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Future BBC Biking Events

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Civil War Century
Sept. 6, 2008 Read Important Notice > > >
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Weekend In Lancaster
Sept. 26 - 28, 2008
Sold Out
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2008 Celebration & Election Dinner
November 8, 2008
2007 Awards Listing

Tandem Riders Wanted
CRABS Pot Luck Dinner
Coming January 2009
BBC'S Instructional Ride Series
Coming April 2009

Schooner Sultana
Kent County Spring Fling
Coming May 2009
Flatlands Tour
Coming June 2009
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Tour de Montes
Coming June 2009

BBC Annual Picnic
Coming July, 2009
Corn Roast Rides
Coming August 2009

Attention Civil War Century Participants
POSTPONED UNTIL SUNDAY, SEPT 7!
The Reasons for our Decision -- Please realize that there is no solution that will be optimal for everyone. So we have done the best we can with the information that is currently available. After much discussion of the CWC committee leadership, and much examination of the weather trends, we have decided that the most prudent decision is to postpone the CWC event Sunday morning. Though events of this nature rarely cancel due to weather, the current forecast for Saturday is severe enough that we believe it could present a danger to you, our participants and volunteers. By postponing until Sunday, we believe that many of our participants (we hope most of you!) will be able to enjoy the event, though a day later.

The weather forecast (this one from Weatherbug.com) seems to have been trending toward a worse weather event rather than a better one, compared to earlier predictions. The current predictions (as of 11:40 AM on Friday) are:
Saturday: Rain with isolated thunderstorms. Rain may be heavy at times. Strong winds with highs in the mid 70s. Northeast winds 15 to 25 mph increasing to east 35 to 45 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain near 100 percent.
Sunday: Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

Realize, of course, that weather predictions can change, and Saturday's (or even Sunday's) weather could differ from these predictions. But for us to be able to re-organize the event for Sunday, this was the latest that we could make our decision.

Another factor is that our Amateur Radio operators, CARA, have been mobilized by Howard County for Saturday to support any weather emergencies that occur, and thus would not be available to support us. Though we believe that cell phones may have been sufficient to support our SAG service (though with spotty coverage), the loss of these very capable volunteers would have been difficult.

What we are Doing -- We are contacting all of our suppliers and support services. We have been contacting our volunteers to determine if they are available to support the event on Sunday. We are answering the flood of EMAILs and Phone Calls that have been pouring in.

Issues with delaying the event until Sunday -- Of course there are many things that may affect the event, since we are delaying it:

We may have fewer volunteers. Of the 120 volunteers that we had lined up for Saturday, we have heard from 75 of them. We have been fortunate to have had offers of help from additional folks that had NOT volunteered for Saturday. So currently we have 55 confirmed volunteers. We are still attempting to contact the 45 volunteers that we have not yet heard from. We expect that we will have 2/3 of our original compliment of volunteers.
We do not have access to our final rest stop, Barlow VFD. This rest stop was 18 miles from the end of the 50, 63, 75, and 100 mile routes. The prior rest stop, Fairfield VFD, is 29 miles fro the end. We believe this is tolerable, and we plan to have SAG vehicles available during that final leg of the ride to provide water and snacks.
We are uncertain of our 25-mile rest stop on the 100 mile route. We believe that if all else fails, we will be able to set up in the Gathland Parking lot, if not the pavilion.
We are unsure of having as much maintenance support for you on Sunday. We are still looking into this issue, but we believe that most of you are experienced riders that know how to handle "maintenance situations".

A Caution for you, our Riders -- Since there is a possible severe weather event on Saturday, you will need to be extra careful for gravel and debris in the roads. This debris, of course, can be a danger, especially on fast descents. Be extra vigilant! The debris also tends to cause more flat tires - carry extra tubes and patches! And be prepared to follow your cue sheet, in case the weather has obliterated any of our markings on the road!

