The Mid-Valley SPIN
Newsletter of the Mid-Valley Bicycle Club
December 2024 Table of Contents |  |
From the President ...
by Dave Gifford, MVBC President
As the club year winds down with our annual meeting and Christmas party, it is great to think back about all the different club rides and events. While I didn't participate in more than a small fraction of them, there is a great feeling of positivity that comes from the time we spend riding together, or working together to make an event like the Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour (CBBT) successful. There are so many people that do so much to make this club a success, some visibly like our loyal ride leaders, and others hidden away, toiling in the helmet mines or the like. In a similar vein, there is so much that the club does, from the regional draw of the CBBT or Loop Tour, down to supplying all of the bikes for our local bicycle education programs. Through the last 50 years so much has been accomplished by this club, so many miles ridden, so many kids have learned to ride bikes, so many welcoming smiles to friends recent or old.
It is an honor to have the chance to serve as the President of the club for what will only be a very tiny portion of the club's history. I look forward to working with our two newest board members to see what new ideas and experiences they bring, and how they will make their marks on the club going forward. As the attendees of our recent annual meeting heard me say, there are tasks that your club needs help with. We have a need for someone to step into the large shoes that Peter Wendel left with all of his hard work getting our marketing organized and helping the club to grow and our CBBT to be so successful. There are opportunities on the ride committee or IT committee that really need the assistance of new volunteers to help spread the load over more people and help avoid burning out the volunteers that have been working hard for the last few years. So, perhaps, this is the year that you decide that you have a little more space, and decide that you should step up and put your stamp on some small part of this club's next 50 years. There are always opportunities and very few limits to the possibilities for what this club could accomplish going forward. I hope to have the chance to meet and work with more of the membership this coming year. Many thanks to all those who have come before and bequeathed us such a great club, and I look forward to seeing where this road goes...
Upcoming EventsThe MVBC calendar lists MANY events in our area. (I recommend "month" mode.) Club Event Dates 2025 December 14, MVBC Holiday Party from 1-4 p.m. at Common Fields, Corvallis January 20, Loop Tour Zoom meeting, 7-8 p.m. May 21, Ride of Silence, leaves from Osborne at 7 p.m. July 12-20, Loop Tour #1: Wallowas July 26-August 3, Loop Tour #2: Wallowas August 10, Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour, Linn County Fairgrounds, Albany Other area events December 14, Bike Indy, Waffle Ride to Amity, 9 a.m. from Riverfront Park, Independence January 11, Bike Indy, Hot Chocolate Ride, 9 a.m. from Riverfront Park, Independence February 16, 2025 Gravel Proof Winter Edition, Sweet Home April 11-13, Spring Classic, Brownsville May 10, Mohawk Valley Metric Century, Brownsville June 6-8 Cycle Oregon Gravel, Tillamook State Forest June 14, Strawberry Century, Lebanon July 18-20, Cycle Oregon Joyride, Justesen Ranch August 16-17, Swift Summit, Lebanon September 7-12, Cycle Oregon Rally, Crater Lake September 21, HopHeadHundred, Independence Fall, TBA, Rivers and Roads, Brownsville | The MVBC holiday party is coming soon! Join club members to ring in the holiday season on Saturday, December 14, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Common Fields in Corvallis. Expect some holiday festivities and fun! All club members will receive a $6 gift card to Common Fields and a raffle ticket for our door prize drawing. No RSVP is necessary, so just come and enjoy the fun! image by www.freepik.com
Streets Are For Everyone calendar: SAFE Corvallis by Rob Upson, bicycle advocate  A calendar for a cause! Some of your fellow MVBC members opened up their garages for the first ever Corvallis Bike Garage calendar. There are limited printings. Email Rob Upson at upsonr@outlook.com if you'd like to place an order, $25 each. All profits will support SAFE Corvallis. Calendars can be picked up Friday, December 13, at SAFE Corvallis' happy hour at Common Fields from 4-6 p.m. |
MVBC celebrates 50th Anniversary at annual meeting
About 80 people attended MVBC's annual meeting and banquet in November. Nearly everyone there had also signed up for a volunteer slot to help with everything from set up to take down and everything in between. Nancy Meitle shared a presentation of the history of the club through the 50 years. Long-term members and key CBBT volunteers Kay and Dale Berggren were honored for their countless hours of dedication to the ride and the club through the years. We also elected our board for 2025 with two new members, Steve Braun and Cary Thompson, who are already bringing fresh ideas and perspectives. See and share photos from the 2024 Annual Meeting here.
