Trevor Spangle—Guest Speaker Newsletter of the Santiam Spokes, Inc. P.O. Box 739 Club Meeting Feb. 5th - 7:00 PM Trevor Spangle is a local cyclist, special education teacher, and member of the Santiam Spokes. He enjoys all varieties of bicycling, and is passionate about getting people of all ages involved in the sport. He is currently the organizer and advisor of a bicycling club for elementary school students in the community called Bike Cascades. Trevor will be presenting on ways which technology and social media can be used to enhance the bicycling experience, as well as connect and bring together individuals and communities on a larger scale. Learn how to make bike routes online and track your every day rides. Attendees are encouraged to bring their laptops, smartphones, and/or any GPS tracking devices that they use while exercising to follow along with each tutorial. This is one meeting you won’t want to miss! See you there! Lebanon, OR Volume 23 - No. 5 February 2015 2015 Officers President — Ken Bronson Vice Pres. — Steve Snyder Co-Secretaries — Mary Ellen Lind & Barbi Thomson Treasurer — Shirley Schoberg -Hebda Membership - Wade Bloecher Newsletter — Greg Stephens Ride Captain — Art Olin Webmaster — Vince Nowell Publicity — Trevor Spangle Historian — Bill Pintard Strawberry Coordinator — Ron Kropf 2014 Jack Thomas Award The 2014 Jack Thomas Golden Cluster Award was presented to a very deserving May Garland by President Ken Bronson at the January meeting. The award is normally given out at the annual Holiday Party but May was unable to attend. She is a long time Santiam Spokes member. She has held many positions and helped on the Strawberry Century for years. Congratulations May!! Page 1 - February 2015 97355 http://santiamspokes.org Also in this Issue         2015 Officers Slate Filled    Food Coordinator Needed Liars Century Ride January Minutes January 3rd Ride Slo-Poke Sez New Members 2015 Summer Tour Exercise Keeps You Young Bike Cascades Update February Calendar 2015 Officers Slate Filled It looks like 2015 is going to be a very good year after all. In the January meeting there was much discussion on whether or not to hold the annual Strawberry Century. We didn’t have a Strawberry Coordinator or even a full slate of Club Officers. After discussing what our options were, it boiled down to...we have to hold the Strawberry to uphold Club tradition plus financially it supports the club. There are a lot of people that think this is the Best Ride ……….period. Best support, best food, best scenery, best roads, and the friendliest volunteers. Trevor Spangle stepped up and said he would do Publicity/Registration. Ken Orwick said he would do the roads with Rod Sell’s help. Ron Kropf volunteered to be the Strawberry Coordinator with Dennis Murphy’s help in training him. A couple of days later during the club ride, there was more discussion on what was involved in being Ride Captain. Art Olin decided that this was the position he has waited his whole life for. As being Ride Captain is synonymous with doing the roads for Strawberry Century, he was talked into that job also. Ken Orwick graciously gave up the Strawberry Roads position and said he would help elsewhere. So we have a full slate of Officers for the club and all we need for the Strawberry Century is a Food Chairperson. There are a lot of food helpers to help the food Chairperson……….so please consider taking this on. First Annual Liars Century Ride - By Greg Stephens January 1st came in with a bang. I awoke to 21 degrees outside. But we five had decided to do a ride on New Year's Day regardless. So at 9:00 A.M. we showed up at the Olin residence. We were treated to hot coffee/hot chocolate and muffins/ zucchini bread courtesy of Mrs. Arturo. We ate and drank while we discussed if we were senile or just plain stupid for thinking of doing this Century ride. Maybe we should stay and eat/drink and just say we did the ride. After some serious discussion, it was decided “game on”. It was sunny and the temperature climbed to 27. “Close enough,” Bish said....and off we went. As we headed towards Lebanon it wasn't that bad as there was no wind. By the time we got to Waterloo, it was time for a bathPhoto by Olin Photography room break and we huddled in the sun to warm up a little. Off to Lebanon along River Drive brought Greg Stephens, Maurice Banning, Mike Bischopink, Art Olin, & Ken Bronson up some wind and increased humidity making it increasingly colder and not quite so much