Time to RE-UP with RBBC! Print out the Form at the back of this Newsletter, and mail it in with your check. Best do it now, before the holidays distract your mind and wipe out your bank account. IN THIS ISSUE: HAPPY HOWL-O-WEEN -Minutes of the October Club Meeting. -A Ride Illinois notice about the “Safe Roads Ammendment.” -Training Notes: the nitty-gritty on rehabbing from a traumatic injury. -The Mechanics’ Corner returns with some history on bicycle computers. -And the “Howl” part? Well, you get a picture of the newest additions to our family appropriately named “Magic.” And why do you get a picture of Magic, you might ask? Because I don’t have anything much of anything else to include in this newsletter. I could write a bunch of filler, I suppose, but Magic is a whole lot more fun and he is appropriate to the season. I have always maintained that it is more fun to read newsletter articles written by the club members and I believe that those articles written by others have been the best that I have published since I became the editor of your newsletter. I have a wonderful submission from Beth Carlson that will appear in the November issue, but that’s it. I have more fun, you have more fun, and everybody is happy. C’mon, folks, it ain’t that hard. Sit down, write an article about anything cycling or RBBC: actually anything at all. Email your article to us at rbbcclinton@gmail.com and we will clean it up and publish it. It is that simple. Include pictures if you can. We all love pictures.

RiverBend Bicycle Club Newsletter

Clinton, Iowa October, 2016

COMING EVENTS Our next regular club meeting will be

Thursday, November 18, 2016 7:00 PM at Happy Joe’s Pizza.

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October 07, 2016

Safe Roads Amendment We’ve received a lot of questions about the proposed “Safe Roads Amendment” and how it may impact funding for bicycling infrastructure. Here’s what we know: The intention of the amendment up for vote this November is to prevent the legislature from sweeping dedicated state transportation dollars into the state’s general revenue fund for other uses. This has been a serious problem in the recent past. There is some concern that bicycle infrastructure and safety education campaigns are not explicitly listed in the amendment language being presented to Illinois voters this Election Day. Bicycling is not alone among facets of current transportation spending that have not been specifically listed. However, we have investigated the omission and its potential impacts on bicycling with the Illinois Department of Transportation, our top legislator ally, and the organization that developed the wording. Each assures us that bicycling falls into the “other transportation” categories in the language – thus keeping the door open for continued state transportation funding for bicycling. Also, the proposed amendment would not affect dedicated federal funds for bicycle infrastructure that are administered by the state. This includes the Transportation Enhancements, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement, Safe Routes to School, and the Recreational Trails Programs. Most new bikeways are funded through these federal sources or city/county dollars, not state money. Definitely, Ride Illinois would have preferred to see bicycling specifically mentioned in the amendment language. This would have completely inoculated against any potential targeted attack on bike infrastructure expenditures coupled with the unlikely scenario of a judicial decision that bicycling does not fall under “other transportation” categories. However, the overall impact of the proposed Safe Roads Amendment is that it should help bicycling by preserving more transportation dollars overall. Ride Illinois and others organizations would then continue to push for more of those dollars to be spent on bicycling infrastructure, programs, and education.

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Riverbend Bicycle Club Meeting October 20, 2016

1) Call to order by President Chad Jensen at 7:00 PM. Present were: Mary Rupp,

John Bonte, Randy Meier, and Annis Bear

7) New Business (discussed 1st ) a. Mary Rupp explained the upcoming 6th Annual Cranksgiving, to be held Saturday, November 12, a Fun scavenger hunt bike ride which leaves from Manning’s Whistle Stop (416 N. 2nd St.) in Clinton at Noon; registration at 11:30 AM (free reg.). Spread the word! b. T-shirts have been ordered (sponsors on back), and donations collected by teams of riders will go to Pantries United, and Brown Bag Ministries for the homeless- the latter only accepts cash, and purchase food from food pantries. Pantries United will take donations of clothing & gloves, hats, etc. as well. c. Bring: bike, back pack or bag, cash to buy some items on the lists given to teams. Prizes for various categories, like 1st team back, etc. d. John Bonte moved, (seconded by Chad and approved) that the club donate one new club jersey and $200 to Cranksgiving.

2) Approved previous minutes 3) Treasurer’s report by Randy was approved

a) $4,320.00 was paid for new jerseys b) $500 for scholarship

4) Mail & Communications a) Discussed 2 notices: $250 dues to Iowa Bicycle Coalition, and $150 Rails to Trails Conservancy. John moved, Chad seconded, that we table both dues until better cash flow.