Your MVBC 2025 board:
Dave Gifford - President
Cary Thompson - Vice President
Melissa Cowan - Treasurer
Patti Watkins - Secretary
Eileen Tokuda - Membership
Rob Upson - Advocate
Paul Lieberman - Touring and IT
Nancy Meitle - Bike Ed
Steve Martel - Shopkeeper and Member-at-large
Steve Harvey - Member-at-large
Steve Braun - Member-at-large
Tracy Hug - Newsletter
Be sure to thank them for their time and efforts spent trying to make your club successful!
Protected intersections make Amsterdam a cyclist dream: Could they be coming to Corvallis?
by Rob Upson, MVBC bicycle advocate
Season’s greetings to everyone. I recently had the chance to visit Amsterdam. Everyone has heard it is a biking city, but I didn’t really understand what that meant until experiencing it for myself. The streets are quiet, without exhaust fumes, and bike transportation gets number one priority. If you ever hear someone say that cars are necessary for a city center to thrive, they have not seen the vision that leaders in Amsterdam have put in place. I highly suggest everyone take a visit, and rent bikes for the day (or week).
Something I saw everywhere in Amsterdam were Protected Intersections. These treatments reduce the potential for conflict between different transportation modes. That means that bicycists are less likely to get hit by a car because they are further away, or more visible, to the car drivers. They can also give separate crossing signals for bicyclists.
I wrote about Protected Intersections in the last newsletter because they are something the League of American Bicyclists suggests Corvallis build to achieve Platinum level status. It just so happens that Corvallis is considering building its first Protected Intersections at 10th and Circle. Public Works will make a presentation on the topic the January 9th City Council work session. The MVBC Advocacy Committee will be making comments for the presentation to Council.
At the same January 9th work session, Corvallis Public Works will present a schedule for accelerating the Neighborhood Bikeway buildout. We don’t have details yet, but the Advocacy Committee will certainly be there to comment. We hope to share more with MVBC members about Bikeway best practices in early 2025.
In other good news, the new Corvallis City Council will be seated in January, with four new members, a few of which we’ve already reached out to. We are looking for more bike-friendly policies and action to come out of the new Council.
Both Corvallis and Benton County are finally scheduling meetings for their Safe Streets for All (SS4A) task forces. MVBC representatives on both committees will bring the voice of cyclists to these planning sessions. What can they do? They can help shape road design proposals, like the recent South Corvallis Corridor, Monroe Street Corridor, and Philomath Safety projects – all of which include new multi-use paths that grant more space on the streets for bicycles.
If you are interested in joining the Advocacy Committee, we could always use more volunteers to help monitor issues. Email advocacy@mvbc.com to volunteer.
Corvallis Active Transportation
Upcoming council topics: protected intersection, neighborhood bikeways
City staff will be discussing several active transportation related topics with City Council at an upcoming work session on January 9, 2025.
Potential Protected Intersection at Circle Boulevard & Highland Drive
For several years the City has included, “Traffic Signal Replacement – Circle Boulevard & Highland Drive” as a project in our Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Initially, the project only included replacement of the aging traffic signal. After significant community input requesting active transportation enhancements, the City expanded the project to include the potential reallocation of vehicle lanes (commonly known as a road diet) on Circle Boulevard at this intersection.
The lane reallocation could make space for additional features at the intersection such as improved separation from automobiles and physical protection for bicycling. A preliminary evaluation revealed that right-of-way acquisition at the intersection corners and an increase in the project’s budget would be needed to achieve these enhanced features. Staff will be discussing this with City Council to gauge support for pursuing these enhancements.
