June 2023 HBC President’s Letter
“Some of the best memories are made on a bicycle.” – François Albert
Summer Greetings to the HBC Community! As we approach the Summer Solstice, let’s review recent club activity and some of our plans for the near future.
Ride Leader Refresher
The annual ride leader refresher was conducted on Saturday May 5 in the Golden Valley Davanni meeting room. The 31 ride leaders who attended were joined by six ride leader candidates. Alan Wichman, Greg Swanson and Haggith Nadav reviewed several topics including safe riding, Ride with GPS and Meetup Rides.
For those ride leaders that were unable to attend the refresher, stand by for an update by Ride Leader Team Lead Lisa Soldat for information about a makeup.
Spring Kickoff Event in May
On May 20, HBC held its annual Spring Kickoff. 60 members attended this year’s event at Burnes Park in Hopkins. Attendees rode one of five rides and enjoyed a few hours of social time with great potluck dishes. Thanks to Mary Buss for organizing this well-received event.
HBC Jersey Store
HBC designed and marketed a new club jersey during early spring. Because of continued demand, we plan to reopen the jersey store from June 23 – July 7. For those who have not seen the new club jersey, attend a ride and see one of your HBC friends modeling a really sharp looking blue club jersey. Ellen Guerin, jersey team lead, will organize the reopening of the online jersey store. Stay tuned for more information.
Tour D’Amico
From 2000 until 2019, HBC in partnership with D’Amico restaurants sponsored the annual Fourth of July ride named Tour D’Amico, also known as TDA.
There will be no TDA in 2023. HBC turns our eyes toward 2024 when this classic community bicycling event may return.
Independence Day Event
This year’s Independence Day event will be held at East Medicine Lake Community Park in Plymouth. The park has lots of parking, rest rooms, a kitchen and sheltered picnic tables overlooking the eastern shore of Medicine Lake, the second largest lake in Hennepin County. Mary Buss is organizing the event which will feature multiple rides, early morning social time with coffee and another well stocked potluck lunch. Check HBC’s calendar for further information.
Birthday Bashes
Celebrate new members and birthdays with your HBC friends at upcoming Birthday Bashes on July 7th, August 4th and September 1st. The birthday bashes will be held at the Edina D’Amico at 7:30 and birthday cake will be provided. Check the ride calendar for information about a pre-bash ride.
HBC Calendar
Check the ride calendar and register for an HBC ride. If you are a ride leader, post your ride and enjoy leading summertime rides for your HBC friends.
Ambassador Rides
An Ambassador Ride is a ride organized by and/or benefits an organization other than HBC. Pre-register for an ambassador rides on HBC’s website to receive mileage credit. Some ambassador rides require a fee and registration using a non-HBC website.
The MN Ironman Bike Ride starts from downtown Shakopee on Saturday June 17th. The Ironman benefits Free Bikes 4 KIDZ (FB4K), a non-profit that provides free bikes to those most in need. Over the past several years, many HBC members have donated their time and skills to refurbish bikes for FB4K. The Ironman has three mileage options: 30-35 Mile Ramble, 100km (62-mile) Metric Century, and a 100 mile Century. Several HBC members have signed up, check the club website for further info.
Interested in a weekend out-of-town biking getaway? If so, Dawn Wilson and John Hardy are planning an event for July 8th and 9th. On Saturday July 8th, riders will head out on a 20-40 mile afternoon ride on the Lake Wobegon Trail starting in St Joseph, MN. On Sunday, July 9th, riders have the opportunity to ride one of Bike MN’s Tour of Saints rides. You must also register for the Tour of Saints ride and pay their entry fee: bikemn.org
On Saturday August 26, Rita Wilczek and Alan Wichman invite you to participate in the HBC ALS Bike Ride, Long Route (50 miles) or Medium Route (28 miles). The rides move along quiet roads in rural Washington County. In addition to providing an enjoyable bike ride, this event has a charitable purpose--to build awareness about ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The charitable purpose of this ride is also to request a free-will donation to the ALS Therapy Development Institute (TDI) located in greater Boston, MA. The ALSTDI ( als.net ) is devoted to finding treatments and ultimately a cure for ALS.
Volunteers Needed
Do you have IT skills including website and content management? If so, contact Alan Wichman at amwichmannamw@gmail.com Our IT team is looking to add you to its volunteer staff.
Do you have a nose for news? The HBC website is looking for interesting content to post. Send your content, pictures and/or ideas to Hoang Pham hgpham@comcast.net or Gregor Matthews gregorymatthews01@gmail.com
St. Paul Classic
This year HBC will help manage the rest stop at the Mississippi River Gorge Scenic Overlook on the St Paul Classic. The St. Paul Classic is a 34 mile bike tour that runs on Sunday September 10. We need a team lead(s) and team members to help setup, distribute treats and manage bike traffic during the event. Contact Alan Wichman if you are interested.
Safe Riding is HBC’s mission
Safe bicycle riding is the most important part of HBC’s mission. Safe riding helps ensure an enjoyable experience for all riders. The expectation of safe rides helps our members and guests return to ride again and again with HBC.
To promote safe riding, HBC provides valuable information on our website. Go to hiawathabike.org, and click ‘Safety’ then open the page entitled, ‘Safety Basics’. This page lists the ABC safety quick check and also lists important points about communication, predictability, crowding and awareness. Spend some time to read that safety information.
Other resources for safe riding may be found on the League of American Bicyclists web page: bikeleague.org. Click the link, ‘Cycling Education’ and ‘Watch a Video’ to access several videos about safe riding. Spend some time and watch those videos.
As we enjoy early summer 2023, I wish you all the best. I am grateful to all the volunteers who help HBC move forward.
Ride safely and be well,
Alan Wichman, HBC President
