Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Hello everyone! Another great year is winding down for the DCC. I really enjoyed
the riding this year. It turned into a beautiful, hot summer after a very rainy spring.
We have several new riders who stepped up to some of the most challenging rides
of the summer. We also have one or two dedicated riders who have returned to
ride with us after being absent for a while. Our Sunday centuries had good atten-
dance and we had several spontaneous rides on beautiful Sunday mornings.
Bicycling
East The Great Greenway Tour was very successful, both operationally and financially,
Central and promises to be even bigger and better next year. We were proud to be a part of
Indiana the “Brew Tri” to show our love and support for a dear friend, Jim Leffler. The DCC
has started a ‘Helmets for Kids’ program distributed between 15 and 20 helmets
for injured children at the Ball Memorial Hospital Emergency Room. And through
our ‘Bikes for Kids’ program, with the help of Stacy Ball, we proudly purchased
new bikes, locks and helments from Kirk’s Bike Shop for two fine deserving young-
Circularis
sters in association with the Blood and Fire organization. These and other pro-
grams are supported by your club dues, to encourage local bicycling and bike
Triannual News • Vol.6, No 3 •Fall/Winter 2010

safety. We are considering raising the club dues to continue these programs (see
note on page 3), so please voice your comments.

Our end of the year cookout , hosted by Mike O’Neal and his
family at the Greenway 500 Bike Shop, was a very nice evening
with over 40 people in attendance. CB had two grills going with
great burgers and dogs and Mike built a huge bonfire. We managed to work in a
short meeting and elections. The motion was carried to keep the same officers for
2011.

The cycling year is winding down a little , but it definitely is not stopping just
because the weather is changing. Nicolas Renet has agreed to be our information
guy for our new winter riding schedule. This year, the DCC is scheduling show and
go rides through the end of December on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m . Speeds and
distances will be totally dependent upon the wishes of the attendees. Consider
leading a winter ride! Information on these rides will be available by contacting
Nicolas Renet or by checking out the ride update section on the DCC website.
There is also a plan in the works for a local polar bear ride on New Year’s Day.

I’m very happy that Nicolas has volunteered to help out with the winter rides. We
are seeing more and more DCC members becoming more involved with the club.
Another change for next year is the forming of a ride and ride leader committee for
our 2011 ride schedule. Anyone who would like to be a part of this committee
should contact any DCC officer. The best way for the club to do the rides that you
want to do, is to become involved. It’s kind of like riding in a group. When you’re
out front, its easier to set the pace to what you want..

(cont’d, page 3) 1
http://delawarecyclingclub.org Fall/Winter 2010
 Safety Corner
Why do we wear helmets?
by Mark Pyron

Have you had that conversation where you agree that you expect to
be in a bicycle accident? If you bike frequently, you are likely to crash.
Some of us have a higher frequency than others. I am not naming any- Delaware Cycling
body here, although some of us are perhaps more accident-prone. Club
Officers 2011:
If you are a safety-conscious cycle enthusiast, you likely have been using a bicycle helmet for
President - Jeff Keeler
years. This seems obvious to those of us who have seen accidents, heard stories of acci-
jkfishandride@yahoo.com
dents, or, just want to avoid excessive injuries when we are in the expected bicycle acci-
dent. As you are aware, the safety statistics are on the side of you and I who wear helmets. Vice President - Jim Johnson
jimtool67@yahoo.com
The advantage of wearing a helmet is an 85 % probability of avoiding head injury when you
are in a bicycle accident (Thompson et al., 1989). This is the general pattern found in all Treasurer - Mike Koch
ldruningman@hotmail.com
studies of bicycle helmets and head injuries.
Secretary/Membership
The next obvious question is why do all of us not wear helmets? In the US, only 42 % of Coordinator - needed
children aged 5-14 years wear helmets. You could probably guess most of the reasons: cost, Ride Leader Coordinator
comfort, lack of knowledge about safety, and peer pressure are the reasons that college Mark Lohmar - 759-4978
students provide for not wearing bicycle helmets (Ross et al., 2010). mlohmar@comcast.net