If Council provides direction for staff to proceed, next steps will include an additional funding request for the project in the next City budget, which takes effect July 1, 2025. A timeline for design and construction is not yet available but would be developed after the project’s scope is finalized.
Note: This topic recently appeared on the City Council meeting calendar for December, however it is anticipated that it will be moved to the January 9, 2025 work session.
Neighborhood Bikeways Delivery
Over the last few years, the City has begun implementing Neighborhood Bikeways on local, residential streets as envisioned in the City’s Transportation System Plan. The initial development and implementation of the City’s first Neighborhood Bikeway on NW 11th Street was done through a combination of in-house staff and contractor support. The Tyler Avenue Neighborhood Bikeway, currently in progress, has an increased scope and budget based on lessons learned from NW 11th Street.
During the City’s CIP and Strategic Operational Plan update processes, we received input asking that the delivery of Neighborhood Bikeways be accelerated. As a result, staff has developed an implementation plan and schedule alternatives for upcoming Council review.
This discussion is scheduled for the January 9, 2025 work session. Depending on the direction received, staff may request additional funding and/or change the priority and scheduling for the Neighborhood Bikeways currently shown in the CIP.
Once meeting materials are available in early January, they will be posted at this link under the “Packets” column next to the work session date. See more photos of DOT projects here.
photo of protected bikeway in Philomath, by Oregon DOT
Loop Tour 2025: Wheelin’ Wallowa → Elkhorn → Blues
For anyone who missed the annual meeting, the location of Loop Tour 2025 has been revealed- the Wallowa Mountains of northeastern Oregon. This year's tour is Wheelin’ Wallowa → Elkhorn → Blues. The name reflects new ground the 2025 tour will traverse, the Elkhorns. Did you know that, among other mountain ranges, the Blue Mountains of Oregon (familiarly known as "The Blues") encompass the Wallowa Mountains and the Elkhorn Mountains?
The tours will start and end in Baker City and travel counterclockwise through Halfway, Ollokot Campground, Wallowa Lake State Park (where we'll have a layover day), the Minam area, Hot Lake, Anthony Lake and finally Union Creek Campground outside of Sumpter.
The tour dates are July 12-20 (Tour 1) and July 26-Aug 3 (Tour 2). The registration period and fees have not yet been determined.
The January 20, 2025, monthly MVBC club meeting will be devoted to Loop Tour. It will be on Zoom, 7-8 p.m. and the Loop Tour committee will present more details about the Wheelin’ Wallowa → Elkhorn → Blues tour.
The route summary, available services (as far as we know them) and other information about the 2025 Loop Tour is posted on the website at looptour.org . For a photo preview of the sites, see 2016 Wallowas Loop Tour photos.MVBC Touring - Where we went in 2024
| Tour | Month | Riders | Miles | Photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownsville Spring Overnight | May | 10 | 60 | Photo album |
| Columbia Gorge Campout | May | 18 | 40 | Photo album |
| Camp Sherman Gravel Camp | June | 24 | 70 | Photo album |
| Loop Tour 1 | June | 30 | 300 | Photo album |
| Loop Tour 2 | July | 24 | 300 | Photo album |
| Siuslaw River Gravel Camp | August | 12 | 70 | |
| Coast Range Gravel Adventure | September | 22 | 150 | Photo album |
| Baker City Gravel Excursion | October | 10 | 90 | Photo album |
150 Riders total
1,090 Miles total
Some riders did multiple tours!
- 21 riders did 2 tours
- 6 riders did 3 tours
- 1 rider did 4 tours
- 2 riders did 5 tours
Go to touring.mvbc.com for more information on all of our tours
Bottle Drop Mission accomplished!
This year, collectively, MVBC club members contributed $3900 worth of cans to help fund club projects, particularly bike education. One major reason that this number is so high is because of Nancy Meitle, MVBC Bike Education director.