5) Committee Reports a) RAGBRAI- We had an informal discussion. John Bonte reported that by next

club meeting in Nov., we should discuss some changes we may need to make for next year in regards to bussing. Only one bus went this year.

b) Memberships- Chad reported we received 2 new members 6) Old Business

a) Bicycle lanes down center of 5th Ave. for 3 blocks are painted and being used! The city council voted unanimously for bike lanes, while streets were resurfaced and re-striped, which was no extra cost. And they were done 2 weeks later. Other bike lane connections are to follow—to Clinton High, and on to CCC. However, these lanes will be to the side of roads, as there is parallel parking beyond the downtown, and not angle parking, as in the downtown area. The city is looking at adding bike lanes whenever streets are re-surfaced.

b) Bike “Ride to Hide’s, ” 10 miles each way, from Meyer Park (Rainbow?) in Lyons to Hide’s bar in Camanche along the Clinton-Camanche bike trail, was held Sunday, Oct. 16. It was well attended, and was a beautiful & warm fall day. We had around 10 riders, and enjoyed club camaraderie. Six riders even braved the dark after eating together on the outdoor porch at Candlelight. Chad suggested we try to hold more destination rides which are announced ahead of time. We could post them on our club Facebook page, and send emails to members.

c) New jerseys are available at the Bicycle Station for $60. Two have been sold, along with some on Ragbrai. It was suggested to charge $7.00 for shipping in a flat rate box, so multiple jerseys could be ordered at one time from the club website.

8) Good of the Club a. Mileage Report- Randy Meier 2,947 miles b. Next meeting will be November 17, 7:00 at Happy Joe’s

Randy moved to dismiss, John seconded, 8:15 PM Respectfully submitted by Annis Bear, VP

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TRAINING NOTES --Dave Spitler

Recovery and Resistance Training part II. Last month, we talked about resistance training, what it is and how it can help hold off the infirmities of advancing age. And then we began a discussion of how resistance training can help with recovery from traumatic injury both before and after the event.

Medical science has advanced by leaps and bounds in the past 50 years and many injuries that used to require casting and endless bed rest can now be repaired through surgery. The advantage is that the patient can get up and start moving around in a day or two rather than being forced to lie in bed and waste away for months on end. This means that the rehabilitation period can now be vastly shortened for many injuries. The age and physical conditioning of the patient still plays a roll here. The better shape the patient is in, the better the patient’s internal processes work and the more strength and endurance the patient has, the faster the patient can get through the healing and rehabilitation period and the better chance there is for a full recovery. If the patient’s nutritional practices are good, healing and rehab are accelerated even more. Patients of advanced age who do not exercise and are weakened by age have the most difficulty with the recovery process. It is one of the nasty truths that we all discover as we age that healing just takes longer as we mature through our thirties and into our forties and fifties. In short, it requires strength to recover and become strong once again. As a patient, you either do or do not have that strength. As you recover, the strength you lost can be recovered much more quickly through resistance training. The first question every patient needs to ask every day is what can I accomplish today and how should I go about it? In the first several weeks, the answer is often that resting and eating good food with lots of quality protein and plenty of vegetables are the only things that can be done. But as the healing process gets underway, options begin to present themselves. In the search for things that can be done, Google is our friend. Google rehabilitation from your particular surgery and you will find all sorts of suggestions. A fully stocked gym will not be needed, either: body weight exercises should do the job. As soon as they can be safely done, squats and lunges are pretty much universal for broken bones in both the upper lower body. Basic core exercises can also be done. If the patient cannot get down on the floor to do planks they can be done by leaning on a wall, counter or chair. Just sitting on an exercise ball (Google “Swiss Ball”) can enhance core strength, although steps must be taken to ensure safety. Patients with a lower body injury can do swiss ball rollouts (Google “swiss ball rollout”) beginning with a ball on the bed and working down to the ball on the floor. As soon as it is possible to do them safely, pushups and planks on the floor can be attempted. Eventually, it will be time to go back in the gym and start trying to actually do some serious exercises. None of these things will be pretty at first and you will need someone to help move the weights around and spot you while you flail miserably in the attempt to do things that others do naturally. Hold your head up, use tiny little weights and keep trying. It will all come back in its own good time. The important thing is get back a bit of strength and get the blood pumping again. It is fine to use machines if you aren’t comfortable with free weights, but I encourage you to try to use free weights whenever you can. Stick to the basics: Squats, Lunges, Deadlifts, One Legged exercises, pushups and planks in all their variations. The goal is exercises that bring two or more joints into play. And remember that any exercise done with weights in both hands can be done with a weight in just one hand to increase the core component. Since we are cyclists, cycling trainers are a big part of recovery for us. In fact, the trainer or stationary bicycle is very important. You may need to go to the gym or Y and use a recumbent trainer at first. If your injury is to the upper body, a recumbent trainer is almost mandatory. If your injury is to a leg or ankle, you are going to have to work hard and be patient because your injury will likely not allow you to get your injured limb

