Athens Bicycle Club Meeting, February 23, 2000

Present: Joey Boyle, Tim Creamer, Meredith Erlewine, Don Harse, Malcolm Idleman, Tracy Kitts, Peter Kotses, Chip Krieg, Eileen Schulz, Paul Schulz

Next meeting: The next meeting will be held Tues., March 29 at 7:15 p.m. at Peter and Meredith's house, 51 Columbia Ave. (park on the street).

1. Club dues

The club voted that ABC membership dues are to be $5. ABC members have the right to vote on action items.

The dues are payable with Tour of the Hocking (TOH) 2000 fees (there will be information about ABC membership on the TOH application).

2. Insurance

The club approved paying a $100 flat fee to a company representing the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) for liability insurance that will cover all club activities for which we do not charge a fee (work parties, group rides, etc.).

At the next meeting the club will vote on paying another $100 to cover participants of paid tours. The price covers up to 200 people per year, regardless of how many tours, so long as the club announces tour dates to IMBA ahead of time.

3. Tour of the Hocking

The club discussed raising the price of the tour this year and instituting a price for children under the age of 18. The tentative fees are: $26 per adult, $15 for children under the age of 18. The TOH subcommittee will do a cost analysis for the tour and we will vote on fees at the next meeting.

The TOH subcommittee will meet before the next ABC meeting to discuss:

The cost analysis
Ordering food that kids will like (in addition to the usual TOH spread)
Rewriting the entry form
Printing T-shirts, which would be available for purchase with tour registration (Tim will post the old design on the ABC Web site for people to review)
Preparing TOH information to go on the ABC Web site

4. Tour of Zaleski

The club voted on setting a back roads/mountain bike Tour of Zaleski for Aug. 19 and 20. Paul will reserve cabins (which the club may cancel 15 days prior to the event if there is not a demand) as well as the group campsite. Paul also will contact Big Chimney Bakery regarding catering. The TOH subcommittee will serve as the subcommittee for this tour as well.

5. Meeting with Paul White, district forest manager

Paul, Malcolm and Peter will arrange a meeting with Paul White to discuss the need for the state to open mountain bike trails in our area. The ABC representatives will create a clear agenda before meeting with Mr. White.

6. Work Parties

Those who would like to participate in mountain bike trail maintenance at Lake Hope State Park should meet at Athens Bicycle, 14 W. Stimson Ave., Saturday, Feb. 26. The goal for the day is to perform trail maintenance and discuss plans for the April 15 large scale work party, which will include camping, riding and IMBA involvement.

7. Ohio University Races

Ohio University Cycling is hosting a regional road race March 3-5. Volunteers are needed, particularly for the March 5 criterium. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Joey Boyle or Ryan Curtiss at 594-3360.

OU also will host the national collegiate road racing championships May 13-15. Representatives of OU's cycling clubs will keep ABC informed about the activities surrounding this major event.

8. Other items:

Please contact Tim Creamer, 593-7995, if you have any photos from past Tours of the Hocking (for use on the ABC Web site).

Tracy offered to set up a group e-mail address for the club. He'll collect addresses at the next meeting.

The club will vote on accepting sponsorship money for the proposed TOH T-shirts.