fun. Stopping at the Park in Lebanon for a bathroom break, the solar warmth of the Blue Room was indeed welcome. Back toward Sweet Home we went, getting increasingly warmer by the mile. Somewhere around the fire station on Berlin Road it must have been at least 31. On to Pleasant Valley Road and finally it was indeed pleasant....sunny, no wind, and it had to be finally above freezing. I could finally feel my feet, and my hands were actually warm enough to feel the food I was eating. Down Northside to N. River Drive heading for Sunnyside we went. Of course Sunnyside was devoid of people and we had it to ourselves. Back to Sweet Home we headed.........the end was in sight. As we pulled into the driveway of Arturo’s abode, the odometer clicked over to “62” miles. First Annual Liars Century. We had done it. The company was stupendous, the fun we had was amazing, the lies we told were tall, and finally the ride sucked because of the weather…..one of the best days of my life! Page 2 - February 2015 January 8th, 2015 Minutes The first Santiam Spokes meeting of 2015 was held January 8 at the hospital. President Ken Bronson called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. As usual, he asked for reports on notable rides taken by members. Trevor Spangle said that the Bike Cascade program has kicked off earlier this year with 25 kids having already turned in their permission slips. He asked if anyone wanted to be a guest speaker to the club to let him know. Greg Stephens can put a notice regarding this in the newsletter. Brian Danner and Sean Eaton were introduced as guests. Program Speaker: Steve Snyder introduced Christine Ayers of the Albany YMCA. She is a certified teacher of several different classes including Bones for Balance, Tai Chi and weight training. She spoke about the importance of lifetime fitness and that building bones while you’re younger will slow bone loss when you get older, and demonstrated several easy exercises and stretches for joint mobility. Minutes: The minutes from the November 2014 meeting were approved unanimously with the following correction: Instead of “Our bank does not have a policy regarding stop payment,” it should be amended to read, “Our bank follows the industry standard for stop payment, which is that a stop payment is effective for six months. It must be renewed every six months to remain in effect.” Ken read a copy of the December 2014 minutes which were also approved unanimously. Jack Thomas Award: Ken presented May Garland with the 2014 Jack Thomas Golden Cluster Award. The engraved trophy will remain at the hospital and she was also given a personal, framed award. Bill Pintard had several books to display that had originally come from Jack Thomas. Many are somewhat dated but still have much good information in them, and he offered them to anyone interested. Treasurer’s Report: Shirley Schoberg-Hebda reported we currently have $10,257.54 in the bank, with $7,800.98 in reserve for the Strawberry. There is a $350.00 outstanding check which represents a double payment to Beta Sigma Phi for past Strawberry help which Shirley is hoping they will return, and $5.00 for Oregon State CU monthly account fee, leaving a balance of $2,101.56. She asked if we should renew Bicycle Times magazine (No) and renew our membership in the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce (Yes). She is also expecting a future bill of about $140.00 for web hosting. Membership: Wade Bloecher had left the numbers with Ken who officially reported “We are up two.” (I contacted Wade separately and was told we have 60 individuals and 44 families for a total of 104 memberships.) Ride Report: Greg and Ken went through past rides and we will be repeating some 2012 and 2013 ones. Bill Pintard asked if anyone has seen the three rides books. These contain approximately 300 club rides and they have gone missing. Roger Gaither has made a CD of 200+ rides he had on his computer to aid a future ride coordinator in planning. Ken suggested burning another copy of it and giving it to a communications person. February 7 – no ride leader yet; February 14 – Shirley will lead the annual Chocolate Ride; February 21 – Trevor Spangle; February 28 – Mary Ellen Lind and Dennis Murphy. Old Business: Santiam-Calapooia Scenic Bikeway: Doug Robin said the proposal is progressing but instead of being one of three up before the state we are one of ten proposals being considered. The committee has received letters of support from all