What has become known as the Road Soldiers Cycling Club began in late spring, 1996, out of a dialog between John O´Reilly, a resident of the Ohio Veterans Home, and Lance Franke, a social worker in the Domiciliary. John had purchased a shiny red mountain bike that he outfitted via his cousin´s bicycle shop on the west end of Sandusky. John road his bike about the campus and beyond, and Lance often promised that the two of them would go riding together (Lance being an ardent mountain biker). Jacqueline Grendow, RN, was then the Human Services Director in the Domiciliary and she encouraged John and Lance to not only go riding but to invite others to go with them.
A memo was produced that invited all interested hands to come to an organizational meeting on the 28th of June at 14:00 hours at the Domiciliary´s Hobby House. Original members at that first meeting were: Paul Matteson, Daniel Dilauro, Robert L. White, Julius Kish and, of course, John and Lance. The group discussed cycling, starting a club and who might be profitably “lapelled’ – grabbed by the jacket collar - and invited to join the fledgling group. 12 names were proffered and the group set out to invite these folks to the next meeting. One of the names was of a fellow social worker. It was noted that 7 of these people had bikes and were known to ride them.
The second meeting of this yet unnamed bike club was held on the 26th of July with a declared subject, “Fitting A Bike to You!’ and with the undeclared purpose of generating enthusiasm for cycling at the OVH. Lance and John produced reprints of cycling articles related to bike fitment, helmet sizing and bicycle terminology that were “researched’ from cycling magazines. A decision was made, at the beginning of this endeavor, to do a strong educational thrust among those interested so as to form a knowledge base for future development. This proved to be sagacious.
The club met on the 23 of August 1996 to plan its first group ride. This was planned in conjunction with the Domiciliary´s Rec. Therapy Department for the 9th of September. The Rec. Therapy folks were scheduling a trip to South Bass Island and its famous village of Put-In-Bay. The club was going to start with what has become a tradition; piggy-backing with the Rec. Therapy trips to the Lake Erie islands, South Bass and, eventually, Kelley´s Island. A nose count was taken and instructions given for the pending ride. A short pre-ride session was planned to deal with last minute things and to make sure that all bikes were serviceable for the event.
The first ride began on a wet, rainy, and even muddy morning at South Bass. The cyclists got off the Miller Ferry, a perpetual friend of OVH, and road into town. All cyclists ended up with the “muddy streak of honor’ up their backs from wheel splash and spew on the mud-covered road into Put-In-Bay. Six cyclists turned wheels on this first outing, and all made a commitment to continue on with the club. Some thought was being given to naming this fledgling organization and the members seriously considered calling themselves, “The Rainy Day Cycling Club!’ Fortunately, the weather got better through the day and everyone dried off in the afternoon. A post-ride meeting was held on the 11th of September.
The club´s first “de-briefing session’ set the pattern for the future in ways that its early members wouldn´t have perceived. The members considered issues related to the transporting of the bikes themselves, the need for first aid equipment, the need for sources of water/fluid, the need to plan for lunches and rest room stops, the need to acquire tools for roadside repairs, the need for an air compressor, the necessity develop a “rain date plan’ to respond to obviously inclement weather situations, and, importantly, the need for a name for the group. At this point, the group saw the immediate efficacy in continuing, when possible, to piggy-back with the Rec. Therapy Department since the therapists were past masters at dealing with event logistics and the club was naïve about such things at this point in time. An “ominous portent’ of things to come was the decision of members to ride in Holmes County in late 1997, something that would both vex and provide joy to the members in years to come.
The next week, on the 16th of September, the cycling group met with the purpose of planning its first truly independent cycling outing. Curtis Rives, Danny Kinney (later to be very important in club development regarding the handicapped), John Clifford, Keith Allen, Julius Kish, Robert Chesney, and, of course, John and Lance met and worked out some details regarding a ride in the county road net between Clyde and Green Springs, Ohio. Lance often cycled on these roads and laid out a proposed venue that would avoid all but a couple of miles of state routes for the 7th of October 1996. The group memorialized its members to purchase cycling gloves and helmets and settled on a name: The Road Soldiers Cycling Club. This was suggested by Danny Kinney and immediately seized upon by all members. The name also prompted a quip from Julius Kish: “Road Soldiers never die; they just ride away!’ Ironically, Julius never actually road with the club but was good at stealing material from Douglas Mac Arthur!
Lance wrote articles for The Veteran the house mouthpiece for the OVH from the beginning of RSCC events. This tradition has continued to the present day, and has been important for letting folk know about the healthy activities of cycling at the Domiciliary.
