Thursday, October 23, 2014

Cycling Merit Badge 10 mile bike rides AWESOMENESS

DISCLAIMER: This is a long email, and I know not everyone likes that, BUT I want to keep al the information in one place.  Everything here is important to read, especially since I will reference certain things later in the email that I mentioned earlier in the email.  I will continue to work on shortening my emails.

 

I am super excited to remind everyone that we are going to do some bike riding on Saturday, November 1st!  The primary reason for this is to complete the first two, 10 mile bike rides for the Cycling Merit Badge.  If your scout wants to start the badge with me, have him obtain a blue card from Mr. Gedde and give it to me. 

 

**You do not have to do the Cycling MB if you want to go on the ride**  If you, your scout, or your scout's sibling(s) want to go on the ride without going for the badge, that is totally fine, however I do want to make sure we stay with the schedule.  If there is a sibling that is younger than 9 or 10, I'd like to refrain from them going to make sure we keep a good pace.  ADULTS: You'll see later in the email why having a good amount of adults is necessary.  We will have slow groups and fast groups, so if you want to ride but worry you won't keep pace, still sign up, because there will be plenty of scouts that also need to go slow and stop every once and a while.

 

We will meet at the community center at 9am on Saturday and hopefully be back around 2-3pm.  I will have the scouts call when we get close to finishing.  Our trip is as follows:

  • Start at community center and ride to Whitney Community Park (next to Whitney High School)
    • This route will stay near the Stanford Ranch, and Rocklin High School area 
  • Have lunch at Whitney Community Park and hang out a bit to put some time between both rides
  • Leave Whitney Community Park and head back to Community Center
    • This route will stay near the Sunset Blvd. and parts of the Fairway Dr. area

During the ride, if I get enough adults, I will break everyone up into a few groups (each group will have at least 2 adults).  For example, we'll have a fast group, a few middle groups and a slow group.  This is to allow the faster riders to enjoy the ride without tiring out the slower riders too much.  Along both routes, we will also have dedicated stops.  This is so that we can make sure everyone is accounted for, and so a rider can change their riding group if needed.  

 

There are a few items that are required for everyone to have before going on the trip.  Below, I will list the required items and the recommended items.  Any of the recommended items that have a ** next to them, they are highly recommended for maintenance purposes.

 

Required:

  • Sack Lunch 
  • Water (more than one bottle preferred or a full camelback bladder)
  • Helmet
  • Bike (for obvious reasons)
  • First Aid Kit
  • Any medications that need to be taken should be brought by the scout

Recommended:

  • Spare Inner Tube** (check the P.S. section to find out how to identify the size inner tube to get)
  • Tire Irons (2) ** (super cheap, find them at any bike store)
  • Allen wrench/key** (allows for the removal of tires to be able to swap out inner tube)
  • Small bike pump** (allows tire to be pumped up after inner tube is replaced)
  • Extra snacks

I have just created a sign up genius for the event, so click on the link below and sign up!  Also, as far as the recommend items that have ** next to them, the purpose of these items is to be prepared for a flat inner tube.  This is a make or break situation and it will break the trip for anyone that runs into this problem without proper gear.  Other than the spare inner tube, I have the tire irons, pump and allen wrench.  The reason for bringing this is so that if it happens between one of our dedicated stops, the scout with the issue and the adults in that group can fix the issue right away as opposed to having to walk a mile or so to the next dedicated stop.  It is also good to have these items on any ride.  Be prepared.

 

 

PLEASE print and fill out the permission slip attached to this email, fill it out and return it to me by next Thursday if possible or on Saturday the day of.  Everyone needs a permission slip!  Scouts, sibling(s) AND Adults!  If there are any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me at the troop meeting or:

 

(919) 440-3000

 

Alex Didier

ASM Troop 29

Cycling MB Counselor

 

P.S.  If you don't know how to check the size inner tube you, your scout or sibling needs, here's how:

Look on the tire wall itself and look for a something that says:

 

29 X 2.0     or      20 X 1.95    or    700 X 23  ,etc.

 

The first number is the tire size and the second is the tire width.  When you go to purchase an inner tube, you might find it saying something like: fits 1.95-2.25.  This is the range of width that will work.  For example: if your tire says: 26 X 2.05, a inner tube that fits 1.95-2.25 will work, assuming it is also a 26" tube, for the purpose of this example.  These aren't the only sizes, and if you need any further assistance, don't hesitate to contact me or just Google it.  There are hundreds of thousands of sites to help you out!