Nancy and her husband Chuck spend the summer as a camp hosts up in the Columbia River Gorge. While there, she is able to use the MVBC blue bags to collect cans. On her return, she brought MANY bags of cans back to Corvallis and eventually into her garage. The Bottle Drop program limits the number of bags that can be dropped off each day, so with a little coordination, over 20 different people stopped by to get bags from Nancy's garage to drop off ... on different days!
Listed in no particular order, a very special thank you to the volunteers who stepped up to help get the cans dropped off: Bar Scott, Virgil Agnew, Pam Bottom, Dale Berggren, David Lerman, Christi Raunig, Rob Upson, Marianne Vydra, Izzie Elliott, Robyn Masella, Alex Vincent, Kathy Hall, Steve Braun, Ross Leonard, Candis Giles, Rick Olson, Peter Wendel, Richard Fahey, Kim Thackrey. Thank you all!
Of course, none of this would have been possible without Nancy Meitle expending an incredible amount of time to collect, bag, transport and store these thousands of cans and bottles.
Her dedication to finding creative ways to fund and support the Bike Education Program is extraordinary and we are ever so grateful for her leadership and example.
Thank you again, Nancy!
MVBC gives back: Can you lend a hand?
by Nancy Meitle, MVBC Bike Education Director
A group of about 20 MVBC members came together for a work party on the Corvallis School District Bike Education fleet! They got an amazing amount done to prepare bikes for the spring bike education programs. Volunteers were able to help get kickstands cut and mounted on all the new, smaller bikes. They got kickstand tips glued on so that the gym floors will be protected. They ensured brakes are working smoothly, put color-coded labels on and made sure all bikes were cataloged and labeled with an inventory number. The spring bike ed programs will go smoother with less logistical hassles, because of your efforts!
If you're interested in helping directly with students during the five spring programs (which will take place during March through mid-June), please consider completing the Corvallis School District Volunteer Screening today (it takes several weeks to get approval) so you can interact with kids that are working to improve their bicycling skills. It is really fun!
The school district is also looking for someone to work one-on-one with a student who would like to learn basic bike maintenance. If you are interested, please contact Nancy Meitle, meitle@comcast.net or text 541-740-0668.
Yep. There's an app for that!
MVBC has an app you can load on your iPhone or Android
by Paul Lieberman, IT & touring director, image by www.freepik.com
The MVBC Members App is a great way to stay connected with the club.
The app provides:
- Members Directory
- Quickly lookup members email or phone *
- Event Registration
- Upcoming events are listed and allow registration and payment from your phone.
- Your member profile and ID card
- Renew online, or update your data and volunteer preferences.
- Show your ID card for discounts at bike shops.
- Event Checkin See your tickets for upcoming events
You can download the app from the iPhone or Android App Store. Search for "Wild Apricot for Members", or use these links.
* The Members Directory is opt in. You must opt in to share your phone and email. Follow these instructions to opt in to the directory. Your data is only available to members. You have to login with your MVBC member account to access the directory.
Complete documentation for using the app is available for iPhone and for Android.
Meet RWGPS Challenge winner Shannon Spring
by Tracy Hug, Newsletter Editor
During June, MVBC Ride Committee offered three challenges, using RideWithGPS to track mileage, elevation and saddle time. It was open to all club members and each challenge had just under 20 members participating.
Shannon won the distance challenge and took second in saddle time and elevation. I had met Shannon in passing but got a chance to talk with him the day after he finished a 75-mile ride at GravelProof, in Independence, in November.
Shannon came to Oregon from Ohio … on a bike! In the summer of 1988, Shannon was feeling a little fed up with work and he and a friend, Dean, decided to hit the open road on their bikes. Prior to this trip, he had never been west of Kansas.
They rode to Denver where they stopped for about a week. Shannon's wife Lisa flew out to join him for about a week in Colorado.
“When I was in Nebraska coming into Denver, I saw what I thought were clouds on the horizon. I realized it was mountains and something inside me rang out and felt like I found home,” Shannon said.