The members rode the Sandusky County roads from Lance´s house in Clyde to Green Springs, Ohio, and back on the 7th of October. It was a clear and crisp fall day, which was full of the sights and smells of harvest. A stop in Green Springs provided members with the opportunity to carbo-load at the Diary Bar in that town. Strangely, this ride, so early on in the history of the new club would prove to be one of the longest ever accomplished by its members. Folks entirely unused to such exertions pedaled 18.3 miles away that day! Danny Kinney had purchased a new Trek Cross Bike for himself and road as much of the ride as he could – despite what was turning into crippling arthritis. He allowed Curtis Rives to finish the trip on his bike that cool day. Bob White and Keith Allen were taking turns on borrowed bikes leading this little peloton down the country roads with Lance catching up to the lead in order to give instructions on turns and road hazards as necessary. Ed Lafer was riding along with John O´Reilly, and John was wearing a bright orange traffic vest at the rear of the group while Lance tended to stay near the front also so equipped. Danny Smith, Rec. Therapist, drove the large wheelchair van behind the group with the four-way flashers on. The ride was completed without a spill or a hitch and all members returned to the OVH tired but satisfied with their accomplishments. As usual, a de-briefing was done after the ride, but began in the van on the way back to the campus.
The debriefing meeting discussed the long ride and noted many of the positives and problems resulting form it. Lunches were under used, it was felt, because of the stop at the dairy bar in Green Springs. Better consideration of when to ask for Dietary Department supports will be done if the club is going to “buy food’ rather than have it prepared. The group began to get a sense of its limitations in terms of climbing hills, and this began a skepticism about a Holmes County ride that it had been contemplating for the late summer or early fall of ´97. Lance put into the discussion the need for education on the use of gears, understanding cycling cadence and form when riding. The group would be given more copies of articles on cycling from magazines; particularly articles on fitness in the spring of ´97 and some technical articles on bikes during the winter. Finally, the group took stock of needs and saw the need to work toward obtaining: a store room for bikes and equipment, T-shirts and a logo, a bike work stand, Craftsman metric tools, bike-specific tools, a wheel-truing stand, and some exercise rollers. The group dismissed with a commitment to meet on the 1st of November to develop teams to handle ride details for the schedule in ´97, and to plan the ride venues.
The November meeting, the first business meeting following the closing of active cycling, established the first Friday of each month as a regular meeting date from December through March when activities were planned to begin again after the winter hiatus. A general ride critique of the first outings was done as well as the after-ride briefings. The club saw the need for a storage/club room somewhere in Veterans Hall (the preferred choice) and to begin rebuilding the odd assemblage of bikes in its train. A schedule was set for overhauls to be done by the group so the general membership would learn to “wrench.’
The club´s first December meeting was spent in planning the teams and rides for the ´97 season. The club tried the concept of task forces of two or more members who would then do the work necessary to develop and implement the monthly ride. Unfortunately, this proved to be unworkable as an uneven production of rides was the result. Lance and John and a couple of other members, but primarily Danny Kinney, ended up having to more-or-less take over ride/event production and the task force concept was abandoned after the ´97 season. January and February followed with the club busying itself with doing bike overhauls on members´ bikes. Lance and Danny, who was an accomplished cyclist and who had cycled from San Francisco to Oberlin, OH, years before, taught members basic bike maintenance and adjustment that winter. The February 7th meeting, however, added a new development and need that the Road Soldiers decided to try and meet.
A nursing home resident had gotten lost from the Home and died in one of the ponds on the campus. This tragedy prompted the Home to develop a Code Adam response that would initiate intensive searches if a resident turned up missing. The cyclists offered to help in this and developed an action plan to aid and abet the Home´s police and other staff. Resources available and needs within the club itself were discussed and the club´s members proffered their assistance to the administration. However, in the final analysis, this whole project, but not Code Adam, drifted away from the club as other mechanisms than a bike search team were chosen to meet such emergencies. The club then turned its attention to further educational strengthening with handouts of bike magazine articles, discussions of cycling and “wrenching’ experiences in repair and maintenance. April of ´97 finished the Code Adam concern for the RSCC and it began its second season of cycling activities with an inaugural ride on the Oberlin city bikeway, a trail that would become an integral part of the North Coast Inland Trail. The members continued to actively seek a “home’ for the club and its paraphernalia on campus.
1997 was marked by the first attempt of the club to secure logo printed T-shirts. The R.O.C. did not approve the request for $238.40, and the club did without them. However, it contemplated seeking other support for this piece of club business. The members wanted to have an identifying garment not only for esprit d´ corps, but to make riders more visible and identifiable on bike trails.
