October 2025 HBC President’s Letter
The HBC Board met on September 24th. With the season winding down, the meeting focused on 2026 transition planning.
The date of the Annual Meeting is not yet set, but we expect to have it in mid-November before Thanksgiving. We will send out an announcement as soon as the location is determined.
As always, we will be asking members to consider joining HBC leadership. The Board will need four new members (two-year terms). Ride Hiawatha will need new members to join the planning committee.
If you are already interested in joining HBC leadership, that’s great! For a Board nomination, contact the Nominating Committee (Nancy Claycomb, Ron Jensen and Gregor Matthews).
If you are already interested in joining the Ride Hiawatha team, that’s great too! Contact Nancy Ellis or any Board member. After two years, Nancy is stepping down as chair but expects to remain on the committee and mentor the new team.
This is a lot of “asks” in one letter. We are a relatively small, but enthusiastic bike club. Many of you already have volunteered over the years so we know there is a lot of leadership experience amongst you. Is this the time for you to take a leadership role, again or for the first time? We hope so.
Respectfully,
Lisa SoldatHBC Board President
Ride Hiawatha recap
176 registered riders
50 volunteers (some wearing multiple hats)
13 new club members
Great rest stop food, music (thanks Percolators!) and Luce Line Brewing
HUGE thanks to Nancy Ellis and the Ride Hiawatha committee for making this such a success! Nancy claims she had nothing to do with the perfect weather, but I’m not so sure since everything else went without a hitch.
If you participated, be sure to fill out the survey when it comes.
Meetup recap
The HBC Board of Directors decided to renew our Meetup subscription for the next 6 months. Ride Leaders have been encouraged to post more of their rides on Meetup, which has resulted in gaining some new members. It is fun to meet new folks and introduce them to the reasons why we enjoy our club so much.
I would say that 2025 is turning out to be another great year for HBC. Thanks to all who are making this happen.
Respectfully submitted
Lisa Soldat, HBC President
The HBC online Jersey store is up and running right now. Have you been envious of riders who wear the club jersey? Do you have one already but want another one (say, a long-sleeve to complement your short-sleeve one?). Now is the time to visit the store and place your order. Go the HBC home page, look for the “gear” tab and click. Or, try this link: https://www.hiawathabike.org/page-1701850. The store will close shortly after Ride Hiawatha and won’t reopen again until next year.
The 2nd Annual Ride Hiawatha is just a month away! We are excited to report that along with Luce Line Brewing, both Free Bikes 4 Kidz and Rainbow Tree Care are sponsors this year. There’s already been a robust number of registrations, and some have become club members as well. Thanks in advance to all of you are volunteering to make this an outstanding event, especially the organizers led by Nancy Ellis.
The HBC website is long overdue for a “refresh” to make it more attractive to potential members, and to make it more navigable for members. The Board has identified some compatible website developers and has begun the selection process. We welcome your feedback.
The next HBC board meeting is scheduled June 26th.
The annual HBC Spring Kickoff was held on May 10th. There was a big turnout, along with about 6 guests from Meetup (some joined the club, too!). Many members pitched in to make this a memorable time, starting with the folks who arrived at 8 am to clean the picnic tables and set up breakfast. Four rides of varying speeds and distances were led, from relaxed to “lower” moderate, “upper end of” moderate and brisk. As always, the potluck featured a nice variety of old and new favorites. We cannot give enough thanks to the organizer, Mary Buss, and all the behind-the-scenes volunteers who made this a success!
The annual Ride Leader Refresher was held a few weeks ago. For those of you who are not Ride Leaders, this meeting reviews the basics of leading rides, and included a group discussion about how to make the upcoming ride season a success. There are several new Ride Leader candidates, so let’s all support them this year as they complete the rest of the requirements for becoming Ride Leaders.
The Ride Leaders discussed the chronic concerns from some members about ride speeds. Everyone has a different opinion, but I believe it boils down to this statement found in the Ride Leader Manual:
“Lead the ride you advertised and keep track of the people doing the same.”
