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Potomac Pedalers News

Newsletter

November 2014
In This Issue
Welcome
Be Visible
Volunteer Party
Annual Meeting Guest Speaker
2014 Back Roads Century a Success
Bike Shop Discounts
Renew Your Membership Online
About Potomac Pedalers
Join Our Mailing List!
Quick Links

Potomac Pedalers Website

 

Club Ride Schedule

 

Interactive Ride Calendar

 

Impromptu Ride Schedule

 

Regional Cycling Events

 

Ride News Forums

 

Potomac Pedalers FAQ's

 

Join Potomac Pedalers

 

Back Roads Century Website

 

Welcome

Dear Greetings!:
 

News Welcome to the latest edition of Potomac Pedalers News - our electronic newsletter which keeps you informed of the latest happenings in the world of cycling.

 

Throughout the winter we'll be sending out e-mails once per month. We'll tell you about upcoming club events, regional cycling events, the latest club news and more. Past newsletters are posted on our website for review.  Click here for the newsletter archive page.

 

Sincerely,

Deb Reynolds

 

Let's Keep it Safe Out There - Be Visible!

 

As the days get shorter and fall and winter set in, we may be walking or riding in twilight or dark. At these times, it is even more important to remember your lights and reflective clothing.
 

Just the other morning as I was getting ready for work I listened to traffic reports announcing that all lanes of Indian Head Highway were closed due to a pedestrian fatality. This had occurred at 5:30 a.m. When getting ready for work in Washington D.C. many of us wear black suits and black overcoats. However, when crossing streets in the dark, whether walking or bike commuting, a driver has great difficulty in seeing you. You can easily put small flashing lights on your coat, or use one of the slap-on reflective strips to aid in your visibility; these are easily removed once you reach the office.

Remember, your important project will not get done if you are hit by a car on the way to work. Be visible!

Volunteer Party - Saturday, November 15th - 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Party Hat What: Potomac Pedalers Volunteer Party

When: Saturday, November 15th - 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Where: NRECA Conference Center

Address: 4301 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22203

Who's Invited: Anyone who performed work for the club during this past year

The annual Potomac Pedalers Volunteers Party is open to anyone who performed work for the club during this past year. If you have served as a ride leader or coordinator, Club officer, member of a committee, host of a weekend event, helped at one of the Club's special events including the Back Roads Century, the annual meeting, or this party, you are eligible and welcome to attend. It is because of you that the Club enjoys the success it does, and you make cycling more enjoyable for the other members of PPTC, both present and future. The Club will provide an assortment of main course dishes (including vegetarian), beer, wine, soft drinks, plates, utensils, napkins, etc. We request that you bring a salad, side dish or desert to share. It's a fun evening of food and good company.

Volunteers Needed

Volunteers are also needed to assist with set up and clean up - please contact Nancy Avitabile if you're able to assist.

Biking to the Event 

The Center is not far from the W&OD trail (take the Bluemont Junction spur). If biking to the event, please remember to bring a lock. Bikes are not allowed inside. 

Location of the NRECA Conference Center

The Conference Center is located across the street from the Ballston Mall in Arlington. It is one block from the Ballston Metro and right off of the Glebe Road Exit from I-66. They will let us park for free in their indoor parking garage from 5:00 to 9:00. The garage is on Taylor Street just around the corner from the main entrance. 

I-66 West (from Washington D.C.)
From the Key Bridge or Roosevelt Bridge Constitution Ave. or 110, follow signs for I-66 West. Take the Glebe Road / Ballston exit and turn left onto Glebe Road. Turn left onto Fairfax Drive. Turn right on Taylor St. (first light). The Conference Center is the last building on the right on Taylor Street before it dead-ends into Wilson Blvd. Turn right into the building's parking garage.

I-66 East (from points west of Ballston)
From I-66 East, take the Fairfax Drive Glebe Road exit (exit 71). The road you exit onto is Fairfax Drive. Stay on Fairfax Drive. Turn right on Taylor St. (3rd light). The Conference Center is the last building on the right on Taylor Street before it dead-ends into Wilson Blvd. Turn right into the building's parking garage.

Click here for detailed directions on the NRECA website.

Annual Meeting Guest Speaker - Dered McGinty

Derek McGinty
The Annual Meeting will be in January. As a preview, to get you excited, the speaker will be Derek McGinty! Derek is the weekday anchor for WUSA 9 News at 7pm and weeknight co-anchor for WUSA 9 News at 5:00, 6:00 and 11 pm. From March 2001 to June 2003, he was co-anchor of ABC's World News Now, and anchor of World News This Morning.

