Volume 47, Issue #12, December 1, 2015
Contents
Treasurer's Report
Ride Coordinator's Report
Advocate's Report
president
President's Message
By Will Benedict
Moving Forward with Missing Board Members
There were three unfilled positions on the ballot for the 2016 SLOBC Board. The impact is that there will be no-one to organize programs for our monthly meetings or special club rides for the coming year. This is unfortunate in that improving club meetings and rides were both identified as important to making the SLOBC a better bike club at the October meeting and will be a focus of the SLOBC Board for 2016.
Moving forward, how do we generate ideas for club meetings and special rides and find members to implement the ideas in 2016?

Dave and Debbie Abrecht provide one model for addressing the issue of general meetings. They have taken on the complete planning for our February and October meetings. Taking responsibility for a SLOBC Meeting could mean finding someone to make the presentation on a subject that you think would be of interest to the members or it could mean planning the whole meeting. Consider taking on a meeting for 2016.

We also have a model for creating special rides. Several weekly ride groups have organized rides to such places as the American River Bike Trail in Sacramento or Ojai Valley Trail in Ojai for their members. If weekly ride groups would take on organizing one special ride open to the whole club on a first-come first-served basis, we could generate a range of special rides throughout the year. Consider putting on a special ride for 2016. 

My suggestion is that the January meeting be a program and ride idea generating event to jump start planning for a great 2016.
president
Treasurer's Report
By Bill Martin
Proposed 2016 Budgets
The Budget Committee met in mid-October to prepare recommended Contributions and Operational Budgets for 2016. The budgets were presented to the SLOBC Board at their November 3rd meeting. The Board approved the budgets as shown below for presentation to the SLOBC membership. A vote on the budgets is scheduled for the December 2015 General Meeting.

2016 Contributions Budget

Proposed $
General Contributions

Amgen Tour of California
1,000
Atascadero High School Bicycle Club
500
Bike SLO County
35,000
Bike SLO County -- Matching
15,000
Cal Poly Amateur Radio Club
2,000
Cal Poly International Student Bike Program
500
Cal Poly Wheelmen
4,000
CCCMB
4,400
Estero Radio Club
500
Gene Cerise Country Classic
1,500
REC Foundation, Paso Robles
250
SLO Regional Rideshare
1,500
SLO Regional Rideshare--Breakfast
500
SLO Sheriff's Advisory Foundation
1,000
Sub Total
67,650


Wildflower Related Contributions

Creston 4H
300
Creston Classic Rodeo
1,500
Creston Community Church
150
Creston Elementary School
2,500
Creston Elementary School--Science Camp
200
Creston Volunteer Firefighters Association
7,000
Shandon Pool Fund
500
Shandon Unified School District
4,000
Sub Total
16,150


Lighthouse Related Contributions

Cambria Community Council
 500 
Cayucos Elementary School District
 500 
Cayucos Lioness Club Scholarships
 1,000 
Morro Bay Community Volunteers
 200 
Morro Bay High School
 2,000 
Morro Bay High School Athletic Boosters
 10,000 
Sub Total
 14,200 


Unspecified
 1,000 


Total Contributions
 99,000 


Capital Projects Contributions

Octagon Barn/Bob Jones Bike Trail Project
 30,000 
Matching Octagon Barn Project
 10,000 
Total Capital Projects Contributions
 40,000 


2016 Operational Budget


Proposed $
Income

Lighthouse Ride
137,000 
Wildflower Ride
127,000 
Indulgence Rides
Membership Clothing Sales
1,500 
Membership Dues
6,000 
Publications
900 
Miscellaneous
39 
Total Income
272,440 


Expenses

Advocacy
500 
Fees and Licenses
60 
Meetings and Events
5,000 
Contributions
99,000 
Membership  & Directory
1,000 
Newsletter
1,500 
Operations
16,500 
Public Relations
1,000 
Ride Coordinator
1,500 
Lighthouse Ride
72,700 
Wildflower Ride
61,150 
Indulgence Rides
2,000 
Safety
100 
Sunshine Fund
100 
Capital Projects Funding
10,000 
Provision for Reserve
330 
Total Expenses
272,440 


