MHBC Board Nominations & Election

The Mid-Hudson Bicycle Club will hold our annual board elections at the Fall Roundup on November 1st. Any club member in good standing interested in supporting the club by joining the board as an officer or member-at-large should submit their nomination by October 1 to our club vice president, Ron Gall, at mhbc.vp@gmail.com.

There are a few openings in which we would like to fill with someone who has some specific interests or skills listed below:

1.  Champion for each of the C and Gravel ride programs. Ideally, we would like to find someone for each of these programs who can take on the task, creatively growing the number of rides and participants.

2. Communication and club newsletter.  This role involves writing articles, assisting with the newsletter and other communications, and aiding with other administrative functions.

3. Event coordinator.  In this role, someone would recruit coordinators for our events (Spring Fling, Summer Picnic, and Fall Round-up) and assist them in running the activity.

Board members should be able to attend most board meetings.  These are held via Zoom on the third Wednesday of each month @ 7 pm.

Runoff elections will be held for contested positions at the Fall Roundup. 

MHBC is a sponsor for two important fund raiser rides in September. Come out and support these organizations:

Sat, Sept 6 - Tour de Kingston which raises funds for the YMCA of Kingston and the Ulster County Bicycle Safety Education Program for Youth

Sat, Sept 20 - Roe Jan Ramble which raises money for the Harlem Valley Rail Trail

Some safe riding tips

As we enter the second half of the riding season, here are a couple of things to remember when riding by yourself or in groups. 

• When stopping, whether to snack, take a drink or to make adjustments please consider where you are actually stopping.  We have seen  riders stopping in the travel lane or at an intersection to regroup.  This makes it very difficult for drivers to figure out what we are doing. The best place to stop is completely off the road in a parking lot or where there is a very wide shoulder on the road.  Avoid stopping in the middle of a private driveway.   

• Also,  if you are leading a ride, there are certain starting locations which do not have a lot of parking space.  Please be aware of that when planning your rides. Two places which come to mind that have limited parking are the Amenia rail trail parking lot and Poet's Walk in Red Hook. If not sure, contact the owner to get permission to use their parking lot.   

• Please use hand signals when turning. 

• When in groups, ride in a single file especially on busy roads.

• Have id with contact information on you at all times!  We recently had a member have a very serious accident while out of state on a solo ride.  Id can make the difference between life and death and length of recovery.  Emergency Medical personnel are trained to look for medic alerts.  The club recommends Road ID.  A member discount is available on our website in the info section.

Submitted by Jason Klock

MHBC Calendar Highlights

Sat, Sept 27 - Multi level ride, Farms in September, starting in Rhinebeck. Rain date Sept. 28. This is in place of the annual farm ride which was sponsored by Scenic Hudson. This ride has been discontinued. Letter from Scenic Hudson

Sat, Oct 25 - Cemetery ride from Red Hook

Sat, Nov 1 - Fall Roundup with Multi level rides and Board Elections in Wallkill. Rain date, Nov 2.

Details can be found on the club calendar