The Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society April 2016, Volume 33, Issue #4
President’s Report John Pringle
I suspect most of our past President’s tummies fomented about mid-month, as mine does, over their monthly task of word-smithing the “President’s Report”. Recalled is Doug McIntyre’s first comment, and I paraphrase, after handing the President’s gavel over to the stalwart, Allan Buium, “Whew, I’m now relieved of having to write those &##$@$& monthly ‘Presidential Reports.’ Interesting. Many enjoy stating our opinions most every day: At the local watering hole with buddies; over breakfast newspaper with partner; on public transit with strangers; with dog-leash in hand at the dog park; on the hiking trail; at public neighbourhood planning meetings, and on and on. But when it comes to a situation, as CCCTS membership has bequeathed to its Presidents, where one has to compose a monthly diatribe of 600 or so words – it really becomes a worrisome chore. Man, isn’t it enough to chair meetings, write agendas, vet minutes, answers queries; do all those “interesting” tasks that make up a President’s role, without having to craft a monthly message? Why does the task initiate, not the grey cells synapsing, but the stomach juices flowing? Ahhh, I just saw what might be the problem as I proofed the second sentence back; the bi-syllabic word “message” caught my eye. Its construction includes the wonderfully sounding adjective “sage”; “a mature venerable man of sound judgement; distinguished for wisdom”. Little wonder we sweat this monthly task. Quite possibly members expect erudition. Yikes. What to do? Once again I fell back on one of our sages Allan Buium, “John, don’t sweat over it. Write what you want, they don’t read us anyway.” Good stuff, Allan. I’ll see what I can get away with.
This month I watched, in part from the side-lines, as keen and motivated new tour leader Bruce Daykin sweated over his Southern Rockies Tour (SRT). His first led tour, our wonderful “West Coast Tour – Victoria to San Francisco” last spring will go down as classic. Great leadership was exhibited, starting with the wonderful routes and exemplary cue sheets down to his laid-back style and his fireside music. Well it turns out the SRT filled up in a few minutes on March 7th, with 10 on the wait list. And this a camping tour. Wonderful news. But Bruce called with grief in his voice, “John. The10 on the wait list really want to go. What can I do?” The “sage” posited, “We can offer a split tour; we have sufficient kitchen/camping gear for two tours.” Al McLean, from far-away New Zealand, offered to lead the second tour. Bruce took on the onerous task of re-booking the campgrounds for a second shift. The extra effort expended on his part was his keen desire not to leave 12 or more committed members at home. Please note: There is yet room for a few more riders. Also, for future reference; he did ask a simple favour (details not required) of the first 24 signups; few “stepped up to the plate”. Remember folks, we’re in this together. This wee lash was prompted by something noted author Marilynne Robinson said recently on CBC’s “Q”; “Sometimes the best thing you can say is the worst thing you can say”. Sage-like? I suspect not.
Members please attend The Spring (Extraordinary )General Meeting on Monday, April 11th at 11:00 am in Sidney, B.C. Location is: 9691 Fourth St. Lunch to follow ($5.00).
Cycle in harmony folks.
Editor’s Messsage
We are now into our second month of the new format of our website. Any major change is bound to have its foibles.
I was having trouble with the email links on my desktop computer running Windows 10. I solved it by going to the Windows 10 Settings and under System selected Default apps. My default email pointed to my default browser. Selecting my preferred email client fixed that for every browser I use.
If you have experienced any problem(s) with certain aspects of the new website and were able to solve it, your solutions would be much appreciated, regardless of platform. You can “sound off” here and your solutions will be posted in the Help section under Home on the website. The link below may provide some more solutions.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-change-the-default-email-program-for-mailto-links/
A big thank you to Cheryl Campbell for leading the Pedal Pushers rides for a decade.
Cheryl’s rides were at a slower more relaxed pace and ideal for those members who were not comfortable riding in traffic. Many new riders started with the Pedal Pushers and as they progressed joined faster groups. Hopefully a new leader will keep up this very important introduction to cycling for those less experienced.
On a sadder note, we lost one of our longtime member (1986) this past Tuesday. Doc (Ronald) Watson died in his sleep. He was 94 years old. More in next month’s Newsbrief.
Hans
Welcome New Members
| Mark Roberts | Campbell River | BC |
| Elly Roberts | Campbell River | BC |
| Gregg Strong | Courtenay | BC |
| Danielle DAmour | Gatineau | Qc |
| Brian Estes | Seattle | WA |
| Brian Oliver | Victoria | BC |
| Karen Schrey | Victoria | BC |
Cycling Across Canada in 2017 – A Call for Interested Club Members
Richard Mathias
2017 is Canada’s 150th birthday. As such there are national plans to celebrate this event, in part by providing some funding (The Canada 150 Fund or TC150F) for a select few activities that best captures the spirit of this celebration. What better way to do this than having a group of seniors cycling across Canada? The CCCTS Board has already agreed to look at a proposal, thus what is now needed is a group of very keen Club cyclists to assist me in putting this proposal together. Simultaneously an application for funding could be drafted and submitted to Canada 150. The CCCTS Board has suggested that a small organizing group be formed with myself as Chair and with John Pringle, replacing Tours Director Bruce Daykin (he’s away cycling for the next eight weeks), as the Board’s representative. What is now required is a few members who’d first, be keenly interested in participating in such an adventure, and secondly to be a member of the Club’s 2017 Cross Canada Tour 0rganizing Committee (C²TOC). However, please don’t let an unwillingness to participate in the ride deter you from joining the planning team; we’d welcome those of you with cross Canada cycling experience.