Surplus


news
News, Notes & Events
Volunteer of the Month
By Pam Zirion and Bob Young

The Volunteer of the Month for November is Jerry Lundstrom. Jerry lives in Los Osos and was nominated by Mike Curren. He is a long time Club member (since 1982) and has done "all of the jobs" of both the Lighthouse and Wildflower rides. The Wildflower is his favorite, however, because he gets to ride places he normally doesn't frequent. His favorite job??-- Registration the old-fashioned way where he "got to meet all the riders".

I asked him how he got his email name, 'jertabeans', and he said his younger brother called him that nickname for years. So he naturally had to incorporate that into his email.

Jerry states that, "Any success I've had as a volunteer or club member was due to a lot of help from fellow club members." In this picture he is flanked on the left by Jack Robison and on the right by Tony Leap, two of his best supporters.

Jerry loves bicycling and has been on the bike for over 50 years. However now he is not riding his trike as he is awaiting a hip replacement. Thank you, Jerry, for making SLOBC a great club!

Volunteers are chosen at random from your nominations. If you would like to recognize a great volunteer, send an email to Kathleen McHugh at [email protected] and tell us the reason for your choice.
Come Hell or High Water: 
Part Deux - Into the Belly of the Beast
By Ernest Cole
 


Day 3: El Capitan to Ventura, 53 miles
After a sublime night at El Capitan Canyon we fueled up and rolled onto the 101 headed south to Santa Barbara. The day was surprisingly humid - unusual for this part of the world. As we discovered on our cross country tour some years back, the coolest place to be on a day like this was riding. Just as we left the UCSB campus and started on the bike trail to SB we spotted a couple, obviously touring, up ahead of us. As I watched them and slowly reeled in the woman, I noticed that the man, who was always leading, would look back and seeing us would stand up and accelerate away. Are we racing? I began to formulate a mental picture of this guy which was not flattering. This occupied me all the way into Santa Barbara. Once we got to Mission Street they had pulled over and when we rolled up they turned out to be really nice, even Mr. You'renotgonnacatchme. Moving on to Carpenteria we stopped at a bike shop to get some supplies and use their floor pump. It was so hot we wandered around the shop like a couple of zombies and left without pumping up our tires! We found an ice cream shop nearby and after a few scoops we cooled off and rode on to our hotel in Ventura.

Day 4: Ventura to Venice Beach, 56 mi.
I had anticipated that this would be one of the hardest days.  Also we would finally be riding on unfamiliar roads which in my mind made it seem like this was a real bike tour. We followed our Adventure Cycling maps out of Ventura and through Oxnard toward Point Mugu. This was surprisingly nice riding; we enjoyed ourselves despite the relentless humidity. Again, as long as were riding, the evaporation of our impressive amount of sweat cooled us off. Once on the coast we continued south to Malibu. OK, this town has got to be the longest town for its size in the world. It just goes on and on and you would think that because it's on the coast it would be fairly flat - you would be wrong. No, this seemingly endless town is characterized by one long rolling climb after another. Enjoy that downhill if you can, my friend, because you're about to start grinding up yet another hill. In situations like this, I find that cursing under my breath seems to help. Continuing south toward Santa Monica I entertained myself by counting Porsches (this area has a high PPC ratio). We soon realized that this day was garbage collection day, so what little room we would have had in the bike lane was now blocked by hundreds of garbage bins. This created an interesting slalom effect for miles - should I go right around this one into the crowd of people or left into the lane of traffic? To our relief, Santa Monica is the beginning of miles of bike trail. As we started along the coast trail I switched from counting Porsches to counting people walking on the bike trail. There actually was a separate, paved trail for walkers but evidently this difficult concept is hard to grasp. Our bells got a workout along this stretch. Soon we arrived at our destination on the boardwalk in Venice Beach. One of the nicest places we stayed on this trip, our room looked out across the expanse of beach to the Pacific. We were just between the homeless guys and the heavily pierced androgynous person with pink dreadlocks selling bongs. You know the place.

