SBC Ride Mileage Guidelines

 

The club tracks member’s mileage on club rides and provides annual mileage-based awards to encourage members to ride, to foster camaraderie among members, and to provide an opportunity for new cyclists to connect with other cyclists on club rides. The club recognizes that, for a variety of reasons, not all members will start and end their rides at the designated meeting location and time or will ride the entire route.

Examples of acceptable reasons for members to not start and end their ride at the designated meeting location and time are:

• The member starts and ends their ride earlier at a location near or along the route but rides the full distance and is present to check in with the ride coordinator at the designated meeting location and time.
• The member starts their ride from home and leaves the designated route toward home rather than returning to the designated meeting location.
• The member “shortcuts” the route for whatever reason. (Members doing so are expected to communicate their mileage to the Ride Coordinator.)

Examples that are not consistent with the club’s expectation related to ride participation are:

• Registering and checking in for a ride with the intention to start the ride at a significantly different time or date than that scheduled.
• Beginning the ride earlier than the designated start time.
• Riding a route that is significantly different from the scheduled route.

Ride Coordinators are responsible for recording the ride mileage based on the representations provided to them through online and on-site registrations and other communications by members and are not responsible for ensuring that members’ mileage totals are consistent with these guidelines.

SBC Ride Coordinator Guide

 

Thank you for volunteering to coordinate an SBC ride. The following information will assist you in making this a safe and enjoyable activity for all participants.

 

Pre-Ride Preparation:

• If you cannot be at the start location to begin the ride, find another Ride Coordinator who may be able to take your place as soon as possible. If you are unable to find a substitute, contact the Rides Committee Chair.
• Be familiar with the route you are leading, including any challenging areas and possible rest/coffee stops.
• Make sure you have a manual sign-in sheet and a copy of the Waiver of Liability, Assumption of Risk, and Indemnity Agreement in case you need it for anyone not able to register online.
• Take at a copy or two of the route map in case anyone may need it.

 

Day of Ride:

• You will need to know who has already registered online for the ride and who to expect to be at the starting location before the start of the ride. You can do this in two ways:
  1. View the participants for the ride before the start of the ride on your smartphone; or
  2. By generating the report noted below under Post-Ride Activities, third bullet point before leaving for the start location.
• Arrive at least 15 minutes before the ride is scheduled to begin.
• If road and/or weather conditions are dangerous for cycling, the Ride Coordinator should cancel the ride. Refer to SBC Ride Cancellation Policy and Procedures for guidance.
• If you arrive at the starting location but are unable to ride, you should ask another club member, preferably someone who has previously coordinated rides, to be the Ride Coordinator and make sure all participants who are present have registered or have signed in.
• As riders arrive, be on the lookout for any new participants, welcome them to the ride and assist them in identifying a suitable group with whom they can ride. Except for High-wheeler rides, inform riders if they are unable to keep up with the pace of a suitable group, they may be riding on their own.
• Determine if all riders have properly registered and know the planned route. If not registered, have them register online using a smartphone or on a manual sign-up sheet.
• Be sure all riders are wearing a helmet. Inform any without a helmet they will not be considered as participating in the ride, will not be covered by the club’s insurance policy, and their registration will be canceled. (Note: There’s nothing we can do to prevent any individual from riding the route.)
• Ensure that participants are familiar with the route and are aware of challenging areas.
• Inform riders of any food and/or rest stop location(s) and any re-group points, if applicable.

 

Post-Ride Activities:

• Report any corrections, additions, omissions, or route safety concerns to the Rides Committee Chair.
• Log in to the SBC website to credit club members who participated in the ride with their mileage ridden and to also upload ride registration supporting documentation.
• For online rider registrations, you’ll need to generate a report to review, verify, and upload. Complete the following steps to do this:

1. Go to the SBC Rides/Event Calendar, find your ride and select it.
2. Select Admin Options on the right side of page.
3. Select the Reports option, then select the Event Registrants report. (Note: The version with the release will continue to be available online if needed for insurance or other purposes in the future.) Select Next.
4. On the Output Options window that opens, select Run Report, which will then open in PDF format. Review the report to verify riders listed were present at the start of the ride and completed the ride. Save the file to your computer.