´97 was marked by more torrential rains on ride days. The May ride, for instance, was washed away as well as a planned ride on the B&O Trail. Members contemplated if, perhaps, the name, “Rainy Day Bicycle Club,’ wasn´t appropriate after all! A bright spot appeared in the gifting of T-shirts to the club that were given by Danny Boy´s Restaurant of Rocky River, Ohio, via Robert and Renee Grendow, the owners and son and daughter-in-law of Jackie Grendow our OVH supervisor. The first shirt, however, was given, post mortem, to Dennis Meuhler, who passed away quite unexpectedly in July. He had purchased a new mountain bike and was enthusiastic about the club and riding. He was the first Road Soldier to purchase a bike at the Fremont Schwinn Cyclery´s Annual Inventory Reduction Sale that the RSCC has attended every year since 1997.
The club first rode the Rocky River Cuyahoga Metropark in July of ´97, and it stopped at Danny Boy´s Restaurant to both dine and thank its proprietors for the gift of shirts for the club. It also explored the newly completed Clyde-to-Fremont segment of the North Coast Inland Trail in October on the 24th. This closed the second season of riding by the members.
A November 7th, 1997, meeting did the usual things in doing a de-briefing of the members concerning the rides of the season and looking at what kinds of things the members might want to try in the next year. Members changed, over the year, but the total numbers of participants hovered around 6 or 7 people very active and a total of 10 or so on the mailing list. Concerns were raised by the group about staying together on the trails, going to the Fremont Schwinn Sale, going to Bike Nashbar´s Catalog Outlet Store in Youngstown, development of a bike fleet for the Home and finding a physical location for the club to meet.
1998 began, after the members approved the tentative schedule, with the annual sojourn to Fremont, to Whitey´s Diner for a belly-buster breakfast and the Fremont Schwinn Sale on 02 March. The club then followed with a shakedown ride of the Clyde-to-Fremont portion of the North Coast Inland Trail and the Hayes Museum in Fremont to test out the newest bikes and the maintenance functions done on the member´s older ones. The Big Creek and Mill Stream Run Cuyahoga Metroparks links in the so-called “Emerald Necklace’ were then ridden.
The B&O Trail was taken on in July for the first time. The club started at Lexington and rode to the southern terminus at Butler, Ohio, passing through Belleville. The scenery was fabulous and the trail paved and on a rail-to-trail conversion. The club quickly began to forsake any notion of riding on regular surface streets in favor of the safer and more leisurely paced bikeways. Mike Hepker, by this time, had become the club´s erstwhile “sag wagon’ commander; driving the van and picking up people as they needed to be assisted along the way.
The club did the annual Island Rides again in 1998, and received the fiscal and personal help of the Sandusky AmVets Post via Gene Fitzthum, Post Member and friend of the Road Soldiers.
In September, the club returned to Mill Stream Cuyahoga Metropark and rode it. Construction that previously cut the park was completed and it was then contiguous with the Rocky River Park. The obligatory stop at Danny Boys was done, too. There was an unfortunate crash on this ride, however, that prompted Lance to provide a small seminar in January of ´99 on bike handling in the Great Room at OVH. In the end, the crash helped club members get a better handle on how to make hard turns and brake hard on a bike. (Since then, there have been no turn-induced crashes.)
1999 found the club going to Youngstown, Ohio, on a snowy and bleak day, to the Bike Nashbar Catalog Outlet Store on the 1st of February. This turned out to be the first and last time that this was possible since the company was later bought by a larger national mail-order bike store and the Youngstown Outlet was closed by the new owners. Members, however, made big savings on bike accessories and several contemplated bike purchases. Later, on the first of March, the club returned to the Fremont Schwinn Cyclery for its annual sale and breakfast at Whitey´s Diner. April quickly followed with the by-now-traditional Clyde to Fremont run on the North Coast Inland Trail. Rides to the Mill Stream and Rocky River Cuyahoga County Metroparks and to Danny Boy´s Restaurant soon followed. A change occurred in the club finally obtaining a clubroom in Veterans Hall on Sherman/D-2; the club, at last, had a place to call “home’ and a place to store member´s bikes and the gear the club had accumulated.
June of ´99 brought the clubs into association, once again, with the Rec. Therapy Department and took the members to Holmes County for a ride in Amish Country as well as to the maritime locale of Kelley´s Island. While the scenery in Holmes County was breath taking and a “century removed’ from the present, members were somewhat restive under the hills and gritty conditions of the township and county roads. Lance received a lot of good-natured guff from members who understood, at last, why bikes have so many low gears on them! The reality of the dream of going to Holmes County was that it was a physical fitness nightmare for most club members. Many said, “Never again!’ and a lively debate could be stirred up by merely mentioning the prospect of it!
