I read Stu’s note of last week and I thought that some response was appropriate, and so, here it is:

1/ Whether or not it is appropriate for WCC to do Anderson Hill cleanups.

The Board of Directors of this club decided to hold periodic Anderson Hill Rd cleanups several years ago.  It is therefore official club policy to do the cleanups.  No one is required to participate and no one is required to think that the cleanups are a good idea.  Anyone who doesn’t like the idea, is entitled to speak out about it on the chat group as Stu has already done.  As an editor, I will guarantee space in the newsletter to anyone who wants to voice any opinion about the club, as long as what they write is not personally insulting to any individual club member. Anyone who wants to reverse the cleanup policy should try to convince someone on the current Board to make that proposal or, better yet, should seek a position on the Board themselves – it’s not hard to get on the Board if you’re willing to contribute time and work to the club.

2/ Whether or not the timing of the rides after the cleanups was appropriate.

I happen to be one of the Board members who is in favor of the cleanups.  I was the person who organized most of the rides for this one.  In my mind, the important event of April 16 was the cleanup and not the rides.  The rides were there to reward people who were kind enough to contribute to the cleanup. I was very specific in telling the people who published rides schedules not to give any specific time for the rides so that people would not be encouraged to show up for the rides without participating in the cleanup.  If you don’t like the idea of rides with a cleanup attached, you can simply “vote with your feet” and never show up on a cleanup day again.  Of the 80 or so weekend days on which the club offers rides only 2 or 3 will be cleanup days.

3/ The rudeness of people who came to the ride:

We have completely open membership in this club and one thing that neither I nor anyone else can influence is the kind of people who join.  I have been very dismayed during the past several years about the lack of consideration and good manners displayed by many of our members.  This manifests itself as “dropping” the slowest riders and the fact that many club rides turn into all out races.  On the other hand, I have met some of my best friends in this club and I have been on many very enjoyable rides where friendliness and good fellowship were more than evident.  If you look for good people in this club you will find them.  While you are looking it wouldn’t hurt to set a good example by taking the initiative yourself to act in a friendly and considerate way.

4/ Whether or not helmets or proper bicycling costumes are required on rides:

There is in fact no rule that specifies that helmets or any other items of apparel are required on rides.  Over the years, the subject of a helmet rule has come up several times.  I have been one the strongest opponents to the rule because I do no want anything in this club to be mandatory.  However, I must admit that one of the main reasons that we don’t have a helmet rule is because about 99% of our members choose voluntarily to wear them.  I can also say that I am a person who has had many falls including several in which I struck my head and I am certain that my helmet protected me from serious injury.  Therefore, although I will defend anyone’s decision not to wear a helmet on a ride, I think that it is a very unwise decision.  There has certainly never been any consideration of rules about other bicycle clothing.  By the way, ride leaders have always been given the privilege of making an individual decision (not a club policy) specifying anything they want about the rides they lead.  This includes saying (on the ride schedule and in the newsletter) that no one is allowed to participate without a helmet.