Day 5: Venice Beach to Sunset Beach, 45 mi.
This was another hot, humid, but short day - shorter really than we were thinking it would be. In fact, I thought we were staying in Huntington Beach but we ended up in Sunset Beach which is a sort of poor relation located just north of HB. Our route this day took us inland from Redondo Beach through Torrance (not too bad), Carson (uh...) and then back along the LA River to the coast at Long Beach. All this to circumvent the Palos Verdes peninsula. The day was characterized by not very interesting urban riding and a constant reminder of why we love living where we do. After stopping for lunch we cruised through Seal Beach and soon came to a traffic light after passing through a funky beach community. As we sat there waiting for the green light, I looked around and noticed an aging, tired-looking building that seemed right out of the sixties. Suddenly it dawned on me that I was looking at our hotel! It's a good thing I noticed it because I was prepared to ride at least another 5 miles, but we had arrived.

To be continued.....
STAY TUNED FOR THE EXCITING CONCLUSION!
2016 Wildflower Jersey

The Wildflower jersey and t-shirt can now be seen on the website. Thanks to Mike Curren for the jersey design.
Calling All Cooks
1st Annual SLOBC Chili Cook Off
Friday, February 5, 2016

Rustle up some friends for your cook-off team and create a rip-roaring pot of chili. Details will be in the January newsletter, or you may contact [email protected] for more info.
The Very Scary Scarecrow Festival
By Stu Goldenberg


 

One of the Tortoise rides for the month of October was to the Scarecrow Festival in Cambria. This was as much of a photo opportunity and a chance to gawk at the collection of wonderful scarecrows as a bike ride.











Some of the scarecrows were not of this world. For example, E.T. was there. We all know he really exists, but other scarecrows were of critters we know never existed, such as the unicorn.



 




Known for loving spinach, famous residents of Sweethaven were on the street, posing for photographers. Yes, in living color (only part that was actually alive) were Popeye and Olive Oyl.










There were also cyclists pedaling very hard but not going anywhere. We decided to ride along with them. As fast as they seem to be pedaling, they never broke a sweat, in fact they weren't even breathing!


 





If you really wanted something to take your breath away, direct from India was Kaa, the beautiful and clever python, poised to attack from the branch of a tree (Jungle Book).

Righty Tighty - Lefty Loosey (Pedal Replacement)
By Stu Goldenberg

Many of us have heard the expression "Righty Tighty - Lefty Loosey" which is intended to help with tightening and loosening nuts and bolts. There is also "The Right Hand Rule" for which you point your right hand thumb in the direction you want the nut or bolt to move and turn in the direction that your fingers curl.

This is all well and good if the threads are right handed threads, but not all threads are. There are two examples of left handed threads on bicycles. One is the right side of the bottom bracket (most of the exceptions include French and Italian bikes), and the other is the left pedal.

One of our club members was in need of new pedals. I provided the suggestion illustrated here to him, and he later reported that it worked well. I have seen people try to remove the left pedal by turning the wrong direction and actually bend wrenches. Ouch!


A Great Place to Visit for Halloween
By Stu Goldenberg

Dee McKelvie put together special Halloween Ride for the SLO Pokes, which was co-led by Stu Goldenberg. The ride, or more accurately, two rides, were from Paso Robles to San Miguel with a special stop at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery, which is adjacent to the Graveyard Winery. SAG support was provided by Scott McKelvie, currently recovering from hip replacement, and Bob Behnke. Non liquid refreshments were provided by Dee and Janie Goldenberg. 