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through 360 degrees of the normal pedal stroke for weeks. So you get on the machine and rock the pedals back and forth, trying to get the injured limb to bend just a bit more each time until that glorious day (and it is glorious) when you actually can manage the full 360, not once but over and over and over again. Once you are able to ride your bicycle trainer (or one at the gym) stay with it. Commit yourself to riding an increasing amount of time every day. The benefits of getting into the saddle and working hard can be enormous! Riding a trainer might not be real cycling: nobody pretends that it is. But trainer hours are your best path to the real cycling that you enjoy once your doctor clears you to ride again. Your doctor will probably tell you to take it easy at first. Take that advice seriously: you might find that 20 miles is a piece of cake, but then try 30 too soon and discover that even the best athletes have limits in situations like this. Real distance is a long term goal. If you go to a physical therapist, and I strongly recommend that you do, tell the therapist exactly what you intend to do and ask him or her to sit down with you and help you design your resistance training program. Your physical therapist can recommend specific exercises that you should be doing based on your injury and your state of fitness. Your physical therapist can also discuss limits and things that you should and should not be attempting. Physical therapists are magical people who can often help to get you back to fitness quickly but only if you pay attention and try to do everything that they recommend as they recommend it. However you go about rehabbing an injury, it cannot be said too many times that it is imperative that hard, hard work should always be combined with good food and adequate rest all in the proper proportions. All the rules are still in force: you only lift every other day (although you should be able to ride your trainer almost every day). You eat appropriate foods (mostly quality protein and vegetables: stay away from sugar if possible: sugar does nothing to get you back to fitness) in the appropriate amounts and you rest when you aren’t working out. Your physical therapist will probably recommend stretching and assign some that he or she thinks will help you: do that work like your life depended on it. And never forget that you are a cyclist: you want to get back to riding your bike as soon as possible and that is your most important job until you accomplish your goal. Of course, all of this is said in the hopes that you will never have to rehab from a serious injury or surgery. In that case, train just as hard because you want to stay fit as you age—and you want to be ready in the event that you do have something to rehab from. Let’s stay healthy out there, people. Dave held a USCF Coaching Certificate in the 80’s and 90’s and coached the Louisville Bicycle Club’s Women and Junior Teams.

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The Mechanics’ Corner Bicycle Computers: a bit of history. The first bicycle computers were mechanical, not electronic. The computer attached to the front axel and a stud attached to the front wheel. Every time the wheel went around, the stud engaged a small gear and advanced it one notch with a loud and obnoxious CLICK. There was a readout on the device itself which only the sharpest eye could see from atop the bike, but the rider had to do the math to know how many miles had elapsed on the ride because these computers only kept accumulated mileage and did not reset. When they died, the mechanical computer was thrown away and another one installed. And then, the electronic computer was released on the cycling world. The first ones were large (huge, actually) and used a lot of batteries. Some tried adding a small solar panel to make the batteries last longer, but the first electronic bicycle computers used a lot of batteries. These huge computers used a cable to connect to the pickup on the front fork that read the rotation of a magnet attached to a spoke to figure out how far the bike had gone and how fast it was travelling. These computers were not much more reliable than their mechanical predecessors, although they lasted a bit longer, but they gave the rider his current speed, average speed and mileage on the fly as well as keeping the total mileage. These first electronic bike computers could be shut down during stops during the ride if the rider desired, and this lead to controversy about whether cyclists should be turned off during stops to get an accurate average mph for the ride or leave them running so the mph reflected the actual average stops and all. Eventually, these electronic computers grew smaller and better until the present day when they offer a wide variety of information to their owners. In fact, the newest generation of bicycle computers offer such a wide variety of features that the new cyclist often gets confuse about what he or she should buy and how much information is needed. Of course all of this technology comes with a price and that becomes a factor as well. And some of these features can be useful but some features are just bogus in that they provide lots of data completely devoid of any useful information at all. So if you are a new cyclist, and you are just getting outfitted, what do you do? Do you blow most of a paycheck on the latest and greatest, or do you start with something basic and then slowly move up to something better as you gain experience? And what is a basic bicycle computer, anyway? What are the features that the first year cyclist actually needs. If you are an experienced cyclist, what do you recommend to your less experienced friends? Do you tell them to go all out or get something with fewer features that will still get the job done? Or, do you feel that every cyclist needs lots of information and spending big bucks is the only way to get it? During the next couple of Mechanics’ Corner columns, we are going to try to shed some light on these questions. We will go over the features and their associated benefits in an attempt to discover which ones are must haves and which ones are more in the “gee-whiz, I want that” category. Have you ever disagreed with stuff in a column like this and thought “Gee, I wish they would ask me about that?” Do you have strongly held opinions on this particular subject? Now is your chance! To get involved in this conversation, send an email to us.at rbbcclinton@gmail.com and let us know what you think. You can help make this subject a lot more interesting by helping to turn this into a real conversation.