Kelley´s Island biking, in June, soon absolved Lance of the Holmes County trip and the club enjoyed its flatter topography and “air conditioned’ ambiance. The summer also concluded the first attempt of the club to raise some capital for the goal of providing the Home with a bike fleet of standard configuration and assured maintenance by the club. The attempt to obtain the help of various civic and social clubs was only met with meager success.
The club has a regular composition of some 12 members on the mailing list with fewer going on rides consistently. The club rode the recently completed North Coast Inland Trail segment between Kipton, through Oberlin, to Elyria. It also went down the B&O Trail and contemplated doing the Cuyahoga River National Recreation Area Towpath Trail. The mailing list had grown to 19 riders, but, again, fewer were regulars.
October saw the first signs of what would eventually become SWOG, the Scooter and Wheelchair Owners Group. The RSCC was informed of the initiation of such a group by Danny Kinney who had previously left the Home but who had returned – only this time crippled by his arthritis to the point of needing the assistance of an electric scooter. He was instrumental, along with David J. Miller and Carl Hill in gathering fellow scooter owners into a fledgling organization to advocate for their needs and rights and handicapped persons and to develop a social calendar not unlike that of the bicyclists. The RSCC was quick to extend a hand to this new group of wheeled vets.
The October business meeting also noted the receipt of a single gift of $50.00 from the Fremont Eagles Club, and began the winter storage process of the members´ bikes in the clubroom. The 2000 calendar was discussed with focus on return rides to most of the trails that had been ridden. The club did, however, act to extend a welcome to the new group of scooter riders to join it in the 2000 rides.
November of 1999 saw the first meeting of scooter owners that was convened by Danny and Lance. An agenda was produced which invited the scooter folks to ride with the cyclists in 2000 as well as to begin to address concerns specific to scooter owner/operators. Among these were: development of more inclusive OVH events that are open to scooter-dependent people, enlisting the support of scooter manufacturers in increasing the knowledge of their products, addressing obstacles to scooter persons in the facility, increasing awareness of walkers about scooter person´s problems, development of a scooter operator skills curriculum to teach safe scooter operation, and development of a scooter “race’ to measure skills in competition. Eight persons, including Danny Kinney, Tom Cross, Robert Earnset, John Derman, Carl Hill, LeRoy Brenneman, David Miller and John Dorgan were at this initial meeting. Lance was present as RSCC staff liaison and staff member.
The RSCC produced the 2000 Ride Schedule in the winter months of December and January. The RSCC approved the new schedule in February of 2000. It included the invitation of the scooter group, naming itself SWOG, Scooter and Wheelchair Owners Group, as well as old ride venues and two new ones: the first to the Kokosing Gap Trail and the second to the Findlay State Park in Wellington, Ohio. The Bike Nashbar trip was cancelled because, as mentioned above, the Youngstown store was closed. The new OVH Fishing Club was to be asked to join the RSCC and SWOG at the Kelley´s Island Ride that would center at the Kelley´s Island State Park with a BBQ there in one of the picnic areas. It was the club´s idea that the anglers could then fish while the wheeled members rode.
A trailer had been purchased by the OVH at the behest of SWOG. This proved to be salutary for loading up scooters as well as the bikes of the RSCC members along with the many other bits and pieces of gear. Club members started the task of figuring out how to get all the stuff packed that had to go with the members of two clubs as well as the coolers from the Dietary Department.
By this time, the clubs had developed the Rain Date concept. This was an automatic reschedule of a washed out primary ride date to the following week. Since the clubs usually rode on Mondays, this meant that the Rain Date was always the next Monday, if needed. This proved to be a sagacious thing and simplified logistics for vehicles. Lance also was regularly seeking written permission slips over the winter hiatus from the judicatories that were in control of the bikeways that the clubs utilized. This prevented scooter operators from being potentially arrested by law enforcement officers for using a powered device on a bikeway. This might have been overkill, however, as most trail authorities have come to make provisions for handicapped persons using such vehicles and some federal grants obligate trail authorities to provide for such use when trails are constructed with federal dollars.