Stu Goldenberg, Bob Behnke,
Janie Goldenberg
Bob Behnke (in knickers), Scott McKelvie

























Costumes were minimal, a couple of geeks that worship Einstein, someone dressed for riding a high wheeler, and some interesting helmets.
ride-coordinator
Ride Coordinator's Report
By Kathleen McHugh
2015 Indulgence Ride: Plan B

On Saturday, October 24, 16 SLOBS met up on the bike trail in Marina to ride through Monterey to the Lodge at Pebble Beach and back for a total of 50 miles. We had beautiful weather with clear skies, no wind, and mild temperatures. On the way we spotted harbor seals, otters, sea lions, and a zeal of zebras.



As always, when SLOBS get together, there was much laughter and conviviality. And despite two riders going down, one parking citation, and a broken bottle cage, we all made it to dinner at El Torito.


Ride to Ojai
Karla Walls, Pam Link, Russ Walls and Kathleen McHugh
On Saturday, November 14, 2015, four intrepid SLOBs left Rincon Parking Area for Ojai. The day was spectacular! Zero flats! Zero falls! Zero headwind! The ride included one coffee stop (Starbuck's), one lunch stop (Agave Maria's), one ice-cream stop (Rite Aid), and 56 headwind-less miles. Hope to see YOU next time!










Ride Leaders Lunch
This is the current list of members that have functioned as Ride Series Coordinators or lead at least three rides during 2015. PLEASE let me know if your name is missing.

Kathleen McHugh
Ride Coordinator

AG Sunday Ride
Craig Armstrong
Frank Mullin

Atascadero Breakers
Kevin Matherly

Atascadero Scramblers 
Glenn & Gail Venderlinde

Atascadero Ramblers
Mont McDowell
Mac Learned
Tom Harris
Atascadero Tweeners:  
Cindy Himmelrich
Lou Vetter
Gregg Bone

Baywood/Los Osos
Jack Robison
Will Benedict

Breakaways 
Russ Robinson

Flaming Tortoises 
Julie Jarvis

Flyers
Russ Robinson
Doug Seidewitz
Steve Vines
Terry Cohen
Norm Smith
Bill Goodger
Bill Buckalew

Frequent Feeders
Frank Mullin
Dave & Debbie Abrcht
Harvey Cohon
Dale Sutliff
Dave Williams
Arlene Winn
Mark Lyon

Huasna Valley 
Long Nguyen

King City Hillbillies
Ralph Lee

Paso Robles Breakers 
Jeff Dykzeul

Paso Robles Scramblers 
Jean McBride
Jim Sprott
Karen Macey

Paso Robles Ramblers
Bill McBride

Paso Robles Tweeners 
Gregg Bone
Lorrie Minkel
Ken Trotman

Slabtown Rollers
Tom Parsons

SLO Pokes 
Dee McKelvie
Val Barboza
Patricia & Hans-Henning Boerst
Gini Stedman
Pam Zirion
Stu & Janie Goldenberg
June Kramer

SLO Velo
Ron Starkey
Kathy Starkey
Scott Carichner

Templeton Breakers
Earl Norcross

Templeton Ramblers
Rick Deil

Templeton Scramblers
Patti & Bill Van Orden
Geoff Brown
Joyce Purdin

Templeton Tweeners 
Lou Vetter

Vacillators
Marina Michel
advocate
Advocate's Report
By Dave Abrecht
Los Osos Becomes More Bike Friendly
The community of Los Osos is becoming more bike friendly. Now that the waste water treatment plant infrastructure is completed throughout town, roads are being resurfaced, repaved and improved.

At the urging of many bike advocates, individuals and representatives of the business community, Los Osos Valley Road through town is now much more bike and pedestrian friendly. The county's first buffered bike lane has been installed on Los Osos Valley Road through "downtown" Los Osos. A buffered, or protected, bike lane comes in many configurations, using painted stripes, bollards or even raised medians, all with the objective of creating a safety barrier between automobiles and bicycles. The county will also add some "green lanes" at intersections where there is potential conflict between cars and bikes.

