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joelar...@gmail.com
Feb 27, 2013, 7:36:15 PM2/27/13
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Hi everyone and welcome to the Ashland Bike Club ("ABC").
I thought it might be useful to create a Google group so that all "ABC" members would be able to communicate directly with the rest of the group. I've never set up one of these groups before, so please let me know if there are features you've seen in other groups that we could incorporate here.
My primary objective in creating the Ashland Bike Club is to "build community". We are likely to attract members with very diverse bike handling skills. My hope is that our stronger riders will support our weaker riders until they "get up to speed". While the group is small, I hope that we can do our rides together in a "follow the leader" style. As our membership grows, perhaps we will try to divide some of our rides into slow/fast or easy/intermediate/advanced. This will be largely determined by the types of members we attract and how they would like to conduct our rides.
My plan for the first ride is to wait for less snow and warmer weather. Perhaps we could schedule our first ride for the first Saturday (10 am) where the forecast temperature is expected to be above 60 degrees. The plan is to meet in the parking lot directly across from the Ashland Public Library. I'll map out a few routes and then, based on the wishes of those who show up, we can determine what distance we want to ride. Remember, some of us might have our hands full covering 5 miles. For stronger riders, perhaps we can string two rides together to add more distance. Let's see how it goes when we get together.
It's very important that we emphasize safety and good "bike citizenship" to all who ride with us. Helmets are a must. Safety instruction will be available to anyone who wants to learn. If you're interested in taking an excellent online safety course offered by the League of American Bicyclists, check out this link: http://www.bikeed.org/courseIntro.aspx. You have to register to take the online course but there's no charge to do so.
In addition to "just plain riding", I hope some of you will also be interested in bicycle advocacy. I've recently developed a plan to build paved bike paths from the Ashland train station to Ashland State Park and from the train station to Hopkinton State Park. The paths would total about four miles long. I've been in contact with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and both are very interested in exploring the possibilities in Ashland. Please let me know if you're interested in being a part of this effort.
Well, this seems about the right length for an introductory post so I'll stop here. I hope you'll add content to this forum to keep things lively and interesting.
Welcome aboard! Thanks for joining the Ashland Bike Club. See you soon.
I thought it might be useful to create a Google group so that all "ABC" members would be able to communicate directly with the rest of the group. I've never set up one of these groups before, so please let me know if there are features you've seen in other groups that we could incorporate here.
My primary objective in creating the Ashland Bike Club is to "build community". We are likely to attract members with very diverse bike handling skills. My hope is that our stronger riders will support our weaker riders until they "get up to speed". While the group is small, I hope that we can do our rides together in a "follow the leader" style. As our membership grows, perhaps we will try to divide some of our rides into slow/fast or easy/intermediate/advanced. This will be largely determined by the types of members we attract and how they would like to conduct our rides.
My plan for the first ride is to wait for less snow and warmer weather. Perhaps we could schedule our first ride for the first Saturday (10 am) where the forecast temperature is expected to be above 60 degrees. The plan is to meet in the parking lot directly across from the Ashland Public Library. I'll map out a few routes and then, based on the wishes of those who show up, we can determine what distance we want to ride. Remember, some of us might have our hands full covering 5 miles. For stronger riders, perhaps we can string two rides together to add more distance. Let's see how it goes when we get together.
It's very important that we emphasize safety and good "bike citizenship" to all who ride with us. Helmets are a must. Safety instruction will be available to anyone who wants to learn. If you're interested in taking an excellent online safety course offered by the League of American Bicyclists, check out this link: http://www.bikeed.org/courseIntro.aspx. You have to register to take the online course but there's no charge to do so.
In addition to "just plain riding", I hope some of you will also be interested in bicycle advocacy. I've recently developed a plan to build paved bike paths from the Ashland train station to Ashland State Park and from the train station to Hopkinton State Park. The paths would total about four miles long. I've been in contact with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and both are very interested in exploring the possibilities in Ashland. Please let me know if you're interested in being a part of this effort.
Well, this seems about the right length for an introductory post so I'll stop here. I hope you'll add content to this forum to keep things lively and interesting.
Welcome aboard! Thanks for joining the Ashland Bike Club. See you soon.
valerie.paul
Feb 28, 2013, 5:22:28 AM2/28/13
to ashland...@googlegroups.com
Thanks for getting this going Joel!
I look forward to riding with the group and leading some rides too!
I look forward to riding with the group and leading some rides too!
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