Schedule for the Ride -- You all received our first communication about the check-in and schedule for the ride, etc. Included below is a recap (with the days adjusted). In addition, the following new notes apply:

Though we have canceled the event room that we had scheduled for the Cozy Restaurant tonight (and rescheduled for tomorrow night), a few of us will be available for pre-check-in tonight at the Cozy restaurant, between 7 and 9PM. Stop by to say "hi" and/or to check-in for Sunday, morning.
The event room in the Cozy has been re-scheduled for tomorrow night, and you are welcome to join us for dinner and/or event check-in then.
Since there inevitably may be people that do NOT get the word about our postponement, several of us expect to be present at the site tomorrow morning. We will be able to do the ride check-in for Sunday if we are there. (HOWEVER, regardless of the weather, there will be no ride on Saturday.)
CWC@baltobikeclub.org will be monitoring and answering EMAIL tonight until 11PM, and most of tomorrow. Please understand how busy we are with the arrangements and be patient!

Conclusion -- We have had many (often constructive) comments about the weather and how to handle the event from the participants and volunteers, and also from many folks that are not currently volunteers or riders. We appreciate the constructive comments. We have also had many wonderful and understanding responses from our participants, and we really have appreciated them. Organizing an event of this size is a very difficult and time-consuming undertaking for an all-volunteer group. And an unexpected weather event makes the situation incredibly more difficult. So we believe that you will all be very understanding and patient with us. We pledge to do the best we can to make this an enjoyable event for you on Sunday! Finally, we are very sorry for the inconvenience to you, our participants, that is being caused by this unfortunate weather!

The BBC's Mission -- The Baltimore Bicycling Club (BBC) was established in 1967 and has a membership of over 1700 riders. The mission of our not-for-profit recreational organization is to promote and sponsor bicycling activities in Baltimore City and neighboring Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard counties. The BBC also promotes, defends, and protects the rights of bicyclists for a safe road riding environment in our communities through advocacy and education. Visit our Advocacy section to learn more about current issues.

BBC Membership -- The Baltimore Bicycling Club is open to any interested individual 18 years of age or older. There are two classes of dues: individual and family. Persons under 18 years old belong through a family membership and must be accompanied on all rides by a responsible adult. Each BBC Membership receives the club's bi-monthly newsletter. Go to our On Line Membership Application to join or renew your membership.

BBC Rides -- The heart of any cycling club is the rides that it provides for riders of all abilities. Non-members are invited to join any of the rides offered. The BBC offers scheduled rides with ride leaders during the week, on Saturdays, Sundays, and major holidays. These rides include cue sheets detailing the ride route. In addition, there are evening rides on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from May through October. Evening rides have cluster starts from two locations and are for all rider levels; these rides are leaderless. See our Rides & Events section for more details.

BBC Cue Sheet Library -- Speaking of rides, the Cue Library allows members and non-members to search through the BBC’s most popular rides. Check out that section, print out a copy and go on the ride when you can.

NOTE -- The majority of documents used on this site are PDF documents. You can download Adobe Reader for free to read them.

Why join the BBC -- Let's be honest. What's a bicycling club all about? Why join a bike club when you can go on free club rides, keep the cue sheets, and do rides on your own? You don't even need a cue sheet for some rides .... just follow the trail .... or maybe a good back roads map will do.

Well, as many of us already know, there are lots of reasons to belong to a bike club, especially when it's a club as good as the BBC. Some of the top reasons are:

Meet others who enjoy cycling .... make a new friend .... find your true love.

Learn to be a better bicyclist.

Shed the stresses of everyday life (at least for as long as the ride lasts).

Become fit .... lose weight .... look like the athlete you've become.

Participate in club events and get a member discount.

Impress your friends and family with your fun-loving lifestyle (and the fact that you have become an athlete!).

Support the bicycling community and encourage bicycling friendly legislation. Did you know that virtually all income received by the BBC, after expenses, is donated to bicycling advocacy groups such as One Less Car, League of American Bicyclists, and the East Coast Greenway? The club must support such groups to keep our rights as cyclists on our representatives' front burners. By influencing highway legislation, and the design of roads and communities, bicyclists can avoid being squeezed out by ever increasing development, AND make going-places-by-bike a genuine option for more people.

Whatever your reason for joining is, your fellow members appreciate the fact that you are one of us. You may be a Casual rider, you may be on the BBC Racing Team, or you may enjoy cycling with another group, but we're all members of the nationally respected Baltimore Bicycling Club. Next time, bring a friend along on an easy ride so they too can rediscover the joy of riding a bicycle .... this time as an adult!

Thanks for listening, Frank Anders