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Road Soldiers Cycling Club®

Scooter & Wheelchair Owner's Group

Sandusky, Ohio

Welcome to the Road Soldiers Cycling Club

Please scroll down and read the Member's Notice from Board of Trustees Meeting, August 4, 2010

RSCC News

The Veteran Newsletter

13 August 2010

The club is venturing into the longer, more scenic part of its 2010 Ride Schedule. We visited a familiar and well-liked part of our Schedule, the North Coast Inland Trail in Lorain County. We motored to Kipton, Ohio, which is a mile or more short of the western end of the NCIT, and we unloaded the bikes, trikes and members in the village park. We learned, long ago, that unloading at the westernmost end of the trail is risky as there is no pull-off to facilitate all the movements that we undergo getting underway on a trailhead.

The day was without the presence of precipitation. There were weather models that suggested the possibility of an afternoon thunderstorm or scattered shower. It proved to be sunny, warm- to-hot, and a good day for a ride on the NCIT in Lorain County. Unfortunately, however, there is little in the way of shade on this trail, so lather up the sunscreen!

We rode from Kipton to the park in Oberlin next to the old train station. We held the July 43rd General Business Meeting therein, and discussed the few issues before the members. The July meeting is appointed to hear member concerns in the midst of the ride season, and is not a heavy-duty business session. We looked at some Christmas Banquet options, discussed our immediate future in terms of audit and development of the 2011 Budget and fielded any concerns of the membership. We also hydrated at the park fountain even though we inadvertently left our 5-gallon ice water cooler sitting in the foyer of Vets Hall!

The Peloton pushed on through the older Oberlin City Bike Path and out into the countryside on the NCIT. The OCBP is now a contiguous part of the NCIT, and it a well-maintained and patrolled part of the trail system.

The Lorain County NCIT is string-straight and nearly dead level. It is a rails-to-trails conversion and as an optical illusion in much of it of being “uphill both ways.” That is likely because of the straightness of the trail and the phenomena of vanishing points looking slightly up hill. It is a fast trail and many road bikes were able to move along at considerable speed.

We gathered at the Industrial Parkway trailhead and loaded up the trailer and vans for the short trip through Elyria to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #1079 for supper. This is a large and popular post on Abbe Road. It had a political party going on it in its extensive pavilion while we were hosted by the post members in the main building. Marshall Williams was our main contact person and he introduced us to the post commander, John Victor. They helped serve a wonderful supper with ice cold watermelon (to start) followed by brauts with macaroni salad and pasta salads that were just right. We relaxed in the cool air conditioning of the post hall and finally bid our hosts adieu and pushed for home.

Jim and Tom ably guided our motor vehicles to the OVH via Route 2, and we were able to off-load all the bikes and gear with dispatch at the RSCC Garage. And, yes, we did pick up the ice water from Vets Hall and put the emptied cooler back in the garage!

Our next ride will be one of the club favorites, the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in the Cuyahoga River National Park that is east of Cleveland. It is historic, scenic and largely shaded – an important thing in August. This year, when we make our annual return, we’ll attempt something very different from years past. We’ll combine bike riding with a train ride!

This season’s visit to the Ohio & Erie Canal will incorporate a ride on the Cuyahoga Scenic Railroad that runs the length of the CRNP. The railroad has a special bike and ride rate that will enable us to transit from just north of Akron to the Rockside Road trailhead. We’ll then debark with our bikes and trikes and ride south to the Botsom Trailhead. The members are eagerly awaiting this ride with a locomotive twist to it.

Incidentally, the fare for the Scenic Railroad for bikers and their machines is only two dollars for any length of ride! The bikes are loaded a baggage car and the riders go in a coach attached directly to the baggage car. This is a deal that we cannot pass up. It’s worth a ride by anyone!

Yours in wheelin’ about,

Lance N. Franke, Staff Liaison

Road Soldiers Cycling Club

13 August 2010

RSCC/SWOG News

The Veteran Newsletter

30 July 2010

On the morning of Thursday, 29 July, 9 members of the RSCC traveled to the Monroeville Railroad Station to contribute labor to its restoration. The Monroeville Station is part of the Firelands Rails-to-Trails, Inc., which is the trail organization seeking to develop the Huron County segments of the North Coast Inland Trail between Wakeman and Bellevue, Ohio. The station house was given to FRTTI by the Donald Morrow family and will serve as its headquarters as well as a community resource. It will also serve as a mini-museum for the railroading history of Monroeville.

The station house is from the 1852 and is being restored. The FRTTI Board is seeking donations for not only the extension of the NCIT, but for the preservation of this historic building on Route 99 in the southern part of town. It is in need of a new roof, and will have new windows and a fresh coat of paint on the old batten board siding. The colors, incidentally, will be as historically accurate as possible.

The Road Soldiers busied themselves with the task of removing the old batten board strips and taking the hundreds of square-cut and modern round nails out of them. The siding boards were then scraped of all loose paint to prepare them for the latter grinding to make a fresh paint surface. Holes were puttied. The siding boards will all be screwed into the existing framework and new battens nailed over them prior to the first primer application and the final surface color coats.

