MHBC March Newsletter

Mid Hudson Bicycle Club

Your Monthly Update

March 2026

60th Anniversary Dinner Wrap Up

The club celebrated it's 60th anniversary with a gala dinner attended by over 80 members and guests. Folks were able to meet old friends, make new friends and following an excellent dinner we had a very informative presentation from Ann Savage, Executive Director of the New York Bicycling Coalition. To cap the night off, a raffle was held with some really nice prizes donated from local bicycle shops and businesses.

In order for the evening to take place, a lot of work had to go into the planning. We would like to thank the entire board and 60th anniversary committee for the work they did. We need to give a special thanks to Ron and Mary Gall for the time, effort, and devotion they have made not only this year with the dinner, but for the past 4 years as well. Between researching venues, selecting the dinner choices, arranging for the cake, they also took care of our pint glass gift with the etched club logo. Ron was instrumental in arranging for our guest speaker. Mary took care of many of the little items which included the preprinted name tags, etc. So, again, thank you to Ron and Mary.

Submitted by Jason Klock

Our thanks to "IWAGY" for lending us their projector for our annual dinner for the past few years. It Was A Good Year, Inc ("IWAGY", Website: IWAGY.org) is a not-for-profit corporation formed and incorporated in 1980 for the purpose of tasting and learning about wine. More information about IWAGY

Submitted by Ron Gall

C Ride Update

We have an exciting year planned for our C riders!

Here are the highlights:

Several rides are already scheduled, including a weekly ride on Wednesday mornings and a monthly ride the last Thursday of the month. Please see our ride calendar for more details and rides.

Rides made easier A list of great C routes have been put together for ride leaders and can be found in the MHBC organizational routes’ collections option in Ride with GPS. There are two C ride collections: Club curated C rides and Additional C routes. They can be found by clicking here: C ride Collections

Training for Ride Leaders Additional ride leaders are needed to help grow the program and we encourage all members who are interested in becoming a ride leader to attend our upcoming ride leader training program on April 2nd at 7pm. A Zoom Link will be posted on the MHBC Calendar 24 hours prior to the event.

Suggestions have been created from surveys and brainstorming sessions to guide ride leaders to post rides that C riders will love!

Here’s the list:

a. Rides are often better attended on weekdays since we have a lot of retirees in this group

b. Piggy back onto a C+ ride. List your ride with the same start time as a C+ ride and create a shorter route or just ride with your group at a C pace. However, make sure that there is sufficient parking for both groups before listing the piggy-backed ride.

c. Make sure to have a rest stop along the way, taking a break to rest and socialize

d. Have some rides where there is a get together at the end of the ride at a restaurant

e. Plan a ride at the same time every week

f. Post rides in advance so there is time for participants to plan

g. Pick routes you are comfortable with. They can be repeated several times during the season.

h. Rail trail rides are great.

i. Try different things and see what works for you and your group!

j Post your ride to the MHBC facebook page to spread the information about your ride and get more sign-ups.

Double Credit for C Ride leaders this year!!!! Our Ride Leader Incentive Program will give a Pactimo store credit as a thank-you to all ride leaders who qualify. This year, as part of our effort to build the C ride schedule, C rides that meet the C ride criteria will count as 2 rides!

Submitted by Karen Weis

MHBC Ride Leader Training

Virtual Session

April 2nd at 7pm

Sign up on club calendar and on Teamup App

Zoom Link will be posted on the ride calendar on April 2 in the morning

We are looking forward to another great ride season. To help build our program and create awesome ride leaders we are again offering a virtual ride leader training to build ride leader confidence and skills, make posting and promoting a ride easier and create a consistent process for our members.

Please attend if:

You are interested in becoming a ride leader in the 2026 season
You are currently a ride leader but did not participate in last year's formal training program
You participated last year and would like to refresh your knowledge and skills, brush up on ride leader basics, learn some tricks and tips to posting rides using Ride with GPS and Teamup apps and creating a great ride experience
Would just like to find out more about being a MHBC Ride leader

2026 MHBC Ride Leader Incentive Program

In 2026, MHBC plans to continue our tradition of offering a variety of great rides throughout the entire ride season. To encourage and reward our ride leaders, we are again offering a ride leader incentive program, giving a Pactimo store credit for club apparel as a thank-you to all ride leaders that qualify. This year, as part of our effort to build the C ride schedule, C rides count as 2 rides and awarded to any qualified ride leader who leads a C ride!

Ride Leader Incentive Program Details

Malden Turnpike, Saugerties bridge is closed through 2026

The bridge over the NYS Thruway on Malden Turnpike in Saugerties is closed for the remainder of the year. The routes in the club RidewithGPS library that included the bridge are being changed to use other roads. Please warn your riders at the beginning of group rides that traffic may be heavier than usual on alternate roads

Submitted by Jason Klock

Thanks again to everyone who came to our anniversary dinner. All attendees should have received a sticker with the club's logo. Unfortunately, the manufacturer made a mistake and printed them on paper stock instead of vinyl. Once notified, they have agreed to reprint the stickers for us on the correct material. Please do not use the ones you received on an outdoor application. We will have the new ones available for riders at the Spring Fling and after some of our regular rides. Sorry for the inconvenience, the 60th Anniversary Committee.--

Club Calendar Highlights

Multi-day Trips -

March 30 - April 4: Lexington, Virginia
June 18 - 21 : Kutztown, Pennsylvania
Sept. 10 - 13: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

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New to the road ride - Sunday, April 12, 2-4 pm, Tony Williams Park, Highland _______________________________________________________

Spring Fling - Saturday, April 25 (rain date April 26), Cornell Cooperative Extension Farm & Home Center, Millbrook

Multi level Rides and lunch, more information and sign up here.

Despite the cold weather and snow there were some road rides in February. Thanks go to the following leaders with the number of rides led: Jason K.- 6, Jeff D.- 1. John R. - 1, Joe O - 1

The board also appreciates the leaders who continue to lead or set up Zwift rides This is a valuable tool that many riders are using to keep fitness levels during the off season.

Updating your MHBC membership account

Any changes to your membership information can be done by signing into your account using the unique user name and password you selected when initially signing up for membership. In the account go to the subscriptions tab to make any changes. For credit card updates in the subscription tab select payment method. Do not go to the payment tab to do this. Any questions can be sent to mhbc.webtech@gmail.com.