• If necessary, for rider registrations not completed online (manual sign-in sheets utilized), review the sheet to verify riders completed the ride. You’ll then need to upload the sheet as a JPEG image (photo) or a PDF file.
• To upload supporting documentation, complete the following steps:

1. Select Control Panel (upper right hand corner of Home page), then select Website on the next page.
2. Select Document Library, then Ride Sheets and View Documents.
3. A list of documents will appear, select +Add Document.
4. In the Title field, use the filename format used for other rides listed (e.g., 26.01.04-81109) which is “year.month.date-route number”. Complete the Description, Author, Create Date, and Visibility fields.
5. Select the Select option then locate your file to upload. If you have two files (i.e., report and manual sign-in sheet), you’ll need to upload two files. For the manual sheet add an “m” to the end of the route number in the filename.

• To credit members with mileage, complete the following steps:

1. Select Control Panel (upper right hand corner of Home page), then select Club on the next page.
2. Select Rides then locate your ride in the list. Select Actions then Edit.
3. For Registrant Type, in the drop down menu, select Active members.
4. Referencing the Event Registrants report (and manual sign-in sheet, if utilized) you verified earlier, select a rider in the Member List, type in their miles ridden in the Miles field, and then select the right arrow blue box to add them to the Participants list. Repeat this process until all riders from your report (and manual sign-in sheet, if utilized) have been added. NOTE: When you add yourself, make sure you check the Leader box before adding to the Participants list to receive credit for leading the ride.
5. Once all riders have been added to the Participants List, select Save and you will be returned to the Ride Administration page. Verify that the number of riders listed matches the number on your report (and manual sign-in sheet, if utilized).

 

 

Important
Reminder for High-wheeler Rides

 

If the ride which you are coordinating has been designated as a High-wheeler, participants have been assured that a club member will accompany the slower cyclists on the entire route. The club is encouraging new riders to try a few High-wheeler before tackling the club’s longer rides.

Because the vitality of the Salem Bicycle Club depends on attracting and keeping new members, please do your best to:

• Meet and greet new riders. At the start of the ride, look for unfamiliar faces and riders who do not appear to know the other participants, try to make them feel welcome, make sure they understand the sign-in procedure, and make sure they get a map
• Encourage participants to stop at a designated location. We have received negative comments from new riders who have fallen behind the main group of riders and have not seen another rider for the rest of the route. A designated rest stop will help to prevent this and aid new riders in finding other club members who share their riding style and other interests.
• Make sure an experienced club member—you or a responsible designee—stays back with the slowest rider. Be patient with these riders, offer encouragement, and try to help them if they have a flat tire or experience other problems. Also, try to be sure that they really mean it if they say, “You don’t have to wait for me,” before you leave any of them behind.

We all need to recognize and accept the possibility that the High-wheeler which we agree to coordinate may require that we ride slower than we normally would. By sharing the responsibility for coordinating these rides, we should be able to ensure that new riders have a positive experience with the club without placing an excessive burden on any one SBC member.

SBC Ride Cancellation

Policy and Procedures

 

 

Policy

Rides will be cancelled if weather or road conditions are unsafe for cycling. This includes, but is not limited to, the following conditions:

 

• Temperatures at ride start time and/or during ride are expected to be below freezing with wet and/or potentially icy roads
• An accumulation of snow and slush exists on or along roadways.
• Sustained winds exceeding 25 mph and/or gusts exceeding 35 mph are forecast during the ride. (An alternative could be to use the issuance of a NWS Wind Advisory, although that would result in use of a higher wind speed (i.e., 31 mph or gusts higher than 46 mph.)
• Temperatures at ride start time and/or during ride are forecasted to exceed 95 degrees
• Air quality index at ride start time and/or during the ride are forecasted to exceed 150 (Unhealthy).

 

Ride cancellations are the primary responsibility of the assigned Ride Coordinator, in consultation with the SBC Ride Committee Chair. If the Rides Committee Chair is unavailable, the Ride Coordinator should consult with the SBC President, or if unavailable, another SBC Board member.

 

Procedures

Procedures for cancellation of a ride are as follows:

 

• The decision to cancel a ride should preferably be made the evening before the ride, but at least two (2) hours prior to the start of the ride. Under extenuating circumstances, a Ride Coordinator may cancel a ride at any time prior to the start of the ride.

 

• After the decision has been made, the Ride Coordinator should send email notifications to those already registered online informing them of the cancellation. The Ride Committee Chair or Ride Coordinator should post the cancellation to the ride on the SBC Rides/Event Calendar. Optional: Notify the SBC Board Secretary to do the same on both SBC Facebook accounts. Ride Committee Chair should also send an email to the membership informing them of the cancellation.

 

• It is preferable, but not essential, that the Ride Coordinator be at the ride start location to notify potential participants who may have not received notice of the cancellation.