ann arbor bicycle touring society aabts recognizes …
TRANSCRIPT
ANN ARBOR BICYCLE TOURING SOCIETY ••••
Newsletter May–June 2012
BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2011-2012
Don Broadway (chair) — (734) 560-1601
Debbie Beer — (734) 645-1205
Chris Marble — (734) 426-8694
Jeff Mcnally — (734) 417-3057
Dave Patria — (734) 665-3961
OFFICERS
President: Doug Tidd (734) 678-8297
Vice President OHR: Bob Martel (734) 646-1507
Vice President BASE Jim Lee (734) 604-0696
leej [email protected]
Secretary: Jeff Witzburg (734) 459-4013
Treasurer: Kathleen Donahoe (734) 996-4985
COMMITTEES
Membership: Beth Caldwell (734) 663-5060
and Ann Hunt (734) 761-1147
Mileage: Vickie Smith (734) 996-9461
Ride Calendar: Amy McKinley (734) 276-0240
and Joe Pavlovich (734) 545-0541
Maps: Jeff Eisemann (734) 747-1862
Newsletter Editor: Lynda Collins
(734) 994-7929 [email protected]
Special Events: Dan Harrison (734) 476-4944
Publicity: Open
SUPPORT STAFF
Email manager: [email protected]
Equipment: Tom Glowacki (734) 426-4616
Web Gal: Deb Halbleib [email protected]
Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society
P.O. Box 1585 Ann Arbor 48106
www.aabts.org
AABTS RECOGNIZES GOOD SAMARITANBy Lynda Collins
Presentation of the Special Good Samaritan Award
April 11, 2012
Doug Tidd, Joe LaFerier, William Pidgeon
A t the March Potluck, President DougTidd presented Washtenaw County CourtOfficer Joe LaFerier with a Good SamaritanAward for his role in saving the life of injuredbicyclist William Pidgeon and in finding thesuspected hit and run driver believed to havestruck him.
On March 14, LaFerier was off duty driv-ing on Dixboro Rd. when he saw the debrisfrom a bike on the road. He turned around,called 911, and went back to look for a bicy-clist. He saw Bill Pidgeon, on his back, push-ing himself out of a nearby ditch. LaFerierstayed with Bill, helping him remain calm un-til the Huron Valley ambulance arrived.
LaFerier also relayed information about theaccident to the Washtenaw County Sheriff’sOffice, which started an investigation leading
2 Newsletter of the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society
to the arrest of Kimberly Morse, a 43 year-old Ann Arbor woman. She has been chargedwith operating a vehicle under the influenceof alcohol.
William Pidgeon was well enough to attendthe potluck and witness LaFerier receiving theaward and becoming an honorary member ofAABTS.
AABTS BOARD PRESENTSSERVICE AWARDS
A t the April 11, 2012 AABTS Potluckand Annual Meeting, the AABTS Board pre-sented service awards to eight long-time vol-unteers.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS
T he AABTS Board awarded four Distin-guished Service Awards to Kathleen Dona-hoe, Dan Harrison, Frank Lamitola, andShirley Ceely. These ‘‘unsung’’ heroes makethe club work and thrive. Note their activitiesbelow.
Kathleen Donahoe has been the Public-ity Chair updating the Hotline weekly, Sec-retary, Vice-President and President, Boardmember and Chair of the Board, and OHRFood Chair. Kathleen hosted the OHR Vol-unteer Pre-party from 2002–2011. For manyyears, she was the ‘‘flower girl’’ sending dishgardens to members who need TLC. She re-cruited A/B ride captains for Sunday rides forthree years. She worked on projects for theSafety Committee (now BASE); her proudestaccomplishment was organizing the AABTSHelmet Give-Away for four years. Currentlyshe is AABTS Treasurer and still captainsrides on Saturdays and Sundays.
Dan Harrison has served as Special EventsChair with emphasis on the Spring, Fall, andHoliday potlucks. He has also organized RideCaptain recognition events at the Ann ArborHands-On Museum and Yankee Air MuseumHe has been responsible with his wife Jan forordering and distributing the club Mileagepatches, as well as keeping track of lifetimemileage awards. He set up the database
so Vickie Smith can keep track of the clubmileage for its members. He was the Chair-man of OHR in l996 with Jan. He has runthe Patch Design Contest for 20 years. Hehas developed and enhanced Sunday rides in-cluding Dansville, Adrian Mural, RidgewayRamble, Zukey Lake and others. He hastaken over from Dennis Burke The HorseyHundred and the events surrounding it.
Frank Lamitola has been the newslettereditor with his wife Vickie. He has been theclub designer of our club logo and all AABTSshirts and jackets. His creativity extends Tomany areas. The merchandise he has createdincludes OHR jerseys, t-shirts, socks, caps,and patches. He is in charge of the sale ofthis merchandise on the day of the ride. Formany year he was also in charge of the mapsfor OHR and all the other rides.
Shirley Ceely has served as President,Newsletter Editor, OHR Food chairman; hasdistributed helmets in Ypsilanti to children,distributed literature at the Ann Arbor StreetFair; has been the C ride leader recruiter;has helped at food stops during OHR, andis currently the Secretary to the OHR Plan-ning Committee.
With this impressive list of accomplish-ments, anyone can understand how deservingKathleen, Dan, Frank, and Shirley are of theirawards.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS
T he AABTS Board presented SpecialRecognition Awards to Lynda Collins, JimDatsko, Deb Halbleib, and Jim Spencer.These individuals have made significant con-tributions to the success of the club.