From Denver, Shannon and Dean continued on: heading north through the parks: Tetons, Banff and up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper. From there, they continued on to Alberta and eventually over through British Columbia. Finally, they made their way south through Washington to Oregon.
“I was in my 20s and had the best time of my life!” Shannon said.
In Oregon, the riders were staying with a friend and Lisa had driven out to meet them with the intention of heading back to Ohio. They never left.
“When we got to Portland, we fell in love with it and never went back,” Shannon said.
Shannon found a job and Lisa went back to pack up their things from Ohio and made her way back out to Oregon. Shannon is quick to say that Lisa, a retired nurse, is always supportive of all his endeavors .. then and still today.
He has always ridden bicycles and loved it: he did his first tour when he was 15 from Ohio to the Great Lakes … in jean shorts! Through the years, he continued to do other smaller tours from Ohio: to Maine and to Florida. Shannon has traveled by bicycle through the US but not abroad and seeing a Grand Tour in France, Italy or Spain is on his bucket list.
Shannon retired after 30 years driving with UPS, in May 2018, and he and Lisa moved from Sherwood to Lebanon soon after. He began working for UPS during the holidays and in the “offseason” he ended up working at one of the Bike Gallery locations in Portland.
Shannon did some dirt bike racing as a kid: starting when he was around 12. While working in the bike shop, he also raced both road and mountain bikes in the 90s in the Portland area.
He started doing some telemark backcountry skiing as off-season training for MTB and eventually took up snowboarding. He still gets up to the mountains a few times in the winters here and would like to do more. He also still has an enduro dirt bike and gets out on that some but has been spending more time on bicycles.
Shannon has always been competitive and says the challenge definitely encouraged him to get out more.
“I kind of went for it … the competitive thing takes over for me. Going into the last day, I had the saddle time and did a nice ride out by Blodgett but on the last day, Cary (Thompson) did some long ride and beat me by 23 minutes,” Shannon said.
Shannon rides solo and with the club and says being in the club has also encouraged him to ride more miles: he’s at close 7000 miles this year. He says meeting new friends to ride with has been a great part of being in MVBC.
“I plan to keep rolling. The 70+ year-olds in the club are inspiring to me. I hope to be in similar condition when I’m their age. Biking is a great low impact sport and it’s good for my head!
“I have a sarcastic sense of humor and really feel like laughter is the best medicine. I’m not shy about mouthing off and I like to make people laugh. Don’t worry! What I say is all in jest!” Shannon explains.
Living in Lebanon, he is able to get out and ride both the hills and the flats in the valley. He says the riding is great in Lebanon and drivers are pretty good. Most of his miles are on the road but he also has a gravel and mountain bike.
For some of his favorite Lebanon-area rides, he likes to get out early on a Sunday when the roads are quiet. His favorite rides are over Berlin Hill into Sweet Home, to Holly, Fern Ridge to Mountain Home and Sodaville. He rides a lot of road that the Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour covers and has done that ride and the Strawberry Century the past few years.
He likes the Alsea Falls Loop, the Marys Peak ride and enjoyed a ride in the fall where club members took the bus to Newport and rode back.
Last year, Shannon went to the Klamath Falls area for a 2-day event, The Art of Survival (https://www.facebook.com/ArtofSurvivalCentury). This ride included 100-miles on road on Saturday and 75-miles on gravel Sunday.He also did the Ride the Willapa(https://ridethewillapa.com/) and would like to do these both again this year.
In the past, he and friends would gather to do a ~140 mile ride around Hood: they chose the route based on the winds, but it was always a big day with 9-10k climbing.
“I like a challenge and to push myself and suffer a bit. It’s always good to be suffering with people you like,” he says.
So if you see Shannon out on a ride, share a laugh … or invite him to suffer a little bit!