The Kokosing Gap Trail, from Mt. Vernon to Danville, Ohio, was first ridden by the clubs in 2000 in July. The KGT Board, and its president, David Samuel were enthused about the clubs´ ride and provided much support. The clubs, however, were asked to critique their experience, and as David said, “let us have it!’ The trail is privately funded and maintained but open to the public. It is also sumptuous in scenery and immaculately maintained. An after run report yielded much information to the KGT Board primarily from the experience of our scooter riders. This, then, resulted in some significant additions to the KGT by the Board, notably the inclusion of two electric charging stations for scooters at Mt. Vernon and at the Gambier Station. Another changing station is planned for Howard, OH, but there is difficulty getting power to the trail at that location. As a consequence of our critique, David arranged for the RSCC and SWOG to be featured in the national Rails-to-Trails Magazine in a short article on the KGT and its SWOG-inspired improvements.
The other new ride that the club contemplated in 2000 was literally washed away by torrential rains on the initial date and on the Rain Date. Now, both clubs wondered if the flippant title, “Rainy Day Cycling Club,’ wasn´t the best choice. An indoor BBQ at the OVH Rec. Center closed the wet, muddy and yet exciting first year of RSCC and SWOG rides. The good news was that slowly donations came in so that the RSCC had $350 in its account in the treasury of OVH. It was getting possible to purchase some much-needed tools.
The clubs, jointly, realized that the members had more in common than perhaps was first thought. Not only was everyone on wheels, but a ride could accommodate the disparate speeds of the cyclists and the scooter operators; the bikes were going between 7 and 10 MPH and the scooters at a steady 4.9 MPH. Staggered starting points, made possible by the saw wagon, as well as OVH FM radio communications made coordinating three different moving vehicle bodies possible. SWOG learned that the average well-maintained scooter could easily accomplish a ride with the RSCC. Indeed, most have more than ample reserve to not only complete the ride but also carry its rider the rest of the day at OVH upon return. With the initial concerns about logistics evaporated by actual experience, the decision was reached to continue rides together.
SWOG caused a tumult at OVH when some of its members began to advocate for their rights. A mechanism was developed by the members to advocate in an orderly way. Administration was not kindly disposed to this new activism. A controversial period was the result with the club suffering from some decline in members as people sought to avoid friction with the powers that be and slipped away from the club. Danny and Lance considered, in hindsight, that perhaps it would have been more propitious to develop the social side of the organization and leave the rights advocacy for a latter time, however, the milk was spilt and the group weakened by the “enthusiasm’ of the recently organized.
The sad part of this part of club history was that Danny Kinney had passed away in his sleep before a restoration of the fortunes of the group could be accomplished. Tom Cross took over as the leader of the SWOG group. He, John O´Reilly, of the Road Soldiers and Lance became the “Liaisons’ of the SWOG and RSCC – that is, the “connectors’ who bring all the parts together and keep the communications going. The three made the decision to emphasize the riding aspect of the clubs and avoid the controversy of rights advocacy.
Lance initiated the use of a post-season rider satisfaction survey in 2000. This helped compile the reactions and comments to both clubs as well as suggest new wheeled outings to the members. Based upon the preferences expressed by all hands, it was becoming possible to call a business meeting to share the outcome of the survey and more accurately develop the next season´s ride schedule. An eye began to be kept with the notion of incorporating at least one new venue in each season so that the riding repertoire does not become dull and new experiences can be had. While the members had all come to have various favorite rides, the consensus was that seasons were beginning to look too much the same; the purposeful inclusion of new trails was a welcome thing.
2000 turned out to be a real watershed in the history of both RSCC and SWOG, and this occurred by a stroke of unexpected and unplanned fortune. One of the new members of the OVH Domiciliary, Mr. William Weller, suffered the loss of his mother. He directed his brother to gift to the RSCC and to SWOG substantial money to be designated for their use. $10,000 was gifted to each of the clubs for their development and the benefit of their members. This news was shared with the members at a specially called meeting on the 8th of the months. The members then discussed the use of the money for not only the benefit of the clubs, but the members of the OVH Domiciliary as well. The long held dream of developing a bike fleet was becoming reality. The only hang up foreseen was the need for a secure, weather-sheltered storage place for the proposed fleet. The club members were unanimously agreed to memorialize the Weller´s for the bequest by way of appropriate logos or labels on any fleet vehicles.