Lynda Collins -- for her superb job on thenewsletter, with special mention of the tributeto Phil Howrey published in Summer 2011.
Jim Datsko -- for excellent articles on ClubHistory in the newsletter. He has offered theclub access to his organized archives -- he hasnotebooks of all the AABTS newsletters fromvolume One!
May–June 2012 3
Deb Halbleib -- for her untiring effortsmaintaining the AABTS website. She re-sponds almost immediately to any requestsmade to her with respect to posting or chang-ing information, and answers all questionswithout complaint.
Jim Spencer -- special recognition for hisfine work as Ride Calendar Chair, from
Spring 2007 through Fall 2011, preceded bymany years of recruiting all the A/B ride cap-tains for the Sunday Rides. Concurrently,Jim and his wife Dorothy have been in chargeof making sure that hungry One Helluva Rideparticipants have fresh coffee and donuts ev-ery year on the second Saturday in July at thestart of the ride at Chelsea.
AABTS AWARDS
Distinguished Service Award: Kathleen Donahoe
Special Recognition Award: Jim Spencer
Special Recognition Award: Jim Datsko
Special Recognition Award: Deb Halbleib
4 Newsletter of the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society
AABTS AWARDS -- continued
Distinguished Service Award: Shirley Ceely
Distinguished Service Award: Dan Harrison
Distinguished Service Award and 100K Jersey: Frank Lamitola
Frank is the fifth AABTS member to achieve the 100K mark
Special Recognition Award: Lynda Collins
May–June 2012 5
MILEAGE WINNERS 2011
Mileage winners John Finnegan, John Pierce, Jan Shubitowski, Joe Pavlovich, and Gwen Evich
receive their awards from Paul Bjornstad and Steuart White
Place Rider Name Miles Year 2011
Men
1 John Finnegan 13,265 TROPHY
2 John Pierce 12,660 TROPHY
3 Joe Pavlovich 8,239 TROPHY
Women
1 Sharon Sleeker 5,729 TROPHY
2 Jan Shubitowski 5,387 TROPHY
3 Gwen Evich 5,039 TROPHY
AABTS LIFETIME MILEAGE PATCHESFOR CLUB RIDES IN 2011
At the April 11, 2012 AABTS potluck,the following lifetime mileage patches wereawarded.
155,000: John Pierce
150,000: John Pierce
145,000: John Pierce
115,000: John Finnegan
110,000: John Finnegan
105,000: Don Evich, John Finnegan
100,000: Frank Lamitola
90,000: Gwen Evich, Jan Shubitowski
85,000: Dan Harrison
80,000: Gary Oak, Tom Sleeker
75,000: Chris Marble
65,000: Sharon Sleeker
60,000: Rita Straith
50,000: Bob Rawson
45,000: Charlie Deroo
40,000: Geoff Crosbie, Carol Hohnke
35,000: Beth Caldwell
30,000: Eugene Buatti, Steve Dodge, Christine Flaviani,
Dave Hahn, Jim Knight, Ross Richardson, Dorothy
Stock
25,000: Kevin McGuinness, Joe Pavlovich, Alex Wagner
20,000: Dan Clarke, Gerald Huntley, Joe Pavlovich,
Gail Preston, Jonathan Rodgers
6 Newsletter of the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society
15,000: Deborah Kornak
10,000: Deb Beer, Pete Cwik, Gil Daws, Scott Falcon-
berry, Dave Farmer, Kathleen Farmer, Art Kitze, Marilyn
Pobanz, Elizabeth Tidd, John Waller, Tony Williams
5,000: Dennis Francisco, Chuck Freitas, Dorothea
Goodwin, Wendy Hakken, Terri Keppler, Cheryl Klee,
Harold Klee
AABTS MILEAGE PATCHESFOR CLUB RIDES IN 2011
At the April 11, 2012 AABTS Potluckand Annual Meeting, the following membersearned personalized mileage patches for the2011 riding year. You earn a personalizedpatch by riding 500 or more AABTS clubmiles in a year. If you missed the Potluck,Dan Harrison and Jan Shubitowski will becarrying your patch on selected club rides thisyear. Look for them to receive your patch.Otherwise, we will mail it to you later in June.