Another safety improvement is the removal of vehicle parking on LOVR from South Bay Blvd. to Palisades Avenue. Since there is ample off-street parking throughout the commercial corridor, this change will create safer conditions for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

Credit for these improvements goes to a variety of bicycle advocacy groups and community "stakeholders" but SLO County Public Works employee Jeremy Ghent made it happen within his department.

Octagon Barn Center Matching Donation Plan
If you are a person who likes to wait until the end of the year to make a tax deductible charitable donation, we have a deal for you. The SLOBC will match, dollar for dollar, any donation a member makes to the Octagon Barn Center's trailhead and cycling center element.

As you will recall, the club made a $30,000 direct donation from our Capital Projects Fund and we also committed to match individual member donations, dollar for dollar, up to $10,000. As the fund raising "thermometer" indicates, club members have donated $6500 toward the match amount.  Thank you!!   Please help us reach the $10,000 match goal.

How to Donate
▪ Download the Matching Gift Challenge form. Print and complete the form and include it with your check.
▪ Go to www.lcslo.org. Click on the "Ways to Give" button. Make sure the words, "in honor of SLOBC" are entered in the Honor/Memory section to ensure the SLOBC matches your gift.

This is my last Advocate Report
For the last four years, it has been an honor and privilege to serve the members of the SLOBC as the Bicycle Advocate. I have had the opportunity to work with many individuals and representatives of organizations whose primary goals are to improve our cycling infrastructure and promote safety and education programs.

The work continues, and with tight local and state budgets, challenges remain to fund bike paths, bikeways and other roadway improvements that improve cycling opportunities for all persons. Fortunately, Dale Sutliff will assume the duties of the Bicycle Advocate position. Dale serves on the SLO County Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) and is a well-informed about our our local cycling related needs.
membership
Membership Coordinator's Report
By Mike Balster
Membership Renewal Period is Open
We are beginning our annual drive to encourage members to renew their memberships. Two things are required each year to renew: pay your dues and have every member in your family sign our waiver. Starting this year, memberships will be placed on hold for members who fail to sign the waiver.
Changes to our website make it easier to meet these requirements.
  • Access our website at slobc.org.
  • Log into the member area, go to your membership page and click renew.
  • You can electronically sign our waiver there.
  • You can then elect to either pay by check or use PayPal.
  • If you want to pay by check, you'll receive an invoice that you can print and mail with your check.
  • If you want to use PayPal, you'll be able to pay with your PayPal account, or with your credit card.
  • Those of you who don't want to sign the waiver electronically can print the waiver, sign and mail it with your check.
Note: Members who do not have email will have waivers sent to them.

If you want to receive printed newsletters, be sure to renew by December 15, 2015 or you'll likely miss the January newsletter.

Please note that the waiver requirement applies to people who have prepaid for life memberships. You must sign our waiver by the end of the year or have your membership placed on hold.
program
Upcoming Program
By Gary Havas, Vice President
SLOBC Holiday Potluck 
Date: Thursday, December 3, 2015 
Location: Monday Club1815 Monterey St, SLO
Time: Socializing at 5:30, dinner at 6:00 pm.

This year's theme is "Home for the Holidays". Who says you can't go home again?! Channel your inner child and recreate a favorite holiday memory from your childhood. Items that represent your home state, toys from your childhood, or memories of home are all wonderful ideas! As always, be prepared to decorate your table according to the theme and bring your own place setting (plate, bowl, dessert plate, glass, coffee cup, flatware, napkin). You may bring your own wine or beer. The club will provide coffee and tea as always.

Due to limited parking, carpooling is sincerely encouraged!

Bring your holiday spirit and a dish according to your last name:
A-K Side Dish, Soup, Stew or Chili
L-R Dessert
S-Z Main Dish 

Remember: Please try to post a list of ingredients with your dish, so those who are allergic do not need to sneeze, wheeze, or scratch. We ALL want to enjoy this holiday meal. 