entities now except ODOT. They should be able to send out a draft after their next Wednesday meeting. New Business: Mary Ellen gave a synopsis of this year’s proposed summer tour. It will run from Sunday, August 23 through Saturday, August 29. The tour will repeat what was done in 2008, along the northwest Oregon coast. Because we will probably have less sag support we are looking at a maximum of 20 people. More information should be forthcoming in the April newsletter. Strawberry Century: After MUCH discussion, it was decided that the ride must go on. Ken had asked BLT if they would help us and was told No, it was too close date-wise to their busy fundraiser and they’re too stretched for volunteers now. Ken has also talked to his son, Blair, who owns Best in the West Events. Understandably, Ken would bow out of any negotiations due to conflict of interest if discussing any business aspects. Dennis said he is discouraged that after 22 years of hosting the Strawberry we are thinking of dropping it now, and Donna Short said that because the Santiam-Calapooia Scenic Bikeway is basically our Strawberry route that politically this would not be a good year to discontinue it. Trevor offered to do both publicity and registration as he has some experience with this. (Bill said that we need to get sponsor letters out right now as many companies have already allocated their funds for 2015.) Ken Orwick offered to head up roads and marking with Rod Sell if Rod is willing; Ron Kropf offered to take on the position of Coordinator with Dennis helping to train him. Barbi will once again be in charge of t-shirts. With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. The next meeting will be 7:00 p.m February 5, 2015 at the hospital. Respectfully submitted, Barbi Thomson Co-Secretary Page 3 - February 2015 January 3rd Ride May Garland Ron Kropf Dennis Murphy Mike Bischopink Dian Gerstner Steve Snyder Arturo Olin Greg Stephens Roger Gaither Saturday, January 3rd, the club ride was from the Beanery in Albany. Dian Gerstner was ride leader and led us to Lebanon and back to Albany. The weather was brisk, cold and mostly clear. There was no wind so it seemed warmer than it was. Thirteen hardy souls showed up and had a great ride. Some of us couldn’t stay for lunch in Lebanon due to time constraints so we came back to Albany via Gore road. We saw 3 Bald Eagles, 3 Marsh Hawks and assorted other birds. All in all, it was a great 35 mile ride! Good friends, good exercise, and got some Vitamin D. Bottom line is, if you are out riding, every ride is a good ride! Page 4 - February 2015 January 3rd Ride Mary Ellen Lind & Kari Kropf Alberto Rimer Emma Ybarra There is a giant fork in the fence line on Gore Road. I can only surmise it stands for inviting the Eagles to dinner. There is an old wives tale circulating in Brownsville that says the first thing a flock of sheep does in the morning is draw straws to see which one is supposed to die that day. I don’t know if I believe that or not, but it does seem like there is an awful lot of sheep dying in the rye grass fields. If you look closely, you will see they all have a short straw in their mouth. Weird………... Slo-Poke Sez Anticipate, Anticipate, Anticipate Ride ahead of your bicycle, and anticipate what is likely to happen, and what could possibly happen. Ride accordingly. Always make the safest decision! Page 5 - February 2015 Welcome New Members Shawn Eaton Richard Thomas Articles for the Newsletter Please email submissions to: Outspoken [email protected] 2015 Santiam Spokes Summer Bike Tour The Santiam Spokes Summer Tour this year will be in Northwest Oregon. It will be August 23rd thru August 29th. We invite all club members to join our week-long summer tour! The route begins in Carlton, a small town a short way north of McMinnville. It will go north and include the Banks – Vernonia Trail and on to Astoria. Then the route goes south on HWY 101 and turns inland a short way south of Tillamook on a low-traffic road, over the coastal mountains, along the Nestucca River, and back to Carlton. For accommodations, there will be camping at state and forest-service campgrounds and an overnight on the grounds of the vacation home of Ken Orwick’s MIL. Group meals will be prepared most of the evenings. The average mileage per day will be 40 – 50 miles with total mileage of approximately 280. The dates and route were determined by a group of club members who have interest in riding a summer week-long tour. They hope