All of the above work on the four sides of the station will need to be done before winter. The new modern windows will be installed and this will brighten the interior significantly. The interior will have framed pictures of the railroading past of Monroeville on the walls with separate walls devoted to the different lines that have served the community and county.

The RSCC elected to join the FRTTI in January of this year and a number of the members have joined individually. We are proud to invest in a trail and given something back to the cycling community that has accommodated our rides for fifteen years now. FRTTI is our “home trail,” and we will have a second work day scheduled in September to contribute more to the NCIT.

Members of the RSCC also seek to attend the FRTTI Board Meetings which occur on the first Thursday of each month, now at the Monroeville Station. Several of the Road Soldiers who have attended the FRTTI Board Meeting have been impressed by the dedication, eagerness and the work of the FRTTI members who are pushing this greenway through Huron County.

Putting a plug in for our home trail, we heartily encourage donations to the Firelands Rails-to-Trails, Inc., which is the trail authority and development organization that is working with the Lorain Metroparks to develop the North Coast Inland Trail from Wakeman to Bellevue. Money is needed not only for trail development and extension, but for the restoration work on the 1852 railroad station – with a particular need for a new roof. Funds are being sought for the replacement of the old standing seam “tin” roof with a new, but period correct, one.

Support for FRTTI can be sent to:

Firelands Rails to Trails, Inc.
44 E. Main Street
Norwalk, OH 44857.

The Road Soldiers Cycling Club proudly supports the FRTTI and is part of this organization. We also support and endorse supporting any legitimate public trail authority or organization that is working to make accessible greenways in Ohio. This not only promotes healthy recreation, but often, as with the Monroeville Station, preserves important pieces of our Ohio history and heritage.

Get involved. Ride a bike. Hike a trail. Support your local trails, and consider helping FRTTI!

Yours in wheelin’ about,

Lance N. Franke, Staff Liaison

Road Soldiers Cycling Club

30 July 2010

Member Notice from Board of Trustees Meeting

04 August 2010

Members: At the 03 August meeting of the RSCC Board of Trustees, much discussion was had about participation levels in club events and the privilege and benefits of club membership. The trustees have come to the conclusion that a minimum expectation of participation is in order for members to then enjoy the fullest of benefits of the club, in particular the Christmas Dinner in December and the possibility of receiving a club garment (logo sweat shirt or windbreaker). It is not fair for those who chose to miss most of the club activities and work to receive the same benefits of those who heavily contribute to them.

Currently, the Sportsman’s Banquet minimum participation requirement is 50% of all scheduled events. The board considers this to be a reasonable minimal level for participation, but also realizes that we are better than halfway through the Ride Season. That would make it impossible for some of our less active members to numerically qualify for the banquet and any logo apparel. Therefore, the board determined that: all Road Soldier Cycling Club members must have participated in no less than six (6) club events to qualify for the Christmas Dinner and any special logo apparel (not ride jerseys).

There are seven events on the Ride Schedule yet remaining. An eighth event is scheduled as a work day on 04 November to winterize the fleet and shut down the RSCC Garage. Members needing event participation, thus, have the opportunities to participate and earn the right to the Christmas events.

The board has also decided to work on the Membership Standard Operating Procedure language to reflect a minimum participation expectation of 50% of rides/events and 50% of work sessions for a member to qualify for maximum club benefits (Christmas Dinners and/or club logo apparel or other benefits at club expense). The amendment of the membership SOP will come from the board to the membership at the January General Business Meeting in 2011. Members will then be able to participate in the discussion and vote regarding participation minimums.

All members are encouraged to participate in all club events, rides and work sessions, of course! A strong club has strong and participating members. A weak club has little participation and thus does little. We want to be a strong, resilient and important part of the OVH and a benefit to our membership.

Therefore, all members are especially exhorted and urged to look over the Ride Schedule and begin making preparations to participate in as many of the remaining rides and events that one can in the coming months. Our biggest and best rides are immediately before us. These are the ones that one does not want to miss:

12 August (All-Or-Nothing): North coast Inland Trail, Lorain County, and supper at Elyria VFW Post #1079;

27 August (All-Or-Nothing): Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad and the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail with supper at the Richfield AmVets Post #176;

09/10 September: Mill Stream Run & Rocky River Cuyahoga County Metroparks and supper at Danny Boy’s Restaurant;

23/24 September: Western Reserve Greenway Trail with lunch at Newton Falls AmVets Post #112 and supper at the Geneva VFW Post #6846;

30 Sept./01 October: Firelands Rails To Trails Work Day, Monroeville Station;

14/15 Holmes County Trail: Total Local Support under the Holmes VCSO;

28/29 October: Wildwood Preserve Toledo Area Metropark and Univeristy Park Trail with season-end wiener roast.

04 November: Work Session, Winterize fleet and RSCC property.

Yours in wheelin’ about,

Lance N. Franke, Staff Liaison

Road Soldiers Cycling Club

04 August 2010

A & B HOBBIES & CYCLES
1202 W Washington St
Sandusky, Ohio 44870
419-625-4242
The folks at A & B Hobbies & Cycles always give discounts to the veterans at the Ohio Veterans Home.

bikeforums.net

Fremont Cycle & Fitness Always gives us a discount too.
Corner Of State & Ohio Ave
Fremont, OH 43420
419-332-4481