Name Miles Place
Paul Alman 710 135
Lynn Babcock 1,018 104
John Bain 528 160
Jane Barrett 2,090 50
Ed Baumstark 3,519 22
Deb Beer 1,606 71
David Blank 727 133
Don Broadway 519 164
Jennifer Bryson 511 167
Jim Bryson 509 169
Eugene Buatti 2,090 51
Ron Bunnell 1,718 66
Bob Burslem 885 113
Buster Buster 1,446 84
Beth Caldwell 2,766 32
Jack Caldwell 2,505 36
Dawn Callahan 1,511 79
David Carey 854 114
Connie Cavanaugh 1,685 67
Dan Clarke 3,671 20
John Clinthorne 1,196 94
Chuck Cole 1,047 103
Sharon Cooper 1,009 106
Lexanne Creitz 1,801 60
Geoff Crosbie 3,553 21
Pete Cwik 1,516 77
Phyllis Czapla 731 132
Joe Datsko 1,465 82
Gil Daws 1,343 86
Eric Dean 1,828 59
Scott Dedenbach 566 152
Charlie Deroo 3,193 27
Wendy D’Haene 784 124
Steve Dodge 4,527 15
Kathleen Donahoe 1,889 56
Josef Dunbar 522 163
Carlin Early 674 141
Jeff Eisemann 2,545 35
Don Evich 5,082 12
Gwen Evich 5,039 13
Scott Falconberry 503 171
Dave Farmer 804 122
Kathleen Farmer 782 125
John Finnegan 13,265 1
Christine Flaviani 1,865 58
Dennis Francisco 514 165
Chuck Freitas 1,075 99
Mary Jo Freitas 1,047 102
Beverlee French 503 172
Philip Furspan 1,135 96
Kevin Galvin 705 137
Ann Garvin 529 159
Art Gershowitz 814 121
William Ghrist 616 148
Tom Glowacki 531 157
George Gonyo 1,545 76
David Goodwin 604 149
Dorothea Goodwin 792 123
Ted Green 653 142
Dave Hahn 1,515 78
Sandy Hahn 1,730 65
Joel Hakken 622 146
Wendy Hakken 622 147
Carole Hann 1,487 81
Dan Harrison 5,379 9
Mary Hensel 700 139
Chuck Hescheles 1,071 101
Jeanette Hescheles 932 111
Gene Hoefle 3,259 25
Carol Hohnke 2,199 46
Dieter Hohnke 1,773 63
Deanna Houston 750 130
Ann Hunt 975 108
Gerald Huntley 5,549 7
Jim Irrer 2,478 41
Bill Johnson 544 156
May–June 2012 7
David Jonah 722 134
Peter Kappus 702 138
Carl Karickhoff 510 168
Jeff Keeler 2,421 44
Debbie Kelley 815 120
Terri Keppler 3,756 19
Art Kitze 2,032 53
Cheryl Klee 1,563 74
Harold Klee 1,503 80
Brian Klippel 505 170
Eileen Knesper 646 144
Jim Knight 3,117 28
Marc Konvisser 832 116
Deborah Kornak 1,328 87
Frank Lamitola 5,273 10
Dan Lenardon 2,019 54
Jan Leonard 763 129
Steve Lepper 2,123 48
Debbie Lienau 1,247 91
Steve Limkemann 779 126
Tim Loviska 1,766 64
Richard Mahn 681 140
Kathy Malone 1,285 89
Chris Marble 7,027 4
Bob Martel 2,732 34
Kevin McGuinness 3,883 18
Amy McKinley 3,216 26
Will McWhirter 4,774 14
Jim Melosh 1,867 57
Laike Misikir 1,666 68
JulieAnn Moore 500 173
Thomas Moore 1,578 73
Darlene Morin 709 136
George Moses 587 150
Michael Murray 3,098 29
Allan Newman 530 158
Gary Oak 2,479 40
Anne Ormand 630 145
Mick Osman 3,381 23
David Patria 773 128
Joe Pavlovich 8,239 3
Marcia Peitzman 561 154
Vivian Phillips 1,940 55
Bill Pidgeon 1,783 62
John Pierce 12,660 2
Robb Pilkerton 1,304 88
Marilyn Pobanz 1,448 83
Kristen Polanski 1,615 70
Jeff Poliner 560 155
Tom Powell 996 107
Bud Preston 2,481 38
Gail Preston 2,481 39
Matt Raezler 1,376 85
Bob Rawson 5,118 11
John Reiter 1,197 93
David Relson 831 117
Ross Richardson 774 127
Leslie Roberts 587 151
Jonathan Rodgers 2,070 52
Tom Rogers 835 115
Randy Rubin 1,629 69
David Sasaki 522 162
Stan Sedo 1,012 105
Nobuki Sekiguchi 926 112
Jan Shubitowski 5,387 8
Joe Skurka 3,031 30
Sharon Sleeker 5,729 6
Tom Sleeker 6,221 5
Vickie Smith 3,014 31
Diane Spence 954 109
Chuck Stanich 1,545 75
Craig Stephan 1,145 95
Jon Stinson 650 143
Dorothy Stock 2,738 33
Rita Straith 2,497 37
Lloyd Strong 1,084 97
Pat Swann 735 131
Skip Tatum 1,599 72
Doug Tidd 3,278 24
Elizabeth Tidd 2,126 47
Joe Toland 1,078 98
Terence Treppa 1,073 100
Jan Tripp 3,959 17
Barb Underwood 1,215 92
Jim Van Vlerah 2,474 42
John Vincent 942 110
Alex Wagner 2,245 45
John Waller 1,790 61
Jan Warren 819 119
Lucy White 822 118
Steu White 2,096 49
Tony Williams 4,515 16
John Wilson 523 161
Regina Wilson 563 153
Mary Wise 1,258 90
Jeff Witzburg 2,470 43
Larry Wolicki 514 166
8 Newsletter of the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society
FEW MILES NEEDED FOR NEXT LIFETIME PATCH
Name 2011 Lifetime Miles Needed in 2012 Next Lifetime Patch
Matt Raezler 4,970 30 5,000
George Moses 9,951 49 10,000
Jan Tripp 9,894 106 10,000
Ann Garvin 9,873 127 10,000
John Atwater 9,855 145 10,000
Amber Morin 4,804 196 5,000
Christopher Morin 4,740 260 5,000
Jan Leonard 4,727 273 5,000
Dan Lenardon 29,702 298 30,000
Mark Goodwin 19,629 371 20,000
Chuck Nicewonder 19,619 381 20,000
Dave Arscott 14,568 432 15,000
John Barr 14,510 490 15,000
Jeff Witzburg 19,479 521 20,000
Dale Osborn 4,447 553 5,000
Gene Hoefle 19,441 559 20,000
Joe Toland 4,369 631 5,000
Amy McKinley 9,257 743 10,000
Nancy Reid 4,234 766 5,000
Doug Tidd 14,229 771 15,000
PRIZES FOR RIDE CAPTAINS
Two grand prizes of $125 in gift certificates and 22 other prizes ranging from $50 to $10 were awarded.
