The Ride of Silence
May 21st at 6:45 p.m. - Scarsdale
By Bjoern Stoecker - updated 4/29/08
Gather at Midway Shopping Center at 1001 Central Park Ave (the plaza with Linens 'n Things & Starbucks) in Greenburgh at 6:15 p.m. for a prompt 6:45 p.m. start. The Ride of Silence is a worldwide slow-paced silent ride to honor all cyclists injured or killed on public roads. The ride’s goal is to increase awareness of the rights of cyclists and peacefully ask all to share the roads. This year the event will be filmed as part of a documentary, The Long Bike Back, about a bicyclist's recovery after a severe hit-and-run accident and his quest to ride across America to raise awareness for road sharing.
The cyclist, Pearson Constantino, was hit on Central Ave in Greenburgh in June 2006 and he will be leading the ride. The route is 8 miles with a 12 mph pace and we will be starting promptly at 6:45 to ensure that we can finish before dark, so please arrive early. We will ride up Central Ave to Battle Ave (at the Pathmark) and return to the Midway Shopping Center. Please wear helmets and bring a black armband (red if you've been injured on the road). Contact Julia Wrona or Pearson Constantino with any questions.
Tuesday and Thursday Night Training Rides Routes
By Popular Demand
By Bruce Wells - updated 4/26/08
Many people have been asking for the routes for the Tuesday and Thursday night training rides. So here they are. They are listed in assending order by mileage. Each route is known by the road on which we turn around. So if we say we are doing Rt 22, that means we turn back on Rt 22.
The maps were done on http://www.mapmyride.com the best mapping site I have found so far. They include elevation profiles so you can see the hills. The site has incorporated the old routesplip.com, which no longer works.
Wednesday and Friday Night Flings Return
Friday Fling Ride Leader Needed!
By Sam Rosenthal - updated 4/29/08
Please forgive the mis-information in the newsletter. Wednesday and Friday Night Flings are now correctly listed in the ride schedule. You’ll really enjoy these leaderless informal rides with a great opportunity to socialize afterwards. Be careful to choose a distance that you can complete before it gets dark. Sorry D riders, the Tarrytown rides will be a little too difficult for you. There will be a ride suitable for D riders when the Friday ride moves to SUNY in July. There always is a ride suitable for D riders on Wednesday.
These rides do not have a leader in front but there should be someone who brings sign-up sheets and cue sheets to the start and does whatever is possible to determine that everyone has started the ride has returned. Both of the people who originally volunteered to be leaders have had to drop out. We are fortunate that Steve Russ has come forward to lead the Wednesday Night ride. We do not yet have a leader for the Friday ride. Anyone who is willing to help can edit the ride schedule to make himself or herself the leader on any of the Friday nights. It is an easy lead. The routes are already designated and the cue sheets are listed in the schedule and can be printed from it. We would of course welcome help from anyone willing to take responsibility for May and June or perhaps one of those months. Please contact Rides Chair by clicking on “Leaderless Rides Chair” in the schedule or calling Sam Rosenthal at 834-3025
Pedals for Progress Used Bike Collection on May 24
Put your old bike to good use in the developing world
By David Wilson - updated 3/05/08
Many of us have a used bike or two cluttering our garage that we can't seem to part with. We can't find anyone who'll buy them. We don't want to toss them in the trash. We'd like to see them used again.
That can be particularly true as spring arrives. You or your child gets a new bike, and you don't know what to do with the old one.
Come May, Westchester Cycle Club will provide the perfect opportunity to donate your bike. For the third year, we've linked with Pedals for Progress, a non-profit organization, which for the past 17 years, has shipped used bikes to Central America and Africa to foster low-cost transportation and support economic development.
Since 2006, we've sent more than 700 bikes and 40 sewing machines to the developing world while raising more than $8,000 to support the effort.
On Saturday, May 24, WCC will partner with First Presbyterian Church, 2880 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, from 9 a.m. to noon. We will also be collecting used portable sewing machines to distribute through Pedals for Progress' companion program in the developing world. These machines are vital tools to provide a direct means of financial independence for people struggling to support their families.
Based in High Bridge, N.J., Pedals for Progress - at p4p.org - has developed a solid business model and strong connections in the developing world, with more than 110,000 bikes shipped abroad since 1991. As in the past two years, our bikes will be going to a bike reconditioning facility in Nicaragua.
Pedals for Progress has a good model for charity because it creates jobs and fosters economic independence.
Here's how it works: bike owners bring their rust-free bikes with a $10 donation to cover part of the shipping costs. Both the monetary donation and the gift of the bike are tax-deductible, with bikes typically valued at half their purchase price.
We'll deliver the bikes later that day to New Jersey. The group then ships containers with up to 500 bikes to shops in the developing world. There, the bikes are reconditioned at repair facilities and distributed at low cost to poor working adults and their children. The bikes provide their new owners with reliable transportation to commute to work, transport produce to market, or ride to a health clinic. Kids ride bikes to school or for fun.
Adult and children's bikes are accepted, except for tricycles. Road bikes with thin tires can be used in communities with paved roads. Central American shops appreciate the donation of high-end bikes from their North American neighbors. These bikes can be sold at higher prices, which subsidizes low-cost bikes for those with little money.
Make sure your bike is in repairable condition and the frame is free from rust, though rust on bright metal, such as handlebars and rims, is acceptable. If the bike has been stored inside for several years, it will most likely be in acceptable condition. But if it has been left outside for an extended period, it probably has a rusty frame and can't be accepted. Flat tires are fine, but the bike needs two wheels. Parts or disassembled bikes aren't taken.
For more information, contact Westchester Cycle Club President David Wilson at 914-217-5600 or president@westchestercycleclub.com