May and June , 2012

Welcome to the GSW Web Site -

Bike to School Day - May 9
Bike to Work Week - May 14 -18
Bike to Work Day - May 18

National Bike Month is an opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons we ride. Whether you bike to work or school; to save money or time; to preserve your health or the environment; to explore your community or get to your destination, get involved in Bike Month in New Hampshire — and help get more people in your community out riding too!
For a complete listing of events and options, please visit the Commute Green NH website at www.commutegreennh.org.

Click the link below for our May/June Rides Calendar Summary

Rides Calendar - Summary for May and June

Ride details are sent to all members.
Please email the GSW Office for a listing so you
can try our rides then maybe join the club!


Monthly meetings

All 2012 general meetings will be held at the BWA-NH Office within the SHC-NNE, second Monday of the month, 7-9 pm. The headquarters are located at, Safety & Health Council office, 57 Regional Drive, Suite 6, Concord NH. See Meetings Page for details and directions

May 14 Meeting
Mike Conlon, Trek Portsmouth
Trek's commitment to advocacy at the national levels.
What the shop is doing and present highlights of the 2012 line of bikes.

June 11 Meeting
Sean Beaudoin, Service Manager
Goodale's Bike Shop - Concord
Basic Bicycle Maintenance

New GSW Memberships Rates and Newsletter Options 

Important notice to all GSW current and prospective members!

After approximately 30 years without a change in GSW membership rates or options, we are moving ahead to incorporate the GSW Board decisions made at the January 2012 meeting.

Effective May 1, 2012:

$15.00 per year for “electronic delivery” of our Pedal Talk newsletter

$25.00 per year for printed Pedal Talks mailed via USPS

Current memberships and newsletter delivery method are not affected

Anyone with a current membership wishing to change from paper to electronic delivery of Pedal Talk may do so by contacting
GSW-Office@comcast.net.

On-line membership payments (new and renewal) are now accepted via the “Membership” page Memberships

The GSW web site will continue to list all major GSW events, charity and invitational rides, and the GSW ride summary calendar. The GSW detailed ride listing will not be on the public web site. It will be available to members both in the printed newsletter and on-line using a link included in the “electronic delivery” scheme. The GSW Board felt we should not “give away everything for free” as that reduces the value of a paid membership.

The increased cost of printing Pedal Talks of about 44 pages per issue, postage, lost mailings, and slower delivery times have made the conventional paper newsletters more and more impractical, not to mention paper “killing trees” and cluttering your desk. Those members wishing to receive Pedal Talk in print as done for the past 41 years still have that option. For delivery of the electronic version in PDF format, an email with links to the full newsletter (in color), ride summary calendar, and the detailed ride listings will be sent prior to the newsletter dateline. That way the recipient GSW member can view and optionally download and print exactly what is wanted and when. The on-line option will be available 24x7 with the prior Pedal Talk edition remaining available for two months for comparisons or general reference.

New members will be sent either the printed newsletter with their membership packet or be emailed the links to access the full newsletter and detailed ride schedule on-line depending upon their choice of the $15.00 electronic or $25.00 paper option. All new members will still be mailed a welcome letter, dated membership card(s), club decal, and various informational brochures. Note that a GSW membership covers all interested parties in a household, not just one person. There is no extra charge for additional dated membership cards.

This year of 2012 will be a transition period as the new rates and on-line options are phased-in over several months. New GSW brochures are being printed to reflect the new rates and options. If there are any questions, please contact GSW VP Phil Rose, 603.497.2567, psr17445@aol.com or the GSW-Office@comcast.net, 603.898.5479.

On-line Membership
See Memberships

GSW Membership Status

After a period of declining memberships over several years for whatever reasons, I am pleased to report that our headcount is on the rebound with a definite spurt of new and renewed memberships in the past two months. The new on-line membership payment option, while not announced even verbally until the April 9 general meeting, has seen some 28 payments plus 31 via “snail mail.” Without a doubt, “pay by plastic” is preferred by many people. This option plus receiving Pedal Talk electronically are described in more detail in Memberships

A little-known benefit of being a GSW member is our liability and supplemental medical insurance for accidents which might occur on club rides. Ride leaders are covered by the liability clause but only if they have a current GSW membership. They and their GSW-member riders have supplemental medical coverage, not that we wish anyone to have a crash on a club ride to need such insurance. Guest riders are also covered on their first ride with the club; they need to join the GSW for continued coverage while they are free to participate in club rides without being a member. However, proper bicycling helmets are required to be worn by everyone on every ride. If not worn, we cannot prevent a cyclist from riding with us but we will declare that he/she is not technically on our ride and their name will not be recorded on the ride sign-in sheet / liability release form.

Meanwhile, get out there, ride, and enjoy many adventures with the GSW – just don’t “road test” your helmet!