GGT Director - Mark Lohmar

So how do we convince others to wear helmets? Although creating new local helmet laws is mlohmar@comcast.net
effective, they are difficult to enforce. There are not programs to convince adults to wear
Newsletter - Cheryl LeBlanc
helmets. I think we have given up on them because their attitudes are too difficult to cmvleblanc@comcast.net
changes. It is easier to convince children and the younger the child the more effective
WebMaster- Seemann Baugh
programs can be. Subsidizing helmets and education in schools is not as effective as commu- SBAUGH@bsu.edu
nity programs with free helmets. Royal and others (2007) examined 13 previous studies (=
meta-analysis) and found that children will change their attitudes and wear helmets with Safety Officer - Mark Pyron
mpyron@bsu.edu
education in a community setting and if helmets are provided to them free. Children who
show up at emergency rooms with bicycle related injuries do not wear helmets after the Social Activities - Seemann
Baugh, SBAUGH@bsu.edu
emergency room visit. The explanation is that parental attitudes toward bicycle safety do
not change following emergency room visits (Ortega et al. 2004). Welcoming Leader - needed

College students increased their helmet use from 28 % to 49 % in a campaign using a “social
marketing” strategy combined with free helmets, peers who already wear helmets, and Newsletter Calendar
Please send articles to
pledge cards that students signed (Ludwig et al. 2005). The “social marketing” strategy was
Cheryl LeBlanc, Editor:
first tested using campus surveys of a slogan and logo (“Have a Grateful Head” and cool cmvleblanc@comcast.net
emblem). Recruitment of students for the study was by a student peer who already wears a
bicycle helmet. Students received a helmet and training when they took a coupon to a local Publication Articles
Date Due
bike shop. A sticker with the logo was placed on the helmets, as a reminder. The employees
of the bicycle shop gave a personal account of somebody who was in a bicycle accident.
There was a large change in behavior as a result of the campaign. Helmet use increased Spring Mar 1
from 24 % to 50 % during the study, and was still 33 % one year later. The bottom line is we Summer June 1
Fall Sept 1
need to promote safety programs that give out helmets or coupons for helmets.

2
http://delawarecyclingclub.org Fall/Winter 2010
Looking Back, Looking Ahead
(cont’d from page 1)
I have recently met a member of the Muncie Action Plan.
This is a group that was formed about a year ago in Muncie.
Their purpose is to work with local organizations to make
Muncie a better place to work, live and play. We talked a
little about bike lanes, dog control in the county and city,
and what can be done to make cycling safer. Now that
Muncie has a world-class triathalon event, even more
cyclists will be on the roads pre-riding the course. Not all of
the Action Plan concerns are about cycling of course, but
also local politics , jobs and general quality of life will be
discussed. Their website will be available as a link from
the DCC website.
Speaking of the DCC Website, the newsletter will only be
available on line from now on, so try and get familiar with
our new website, www.delawarecyclingclub.org. We will
be making adjustments and updating the site more often
so if anyone has any ideas for the site, let us know.
I have a lot of people to thank for making my first year as
DCC president enjoyable. All of our officers have really
helped me out with anything I have asked, and with a smile,
I might add. It was basically my decision to change the
newsletter to online only. The money we save on postage
will pay for helmets for the BMH ER for the entire summer.
It also makes Cheryl’s job as newsletter editor a little
easier, I hope. The website should make our club informa-
tion more accessible to others not involved with the club,
or just curious about the club and what we do.
On a personal note, I would like to thank everyone for their
well-wishes and concerns after my recent accident. Those
things happen so fast it is almost unbelievable. It has been
almost 8 weeks already and I am healing up. I’m hoping to
make two or three of the Saturday show and go rides yet
this year. I know if I show up and ride that I’ll be riding with
my friends and they are the best riders in the world!
See you there!
by Jeff Keeler, DCC President
http://delawarecyclingclub.org
What do your
Club Dues Do?
As you read in our president’s message, our local
bike club has been busy bringing fine group riding
opportunities to our region. Weekend rides
include Saturday group rides and Sunday
Centuries, RAIN training rides, and Stan’s Saturday
Cruiser Rides. And now Nicolas will coordinate the
winter rides through December. We have put on
Great Greenway Tour for ten years now, as a
fundraiser for our favorite place to ride, the
Cardinal Greenway, and have plans to expand that
event to a 2-Day Great Greenway event by 2012.
While these riding opportunities are the ‘muscle’
of our club, the ‘heart’ of it is in bicycle education
and safety. To that end, the DCC has been involved
in programs for kids for many years, beginning in
1995, by donating bikes to needy children in our
‘Bikes for Kids’ program. This year, we added a
‘Helmets for Kids’ program, finding appropriate
recipients through BMH. We discovered that there
is a greater number of youth bike-related injuries
than 15 - 20 (helmets given away in 2010) .
The DCC is considering raising club dues in 2011, so
that we can continue to support and grow these
important bicycle programs in our area. Dues are
current only $15 for an individual or family. The
proposed increase would be $20 for an individual
or family; and free for club members ages 65 and
above, and BSU students. If you consider your
dues as an investment in bicycling in our
community, we hope you agree this is a good use
of your club dues. Let us know if you agree. Send
any comments or suggestions to
Jeff Keeler at jkfishandride@yahoo.com
3
Fall/Winter 2010
 DCC Winter Rides!!
Cooler weather is coming fast and many of us are looking forward to... biking more! Partly to fullfill the wish of
those members who miss the club rides during winter, partly to encourage fair weather cyclists to experience the
pleasures of off-season riding, the DCC is now extending the Saturday ride calendar until Christmas.