Lance proceeded to seek bids from area bike shops for the purchase of 10 adult cruiser-style bikes, three adult tricycles, associated spare tires and tubes and bike-specific tools. This was done through a bid sheet prepared by and approved by club action at a significant meeting on the 16th of December 2000. Brainstorming was also done, by the members, regarding alternative use of the funds from the Weller Estate that might also benefit the members of the clubs, specifically, and the Home generally. Finally, the clubs approved the ride schedule for the 2001 season with the addition of the Slippery Elm Trail that runs from Bowling Green to North Baltimore, Ohio, and the University Parks Trail that is in Toledo. The latter trail runs outward from the University of Toledo, past the Wildwood Preserve (where the clubs would “do lunch’) and on out in the direction of Sylvania. The clubs also approved a previously thwarted attempt to go to the Cuyahoga National Recreation Area (a part of the Federal Park system) to ride the Erie and Ohio Canal Towpath Trail. Finally, the clubs approved, to Lance´s amazement, the tackling of the Castalia Quarry Reserve – Erie County´s mountain bike park with its ¾ mile long trail that ascends 90-100 feet in 3/8 of a mile. Perhaps the promise of a cook out sold this ride?
The Weller family was thanked for the bequest received by personally signed letter on 18 December. All three club liaisons signed the letter in the name of the members thanking both William and M.L. Weller for the bequest. The funds were placed in the OVH Treasury for safekeeping and orderly audit.
Tom Cross and Mel Davies, a new member of SWOG, sought to build up that club after it went into a decline after Danny Kinney´s death. They were able to convince the Home to purchase an additional FM handheld radio to increase the communication and safety of the three vehicles on group rides. They began to investigate the potential purchase of a fleet of scooters for the use of SWOG members on club rides.
Both RSCC and SWOG began working on the prospect of fleet purchases and how to manage the resources once purchased. Work was done on a User Contract under the dual letterhead of both clubs that would protect the investments of the clubs and yet allow people to borrow the fleet vehicles in an orderly way. The contract essentially makes a borrower responsible for any abuse or misuse of club property, applies the principle of subrogation should an accident involving a club vehicle result in a legal settlement to the rider, and assures the borrower that usual and customary wear and tear will be borne by the clubs. Attention was also given to the notion of developing a regular and orderly tracking system to follow borrowed vehicles and to tag out and chart any malfunctioning units.
Beyond the immediate preparations for building a fleet of OVH bikes, trikes and scooters was the interaction with administration to acquire its support of the project and a place for the vehicles purchased. This was done by written correspondence. Alongside of this was a proposal, at this time discussed within the clubs, to rid the OVH campus of old, rusting, unreliable and potentially dangerous bikes and trikes. This would come to be known as the Hulk Round Up, but would first be proceeded by the development of a bike registry to “separate the sheep from the goats,’ that is vehicles with owners from abandoned ones.
The proposed ride schedule was submitted to the members and approved with the new ride venues in place and the loss of some of the recently customary rides. This was done on 16 January 2001 along with the approval of the bid sheets for the fleets and the specialized bike tools the clubs wanted to purchase. The clubs also studied the User Contracts and approved the format as presented. At this meeting, too, the SWOG Logo, which had been approved by that club, was shown to the RSCC members. Bids for logo-emblazoned T-shirts were to be solicited by LNF per club member action.
February of 2001 found the club approving the purchase of Craftsman tools and noting that nothing had been forthcoming from OVH regarding an indoor location for the proposed bike/trike fleet. The scooters had arrived that SWOG had ordered and the OVH inventory control and audit departments did yeoman service in getting better prices out of the vendors than the club had been able to obtain. Lance was instructed to proceed with the tool bid and submission of these to the Resident Oversight Committee for approval. This was accomplished in February, and the tools were received.
The Ride 2001 schedule began as members rode the chosen bikeways including the new ride venues. A business meeting in July approved the pursuit of logo T-shirts once again since it was noted that this issue had lain dormant for a long time. The club reaffirmed its original commitment to the project. Since there had been an appreciable delay in obtaining a spot for the proposed bike fleet, the club decided to separate, if necessary, the order for the bike-specific tools from the fleet bid process. That would facilitate at least having the needed bike tools whether or not the fleet ever got purchased. The consensus of the members was that the fleet would have an indoor “home’ or it would not be purchased since the weather would destroy a sizeable investment of club monies.
September brought our first journey to the Erie and Ohio Towpath Trail and also a business meeting that rekindled the purchase of the bike and trike fleet. Movement had finally been gained on providing a shelter for the fleet. The SWOG scooters were already at home on Sherman/D-2. The situation regarding the bikes is working toward a happy resolution. The rider satisfaction survey process, it was noted, is also coming and the members were encouraged to fill out the thing when they get it at the close of the riding season in October. The rosters of both the RSCC and SWOG, at this time had 20 persons, but only 13 were active participants.