Plan on an evening of nostalgia, great food, and excellent company.
weekly-rides
Changing Weekly Rides
The Ride Calendar provides the full weekly ride schedule.
Flyers (9:00 AM, D3)
Wednesdays
Coordinator: Russ Robinson
Phone: 805-781-0903

Date: December 2
Start: Bob Jones Bike Trail, Ontario Road
Leader: Steve Vines
Phone: 805-202-8114

Date: December 9
Start: French Park, San Luis Obispo
Leader: Doug Seidewitz
Phone: 410-337-2233

Date: December 16
Start: Heritage Square Park, Arroyo Grande
Leader: Terry Cohen
Phone: 805-747-4584

Date: December 23
Start: French Park, San Luis Obispo
Leader: Participant Led
Phone: 805-781-0903

Date: December 30
Start: Laguna Lake Park, San Luis Obispo
Leader: Russ Robinson
Phone: 805-781-0903
Frequent Feeders (9:00 AM, B2)
Wednesdays
Coordinator: Frank Mullin
Phone: 805-602-2058

Date: December 2
Start: French Park, San Luis Obispo
Destination: Woodstone's Deli, Avila Beach
Leader: Dave Williams
Email[email protected]

Date: December 9
Start: Morro Bay State Park Marina
Destination: Cayucos for Coffee
Note: Toro & Cayucos Creek
Leader: Joan Petersen
Phone: [email protected]

Date: December 16
Start: Laguna Lake Park, San Luis Obispo
Destination: Cayucos Coffee, Cayucos
Route: To do the full 75K, meet at Harvey's house at 8 AM.
Leader: Harvey Cohon
Phone: 805-234-2982

Date: December 23
Start: Heritage Square Park, Arroyo Grande
Destination: Willow Deli, Nipomo
Leader: Frank Mullin
Phone: 805-602-2058
Email: [email protected]

Date: December 30
Start: Throop Park, San Luis Obispo
Destination: Morro Bay
Leaders: Jacque & Chuck Wheeler
Phone: 805-541-1240
Email: [email protected]
SLO Pokes (9:00 AM, A2)
Wednesdays
Coordinator: June Kramer
Email[email protected]
Phone: 425-239-8692 

Date: December 2 
Start: Hardie Park, Cayucos 
Destination: Linn's, Cambria
Leaders: Patricia & Hans Boerst
Phone: 805-534-9660

Date: December 9
Start: Nipomo Regional Park, Nipomo 
Destination: Willow Deli, Nipomo 
Leader: Gini Stedman
Phone: 805-473-8287

Date: December 16
Start: Beach Parking, Grover Beach 
Destination: Hula Hut, Avila Beach 
Note: Docent Peggy tour of Butterfly Grove 
Leader: Peggy Coon
Phone: 818-259-8940

Date: December 23  
Start: Food-4-Less, San Luis Obispo
Destination: Back Bay Cafe, Baywood
Leader: Pam Zirion
Phone: 805-215-0971

Date: December 30
Start: Lila Kaiser Park, Morro Bay
Destination: Carlock's Bakery, Los Osos
Leader: Val Barboza
Phone: 805-264-5901
Tortoises (9:00 AM, A1)
Fridays
Coordinators: Stu & Janie Goldenberg
Phone: 805-544-4720

Date: December 4
Start: Bob Jones Bike Trail, Ontario Road
Destination: Avila Valley
Leader: Bob Young
Phone: 805-489-4755

Date: December 11
Start: Tidelands Park, Morro Bay
Destination: Wee Shack, Morro Bay
Note: A flat ride!
Leader: Bob Behnke
Phone: 805-239-4042

Date: December 18
Start: Meadow Park, San Luis Obispo
Destination: McMansions (Twin Creeks)
Leader: Bob Tuman                                   
Phone: 805-545-5976

Date: December 25
Start: The Graduate, San Luis Obispo
Note: Around SLO to an open coffee shop
Leader: Bob Young
Phone: 805-489-4755

