has stepped down as President to deal with family health issues.  In the mean time Brad Jensen will serve as Acting President.

Well, we sure "Got Our Kicks" in 2016 ... on Route 66! Just like the Bobby Troup song says!

Leading tours for Adventure Cycling each year has become a real mainstay of my retirement from "Real Work". I can't think of anything I'd rather do. And 2017 looks to be even more fun with my getting assigned to lead TWO epic tours for Adventure Cycling Association.

The first one starts in San Diego on March 12. We're going cross-country, van-supported, to St. Augustine Florida on the Southern Tier Route! This tour is one of Adventure Cycling's most popular routes as it's a coast-to-coast ride, but at 3100 miles, it's the shortest and perhaps most accessible of the big three. Both the Northern Tier and the Trans-Am are at least 1000 miles longer. The Southern Tier is so popular, we run TWO van-supported runs in the spring and a self-contained run in the fall. In fact, the first run in 2017 is already sold out! Not to worry ... if this is your "Dream Tour in Waiting", you're in luck ... the second running that I am co-leading is NOT yet sold out. Check out the details at:

http://www.adventurecycling.org/guided-tours/van-supported-tours/2017-southern-tier-ii-van/

Yes, that tour is on the road for two months! Too much time away, maybe? Afraid the lawn might look a little too scraggly? Could you get away with just three weeks? If yes, You're In Luck! The second "Epic" tour I'm doing is, like my Route 66 tour, another Brand New tour for Adventure Cycling on a Brand New Route: Chicago to New York City! This tour is just over 1200 miles in 23 days, also van-supported, and visits the big towns of Indianapolis Indiana, Columbus Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but also countless little towns and burbs. It's a special kind of route in that it makes extensive use of the rapidly developing U.S. Bicycle Route System.

We hit the road from the Windy City on June 6th, arriving at Battery Park in the Big Apple on June 28th. Details are here ...

http://www.adventurecycling.org/guided-tours/van-supported-tours/2017-chicago-to-new-york-van/

... but you can also get the inside scoop regarding BOTH of these tours by emailing me at bmanagan@adventurecycling.org.

An here's an incentive for RBC members. On either of these tours, if you gather four of your RBC member riding buddies to make a group of five, you can each get a 20% discount off the price of the tour. Really. I can give you the details. You're special!

See you on the Road!

Brian Managan - Tour Leader - Life Member

bmanagan@adventurecycling.org

Adventure Cycling Association

From Mark,

Effective today (Aug 5) I will be resuming my duties as Board President.

I'd like to thank all for their support during what has been a difficult period and would particularly like to thank Elaine for service as President these past few months.

Mark

From Mark,

This is to confirm and clarify my announcement at our 5/10 Board Meeting that, effective immediately, I be taking leave from my position as President of RBC.    I came to this decision after careful consideration of the various demands I've been experiencing associated with my father's medical issues which have necessitated my spending significant time out of town as well as the demands on my time associated with the impending sale of my home (we are preparing our current home to go on the market and expect to close on our new condo in Victor during late July). 

Since our 5/10 Mtg. I've spoken with Elaine and she is ready and able to step up to the President's role during my leave.   Thank you, Elaine!!    It is my intent to remain on the Board and attend meetings and otherwise participate, as able.    It is my hope that I'll be able  to resume my duties as President as circumstances allow.

Mark

Monday, May 16    

• Mayoral Proclamation Kick-Off Event & Bike Boulevard Ride: 10:00am
• Meet at Morrison Park, near the corner of Culver Rd. & Harvard St., and ride with Mayor Warren along our first "Bike Boulevard" to the City-Brighton border near Highland Ave. & Hillside Ave., for a ceremonial ribbon cutting with Supervisor Moehle and reading of the Bike Week 2016 proclamation.
• Ride your bike to the event and celebrate Bike Week 2016!
• Contact: 311 
  

For information on all Bike Week Events: http://www.cityofrochester.gov/bikeweek/

Richard DeSarra

There is construction at E. Henrietta Road at the Erie Canal Trail that will significantly impact the trail use during 2016 and probably 2017. The bridge over the canal will be replaced and ramps on/off the expressway will be altered.

Will post more details here when we get them.

Here is the proposed detour: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6820063.

"The Mother Road"
"Will Rogers Highway"
"Main Street of America"

Call it what you will, this is a GAS!

(Get it? That's a joke ... cars, gas ... oh heck, never mind.)

Yup .. The Great American Road Trip! Think Hollywood, the Sierras and Rocky Mountains, high deserts, grasslands and cornfields, a road that sings, historic neon-laced motels, grubby eateries, kitchy roadside spectacles and spectacular vistas, ghost towns and bustling cities. Think John Steinbeck, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Will Rogers ... and Elvis? Model-T's and AAA, hot rods and hot dogs, Harleys and haboobs. An epic bit of mid-20th century, pre-interstate American history that will sear it's way into your memory forever.

Even better ... we're BIKING it!

I sit here at the computer this winter, doing my route research, making overnight reservations, creating GPS track files for the route, and loads of other tasks all the while trying to contain my excitement about leading another Epic Adventure Cycling Tour: Route 66 Eastward!

This one is different from last spring's van-supported Southern Tier that I co-led. First, it's self-contained ... no van support. Just you, your bike, your camping gear and up to 14 new friends including just one leader (yours truly) meandering across the country together. We will camp most nights, typically some RV parks, private and state park campgrounds. We'll hole up a few times in hippie-like hostels a few times, and we'll break it up with a motel stay every week or so that will seem downright luxurious.

