August 2017 Top Talk
President Chip Kyle
As I mentioned in last month’s Top Talk, one of the characteristics of this club that makes me proud is how willing you, the club members, are to volunteer and to serve in whatever capacity is needed. Once again, you stepped up to help staff the Finish Line of the Seattle-to-Portland ride. Running a successful Finish Line is important to the financial health of our club. This year it was again a success! There were approximately 150 time slots covering a wide variety of jobs that needed to be filled by volunteers. Corey Eng, Volunteer Coordinator, spent most of the last few months encouraging people to sign up. Thank you for responding so well to his pleading and cajoling. Please see his note to all the volunteers nearby in this issue. I want to add my own big “thank you” to all of you who so willingly gave your time. Well done!
As a way to show our appreciation for the work you have done, we want to invite you to the club picnic on the second Sunday in August, the 13th. There is no cost to you, the food is catered and we are offering three rides for your enjoyment – a family ride of 10 miles, and two longer rides of 25 and 32 miles. You will need to sign up for the picnic so we have an accurate headcount for the caterer. There has already been one email blast about signing up for the picnic and there will be a second one as well. The picnic will be held at Columbia Park in North Portland. Longer rides begin at 9:30 AM, the family ride begins at 10:00 AM and food will be ready at noon.
You all know my interest and theme of safe riding. There was an article recently about the effectiveness of visible attire while riding. It never fails to amaze me to see riders – particularly in the evening or during our colder, wetter months – wearing dark clothing. They are so very hard to see! The conclusion of the article was (no surprise) to wear bright colored clothing and to use a blinking light for both front and rear. The article went further to state that moving bright colors were even more effective than just a bright jacket or jersey. The authors recommended wearing bright day-glo yellow or orange socks/leggings and/or shoes. They also suggested strapping a blinking light to your ankle to generate the most attention grabbing visibility. We know that as bike riders we are extremely vulnerable to cars and distracted drivers. Anything to attract their attention may help keep you from an unfortunate meeting.
Ride Safely!