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TAKE A LOOK AT THE NEWEST JERSEY IN TOWN! The new club jerseys are currently at The Bicycle Station and may be purchased there. Remote members can order jerseys by using the handy order form below. How much: These jerseys will sell to club members for $60, the same as the old jersey.

Details: This jersey is the Primal Club Cut just like the RAGBRAI jerseys. If you know your size in the RAGBRAI jerseys, you know your size in this new club jersey.

THIS LOT OF JERSEYS WILL BE COLLECTORS’ ITEMS, so get yours now! Careful examination revealed that on the back of the jersey, “Clinton” is spelled correctly while “Fulton” is misspelled as “Folton” Primal has apologized for this error and offered our club a lower price on a future order, on which the error will be corrected. This means that the “Folton” jerseys will only be available for a limited time, so if you want a genuine “Folton” RBBC club jersey, NOW is the time to get yours before they are gone.

CLUB JERSEY ORDER FORM. Get Yourself one of those spiffy new club jerseys. If you can’t get to The Bicycle Station to pick yours up, print handy form below, fill it out and send it in along with a check for the number of jerseys you have ordered plus $5.00 per order for shipping. The address is: RBBC/RAGBRAI PO BOX 1571, CLINTON IA 52733-1571. Name: ______________________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________ City:___________________________State:_______________ Zip:____________ SIZE/PRICE XS-$60 S-$60 M-$60 L-$60 XL-$60 TOTAL

#ORDERED

Shipping

$7.00 per order

Grand Total

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It is time to renew your club membership for 2017!

Ways to contact the Riverbend Bicycle Club. You can look at the contact listing and contact individual members of the Leadership Team or you can contact us through any of the following:

RBBC/membership, PO Box 1571, Clinton, IA 52733-1571 Address questions toinfo@rbbcclinton.com

Or see our websitewww.rbbcclinton.com or

RIVERBEND BICYCLE CLUB MEMBERSHIP FORM FOR 2017

Yearly membership from January 1 through December 31 Full name: ____________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________ City: ________________________ State: ____________ Zip: _________

E-mail address: ____________________________________________ Your email address is important to us, if you have one please enter it. We DO NOT share any information. You will receive emails from RBBC for club use only. Phone number: (_____). ______. _______ Please list additional family members for family memberships: _____________________ ________________________________________________________________________ I and any family members listed above understand that the RiverBend Bicycle Club, its officers, and activity leaders are not insurers of my personal safety. I understand that bicycle riding has personal risk and I thus release them from any and all liability arising from any personal injury, property damage, loss or inconvenience resulting from participating in RiverBend Bicycle Club activities or rides. ALL CYCLISTS RIDE AT THEIR OWN RISK AND ARE ADVISED TO WEAR A CERTIFIED HELMET! Signature: _______________________________________ Date: ____________________ Signature: _______________________________________ Date: ____________________ (Signature of parent or guardian is required if primary member is under 18) Please check: Yes____ I do want to be included in the membership directory. No ____ I do not want to be included. Yes____ I am a member of the League of American Bicyclists. No ____ I am not a member. Single yearly membership: $15.00 Family yearly membership: $20.00 Total amount: __________________________ Please make checks to RBBC and mail to:RBBC/membership, PO Box 1571, Clinton, IA 52733-1571

Please do not use PayPal for renewing your club memberships. Be sure to include this signed release waiver

with your mailed check.

RiverBend Bicycle Club Contacts President: Chad Jensen, bicyclestation218@gmail.com 563.242.1712 (Days) Vice President: Annis Bear, webears@netins.net, 563.357.4579 Communication: Mary Bertrand, mebertrand@hotmail.com Treasurer: Randy Meier, rmeier563@gmail.com 563.357.5755 Secretary: Newsletter Editor: David Spitler, davespitler@gmail.com 502.931.4656 Membership: Joe Raaymaker, raaymakers170@gmail.com 563.249-0312 RAGBRAI Coordinator: John Bonte, j.bonte@mchsi.com 563.242.4470 Ride Coordinator: Or contact any of the club leaders through our web site; info@rbbcclintoncom