Date: January 1
Start: Goldenberg home
Note: Tour of SLO7th Annual Tortoise New Year's Day Ride and Potluck
Leaders: Stu & Janie Goldenberg
Phone: 805-544-4720
Wandering With Will (9:00 AM)
One Saturday Each Month
Coordinator: Will Benedict
Phone: 805-441-4105
Email[email protected] 

general-minutes
SLOBC General Meeting Minutes
By Craig Armstrong, Secretary
San Luis Obispo Library Community Room
995 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo CA
Thursday November 5, 2015 7:15 PM

President Benedict called the meeting to order at 7:15 pm.

President Benedict thanked John Long for serving as greeter and Kathy Cohon, Pam Link, John Long, Kathleen & Ernest McHugh, Gil & Sandy Pitt, and Marina Michel for providing refreshments.

Kathleen McHugh reminded members to submit nominations for Volunteer of the Month.

President Benedict reported that the club will end the year in good financial shape and that the proposed 2016 budget will be in the December newsletter. Members will vote on the budget at the December pot-luck.

Ken Price urged members to actively promote cycling related projects to their local government agencies and gave an update on recent road improvements.

Dave Abrecht reported that member donations to the Land Conservancy for the Octagon Barn project total approximately $6,000. The club will match member donations up to a total of $10,000.

Red Davis presented the 2016 board member nominations. There are currently three open board positions and members interested in any of those positions should contact Red. Voting for the board positions and proposed by-law changes will begin in several days.

Red also noted that construction has started on the Morro Bay Bike Park which was partially funded by a contribution from SLOBC.

Robin Dery gave an update on the Christmas pot-luck scheduled for Thursday, December 3 at the Monday Club. The theme will be "Home for the Holidays." A new set of wheels will be raffled off at the event.

President Benedict noted that the board will be working on forming a committee to re-envision club general meetings (location, frequency, format, etc.).

Ross Pepper asked about the possibility of a club donation to support improvements at the Pismo Reserve. He agreed to attend a board meeting to present his recommendation.

Kathleen McHugh reminded members of the upcoming ride to Ojai, She is also working on the list of ride leaders and ride coordinators to be invited to the Ride Leaders dinner.

The minutes of the October 1, 2015 General Meeting were approved.

Dave Abrecht presented a program covering the Abrecht's recent bike tour of the San Juan Islands.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:15 PM.
board-minutes
SLOBC Board Meeting Minutes
By Craig Armstrong, Secretary
Air Pollution Control District Auditorium
3433 Roberto Court, San Luis Obispo CA
November 3, 2015, 5:00 PM

Board members present:  Will Benedict, Gary Havas, Bill Martin, Craig Armstrong, Mike Balster, Martin Howell, Ken Price, Kathleen McHugh, and Susan McTaggart.

Kathleen McHugh commented on the board's role in encouraging members to actively participate in organizing club activities and events and the need to maximize board member communication and participation in that process. President Benedict has been working with Pam Link regarding a club photography program and will include board members in that process going forward. 

The minutes of the September 29, 2015 board meeting were approved (MSC Howell/Havas).

Matching contributions by club members to the Octagon Barn project total approximately $6,000 to date.

The February general meeting is tentatively scheduled to be a chili cook-off in lieu of a regular meeting.

Kathleen McHugh reported that 17 riders participated in the Indulgence Ride in the Monterey area. Given the difficulty in getting enough participants to cover the cost of chartering a bus, future rides may involve small groups who provide their own transportation to the ride area. 

Bill Martin gave an update on Lighthouse revenues and expenses and noted that the results were within policy guidelines. He reported that all budgeted contributions will have been paid by year-end.