And this one is different in another way. Adventure Cycling's Route 66 Bike Route is one of our newest routes, and the maps were only officially released in the spring of 2015. That means our group leaving Santa Monica on April 17th is our first ever guided tour. We will be the inaugural group, and you might even say historic! More technically … we are the "Beta-Testers". Although nearly 4 years of research went into developing the route, and many individuals and small groups have roughly toured the approximate route, this will be Adventure Cycling's first go at it. My job, in addition to assuring my group has the adventure of a lifetime, is to document, in great detail, everything of interest to cyclists along the route; I'm to gather all the intelligence successive tour groups might rely on to make their tours fun, memorable, well supplied, and safe.

My research to date has revealed countless POI's (points of interest) and I'm certain many more will reveal themselves as we make our way to Chicago. This tour will be as much about the history of Route 66, as it will be the sights, sounds and smells of the spaces, music and eateries that makes up America's Mother Road.

This 55 day tour is rated Advanced. Daily mileages average 55 miles and range between 30 and 75 miles a day. We plan on a rest day every 7 to 10 days. You might be a beginner cyclo-tourist ... you'll learn a LOT along the way ... but you should be capable of riding a loaded bike up to 75 miles a day for several days in a row with some significant weather challenges. Temps can range from freezing overnights to blistering hot days. Water can be a problem in some stretches out west, so carrying enough is concern but not impossible. We (and that includes your leader) will be sharing cooking duties on a rotating basis. Nothing special, no gourmet dining, but if you can cook a pot of stew on a camp store, you're good to go. If not, I can show you how easy it is. Two months before the start date, we will open a Google Group email account for this tour where I'll be sharing weekly tips on tour preparation and our group can discuss anything about extended loaded touring in general and this route in particular. On day one, we'll be ready for an adventure!

Let me share a paragraph from Adventure Cycling's website about "Epic" tours like this one ...

"Someday. I’m going for it. The big one. The moon shot. People will talk about me when I’m not around. Hardship and ecstasy will leave their marks on me forever ..."

Yeah ... that about sums it up. Why not make that "someday" happen in 2016?

Join me April 17th in Santa Monica California. Let's get our kicks on Route 66!

Sign up at: http://tinyurl.com/nlosr55

More Rt 66 News

Tailwinds!

Brian Managan - Tour Leader and Life Member
Adventure Cycling Association
bmanagan@adventurecycling.org

Winter is coming and you know what that means ... our Winter Media Show with RBC!

Saturday, February 6 at MCC Bldg 5 Rm 100 (Lecture Hall)
Park in lot C  MCC Campus Map

Doors open at 6:30pm

Steve & Kathy Riegel -Kathy and Steve will share their cycling adventure in India.

David Herlihy - Round Trip: Bicycling Asia Minor
“1891” features forty-two circular black-and-white photographs taken by the cyclists and reproduced from
recently scanned negatives held by the UCLA Library Special Collections.

Harvey Botzman - In early September, 2015, Harvey Botzman hopped on a Greyhound bus in Rochester and embarked on a bicycle tour.

Catch up with friends.

Beverages and snacks will be provided.

For more info, Email:  brian@bcmbike.net

Introduction: this message from Ken Nawrocki.

Most of you know me from the Rochester cycling community.  I am also the SAG director for the Highlander Cycle Tour and have a wonderful working relationship with Town/County Highway departments in Ontario, Yates and Schuyler counties.  Many of them have my mobile number and a reach out this morning asked for some help.

I received a call this morning from the Ontario County Highway Department regarding the Share the Road signs which were placed on CR 12 (the high road to Naples from the junction of 64 and 21 heading south).  Neither the county nor any of the towns have placed the signs.  They are reaching out to determine who placed the signs, as they are a liability.  The signs will also be removed, TODAY to mitigate the potential liability.

Let me be clear, they have NO PROBLEM with the signs themselves and actually like to have them there as they contribute to safety and awareness.  The issue is that the signs are planted on steel t-posts which do not meet the state breakaway standards.  If a car hits one of these and the post goes through a windshield, you can imagine the consequences. There is a permitting process to place these signs.  Yes, there is a cost to purchase and properly erect the signs using the official process, but it will allow the message to stay out there.

This is a broad appeal to my known contacts in the Rochester bike "tribe" let folks know that the signs will be removed and we all can work within the system to have them legally and safely placed.  If you are aware of how these signs were placed, or can reach out to the broader cycling community, I would appreciate your reply.  I have the contact info to apply for proper permitting and can provide it to anyone who wishes to engage the process.

In a broader sense, anything we can do to to increase awareness of cyclists on the road through the power of our numbers can only make for a more friendly Share the Road environment.

Thanks for your attention!

Ken

Join Rochester’s Fat-Bike Tribe for Fun and Fat Frolic! Everyone Invited!

Global Fat-Bike Day, now in it's third year worldwide, and Rochester's second year of participation, is a celebration of the high grin-factor of riding fat bikes, whenever, wherever. Purely a grass-roots event, there's no sponsor, no entry fees, no worries! Come see why most fat-bike owners will tell you "It's the Funnest Bike I've Ever Had!"

Make new cycling friends; come join some hardy souls for a day at the beach! Rain, snow, maybe even shine!

When: High Noon Saturday, December 5th, 2015  Where: Durand Eastman Park Beach - Far East Parking Lot  Cost: FREE!!! Just Show Up and Ride! Seeeeeriously!  email: brian@bcmbike.net  Facebook:  Global Fat-Bike Day - Rochester NY