Dave Topham, GSW Memberships, GSW-Office@comcast.net, 603.898.5479

Notices of Interest to Concord Cyclists

Nubble Lighthouse

Seacoast Century September 22-23

Our Century route must be revised this year since the Memorial Bridge connecting Portsmouth NH to Kittery ME is being replaced with the new bridge not expected to be functional until June 2013.
Further Details HERE

Want to register without reading any more details? Then just click this button:

Seacoast Century Weekend
Volunteers Needed

About 80 people will be needed to work five-hour shifts in support of this annual and very popular event. If you can help from 7 AM to noon or noon to 5 PM either Saturday, September 22, or Sunday, September 23 or help with pre- and post-event support, please contact our Century Volunteer Coordinator Jean Manning at 603.434.4011, email GSWcontact@aol.com . All volunteers will receive a free event registration for themselves (or another lucky person) plus TWO T-shirts -- the standard "participant" shirt and a special, "volunteer" shirt. Please contact Jean for more information.

Linda Gould, BWA-NH Executive Director cycled the Southern Tier
2,275 miles from Phoenix AZ to St. Augustine FL
Read about her adventure HERE

Note to Ride Leaders:
The Ride and Mileage Credit Guidelines have been amended. Please see the updated guidelines
R & M Guidelines

Be a better Bicyclist:
Bicycle Education Classes

To all bicyclists:

Want to feel more comfortable and confident bicycling in traffic? Would you like to learn more about the craft & science of bicycling? Wish to become a nationally-certified League Cycling Instructor, (LCI) thru the League of American Bicyclists? Contact Charley LaFlamme at chazbikeed@maine.rr.com or call 207-646-0695.

Traffic Skills 101, (TS 101), is the foundation of the Smart Cycling Program administered by the League of American Bicyclists, (LAB). This course is designed to develop your knowledge, skill and expertise in the craft and science of cycling. The instruction you receive and knowledge you gain under the guidance of a certified instructor will enhance your ability to drive a bicycle with confidence and competence for pleasure, utility and sport under various highway, climate, terrain and traffic conditions.

The course combines classroom discussion and parking lot activities with on-road practice of the principles of vehicular bicycling. The instructor for this course has many years of experience and is certified thru LAB.

TS 101 is a prerequisite to enrolling into the LCI Seminar which is the highest on-road certification a bicyclist can attain in the United States.

A Traffic Skills 101 class is planned for June 23-24 at the BWA-NH / SHC-NNE office at 57 Regional Drive, Concord NH.
For details please see Special Events

Become the New GSW President

Develop your leadership skills — Build up your resume

Bring the GSW to new heights

Send in your name for nomination to:

GSW-Office@comcast.net

Granite State Wheelmen
215 S. Broadway # 216
Salem , NH 03079 -3322
603.898.5479

Get up-to-the-minute GSW Club Notices!
Join the GSW E-Group. Simply send an e-mail message to:
gswbike-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. You will then have Club notices sent directly to your e-mail account.

Reminder
GSW mileage tracking year ended September 30, 2011
October 1 started the 2012 mileage tracking season.

What is Commuter Mileage?

Commuter mileage includes using your bicycle, rather than a motor vehicle, for transportation on any errand or to reach any destination such as work, school, shopping, to pay a bill, or to reach a GSW ride site, etc. The GSW encourages commuting and recognizes high mileage commuters at the Annual Fall Banquet.

Commuter mileage is tracked from October 1st through September 30th of each year.

Note: Mileage may be submitted by mail or email and must be received by the first of every even-numbered month to appear in the next issue of Pedal Talk.

Road and Tandem Mileage are now recorded separately If a “T” is added along with your signature and printed name, you will get Tandem Mileage.

If you would rather have Road Mileage, just leave off the “T”.
Send commuter mileage to:

Hetty Andrews
44 Deerhaven Dr.
Nashua , NH 03064
603-889-3222
hwa44@comcast.net

 Are you Curious about Yoga?

Our Pedal Talk Editor, Laurie Daley is also a certified Yoga Instructor! Click HERE for more information

Click on the rides links above or select the category of your choice in the left-hand column then join the fun! Are you wondering how to get started with the GSW? Check out the "Where Do I Start?" page for some suggestions. Please view our Meetings page. Once you see everything offered by the GSW you may just wish to join the club for only $15.00 a year. Click over to the Memberships page to read more about the club.

Check out our many rides and events including some local bicycling news and non-bicycling activities listed on our Special Events, Weekend Events, and "Tid-Bits" pages.

You may be interested in some of the many rewarding opportunities to volunteer in club activities. Check Volunteer Ops.

Comments welcome!

Don't see a ride to your liking? Then volunteer to lead your favorite rides, sharing it with new friends. GSW is always looking for energetic, creative volunteers.

Check out our site, and let us know what you think. Please e-mail your comments or ideas to the Web Publisher

Updated 4/30/2012