Additionally, Derek was a correspondent for HBO's Real Sports for 4 years. Previously McGinty hosted the nationally broadcast Straight Talk with Derek McGinty for PBS.

Derek is a local Washingtonian, and attended Woodrow Wilson High School and American University here in D.C.

And, most importantly, Derek has been an avid cyclist for over 20 years and has participated on many of our PPTC rides. Join us at our annual meeting on January 31st when Derek talks to us about how bicycling has changed in the DC area, what changes he sees coming, and shares his best biking stories.

2014 Back Roads Century a Success

 

Back Roads Century

This year's Back Roads Century was a success for the club. We brought in quite a bit more than the expenses of running the event. All of the figures aren't in, but so far it looks like perhaps the most ever. The century sold out, as it has in the last several years. Unfortunately, despite our warning, about 55 people received tickets from Clarke County and another 200 received warnings. Despite this, based upon our survey, the century was a success! An overwhelming number of participants had a good time, would recommend the ride to others, and would repeat the ride. This is great! We also would like to acknowledge that we couldn't do this without our GREAT VOLUNTEERS! 

 

We also want to take this opportunity to write about the good that comes out of the century, which enables us to help and also interact with some great folks. For instance, White Post posted on their Facebook page that our donation helped them keep the lights on. In addition, we gave donations to the churches where we held rest stops, the dairy association that helped us run a rest stop, and the Ruritans that own the Clarke County Fairgrounds. The century also funds our grant program for DC Metro organizations. You'll hear more about this program throughout the year.
 

Bike Shop Discounts

Potomac Pedalers members receive discounts from many of the bike shops in our area.  We've posted a page on our website which details each bike shop's discount on various products and services.

As proof of membership, you can print your membership card directly from our website or show it to the store directly from your smartphone.   
  • Sign in to the website with your username/password
  • Under My Profile on the right side of the screen
  • Click on Manage Profile
  • Click on Membership Card and print - or - 
  • On your smartphone, navigate to the same print screen above and show your onlilne Membership Card to the bike shop
Membership Card  

 



Renew Your Membership Online - Save a Tree
recycle
You can renew your membership on our new website and help save the environment - mailing checks are no longer necessary!

Renewing your membership the Old Way -
  • Our office staff "runs a report" to see whose membership is expiring
  • Our office staff prints mailing labels, using up ink, toner and paper
  • Our office staff prints a "renewal form" and stuffs it in an envelope
  • Our office staff applies postage to the envelope and mails 
  • You fill out the renewal form - using up valuable time
  • You write a check - using up more valuable time
  • You apply postage to the envelope and mail - an unnecessary expense
  • Our office staff receives your envelope
  • Our office staff endorses the check and fills out a deposit slip
  • Our office staff deposits your check in the bank
  • Our office staff has to manually enter your renewal information into our membership database and update your record as "paid"
  • You have to wait until all of the above steps are completed before you can login to your account - this could take up to 30 days!

Renewing your membership the New Way - Membership Info

  • Go to www.PotomacPedalers.org and login 
  • Click on Membership Info
  • Click on Securely renew your membership now
  • Enter your credit card information
  • Click Submit 
That's it-
You can renew online in less than 1 minute!  The environment thanks you and our office staff thanks you as well.

You can renew up to 90 days before your membership expires.  So it doesn't matter if you're expiring in May, June, July, August or any other month.  Renewals will extend your membership for an additional 1 or 2 years from your previous expiration date.

At any time you can click on the
Membership Info link to view your expiration date. 

About Potomac Pedalers

The Potomac Pedalers Touring Club, Inc. is a non-profit educational, recreational and social organization for bicycling enthusiasts. We're one of the largest bicycle clubs in the United States, and the largest in the Metropolitan Washington DC area. Potomac Pedalers is affiliated with the League of American Bicyclists and we're recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-profit organization.
E-mail Marketing Team
Potomac Pedalers Touring Club, Inc.
 
Save 5%
with a
2 year membership.

Membership in Potomac Pedalers provides many benefits.  Each year, we offer over 1,000 Saturday and Sunday rides for cyclists of all abilities, with distances ranging from 10 to 100 miles.  You can also join us for evening rides during the week so that you can cycle after work.  Our cue sheet library contains hundreds of local rides that have been time-tested by our members.  And you'll receive our monthly newsletter "Pedal Patter" which is packed with stories, events, rides and more.  Plus, most local bike shops offer discounts for Potomac Pedalers members. 
 
A one year membership is only $30.00 for an individual and $37.00 for a family.  Two year memberships offer a 5% savings over the one year price.
See our Membership page to join.