Club ride
Every so often the Florida Bicycle Association receives an inquiry as to when and where our club rides take place. It would be easy to say “we don’t do that” and leave it there, but my customer service background kicks in and I direct the inquiry to visit our Resources by the FDOT page to look up FBA member bicycle clubs for information on their club rides. I have even been known to go one step further to challenge the inquiry to consider bicycle touring by promoting our sister organization Bike Florida.
The association may not host its own rides, but there are plenty of rides to check out from our member bicycle clubs. Being a member of each of these clubs, it’s not easy to attend a club ride on a regular basis, but when the opportunity presents itself to go for a club ride, I take it!
The most recent opportunity was yesterday and the opportunity was simple – speak at the Sumter Landing Bicycle Club monthly membership meeting on Monday. Done!
The Sumter Landing Bicycle Club serves the residents (and a few non-residents) of The Villages. The monthly club meeting provides an opportunity for president John Komoroske to book speakers of relevant content and when the snowbirds are in town, this means 100 or more in attendance.
Sumter Landing Bicycle Club members fill the room for the monthly meeting.
FBA greatly appreciates the opportunity to address the members of Sumter Landing Bicycle Club for the past two years. It’s a great opportunity to give an FBA update in person..
Getting ready to present Sumter Landing Bicycle Club our 2017 legislative platform.
..and to meet individual FBA members.
New member David Ballard happily showed me his name on page 2 of our Winter Messenger. How could I not ask for a photo? Welcome to FBA, David
I personally appreciate John inviting me to stay the night and attend the SLBC Tuesday club ride. Yes, I took the Dahon and managed the social ride of 20-plus miles. The ride was both fun and educational.
The SLBC Tuesday social ride takes a break at Berry Park in Leesburg.
It was good to finally ride in The Villages and experience first-hand the unique concerns of riding in roundabouts and sharing lanes and trails with golf carts. The efforts of the club to educate both their membership and non-member residents of The Villages on bicycle safety was evident in the number of smiles and greetings we received while riding.
It was also good to end the social ride at FBA member bicycle shop Village Cycles.
Stopping at Village Cycles with SLBC Cycling and Safety Director Dave Lawrence and President John Komoroske.
Thanks, guys. I had a great time and a wonderful ride. Keep up the good work in The Villages!
Do you have a bicycle story to tell? Photos to share? Be our guest and be our next guest blogger! Send your story and photos to Becky@floridabicycle.net.
Speaking of stories, our quarterly Messenger newsletter is available online for your internet reading pleasure. Visit the FBA website Home page or click here. Want a hard copy of our Messenger? Join Florida Bicycle Association or visit one of our bicycle shop members!
Complete Streets Savvy, or CSS, is a general bicycle educational presentation. The purpose is to provide basic information with regards to the Florida Department of Transportation’s adoption of Complete Streets policy and how cyclists and motorists can share the road safely. This presentation runs 10 – 15 minutes and is designed for legislators, civic organizations and other entities that meet regularly and need informative content. There is no fee. Make your request for CSS today!
Florida legislative session is right around the corner. Visit our Advocacy page to read about our legislative platform and to subscribe to email updates.
Bike Florida and Florida Bicycle Association share a common cause in bicycle education for residents and visitors to the Sunshine State. Share the Road license plate proceeds benefit Bike Florida and Florida Bicycle Association to further these bicycle educational efforts. What’s on your motor vehicle? Get the Share the Road license plate!
