April 2017 Top Talk

President Chip Kyle

An objective we have as a club is to encourage and facilitate rides, cycle outings and all forms of recreational cycling. One of the ways we do this is by supporting other local bike clubs.  One of our first opportunities is coming up at the end of this month. On Sunday, April 30th, the Monster Cookie Ride sponsored by the Salem Bike Club is held. The ride starts at the capital and rides north to Champoeg State Park and back.  The roads are lightly travelled, and the terrain is flat, but you probably should expect a bit of wind in one direction or the other (hopefully a tail wind on the return, but not always).  It’s a great ride and I encourage all to come out and wear your club attire.  It’s a fun ride that is well supported and has lots of food.  What more could you want?  (And, yes, there are excessively large cookies handed out at the end of the ride.  I’m partial to the peanut butter ones.)

For the regular readers of this column, you know that I have a particular orientation to bike safety. With all the rain the Portland area has experienced over the last several months, the rivers are especially high. If you ride along the East Bank Esplanade in Portland, you will see the effect quite directly.  The floating section of the Esplanade is higher (!) than either side of that section. The result is an abrupt transition both onto and off the floating section.  One of our club members crashed on the transition and had numerous scrapes, contusions and aches. There is a small sign to warn riders, but from personal, direct experience it is much more abrupt than you think. Please be careful!

Keep your eyes open for a special opportunity at the end of Summer. The Wheelmen have been approached by the Thorns soccer team to help coordinate a “Ride to the Game” event. We’ll keep you informed.