Amy McKinley: Grand Prize, gift certificates to Main Street Ventures, Aberdeen Bike and Outdoors, and Nicola’s Books
Matt Raezler: Grand Prize, gift certificates to Main Street Ventures, Two Wheel Tango, and Nicola’s Books
John Finnegan: Gift certificate to Main Street Ventures
Phyllis Czapla: Gift certificate to Main Street Ventures
Tony Williams: Gift certificate to Main Street Ventures
Frank Lamitola: Gift certificate to Two-Wheel Tango
Elizabeth Tidd: Gift certificate to Two-Wheel Tango
Connie Cavanaugh:Gift certificate to Wheels in Motion
Dan Harrison: Gift certificate to Wheels in Motion
Kristen Polanski: Gift certificate to Aberdeen Bike and Outdoors
Will McWhirter: Gift certificate to Aberdeen Bike and Outdoors
Tim Loviska: Gift certificate to North Side Grill
Joe Skurka: Gift certificate to North Side Grill
Gene Hoefle: Gift certificate to North Side Grill
Chuck Hescheles: Gift certificate to Nicola’s Books
Bob Rawson: Gift certificate to Nicola’s Books
Bud Preston: Gift certificate to Nicola’s Books
Mick Osman: Gift certificate to Panera Bread
Jon Stinson: Gift certificate to Panera Bread
Don Evich: Gift certificate to Panera Bread
John Pierce: Gift certificate to Panera Bread
Kathleen Farmer: Gift certificate to Panera Bread
Gail Preston: Gift certificate to Midwest Bike & Tandem
Judy Schmidt: Gift certificate to Midwest Bike & Tandem
May–June 2012 9
POTATOES WINNERS
Pedaling Our Trainers And Tracing OurEfforts South is conducted inside in the win-ter using stationary bikes. The trip is animaginary journey from Ann Arbor to NewOrleans. Riders reported their miles to LaikeMisikir who also partipated. The idea is tokeep in shape during the winter to be readyfor spring cycling. The results and the prizesawarded at the potluck are as follows:
This years six participants logged and re-
ported their POTATOES miles:
The total miles reported: 4125 milesThe maximum miles reported: 1865 milesThe minimum miles reported: 66 milesThe average miles ridden: 702 miles
First Prize: Terry Treppa $70.00Second Prize: Jeff Keeler $50.00Third Prize: Debbie Kelley $30.00
2011 FINAL COMMUTER MILEAGE
In 2011, 18 commuters rode a total of 11,694 miles, resulting in 557 gallons of gasoline savedand the avoidance of 5.4 tons of CO2 emissions.
2011 Since 1/1/09
Rider Name Miles Gals Gas Lbs CO2 Miles Gals Gas Lbs CO2
Charlie Aagenas 50 2 46 200 10 183
Rita Aagenas 150 7 138 400 19 367
Paul Alman 59 3 54 745 35 683
Gerry Borgula 212 10 194 212 10 194
Don Broadway 241 11 221
John Brundage 616 29 565
Drew Burton 307 15 282
Joe Christy 1,182 56 1,084
Gil Daws 80 4 73
Jeff Eisemann 1,880 90 1,724 4,301 205 3,944
Philip Furspan 675 32 619 2,154 103 1,975
Hugh Garton 70 3 64 70 3 64
Mary Hensel 328 16 301 450 21 413
Terri Kepler 76 4 70 370 18 339
Frank Lamitola 40 2 37
Jim Lee 1,573 75 1,442 2,438 116 2,236
Amy McKinley 374 18 343
Jeff McNally 240 11 220
Anne Ormand 155 7 142 783 37 718
Michael Pape 416 20 381
David Relson 130 6 119 655 31 601
Jonathan Rodgers 1,020 49 935 4,100 195 3,760
Vickie Smith 6 6 39 2 36
Craig Stephan 2,402 114 2,203 6,657 317 6,104
Julie Stephens 966 46 886 3,293 157 3,020
Elizabeth Tidd 1,193 57 1,094 3,624 173 3,323
Joe Toland 749 36 687 2,505 119 2,297
Ken Westerman 85 4 78
Klaus Wolter 3,246 155 2,977
Total 11,694 557 10,723 39,823 1,896 36,518
10 Newsletter of the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society
AABTS ELECTION RESULTS
A t the April 11th AABTS Potluck theannual AABTS Board member election washeld. There were two board members to beelected and we had four nominees. The nom-inees were Dave Patria, Jeff McNally, LynnBabcock and Joe Pavlovich.
In a very close election, Dave Patria wonone seat and we had a tie between Jeff Mc-Nally and Lynn Babcock for the second seat.In a run off vote, Jeff McNally won the sec-ond seat. They will both serve a two yearterm until March 2014.
AABTS thanks all four nominees for step-ping up and running for the board and fortheir support to the club.
NEW LIFETIME MILEAGE AWARDBy Jan Shubitowski
A new award is being instituted for ourhighest mileage riders. We expect to debutthis new award next Spring.
