Mid Hudson Bicycle Club

Your Monthly Update

March 2023

Multilevel Ride on March 25.

The first multilevel ride of 2023 will be held on Saturday, March 25 from 10:30 – 2:30 starting at the Huguenot River Front Park (53 Huguenot St, New Paltz).  Afterward we will meet just up the road at Clemson Bros. Brewery. The rain date is April 1.  Rides being offered are levels B, C+, C, and D. For more information and sign up see the  MHBC ride calendar.. When signing up please indicate, next to your name, which ride level you plan to do. This will be a great way to stretch our legs after the winter and for some socializing.

 Submitted by Jason Klock

Start training for the Three Ring Century Ride

The Three Ring Century will be held Saturday,  May 6 (rain date May 7). There will be three routes starting and ending at Tony Williams Park, Highland  with each route being approximately 35 miles. Departure times are 8 am for the first route, 10:45 am for the second one and 1:30 pm for the final route. Since all routes start and end at the same place riders can decide if they want to do one, two or all of them. Do 35 miles, do a metric century or try the full century.  Your choice!  You can go as fast or as slow as you like,  keeping miles and time in mind. 

This will be a regular club ride.  It is an unsupported event which means the club does not provide mid route rest stops. Leave food and water in your car so you can replenish each time you return to the park before beginning another loop. Please download the routes to your device or print your own cue sheet.

In April more information, with the ride sign up and routes,  will be posted to the MHBC website calendar.  Details will also be posted to the club Facebook page.  Hope to see you on May 6 th. 

Submitted by Jeff Saffir 

MHBC Members, one of the benefits of joining our club is having access to the MHBC RideWithGPS club.account along with a number of advanced features that you don’t get with the free RideWithGPS account. Some of these features include:

1) Turn by Turn Voice Navigation.

2) Offline Maps – Navigate without using cell service.

3) Maps and Cue Sheets

4) Club messaging

5) Live Logging

The basic annual RideWithGPS account that includes these features cost $60/year and we get all this included in our club membership dues!

Even if you have a dedicated cycling computer ( Garmin, Wahoo, etc…) using the free RideWithGPS smartphone app can be very useful and since almost everyone carries their phone during their ride, it’s worth installing the app and linking the MHBC account to it to get access to all these features when riding a route from the MHBC route library.

Some of the advantages that you find using the smartphone app is:

1) Smartphone screen is so much larger and clearer than cycling computer screen

2) Turn by Turn Voice navigation is loud and clear.

3) The RideWithGPS app integrates the Garmin Varia Radar device into its app and when the radar detects a car it makes a much louder alert than a cycling computer. Great safety advantage.

4) If you make a wrong turn and are lost you can ask the app to navigate back to the route and it will reroute you.

So, to get started and give it a try,

1) Download the free RideWithGPS app and create a free account.

2) Link the MHBC account to your free account ( you should have received an email with the link to the club account when you joined.)

3) When you open the RideWithGPS app you will see the MHBC listed and when you select that you will have access to all the Routes in the library.

4) You can then select the route you want to either download directly to your phone ( to use offline) or just navigate the route.

5) Detailed RideWithGPS help link: https://ridewithgps.com/help/

Submitted by Tim McNamara

Biking in the Lake Champlain, Vt Region

June 8-11, 2023

The Burlington/Lake Champlain Region offers great cycling and other fun activities. This trip is still in the planning stages. We have researched reasonably priced accommodations in the area that serve breakfast and might be used for a starting point for our rides. We are recommending the Hampton Inn, Colchester which is just north of Burlington. Of course, book whatever lodging works best for you. 

Besides Colchester, some rides may start at Shelburne Bay Park. 

Once we know approximately how many people are interested in this trip we will develop the ride routes, restaurants suggestions and a list of non-biking activities.   

If you have any questions or suggestions, contact Karen Snowman at

845-242-8735 or karensnowlady@yahoo.com. 

 Submitted by Karen Snowman

Club Historian Needed

Our club needs a new HISTORIAN. You must be able to store @ 4-5 plastic bins (dimensions H 11, W12, D18) of notebooks and printed material from MHBC’s beginnings in 1966. I have some, and I will eventually gather more in Kingston. I will be happy to meet you somewhere to transfer the bins to you. I assume that in 2023, you would be gathering and storing club activities and photos in a technically more advanced way. Please contact Fred Freed at fpcyclists@hvc.rr.com.

Advocacy

This year’s Ride of Silence will be held on Wednesday, May 17 in Kingston beginning at Dietz Stadium at 6:30 PM. It is an 8 mile ride led by Bill Miller. We usually have a Police escort to lead us slowly and silently through the city. Contact Bill at 845-322-5922 with any questions. Search Ride of Silence for the history of this international event.

New York State still lacks a 3 Foot Safe Passing Law. Please see www.nybc.net to find out more about what you can do to help the cause. NYS is in the minority of states without a 3 Foot Law. NYBC’s Advocacy Committee continues to work to bring this to a vote.

Submitted by Fred.Freed

The club calendar continues to have outdoor and virtual rides posted.

Any questions or concerns, contact us

https://midhudsonbicycleclub.com/contact

Newsletter Editor: Gail Thornton, MHBC Secretary

Newsletter submissions should be sent to mhbc.clerk@gmail.com