Bill presented the draft 2016 budget prepared by the budget committee and reviewed various revenue and expense categories. The board discussed the presentation of contributions that benefit the club's two century rides and whether all or some of such payments should be classified as ride expenses or as contributions. Bill will follow up with SLOBC's accountants to determine if there are any issues with respect to how such contributions should be reported in the club's tax returns. The board agreed that the projected $40,000 contribution to the Land Conservancy for the Octagon Barn project in 2016 be included on the schedule of contributions rather than be shown as a reduction in the capital projects reserve. Following discussion, the proposed budget as amended was approved (MSC Armstrong/Havas) and will be submitted to the membership for approval at the December general meeting. 

President Benedict reviewed the slate of candidates for the 2016 Board of Directors. There are candidates for all positions except Ride Coordinator, Director at Large, and Program Coordinator. Members interested in any of the three vacant board positions should contact Will Benedict. As some members may not be able to vote on-line, a notice on how to obtain a paper ballot will be included in the upcoming newsletter. 

President Benedict reviewed the following changes to the club by-laws (additions are underlined and deletions marked through). The first is a further clarification of what constitutes a quorum for a board meeting; the second is to eliminate the position of Immediate Past President. The position of Immediate Past President is rarely found in other organizations, does not require the incumbent to actively participate in board meetings, and is generally redundant.  The revisions were approved by the board for submission to the membership for approval (MSC Armstrong/Balster). 
Article V: Officers & Directors (Board Members)
I. Fifty-one percent (51%) of the Board Members in positions that are currently filled shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
Article II: Administration
B. The affairs of the corporation shall be conducted by a Board of Directors (Board) which shall consist of thirteen (13) voting members, twelve of whom shall be elected by the members of the corporation. They shall be: President; Immediate Past President (not an elected position); Vice President; Treasurer; Secretary, (the Officers); Membership Coordinator; Ride Coordinator; Newsletter Editor; Advocate; Historian, Safety Director, Public Relations Coordinator, Programs Coordinator and Director-At-Large.
Article III: Officers & Duties
B. IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT shall serve as advisor and have such other duties as may be assigned by the President or Board. The Immediate Past President shall serve as chair of the nominating committee and may choose at least two other club members to serve on the committee. In the absence of the Immediate Past President and with the concurrence of the current President, any former President may perform all duties and have all powers of the Immediate Past President.
Article V: Officers & Directors (Board Members)
O. In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall perform all duties and have all powers of the President. If both officers are absent, the order of succession shall then be:
Immediate Past President
1.  Secretary
2.  Treasurer.

The January board meeting will be at the Inn in Morro Bay on January 5, 2016, and the agenda will include establishing goals for the coming year. 

The agenda for the January general meeting was briefly discussed and was tabled until the December board meeting.

President Benedict gave an update on revisions to the membership sign-up/renewal process. The goal is to maximize the number of on-line sign-ups and renewals so as to minimize the administrative effort in maintaining membership records and to ensure that the club is in compliance with insurance requirement requiring members to complete annual waivers.

The board approved deleting the following policy since the responsibilities listed have been included in the Vice President's responsibilities in a pending revision to the by-laws (MSC Havas/McHugh).

Administration
1.7 In addition to filling in for the President in the President's absence, the Vice President shall be responsible for arranging the programs for the monthly meetings.  The Member-at- Large shall be responsible for organizing the two potluck dinners.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 6:25 PM.

SLO Coaster

The SLO Coaster is the monthly newsletter of the San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club that is automatically sent to all members. Everyone is welcome to view and subscribe to the digital edition of the SLO Coaster. To subscribe, use the Newsletter Signup Form.

 

All articles, letters, stories of bicycling experiences, appropriate classified ads, artwork etc, are welcome. Each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily represent the opinion or endorsement of the SLOBC or editor.

Submittal Guidelines

All materials are due no later than 

8:00 a.m. on the 15th of each month. Nothing will be accepted verbally. 

The editor reserves the right to edit or reject material.

 

All materials should be emailed to [email protected].

  

Complete submittal guidelines are found at: Newsletter Guidelines.

  San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club, Inc.

  Website: www.slobc.org        

  Email: [email protected]

  Phone: 805.543.5973