Photo credits:
upper right: 1988 leaving Nebraska
middle: 2023 Newport to Corvallis club ride, west side of Marys Peak, photo by Peter Rabenold
lower left: 2023 Marys Peak summit, left to right: Jim Fisher, Shannon Spring, Mike Barrier and (photo by) John Wiesinger
Cycling Across Oregon highlights Oregon Routes
by Eileen Tokuda, MVBC Membership Director
We had a delightful October General Meeting presentation by Dan Shryock, who entertained us with many stories of his bicycling adventures along the scenic bikeways in Oregon.
Dan is a travel writer and career journalist who focuses on cycle tourism.
Based in Salem, his work has appeared in magazines and websites in California and the Pacific Northwest. Dan served as a reporter and editor for newspapers in Indiana, California, and Oregon, including the Gazette-Times in Corvallis. He left the newspaper industry in 2015 and began his cycling/travel adventure. He has explored back roads and hillsides across the western United States, British Columbia, England, Italy, and New Zealand in search of unique bicycle adventures.
Dan’s book, Cycling Across Oregon, follows a group of cyclists as they set out to ride all 17 Oregon scenic bikeways in a single year. The story reveals the interesting people, memorable places, and revelations they found along the way. To be clear, his book is not a guidebook. It’s not directions on how to get from Point A to Point B. Instead, it’s a collection of discoveries made between two points. As Dan shared, “I like to turn left when everyone else turns right. I look down alleys and side roads in search of something different. And, when I find it I like to share it,” he says.
For more information, go to www.danshryock.com
Aufderheide Drive added to State Scenic Bikeway list
Aufderheide joins the list of Oregon Scenic Bikeways, bring the total to 18. For a ride perspective, see Bike Portland's article here. Also, see Travel Oregon's website. Looks like Dan Shryock (see above) will have more to explore!
Dealing with Dogs ... by Tracy Hug, MVBC newsletter editor, photo of Sam by Jolene Hanson I am a dog lover: big dogs, little dogs, I love them all. That said, I don't love the idea, or experience, of being on a ride and having a dog chase after me. Recently, Dirty Freehub, an organization that started as a homespun website sharing routes and has grown to a larger organization, shared a podcast on Livestock Dogs. Give it a listen (or the transcript is available to read). | Lance Armstrong movie explores cyclists history, scandal by Tracy Hug, MVBC newsletter editor Love him or hate him, Lance Armstrong is likely the best known cyclist in the United States. I came across a 2020 documentary, Lance, on Disney+. The two-part, four-hour film follows Lance from his racing roots in Texas through his fall from grace. It includes not only interviews from Armstrong but also some of his friends, rivals, journalists and other industry insiders. It's an interesting look at a complex story and worth a watch on a cold, rainy night. |
MVBC member meets inspiring Fixie Rider
by Bruce Martin, MVBC Member
While traveling through the southwest last month we were camped overnight in our travel trailer at Water Canyon, a free BLM campground, 4 miles and 2,000 feet above Winnemucca, NV.
We took a morning walk before departing and came upon a nearby bike camper who we had seen the previous day cycling up the gravel road to her campsite. We stopped to chat and discovered that Megan was riding from New York City to Los Angeles, quite a feat by itself but not something for the record books. However, what was remarkable was that she was doing this on a fixed gear bicycle!
Yes, that's right. Her Surley Straggler was equipped with one fixed gear (42x22) and with no ability to coast this meant she had to pedal that bike both uphills and down.
Now this wasn't a fixie like you might see college students pedaling around the campus. Not only was it equipped with rear panniers and a huge custom made front bag, it had front and rear disc brakes and fleece lined pedal straps to keep her feet attached.
She mentioned that she might possibly be the only woman to do cross country on a fixie and that she was raising donations for the Be Good Foundation, a charity that facilitates connections, empowering individuals, groups, and communities to experience the physical, mental, and social benefits of cycling.
The first part of her journey was to Ketchum, ID where the Be Good Foundation holds it's annual 3 day gravel event: Rebecca"s Private Idaho. After a few days R&R in Ketchum she was on her way to California when we met.
Her latest Facebook post indicates that she completed her ride on Oct. 15th. Congratulations Megan! You are an inspiration to this old cyclist.
Upcoming events
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