Let’s once again consider the moderate ride category (10-12 mph). Both are moderate but a group of riders will likely split into more than one group if some are averaging 10 mph versus others averaging 12 mph, leading to the perception of “slower” and “faster” groups. At the Spring Kickoff, it was interesting to see that the two moderate rides were advertised as “upper end of moderate” and “lower moderate”. While these designations are not currently club policy, it was quite helpful for the ride descriptions to be clear about the Ride Leaders’ intentions. As the season continues, I look forward to getting feedback on whether members find this helpful or not.
Lisa Soldat
HBC Club President
A Strategic Planning meeting was recently held that included the board and some long-term members. The recent survey you received was one of the action items from that meeting. Thanks to all of you who participated. We collected some very useful information for improving member satisfaction.
Last year, 32 Ride Leaders led nearly 400 rides. This sounds like a lot, but according to the survey, members feel that we need even more, and more varied, rides. If you are considering becoming a Ride Leader, attending the annual Ride Leader Refresher course on April 19th is your first step. Please register for the event on the Ride Calendar.
A frequent comment made on the survey was that rides consistently are faster than the advertised speed. This topic of ride speeds has been discussed for years, and is on the agenda for the Ride Leader Refresher. Please remember that the posted speed (e.g., 10-12 mph for a Moderate Ride) is the “average” speed. There will be times when the speed falls outside of that range, particularly on hills. If you are recording your ride on an app like Ride With GPS, this will be easier to see. Regardless, if you feel the ride is NOT within the posted range, please tell the Ride Leader during or after the ride. The feedback is important.
Lastly, the Board wants to discontinue renting a storage unit for some items used during group events. We are looking for individuals who are willing to help store some of these items:
7 round insulated water coolers, 2 metal HBC lawn signs (roughly 2x3 feet), 2 cardboard sleeves with parking signs and holders (flat, roughly 3x4 feet), 6 trash bag holders (boxed, takes up roughly 2x2x4 feet), 1 large plastic bin with decorations, 1 large plastic bin with route marking supplies, and 1 box with rolled up HBC banners
It is possible that there may be items being stored at members’ homes that we don’t know about. Please contact Connie Dickson to let her know if you have any items, and to volunteer your storage space for existing items from the storage unit (dickson2c@aol.com).
lisasoldat@gmail.com
February 2025 President's Letter
Greetings to the HBC Community,
The HBC Board of Directors met on February 26, 2025. The board meeting minutes for this, and for all previous meetings, are posted at this link as they are approved.
Kudos to Alan and Rita, who sponsored Smart Cycling on February 21st about Bike Fitting. It was a really big turnout. This was clearly an important topic given all the questions from attendees.
The next Smart Cycling event is scheduled for March 12th. Hosted by Ann Bodensteiner, the topic is learning more about e-bikes. Further details will be coming soon.
The date for Spring Kick-off is being determined shortly, and will likely be in early May. Contact Mary Buss to volunteer. And get your bikes tuned up, with air in the tires now, because May will be here before you know it!
Ride Hiawatha, the club’s signature ride, is tentatively being planned for July 6th. Nancy Ellis has agreed to lead the planning team again this year. She, and last year's volunteers, can attest to the hard work it took to pull off such a successful first year. Some interesting stats from last year: there were 40 club volunteers, 97 non-member riders, and 50 member riders. There was approximately a $2000 profit, which is exceptional for a first-year event. From this, HBC was able to provide a charitable donation to Free Bikes 4 Kidz.
In my opinion, the most important benefit of a ride such as Ride Hiawatha (and its predecessor, TDA) is the community-building and camaraderie it fosters amongst our members. It is also an opportunity to showcase HBC to the general biking community. HBC volunteers are critical in demonstrating that HBC is a friendly, sociable bunch of people. Thanks to all past, and future, volunteers in helping make this event continue to be a success.
The next board meeting is scheduled for March 26th, 2025.