When AABTS started about 36 years ago,a system of recognizing members who accu-mulated a significant number of miles on clubrides over the years was instituted. The orig-inal system presented a patch for every 5,000miles ridden, all the way up to 50,000 miles.It was believed that 50,000 miles would bethe top.
Then, in 1998, we found members werereaching, and surpassing, that mark. A se-ries of pins was created, to cover every 5,000miles, from 55,000 all the way to 100,000miles. All was well, for a few years.
The 100,000 mile ceiling was surpassed byclub members in 2006, and we added a sec-ond series of mileage pins, from 105,000 to150,000 miles. We believed this new 150,000mile ceiling would suffice for a long time.Maybe forever.
Well, forever has arrived. This year, wehave our first club member breaking throughthat 150,000 ceiling.
Therefore, we are implementing a new se-ries of awards. Starting after 150,000 miles,Lifetime Achievement Awards will change to
be presented every 10,000 miles. (160K,170K, 180K and so on.) This award willbe a large drinking glass etched with the clubname or logo and the mileage milestone.
At that point—starting after 150,000miles—the award is switching to larger incre-ments (10,000 miles), for two reasons. One,those riding at this level are logging signifi-cant miles each year, right now over 10,000miles. Two, the glass awards are a little morecostly than the pins. Presenting a nicer awardevery 10,000 miles will keep the cost in linewith the other awards.
VOLUNTEER FORONE HELLUVA RIDE. . .
AND REAP THE BENEFITS!
By Vickie SmithOHR Volunteer Coordinator
I t is time once again for AABTS membersto think about volunteering their time and ef-forts to help AABTS put on its largest event ofthe year—One Helluva Ride (OHR). Alwaysheld on the second Saturday in July, this yearit will take place on July 14. Our ride hasa much deserved reputation for being one ofthe best run rides in the state, as well as hav-ing the best food stops, best routes, and lastbut certainly not least, the best watermelonat the end of the ride. What you may notknow is that the reason OHR has such a rep-utation is due pretty much to our wonderfulvolunteers. Over 200 volunteers—some ofthem doing more than one job—are neededto plan and execute this event.
OHR is important to our club for manyreasons. This is the only other source of fundsneeded to run the club outside of the mod-erate dues. Another important function ofOHR, and maybe the most important, is topromote recreational cycling in our area. Lastyear we had 1800 riders participate. A thirdreason to keep OHR afloat is the camaraderieand sense of purpose the ride generates in ourclub. With so many different club rides to
May–June 2012 11
choose from, one may never get to meet someof the other club members. Volunteering forOHR is the way to be part of the fun. AsVolunteer Coordinator for OHR, I will bemaking many phone call, e-mail and face-to-face requests for volunteers to work on theJuly 14 event. While it is true that thereare some tasks that can be done before theday of the ride, the vast majority of workersare needed on that day. Most jobs requireonly a 2- or 3-hour commitment. Our needsvary throughout the day. Help with parking,working at one of the water and food stopson the route, driving SAG, cleanup at the endof the ride at both Portage Lake and Chelsea,and traffic control are some of the jobs weneed to cover.
An AABTS members’ OHR pre-ride willbe held on July 8, the Sunday before the ac-tual OHR. One purpose of this is for clubmembers to help check out the route mark-ings which will have been put down earlier byvolunteers. A second, more important, pur-pose of this ride is to give members a chanceto ride the OHR route so that they can vol-unteer to work on the actual day of ride. Ab-erdeen Bike & Outdoors, in Chelsea, is thestart of the Members’ OHR on the 8th; Ab-erdeen owner Mike Casey and his staff willprovide refreshments and limited SAG ser-vice during the pre-ride. This includes lunchat Portage Lake. Please remember that thislunch is intended for OHR volunteers only.We ask that you consider taking advantage ofthis pre-ride the week before and make timeon OHR day to work a shift (or two!).
One perk of volunteering on OHR is a freevolunteer t-shirt in contrasting colors to thesales shirt. Also, we urge all volunteers to at-tend an ice cream social and volunteer meet-ing on Thursday evening, July 12 in order tomeet other workers and receive job instruc-tions. Lastly, there is a major blowout pizzaand beer party for all OHR volunteers thatwill be held July 14, the evening of the ride.This is THE social event of the season, andthe only way to be invited is to volunteer forOHR!
If you would like to volunteer, please call(734-996-9461) or e-mail me (vickie.smith@
comcast.net). I will be happy to fix you upwith the perfect job!
2012 TOUR DE KIDS—JUNE 10TH
By Paul Alman
Q uick question or two: how many of yourkids or grand kids had a chance to experiencethe Ann Arbor Tour de Kids? Or better yet,how many of you have had the unexpected joyof watching some kid you knew come smilingacross the finish line in one of the past 15 orso Tour de Kids?
I am sure most of us remember one of thereasons we still love to ride out bikes: to re-capture/relive the joy we experienced the firsttime we realized what riding a bike meant tous. (Riding by myself to my grandmother’shouse a whole 5 miles away when I was 8years old—well worth the grounding I re-ceived from my parents!) What freedom!What pure fun! You can experience thatfeeling once again this year on Sunday, June10th (the week before Father’s Day) whenonce again the Tour de Kids will come tothe streets just off Campus—start/finish lineat the corner of South University and EastUniversity.