Turning the seasonal contraints (rain, bike trail fatigue, etc) into opportunities for more fun, the coming rides
should appeal to a variety of cyling styles. Most of them will fit into the ’classic ride’ pattern, with a start at 10:00am
at the Depot. We will sometimes break the routine and go into less-explored terrain: what about a cyclo-cross loop?
a short drive to a more exotic start location (see below)? The first of our winter rides was held on Saturday 10/30,
and took us to less-ridden roads east of Losantville. A happy few enjoyed the gentle rollers and the refreshing wind!

* * Inclement weather: Although rain is a normal ingredient of winter training and won’t be a cause for cancelling a
ride, icy and/or snowy roads will (cancel the ride), as well as temperatures well into the 20s.

Nicolas Renet is willing to lead some of these rides, while serving as a coordinator for potential ride leaders.
Although a more detailed calendar for the winter rides will soon be published on the DCC site, winter riders can
already note the following date:

• 11/6 - RICHMOND ROLLERS: let’s carpool to Richmond (a 1-hour drive), to enjoy a change of scenery and a bit
hillier course than usual – a 51 mi loop heads south of town, crosses Brookville Lake, and brings us back to
Richmond. START: Depot, 8:00am, to be able to hit the road in Richmond around 9:15am.

Further arrangements, including a meeting point in Richmond, to be made via the message board.

E-mails won’t be sent anymore. Members are expected to check the message board for announcements and even-
tual cancellations. Moreover, everyone is encouraged to advertise there for unofficial rides.

Do you have an idea for a ride? Willing to lead a club outing? Contact Nicolas Renet nicolasrenet@yahoo.com or call
him at (765) 282-7101.

News from Kirk’s Bike

Shop:

For Sale at Kirk’s:

Used 2006 Trek Pilot WSD 47cm
$1200 o.b.o
Less than 500 miles

Used Gary Fisher Piranha MTB

21" Frame Good Condition $500
o.b.o.

Try our layaway & financing for

holiday gifts!

to Richmond!! Trainers, lights & winter riding

2011
Watch these websites for official opening of the Cardinal Greenway
gear now available!

from Losantville to Richmond - it’s almost ready! Stop in and test ride the
CycleOps Jet Fluid Pro Trainer
www.cardinalgreenways.org & www.delawarecyclingclub.org 4
http://delawarecyclingclub.org Fall/Winter 2010
Delaware Cycling Club
Box 763
Muncie, IN 47308
Fall/Winter 2010

http://delawarecyclingclub.org
Visit your club Website for all your local cycling questions, rides schedules,
maps, newsletters, contact information and more.

Newsletters and other correspondence will no longer be distributed in

hard-copy printed form. Ride calendars will be printed and sent to paying dues
members. All other information will be available on the club website.

......Tail Lights

• New Winter Ride Schedule (visit www.delawarecyclingclub.org)

• DCC Newsletters now online and electronic, only.

INSIDE • 2011 Ride Calendar and membership will be sent by standard post.

President’s Message..1
Safety Corner ..............2
What to your Dues Do.3
DCC Club Jerseys
Winter Rides.................4 Stop in at Greenway 500 Bikeshop to get your DCC Club jersey and/or shorts.
For Sale .......................4 In addition to the pre-ordered sizes, the DCC purchased a few extra, to be
able to place the minimum order. While you are there, see what great cycling
Website - where to go
goodies shop owner Mike O’Neal has in stock!
for Club info .............5
Tail-lights ......................5

5
http://delawarecyclingclub.org Fall/Winter 2010