President, HBC Board
HBC President’s Letter
January 2025
The HBC Board of Directors met on January 20, 2025. The board meeting minutes for this, and for all previous meetings, are posted at this link as they are approved.
One focus of the meeting was to approve the 2025 operating budget. The other focus was on continued efforts to our market our club to the community. We are fortunate that Nancy Ellis has volunteered to lead both our Marketing and Ride Hiawatha committees. Members interested in joining Nancy in her efforts are always welcome. The more, the merrier!
This year, HBC is trying out a new format for Smart Cycling. For those who have joined the club since Covid, Smart Cycling was organized many years ago to provide bicycle-related educational activities in the winter months. It’s a great way to beat the winter chill with your fellow bike lovers.
Regular Smart Cycling events took a hiatus during Covid, and now it is time to make it an HBC fixture again. We are trying a new organizational format this year. Club members are welcome to organize a bicycle-related topic after submitting and receiving approval from the Board.
On February 21st, Alan Wichman and Rita Wilczek are hosting the first Smart Cycling of 2025. The topic is Bicycle Fitting, and the presenter is Mike Dzubay, master fit technician at Freewheel Bikes. This event is being held at the Davanni’s in Edina. Plan to order food online rather than on arrival. Further details to follow.
On March 12th, Ann Bodensteiner has volunteered to host a presentation on e-bikes. John Brown (Brown’s Cyclery) has agreed to give a presentation on e-bikes. Given the recent interest in e-bikes expressed by HBC members, this will be a great opportunity to continue the discussion. Further details will follow closer to the event.
Alan, Rita and Ann are great examples of the importance of volunteerism in our club. HBC survives, and thrives, because many members volunteer in a myriad of ways. We always need folks willing to help increase membership, maintain the website, organize rides and bake cookies. I know you’ve all heard the call for volunteers many times, but honestly, this club could not exist without lots of people helping in both small and big ways.
The next HBC board meeting is scheduled for February 26, 2025.
December 2024 HBC President’s Letter
New HBC members were elected at the Annual Meeting last month, and officers were elected at the December 4th Board meeting. They are:
President: Lisa Soldat
Vice President: Sharon Berlin
Treasurer: Connie Dickson
Secretary: Lee Rosenberg
Members-at-Large: Nancy Claycomb, Mark Kleczewski, and Nanette Malcomson
I last served as HBC president in 2020, during the memorable time of Covid. One thing I learned to appreciate that year was the importance of communication in a group such as ours, filled with members of many interests and skill levels.
This President’s Letter is not a required part of the job. It may have begun around 2018 or 20I9, and has served as a means of communicating all sorts of things to members on a more or less monthly basis. I’d like to try something a little different this year: attaching the HBC Board meeting minutes. I won’t promise that I’ll be 100% successful at that, nor that future presidents will continue to do so. But let’s give it a try and see if it provides any value. The minutes will continue to be available on the HBC website, too: December 2024 Board Minutes .
Speaking of communication (pun intended), I’ve been pondering the spirited response to the topic of e-bikes on the HBC Google groups email. I don’t believe I’ve seen this much discussion on any other topic. Usually this email group (with 200+ members) is used for announcing rides or events and traditionally hasn’t been a forum for specific bicycling topics. I’d like to know what others think about whether it should be used primarily for ride announcements, or expanding it as we've just seen.
Clearly the increasing popularity of e-bikes struck a chord with many members. Perceived speed differences between standard and e-bike riders seems to be the biggest issue. We need to keep talking about this so it doesn’t become a barrier to the enjoyable group rides for which HBC prides itself.
Ride Leaders have the responsibility to set the pace of their ride, and maintain it. There is a chronic misunderstanding about the definition of “pace”. Let me tell you how the Ride Leader manual defines it. “Pace” is synonymous with “average speed”. For example, a ride advertised as “moderate” will range between 10-12 mph. These ranges are shown above the Ride Calendar on the website. Bike computers, as well as Ride with GPS, can tell you what the average speed is for a ride. There will be times (e.g., hills) when the pace temporarily falls above or below the advertised range. Folks with e-bikes can ascend hills more easily—but in the end, that ride’s average speed won’t be affected if the totality of the ride maintains the advertised pace. If you are participating on a ride in which you believe the advertised pace isn’t occurring, share your concerns with the Ride Leader. Talk to them in the midst of the ride, if need be, and certainly at the conclusion. If it continues to be a concern, and affecting your decision to join a future ride or not, let the Board know.