We need volunteers to help out with reg-istration, marshaling the course, help with‘‘corralling’’ kids for their individuals races,course set up etc., and we would love to haveyou help out. If you are free on June 10th andwant to join in the fun, please go to our website: http://www.tourdekids.org and click onthe volunteer button. We won’t even chargeyou for the opportunity, will feed you, supplyyou with a T-shirt and a million smiles. Youcan also call or email me and I can sign youup.
Also, you can go to www.tourdekids.org toregister your kids/grandkids and get more infoabout the Tour de Kids.Paul [email protected]
12 Newsletter of the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society
BASEBICYCLE ADVOCACY SAFETY EDUCATION
UPDATE!
By Carole Hann
A long with the spring ride calendar,AABTS comes alive in other ways. BASEsprings into action and starts planning howtheir title, Bicycle Advocacy Safety Educa-tion, fits into events they will support. For anumber of years, BASE has sponsored a hel-met give-away and that project will continuewith three venues planned for this year. Thefirst will be at Bike Bash on May 18th atthe Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market (5:30 to 8pm). Bike Bash is sponsored by getDown-town http://www.getDowntown.org/bike andwill celebrate all things biking! There will bemusic, food, bike commuting classes and ac-tivities for kids that include free helmets cour-tesy of AABTS.
Our second event will support Tourde Kids on June 10th. BASE will bethere on June 9th—the day before theevent—checking kid’s helmets while theirbikes are checked for safety. AABTS has com-mitted to see that any child, entered in theTour, has a proper fitting helmet. Helmetsthat are determined not safe, due to fit orcondition, will be replaced with one from theAABTS BASE program.
The largest event BASE will cover this yearis a return to the July 4th celebration heldin the town of Gregory. Most AABTS rid-ers know Gregory as a town passed throughwhile riding AABTS bike routes; it also is thelocation of one of our OHR rest stops. Be-cause of OHR, the residents of Gregory en-dure the evasion of 1,500 plus bicyclist withintheir communities. As a thank you, AABTSis happy to sponsor its second helmet give-away at this event where the communities ofGregory, Munith, Pinckney and Stockbridgecome together to celebrate the 4th of July.
At last year’s 4th of July celebration, sixAABTS members worked feverishly to fit andgive-away 130 helmets in a little over anhour’s time. The chair of the Gregory cele-bration, Unadilla Township Fire DepartmentChief Mark Schroeder, saw that we had a
prime spot to set-up our operation - right nearthe line for the chicken dinners that were sooopopular that day.
Tom and Ann Hunt brought our canopycover to Gregory along with three rather largeboxes of helmets and helped with the set-up.They returned about 1:30 when all the hel-mets were gone and helped with the break-down.
Helmet fitters were Camille Fitzsimmons,Jim Lee, Bill Watson, John Reiter, Lynn Bab-cock and Carole Hann. All six volunteersworked fitting both children and adults withthe Bell helmets bought with AABTS funds.Lynn reported "I loved it when a 7–8 yearold told me, ‘‘I am going to wear this ev-ery time I go on my bike!’’ Tom Hunt saidan older gentleman came up to him while wewere breaking down and said, ‘‘It is a wonder-ful thing that you are doing.’’ Jim Lee, whovolunteered for his first ever helmet give-awaysaid, ‘‘It was a lot of fun to provide helmets topeople who appreciated what we were doingand the helmets were very easy to fit. I wasconcerned, but with a tape measure and theEasy Fit helmets, it was a breeze. Because of
May–June 2012 13
this event, maybe a few more people will giveus more consideration on the roads when weare out riding.’’
So besides celebrating Independence Day,some good PR was done—along with protect-ing some heads.
So what else does BASE do? AnotherBASE project may come through involvementwith the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation’sMove More Committee. The Foundationhas an endowment of $25MM and each ofthe five communities it represents has fourareas/committees:—Move More—Avoiding Addictive Substances—Eat Better—Connecting with Others
Move More could involve bicycles. Andthat is where AABTS/BASE could help.What better way to get kids to Move Morethan to get them on a bike!
If you are interested in helping with ahelmet-give-away or joining the BASE com-mittee, contact the VP of BASE, Jim Leeat leej [email protected] or BASE mem-ber Carole Hann at [email protected]: There is an underscore between Jim’sname and the zip code number.
MANCHESTER GCI ROLLS OUT FIRSTSELF-GUIDED BIKE TOUR
IN A GROUP OF NEWECO-TOURISM ACTIVITIES
(Manchester, Michigan)—The ManchesterTour de Barn Quilts is the first of a group ofeco-tourism activities being planned featuringthe Village of Manchester and surroundingnatural areas.
This self-guided bike tour is on rural roadsbeginning and ending in the parking lot atManchester High School. The tour travelsbucolic byways to look at barn quilts, whichare large, colorful quilt blocks on the sidesof barns, as well as other historic barns andchurches, a farm stand, a Ford mill, and thecharming Village of Manchester. The routeis split into two main parts: there is a 14
mile route with an optional 6 mile loop westof M-52 and east of M-52 the route can becontinued with a 12 mile ride.
A brochure can be viewed soon on-line atwww.manchestermi.org.
Manchester—Gateway Communities Ini-tiative, working with the Manchester AreaChamber of Commerce, sponsors tours en-compassing the agricultural and historic her-itage of the Manchester area. The GCI is aregional eco-tourism program promoting themutual goals of balancing preservation andsustainability of natural and historic areas,while also stimulating commerce in villagesand small towns.