It should be noted that accessing TC150F funding is not imperative i.e. the monies would likely be small, but by being an official part of the celebrations it would allow us to better contribute to the spirit and mission of the celebration. To this end initial talks have been held with the Trans Canada Trail office. They are keen to support (“This is a great connection and we would very much like to speak to Richard …” [Mathias]) with our TC150F application. Thus I would like to propose that we consider a Cross Canada Trip in 2017 that utilizes the Trans Canada Trail, where feasible, and which explicitly partners with the TCT Trails affiliates for sections of the ride. This is not necessary of course; it will ultimately be up to C²TOC to decide the route, the starting date and other key features of the Tour.
Please contact the undersigned, or John Pringle (knitsui@telus.net ) if you’re interested in taking part in the ride and/or being a member of the planning committee.
Richard Mathias
Pedalling Away the Years Safely
byJill Barker, Special to Montreal Gazette Published on:March 20. 2016
Cycling is a great fit for the over-50 crowd looking for a workout that’s easy on the joints but challenging enough to keep the heart, lungs and legs in great shape. That doesn’t mean older cyclists are naturals on a bike. A study out of the Netherlands reported that cyclists over the age of 55 have more single-sided bike accidents (accidents that involve the cyclist only) than their younger counterparts.
Admittedly, the study was done in the Netherlands where there are more bikes than residents and it’s not uncommon to see cyclists of all ages negotiating the streets of their cities and towns. But with our aging society encouraged to be active, an investigation into the cycling characteristics of older cyclists could help reduce the risk of falls and injury and make cycling safer and more enjoyable as the years add up. Hence the decision by Dutch researchers to take a look at the differences between how older and younger cyclists control their bike when the unexpected happens.
It’s not a mystery that balance is the key to staying upright on a bike, but given the physiological changes that occur with age it’s worth exploring the cycling mechanics of the young and not so young. So while older cyclists are likely to react slower than younger cyclists, there’s little known about whether the loss of muscle and flexibility, that are also a function of age, are a factor in their increased accident risk.
To explore the differences between younger and older cyclists, the Danish researchers created a unique set-up in their lab. The front wheel of a TrekL200 city bike, equipped with a straight handle bar, was positioned on a treadmill with the rear wheel on a set of bike-training rollers. The objective was for the front wheel to have a feel similar to that of road conditions so that the cyclists’ response to changes in speed and equilibrium would elicit as natural as possible a reaction. Thirty subjects, half of which were in their mid-20s and half age 54 to 62, familiarized themselves with the lab set-up before being outfitted with reflective markers as part of a 3D motion capture system.
The study protocol involved cycling at variable but imposed speeds with changes in stability so that steering and other preemptive responses including trunk and lower body movements could be monitored.
Right off the bat the older cyclists had difficulty in the lab setting. They needed more time to become familiar with the set-up and found cycling at lower speeds more challenging than the younger cyclists, which warranted adjustments to the lab protocols for the more mature group. The older cyclists also deviated more often from the prescribed speeds which the researchers suggests is due to an increased difficultly in managing more than one task while on a bike. Younger cyclists demonstrated better proficiency when combining cognitive and physical tasks, a dual role that is key to safe cycling when sharing the road with vehicles and responding to changing road conditions.
Other mechanical differences between those in there 20s and 50s were also noted, including a more outward knee movement and more pronounced changes in steering angles and steering power among the 50-plus cyclists when balance was challenged. As for the younger cyclists, they were more inclined to use their core (increased side-too-side movement in the trunk) to right their bike as compared to the older squad who did so only at certain speeds. This difference in technique implies that age is associated with less flexibility in the core and may also be why older cyclists use their knees and more aggressive steering adjustments to check their balance while on two wheels.
“The results suggest that older adults need more effort to counteract the perturbations (especially at high frequencies) and they rely on different balance strategies compared to young adults,” said the Danish research team.
Not all cyclists approaching their golden years exhibit the same set of cycling behaviours. In fact, there was more variability in the performance of the older group of subjects than in the young adults, which suggests that age-related changes in cycling don’t hit at a one specific time in life and are more pronounced in some than in others.
With these findings in mind, the Danish researchers suggested manufacturers design a bike for the older population with more stability features in order to counteract the balance and control impairments associated with aging. That said, it’s important to keep in mind that despite the change in cycling mechanics that occur as the decades add up, there’s no reason why older cyclists should abandon their bikes in favour of another mode of transportation. The health benefits of cycling far outweigh the risks and in a perfect world, cyclists would never grow too old to climb on their bike and go for a ride.
New Trip Reports
Upcoming Tours
- Walla Walla and Baker City Deluxe
- Italy – Apennines to Adriatic Tour
- 2016 Southern Rockies Tour Note: The original 2016 Southern Rockies Tour sold out. A second tour has been added for July 8th to 20th. Spaces are still available. Sign up now!
- Croatia 2016: As It Used to Be