2024-25 HBC President
January 2024 HBC President’s Letter
Winter Greetings to the HBC Community!
Annual Member Meeting
Highlights
Election of Board Members
Sharon Berlin, Connie Dickson, Lee Rosenberg and Lisa Soldat were elected to the Board positions vacated by the retirement of Mike Becker, Shelli Hesselroth, Ron Jensen and Carmen Price.
Many thanks to Mike, Shelli, Ron and Carmen for their contributions.
Board of Directors
In December, the Board of Directors kicked off the new operating year by selecting club officers:
Alan Wichman – President
Mary Buss – Vice President
Connie Dickson – Treasurer
Gregor Matthews – Secretary
Rounding out the board are:
Sharon Berlin
Lee Rosenberg
This is an excellent board with deep bicycling experience as well as experience serving on other non-profit boards. Give your recommendations and feedback to any of the board members.
What is Happening in 2024?
Tour D'Amico will return in 2024. After HBC board reps met with key D'Amico management several times in late 2023, D'Amico enthusiastically agreed to partner with HBC to restart this popular community bike event.
I'd like to introduce you to Nancy Ellis who is HBC's TDA director. Nancy, an HBC member, brings a wealth of leadership experience throughout her career to her post as TDA director. Nancy has met with board members and has engaged D'Amico in multiple communications. She has also begun planning for the event. Stay tuned for more information about how you can volunteer to help TDA.
I wish you Happy New Year 2024. I am grateful to all the volunteers who help HBC move forward.
Be safe, be well and all the best,
Alan Wichman, HBC President
September 2023 HBC President’s Letter
“Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.” – John F Kennedy
Autumn greetings to the HBC Community! Let’s review recent club activity and plans for the near future.
Members have ridden over 60,000 HBC miles so far this season. The mileage total continues to increase as the beautiful days of September bring out HBC riders despite recent rainy days.
TDA
Tour D’Amico, also known as TDA, was a summertime highlight of HBC’s 2000-2019 riding seasons. Since the advent of COVID-19, this event has been paused. As autumn advances, I will continue to provide updates about this community biking event.
Marketing
Do you have a knack for promoting an organization or cause? If so, step forward and serve on HBC’s marketing team. Your task will be to spread the word about HBC and recruit new members. New marketing ideas are welcome and experience is not necessary. Training is provided and the benefits of helping your club will more than repay you for your effort. Contact me or any other board member for additional info.
Some Key Points of Group Riding Etiquette and Safety
Practice courtesy, communication, and common sense. Practice kindness and empathy. Know your limits and stay in control at all times to help the group ride safely.
Yield to walkers and slower bicyclists. Voice, ‘On your left’, ‘Car Back’, and other spoken warnings to help the group ride safely.
Situational awareness: know that there may be bikes and other vehicles in front of you, behind you and to your right and left. A helmet or handlebar mirror may enhance your awareness of your situation and help the group ride safely.
Annual Membership Meeting and Call for Nominations
The Hiawatha Bicycle Club is a non-profit corporation with a fiscal year ending October 31st. An annual meeting of members is required by club’s By-Laws and will be conducted in November. Stay tuned for details.
During the annual meeting, the Board of Directors and Committee Chairs will provide updates. The membership will also elect new members to the Board. From the Board our club officers: The President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer are selected.
Some people have let the Board know that they will run for election. We need more candidates and I ask you, dear reader, to step forward. Running for the board is easy and serving is not onerous. If you are interested in serving on the Board, please contact Mike Becker who is spearheading the nominations team.
As we look forward to crisp Autumn days and nights, be well and be safe,