October 12th was a salutary day in RSCC and SWOG history in 2001. The club received word of the approval of a fleet room in the Members Lounge and the members then approved the purchase of the 10 bikes, 3 trikes and the tool kit that had been “hanging fire’ for months. The bids received were reviewed and the RSCC awarded A & B Hobbies and Cycles of Sandusky, Ohio, the contract for purchase of the bike fleet as described on the sheets. This was then submitted to the ROC for authorization and the dealer notified of the club´s decision. All the other bidding dealers were thanked, in writing, for having participated in the bidding process. Cost for the bike fleet was $5,288.
December came with the anticipation of the receipt of the bike fleet. There were many delays during the month as Raleigh Corporation took some time getting the 10 cruisers and the Trailmate adult trikes. The tools from Park Corporation are, similarly, on back order. Anticipated delivery, according to A & B is early in January 2002. Lance and John will arrange for a pick up crew and an OVH truck to pick up the fleet. The RSCC met to discuss the notion of developing a whole house flier advertising the pending availability of the fleet. Lance presented to the members the progress on obtaining a vendor to make logos for the vehicles to placard the units according to the club´s prior commitments.
January 16, 2002 brought the bike/trike fleet to OVH. Members turned out to assist Ray Neil and Lance in off loading the OVH stake truck and taking the bikes and trikes to Sherman/D-2 for their “waxing party’ and the fixing of the baskets to the units. The 28th brought about a business meeting and the waxing party to give all the bikes at least one coat of protection before spring. Information was shared about the progress on the T-shirts and logos. Discussions began about the Hulk Round up to come (the gathering up and disposing of all old bikes about campus), and about a maintenance regimen to service the fleet. The Ride 2002 was discussed based on the last Rider Survey.
January work brought about the submission to the RSCC and SWOG members of the proposed schedule. This included one new venue, the Holmes County Trail that runs from Killbuck to Millersburg to Holmesville in that county. Some spirited discussion arouse about the schedule at a business meeting on the 14th of February due to the first ride in the county! Members remembered the hills!
That business meeting on 14 February dealt with important issues concerning the future shape of the clubs since the members now controlled a substantial fleet of expensive vehicles. Members took formal action to approve the purchase of reflective and durable logos for all vehicles, the purchase of additional numbers, keys, fobs and other hardware to secure the vehicles in the fleet room, and the establishment of a rotating schedule of maintenance checks on the fleet. A “tag out’ system was discussed and volunteers solicited to regularly inspect the units. The Ride 2002 schedule was set with agreement to go to Holmes County despite the complaints of some older members about hills and gravel roads. The type and numbers of T-shirts to be ordered were set by group consensus, and Lance proceeded with the paperwork and the bid sheets to obtain them. The Hulk Round up was discussed and the members decided to support it with their own labors and time. Lance worked out details with the administration. Finally, the members agreed to ride the bike and trike fleet as well as the SWOG scooters on the inaugural Clyde-to-Fremont Ride as a shakedown cruise on the new units. It was felt necessary to proof-test the units before advertising or making them available to the general membership.
The RSCC made its annual pilgrimage to the Fremont Schwinn Cyclery and to Whitey´s Diner in Fremont during its sale in the last week of February and the first week of March 2002. Work started on the solicitation of bids for a small air compressor for the use of the club and the general membership of the Dom. This was to facilitate the filling of the 33 fleet tires now owned by the club as well as members´ bikes and scooters as well as those owned by Dom members. Fittings were also acquired from local vendors for a railing made of galvanized pipe for the securing of the bike fleet bikes in the Bike Fleet Room at Members Lounge. Hardware odds and ends were also purchased to affix the logo placards on the scooters and the bikes and trikes owned by the clubs. These logos were installed on all the vehicles as identifying badges along with a memoriam to William and Betty Weller, from whose estate the bequests came to the clubs.
April began the 2002 cycling season with 28 people on the mailing list, a significant increase in interested persons. It was expected, however, that this list would decrease in actual effect. Still, many more people began to take interest in the clubs once the word of the bike and trike fleet was let out. This was done, as a part of the annual mandatory Domiciliary in-service of all residents by the staff. Lance took the opportunity to have a fleet bike and trike at the in-service for all to see. An overview of the User Contract was shared with the whole Dom at that meeting, and the members were encouraged to borrow the bikes, trikes and scooters as well as to go with the club on its rides.
The first actual ride was the shakedown cruise of the whole bike fleet on the North Coast Inland Trail between Clyde and Fremont. Several maintenance and mechanical problems were encountered and the dealer called to come and service the defective units. This was done by A & B Hobbies and Cycles with dispatch.
A second ride to the University Parks Trail and to Wildwood Metropark in Toledo followed in the month of April. 18 people originally signed on for the trip, but only 11 made the Rain Date. This was, however, a significant increase in ridership over previous years.