COOKIES NEEDED FORAABTS-HOSTED PALM STOP
By Jan Shubitowski
A ABTS is hosting a Cookie Table onthe Pedal Across Lower Michigan (PALM)ride—and we need your help making cookies.
The Cookie Table is a way of supportingbicycling in our area. It also provides a plat-form to talk with other bicyclists about thebenefits of joining AABTS. We’ll have ap-plications available for our annual One Hel-luva Ride, which occurs about 10 days later.PALM is geared to new riders and youngfamilies and attracts several AABTS memberseach year.
Our Cookie Table will be at the PALMwatermelon stop on Wednesday, June 27, onDay 4 of the week-long tour. The stop isabutting 10 miles north of Dansville. AABTSwill be offering homemade cookies for all rid-ers. This year’s 31st annual PALM filled intwo days and has 800 riders. Estimating aconservative two cookies per rider—and whenwe offer homemade cookies, two per rider is aconservative estimate!—we’ll need about 134dozen cookies.
Heres how you can help. Drop a noteto Jan Shubitowski ([email protected] or734-476-2203 cell phone), about what kindand how many dozen cookies you would like
14 Newsletter of the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society
to bake. Be sure to include your e-mail andphone information, so we can coordinate pickup and/or delivery. Cookies of all sorts arewelcome. And, yes, brownies are consideredcookies.
We also need a few people willing to helpout as Cookie Collectors. These folks willcollect cookies from people in their area andcoordinate getting them to us before the dayof the event, or driving them out to the cookiestop. If you have freezer space, that couldhelp out those who may be out of town andwant to turn in their cookies early.
Also, we would like a couple of volunteersto help staff the cookie table. Even thoughthis is a mid-day, mid-week activity, it wouldbe nice if we had some “younger” volunteerswho fit the demographic of some of youngfamilies who might be interested in our club.
This is a good way to give something backto bicycling, and to help us promote our cluband annual fundraising ride.
AABTS MEMBERS AND FRIENDSVOLUNTEERS AND OPPORTUNITIES
D o you enjoy sharing your enthusiasm forcycling? Here are a few easy opportunities -no meetings, nothing to buy, just show up:
• Wednesday, May 16th: Ride of Silence:6:30 to 8:00
Participate in the May 16th Ride of Si-lence (details below) and serve as a Ride Mar-shall. Simply show up a few minutes earlyand guide riders in keeping a slow pace, fol-lowing traffic laws, and staying together as agroup. Contact Jim Lee at 734.604.0696 orleej [email protected].
Ride of Silence Details: Join the 10th an-nual worldwide Ride of Silence (www.rideofsilence.org) as cyclists throughout the worldride in a silent, slow-paced ride (maximum12 mph) in honor of those who have beeninjured or killed while cycling on public road-ways. This year the AABTS will join with theYpsilanti Ride of Silence. Plan to arrive at thestart around 6:30 pm for this 8–10 mile ridewith an optional post ride gathering at CornerBrewery in Ypsilanti.
Meet at Recreation Park Senior Cen-ter parking lot, corner of Congress andOakwood. Ride begins at 7:00 pm.Sponsored by Bike Ypsi (www.bikeypsi.org).Captain: Bob Krzewinski, 734-487-9058,[email protected] Alternatively, meet atWheeler Park to leave at 6:00 and ride tothe meeting place. Note that the returnride will include riding at dusk or darkwith an 8:45 sunset. Proper lights are re-quired. Captain: Joe Pavlovich, 734-545-0541, [email protected]
• Friday, May 18th: Ann Arbor Bike BashEvening
Stop by the AABTS booth for an hour atthis fun event (details below) and assist withour first helmet giveaway of the year. In ad-dition to promoting the club, we will be fit-ting and giving away helmets to children plusproviding safety information. Bring familyand friends and make an evening of it withfellow AABTS riders. Contact Jim Lee atleej [email protected] or 734.604.0696.
Celebrate Bike to Work week and all otherthings biking with Musical Entertainmentfrom Joe Reilly http://www.joereilly.org/ andLori Fithian http://www.drummunity.com/.Food: Pilar’s Tamales, Mighty Good Coffee,Mity Nice Ice & others. A Bike Bling Station:Decorate your own bike bell to take home,brushes and paints supplied; make your ownspoke card using contact paper, stamps, card-stock and markers. Bike Commuting Classeswith AAPD Officer Kathy Vonk (an AABTSmember), plus much more. This family-friendly event is from 5:30–7:30pm at AnnArbor Farmer’s Market. Sponsored by theAnn Arbor Downtown Development Author-ity. Details at www.getdowntown.org/bike.
RIDER OF THE YEAR:CHRIS WHITE
T he way I see it, cycling is comprised oftwo main groups: riders and racers. This di-vide is as clear an example of ‘‘us" and "them"
May–June 2012 15
as you could find in any sport. As a proudmember of the former group, I look up toevery rider who signs up for any race—be it alocal! crit or Milan-San Remo. Still, racing inand of itself does not automatically bestow onthe contestant hero worship. No, that honoris not open for all to claim, but, as far as I’mconcerned, there is nobody more worthy than
Chris White. Chris who? You might remem-ber Chris and his story in last month’s ‘‘WhyWe Ride’’ where he spoke of suffering from aspate of heart attacks last year and then had tobe cryogenically frozen for two days. Frozen?!From there he went from a 5 percent chanceof survival to logging upwards of 100 milesa week on his bike, Chris, we are fortunateto have you among us. Keep turning circles,friend.