you will join them! The Northwest Oregon route was developed and tour was ridden in 2008; truly an adventuresome, enjoyable experience that is worthy of repeating! A SAG vehicle will be provided to carry essential camping and personal baggage. The week-long summer tour is open to all members of the Santiam Spokes bike club. Registrants are expected to participate in the June 13 Strawberry Century production which provides funding for the sag driver expenses. The campsites and food costs are shared by all riders. A registration form will be published in the April issue of the Outspoken or online at santiamspokes.com. Early registrations are encouraged to assure there is a space for you; the limit is 20 bikers. If you have questions, please contact Mary Ellen Lind, [email protected] or 541-231-6973. 2015 Spokes Summer Bike Tour - Sag Driver Needed A person, or a couple, who would like to serve as SAG driver(s) for our Summer tour from Sunday August 23 through Saturday, August 29? The person does not need to be a club member, but must enjoy having fun with bikers! Must have (or have access to) a large pickup, preferably with a canopy, to carry the bikers baggage. You will be reimbursed for gas and expenses. Please contact Mary Ellen Lind at 541-231-6973 Bike Cascades Update Last year, Cascade School initiated Bike Cascades, a bicycling club for students in the local community. The club was designed to introduce students to the social and physical benefits that come through bicycling. The kids learned the basics of bicycle maintenance, how to ride safely as a group with traffic, and went on a weekly club ride of their own. The members were able to participate in the “family route” of last year’s 22nd annual Strawberry Century. Now beginning its second year, Bike Cascades has grown to twice its original size. Kids are excited about bicycling and going to school, and are finding healthy, sustainable outlets for their passions. Bike Cascades is extending an invitation to all members of the Santiam Spokes to lend a hand in supporting this group of students. Bike Cascades is looking for guest speakers, ride supports, and other resources that may help their endeavor. If you have a good idea, story or event to share with Bike Cascades, or have a connection you think would be good for their club, please contact Trevor Spangle at [email protected] Page 6 - February 2015 Exercise Keeps You Younger by Dr. Gabe Mirkin The decline in brain and body function with aging is caused more by inactivity than it is just by aging. A new study of 85 male and 41 female fit amateur cyclists, aged 55 to 79, found that most of them were physically much younger than most people of the same age (The Journal of Physiologyem>, published online January 6, 2015;593(1):). All rode their bikes for recreation and none were serious competitive athletes. The men had to be able to ride a metric century (62 miles)averaging only 10 miles per hour, and the women 60 kilometers (37 miles), averaging a slow 6.7 miles per hour. The older bicyclists’ test results were close to those for younger people for: * endurance, * pedaling power, * metabolic health (control of blood sugar levels), * balance, * memory function, * bone density and * reflexes. The single best test that correlates with aging is called V02max, the maximal amount of oxygen that a person can take in and use during a given time period. Many population studies show that VO2max drops significantly with aging. In this group of older bicyclists, VO2max was just a little lower than the results in the younger ones. Incredibly, the older cyclists had test results similar to younger cyclists for lung power and exercise capacity; and even more incredibly, the memory of the older cyclists was just as good as the memory of the younger cyclists. This confirms many other studies that show that a high level of regular exercise prevents your brain from deteriorating. Several thousand years ago, the Romans knew that when they greeted each other with “Mens sana in corpore sano” (a healthy mind in a healthy body). Older Bicyclists Did Lose Strength By studying only older men and women who are very active and ride bicycles most days, the authors were able to select a group of older people who are not like the general population in England. Thus this study shows that older people who exercise regularly have bodies and minds that are similar to those of much younger people. The conclusion is that the rapid decline in mind and body