May 2002´s ride in the much-liked Mill Stream Run and Rocky River Cuyahoga County Metroparks was washed away in the cold and wet spring weather. A business meeting replaced the ride with updates to the members about the progress on obtaining the air compressor. Unfortunately, little response has been received on the bid solicitation letters to date, but Lance was pressing the issue with vendors.
Telephone communication with Holmes County Trail officials and the Holmes County Veterans Service Office revealed that much more was going on at the local level, in Holmes County, regarding the clubs´ ride there than was anticipated. It was made clear to the members that this was turning into a “bid deal,’ and a large turnout was hoped for on the August ride. Most members agreed to present themselves for this new ride.
Finally, Lance informed the club that Key Agreements needed to be signed again since the originals had been lost somewhere. Lance asked that all members who have RSCC/SWOG keys come and re-sign the forms for the Police Department. The Hulk Round up was discussed and members committed to the project. Lance will make a Registry for bikes, trikes and scooters prior to the Round Up.
June 2002 arrived with a flurry of club events. Details of the Hulk Round Up, the Air Compressor Bids, and the Holmes County Trail Ride occupied the clubs along with sharing of samples of the Registry. The members agreed to continue with these projects. However, the Slippery Elm Trail Ride took place on the 10th and eleven members participated in the ride. The air compressor purchase was finalized in the van by formal motion and vote of those present. Lance was to make the fiscal and transportation arrangements to secure the air compressor.
July of 2002 arrived with the Hulk Round Up being effected by members and the Registry well towards completion. About ten or so members of the clubs showed up to glean all the lost and unclaimed hulks from the campus and the stairwells of the Dom. About 17 abandoned bikes and trikes were collected, accounted, and cut up and thrown away by members of the clubs. This was followed two days later by a return to Kelley´s Island with the Rec. Therapy Department, and a cook out was enjoyed in the State Park there. 17 members participated in the ride and the cook out. It was a great and relaxed day for the club as well as the club´s largest single turn out. 10 of the fleet units were used in the ride.
A third event occurred in July, as the clubs also went to South Bass Island and its village of Put-In-Bay. 20 members rode with the clubs this day! 15 regular members, however, showed for the event. 11 of the clubs vehicles were borrowed for the event. A lunch was held in the commons of Put-In-Bay, and, as usual, the Miller Boat Line provided the clubs with passage to the island.
July began work, behind the scenes, with several SWOG members. Lance and a small crew began working on development of a safe rider course for scooter operators. This had never been done before for electric scooter owners. David Brick, Tom Cross, David Miller, Tony Rydeberg and Lance began figuring out a course to teach people scooter operation skills. It was modeled on the National Motorcycle Safety Foundation course as well as on the individual experience of these members of SWOG. A curriculum was developed and a certification course and testing procedure established. The core of course developers also agreed to teach the course. It was expected that an initial class might be assembled in the fall to “proof-test’ the concepts. It might be that the Home would utilize this course as a prerequisite to using electric scooters within its buildings and on its grounds.
Finally, July brought the fulfillment of the air compressor project. The 4-gallon oil-less compressor was put into service for the use of members of the Clubs and the Dom during the month. It was initially stored in the Sherman SWOG room and then moved to the bike fleet room. The final draft, too, of the Scooter Certification Course and its Certification Test was approved on 30 July by the SWOG working committee.
August brought about the return to Holmes County. On the 12th, the clubs returned to the hills and valleys of Holmes County. Nearly the whole roster of members went on the ride! The members were met by the Holmes County Commissioners, the Holmes County Trail Board, Members of the Holmes County Veterans Service Office and its Board, and two Legion Posts, one in Holmesville and one in Millersburg. The trail was cinder-covered, but charming. It is only going to become more and more useful as planed improvements are made. The members were treated like kings! The van ride back to OVH was filled with talk instead of occasional snores! All hands agreed that the reception was almost regal and certainly appreciated. Lance sent out a dozen thank-you notes to all the local people involved in the day. It was the least that the clubs could do for such a splendid day.
Kokosing Gap followed in September. This time, the club members rode the trail in reverse, that is, from Danville to Mt. Vernon. The club members stopped at Howard and at Gambier for lunch at the so-called Gambier Station. The railroad locomotive and its caboose had been completely restored and were accessible to members to inspect. Disappointingly, only nine members rode this ride while 12 members were unable to go as they had originally promised. It is hoped that better attendance will grace the close of the Ride 2002 season at the Ohio and Erie Canal towpath Trail and the Castalia Quarry Reserve.