(Originally published in Road Bike ActionMagazine, January 2012)
Paper said ‘‘showers",Did not specify what kind.
It’s April. It snowed!And that is why
I ALMOST rode.
Anne OrmandApril 10, 2012
CRUISE TO PANAMAAND THE CARIBBEAN
Anne Ormand
I returned February 17 from my 10-daycruise to Panama and the Caribbean on the‘‘Island Princess.’’ Our Captain, NicoloBommarco, is Italian, from Venice, but hehad the good sense to NOT run our mag-nificent ship up onto shore. We travelledfrom Fort Lauderdale, Florida; to Aruba; toCartagena, Colombia; to the Panama Canal;to Colon, Panama; to Limon, Costa Rica;to Grand Cayman Island; to Fort Laud-erdale—a total of 3229 Nautical Miles =3713.35 Statute Miles = 5980.10 Kilometers.
The seas were kind to us, becoming onlyslightly rough one afternoon. In Febru-ary the Caribbean is generally hot, dry,and windy—sometimes too hot. There are2 seasons: dry and wet—the temperaturesand winds remain constant. I recommendold-fashioned Dramamine—‘‘less drowsy for-mula’’—twice a day. I was never even slightlyill. Also, a huge ship helps. The IslandPrincess is 964.3 ft. long, 105.6 ft. wide,and has 13 decks. She was designed to passthrough the Panama Canal. Maximum pas-sengers: 2368, maximum crew: 810.
Our ‘‘Community Band at Sea’’ had 40musicians, plus 2 of the ship’s musicians, whoasked if they could ‘‘sit in’’ and did. Our con-ductor, Ken Bloomquist, Emeritus Director
16 Newsletter of the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society
of Bands at Michigan State, is superb. Af-ter some of the Crew heard us rehearse, wewere treated with the utmost respect and co-operation from all of the ship’s crew. TheWoodwind Quintet from Lansing needed aclarinet and I was invited. Ken asked us toplay a piece as part of our Band Concert. TheQuintet chose to play ‘‘Fernando’s Hideaway"which features the clarinet in a jazzy mid-dle section. Fun! We played at 2 PM onour final day. At that time we were compet-ing with the usual ship activities: swimming,sunning, drinking, snacking, deck-walking;plus a Nautical Art Auction, a Grand Fi-nale Champagne Art Auction, a Texas Hold-em Tournament in the Casino, a BallroomBlitz Waltz, Bridge, Princess Olympics GolfPutting, and the not-to-be- missed Mr. SexyLegs Competition. The Princess Theaterholds 600. We had ‘‘standing room only".Our audience loved the concert. It was athrilling experience for everyone.
I have never been ‘‘colder" than when Istepped out into Detroit Metro. It is hard tobelieve that our planet can have such contrastof climate all at the same time.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear AABTS Family,
Please accept this belated thank you for theplant arrangement in honor and memory ofmy father.
In his later years (70’s), Dad did a bit of bi-cycle riding with me, and I will cherish thosememories.
It is great to have such an extended familyas a support mechanism.
Lexanne Creitz
Dear AABTS friends,
Thanks SO much for the lovely cactus gar-den! Your kindness and sympathy is muchappreciated!
My broken ankle is healing after 4 surgeriescomplicated by a scary infection.
After 10 weeks of a cast and daily IV antibi-otics, I am now wearing a boot and startingphysical therapy.
After tens of thousands of miles cycling allover N. America, how did I break an ankleon a flat, open, sunny Florida trail?
Just ask me this spring. You’ll recognizemy bike now equipped with training wheels!
Denny Francisco, Far East Fringe Rider
FOR SALE
Thule Fit Kit #227for 400 XL Footpak
(fits Acura TL, Lexus Es300)$45.00
734-971-0685
May–June 2012 17
WHO IS THIS YOUNG RIDER?
Who might the young rider be in these photos?
Send by email your informed guesses to the AABTS Newsletter Editor, Lynda Collins at([email protected]), and submit additional mystery rider photos to her for future Newsletterindentity contests. The winner’s name will be published in the Newsletter.
Last issue’s ‘‘Who Is’’ photo was of member Mary Hensel. Eight guesses were submitted, butnone was close.
18 Newsletter of the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society
FAREWELL JOE!
AABTS Members Gather at Olson Park on Friday 27 April 2012 to Say Farewell to Joe Datsko
Joe Datsko moved to Maryland on May 5th. We had him as ride captain for the WhitmoreLake Coffee Break ride one last time on Friday, April 27th. Over 54 folks were on hand at 10:00a.m. that day to give him a ‘‘send-off,’’ and more than half of them rode. Sadly, because hewas so busy getting ready for his move, Joe was not able to bicycle that Friday, but he greetedeveryone, wrote down their ride miles, and started them on the ride.
June—July 2012 Newsletter Deadline
May 23, 2012
Typesetting: Jonathan Rodgers, Ann Arbor MI
Please join us in remembering
E. Philip Howrey
Professor Emeritus, Department of Economics
on June 16, 2012, from 10 am to Noonat St. Mary’s Student Parish
located at the corner of 331 Thompson and E. William StreetsAnn Arbor, Michigan, 48104
There will be a time of remembrance and a sharing of stories. Please bring your memories, aswell as your photographs. We will enjoy a sit-down luncheon. For those interested, a scatteringof ashes will take place along Huron River Drive.
Please RSVPto Sharon Howrey303-910-2898, [email protected]
to register
If you have already responded via Evite, you do not need to RSVP.