with aging is caused far more by inactivity than by aging. The oldest cyclists were stronger than non-exercisers, but they had much smaller and weaker muscles than cyclists in their 50s and early 60s. This shows that aging makes you weaker, no matter how much you exercise. However, other studies show that while you lose strength rapidly with aging, you lose endurance and recovery time from intense exercise far more slowly. What You Should Learn for this Study and Others Like It If you want to be able to run, cycle or walk long distances fast as you grow older, you should try to exercise every day and try to go a little faster on some days. The majority of older people have chosen to be frail, weak and uncoordinated because of their lifestyles, not their ages. * If you have never exercised, start now. * If you exercise regularly, continue to do so. * Find an exercise in which you can keep moving almost every day: dancing, walking, various exercise machines, cycling, skiing, and so forth. * Those who choose to ride a bicycle should worry more about being hit by a car than about the disabilities associated with aging. * In our modern societies, people are living longer and often spend many years suffering terrible disabilities of both mind and body. Most North Americans over 70 cannot walk fast. One in eight people over 70, and one in two over 85, suffer from dementia. Exercise helps to slow damage to your mind and body associated with aging. * Lack of exercise is associated with increased risk for overweight, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, many different cancers, and premature death. Food Coordinator Needed For The Strawberry Century Ride Our club’s Strawberry ride is known for its outstanding food stops and the strawberry shortcake at the end of the ride. But that doesn’t just happen by itself! We are looking for someone to take on this important position for this year’s ride. Previous coordinators have developed instructions and spreadsheets so there is a good basis to work with. Mary Ellen will continue in the role of acquiring the rest stop volunteers and working with the food coordinator on what needs to be done. The main duties of this position are to:       Obtain a food handlers license Take an inventory of food and supplies stored at the storage unit Decide what foods each rest stop will offer Place food orders with vendors Purchase any additional food and supply items Be on hand day of the ride to manage food related issues and to help with distribution and cleanup Planning needs to begin by the end of March, with most tasks easily accomplished between then and the week of the ride. The day before and the day of the ride will require the most time. Page 7 - February 2015 February 2015 Sun 1 Mon 2 Tue 3 Wed 4 Thu 5 Fri Sat 6 7 Lebanon to Brownsville Loop Start SLCH 10:00 AM Cat l-ll 34 Miles Ride Leader Dennis Murphy 541-829-2597 Club Meeting 7:00 PM 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Chocolate Ride - Start Two Rivers Mkt. 10:00 AM Cat l - 26 Miles - Ride Leader Shirley Schoberg-Hebda 541.979.1129 & John Hebda 541.220.8161 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 McDowell Creek Ride - Start SLCH 10:00 AM Cat l-ll 33 Miles Ride Leader - Trevor Spangle 541.619.5872 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Corvallis-Peoria Road Loop Start Harrison St. Bridge Corvallis 10:00 AM Cat l 37 Miles Ride Leaders Dennis Murphy and Mary Ellen Lind 541-231-6973 Wednesday Rides start at 10:00 AM at the Linn County Fairgrounds. Rides vary in length according to the weather. Call Jo & Ace Johnson - 503.428.0654 for more information. Saturday Club Rides start at 10:00 AM from various locations depending on the route. There will be an email sent out Thursday with the information describing the ride, where it is to, how long it is, and a weather preview. For more information call Art Olin - 541.777.0627 or email Art at……[email protected] Newport Ride Coming Up in April The annual bike ride to Newport is coming up April 25th and 26th. Dennis Murphy and Mary Ellen Lind with lead this Club Classic from Corvallis. This route will take good bike fitness. The route is 70 miles each way so now is the time to start logging some miles and getting into shape. There will more information about food and lodging and SAG for the ride in next month’s Newsletter. If you might be interested in going please contact Mary Ellen Lind 541.231.6973 or email: [email protected] Page 8 - February 2015