The Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society December 2016, Volume 33, Issue #12
President’s Report John Pringle
A pitch you can’t resist. A busy time of year it is for the Club’s Board. First, it’s the time of year when Club events (h&s and tours) are being developed: Hence H&S and Tours Directors Charlene Dorward and Bruce Daykin respectively are working with potential leaders to either assist them with event development or “beating the bushes” for prospective event leaders. Once proposals are developed the Board vets each one in an attempt to ensure the proposal is as good as the Club can make it.
A Board annual concern is event numbers being offered. Thirteen (6 h&s and 7 tours) were offered this year, a goodly number: Hopefully there will be a similar offering in 2017; though at this point much work will be required to attain 2016 levels. A constant item on our monthly agendas is ploys to motivate members to offer events. “The cat is out of the bag”, however. We now know, due to Membership Director Jenni Lynnea’s timely questionnaire to each of you, that of the 180 respondents (Thanks so much to all who participated. A great response we had.) ~ 60% of you would “… consider helping (with) or organizing an h&s or tour.” An unexpectedly positive result this is. I now urge you positive responders to take the plunge and get in touch with Charlene (chdorward@telus.net ) or Bruce (bdaykin@gmail.com ). If you’ve been seriously pondering the organizing of an event please now hit the appropriate E-mail address above. If this plea doesn’t motivate you, maybe an offering we’ll present at the AGM will. Don’t miss this mysterious bribe. See you there.
Secondly, is the AGM to be held December 5th. Please, if you’re within a reasonable distance of the South Delta Baptist Church, consider attending. A free lunch (who said “There’s no such thing …”) will be on offer this year; and why free? Another ploy to motivate you as a member to take an interest in the Club’s business/planning side of the organization. It can be a dry topic, but one that is necessary to allow the Club to run in a democratic fashion. And this year it may not be so dry. Bruce and Charlene will give slide shows on the year’s tours and h&s and provide a glimpse at 2017 events. Max will provide an update on Website construction and the changes 2017 will bring. Ed Fudge will be describing a new approach to Club governance that requires your input. Don’t miss it. Come play a role.
Thirdly, it is the time of year when our titular chapters have their own “business” meetings, e.g. Ottawa recently, and, just this week, Comox Valley. I decided to attend the latter in an attempt to better understand the interests and concerns of this group. A wild weather evening it was with much snow on precipitous Mt. Washington, the cornerstone of the Valley. We were directed to the rustic Dove Creek Community Hall northwest of Courtenay. We crossed a one-lane bridge, backed the car to the wavering front porch to avoid the downpour while unloading our host’s (Ed and Barbara Fudge) contributions; smoked chickens, beef brisket and pork shoulder: Tender and delicious they were. The tables were festively decorated with green cedar branchlets on red table cloths. A most pleasant evening it was to be with about 45 Valley members. Elections were held; congratulations to Rob Haigh their new local president. He confirmed a planned attendance at the Club’s AGM, and is prepared to speak. These folks, under the long-time and enthusiastic guidance of Gladys Schmidt, have, for years contributed much to the Club’s success. Interestingly, many of the members we chatted with had recently retired to the Valley. This type of westward movement of fit retirees bodes well for the Club. None of these had ridden on Club events, but seemed keen to participate. One yet thought tours were listed in the Newsbrief. Others found it most difficult to make the cut when registering. A couple felt the Board’s security concerns re the distribution of email addresses most unnecessary. Queries by old-timers on governance structure demonstrated an interest in what any new design might bring to their corner of CCCTS.
Thank you Comox Valley for the warm greeting and hospitality. So pleased to have been able to attend.
Welcome New Members
| 1 | Peter | Brother | Courtenay | BC |
| 2 | Helene | Baxter | Gatineau | QC |
| 3 | Robert | Currie | North Vancouver | BC |
| 4 | Susan | Goulding | Richmond | BC |
| 5 | Rosanne | Coumbis | Rosslea | |
| 6 | Robert | Thien | Vancouver | BC |
| 7 | Patricia | Lee | Vancouver | BC |
| 8 | Joan | Godfrey | Victoria | BC |
Web Site Changes
It has been almost a year now since the club web site changed to the new format. Since then we have continued to work on the site. Most of that work, however has been focused on making it easier for people who add information to the site and probably wasn’t readily visible to the average member. That is about to change.
On December 3rd we will change the security approach of the web site. Currently we are using the security approach inherited from the old web site. Under that approach certain documents were protected (such as this Newsbrief). To access any of those documents you needed to provide a password. There are a number of shortcomings to this approach. You needed to provide a password to each protected document, you could not select a password that you could remember, and the password must change periodically. Most importantly, since the same password is shared by almost 600 people, as a security mechanism it is only slightly better than nothing.
Under the new approach each member will have their own password (so you can pick something that you can remember). Also you won’t need to provide your password for each protected page. You log in to the site once and all protected documents will be available to you. A good portion of the web site will continue to be open to the public so if you just want to see the front page or calendar, for example, then you won’t need to log in. However, under the new approach any document that is currently protected will not be accessible until you log in. Also since this new approach is much more secure it will allow us to take on other important changes such as registration (without Karelo) in the upcoming months. In next month’s Newsbrief we will have another article to go over other changes that you can expect to see on the web site in the future.
So let’s finally try to answer that burning question: How do I log into the web site? If you 
look at almost any page on the web site you will find a large dark bar at the bottom of the page. In that area you will find the “Log In” widget. You know the routine: enter your username or email and password then click on the login button. Your username will always be your first name and last name separated by a period – all in lower case (e.g “john.doe”).
What if I don’t have a password? Everyone who is a member in good standing already has an account on the web site. To create your password use the “Lost Password” at the bottom of the login area. Click on that link and you will be prompted to provide your Username or E-mail. In most cases you can now simply enter your email address and then click on “Get New Password” button. The website will then send you an email that contains a link which you can then click on to either accept the password that they suggest OR you enter a password that you can remember. The site will recommend that you use a fairly strong password. That is not enforced. It is probably more important that you use one that you can remember. Once you have your new password you can now log into the site. I would encourage you to click on the “Remember Me” checkbox and in most cases your computer will remember your credentials for you.
Ok. Sounds simple enough. What could possibly go wrong? Unfortunately there are a few things that can go wrong. The most common problem that we have seen is that the Lost Password email doesn’t show up. In every case of this that we have seen, it has been sent but it can’t be found. So before calling for help, check around in the places you don’t normally look like the “spam” folder (or the “all” folder on Gmail). Look for an email sent by “CCCTS Webmaster”. Another potential problem is an outdated email address. For obvious security reasons, we will not send a password reset email to an email address that is not already in our database. So if you’ve changed your email address and haven’t told us, we will have to get that fixed first. If you have multiple email addresses, make sure that you use the one that you gave to us.
If you still have problem you can call the office for help (604-272-9359), or you can always call me (Max McClanahan 250-661-8199).
Upcoming Tours
- 2017 Portland
- 2017 BC Lakes and Mountains
- 2017 Italy Appenines to Adriatic
- 2017 Ireland – Wild Atlantic Way
Christmas in Victoria
Join your CCCTS Friends for a Dinner & Dance
Place: Cedar Hill Golf Club
1400 Derby Rd.
Wednesday 7 Dec. 2016
Happy Hour 6 PM
Dinner 7 PM Dance 8 PM to ………..
with the Gary Preston Band
Ticket Price $ 45
Tickets go on sale Nov. 1st For tickets contact:
Alex Laird 250 384 8398 email alaird212@gmail.com Rolf Petersen 250 370 6006
A Study Finds Cyclists to Be Six Times Healthier than Other Commuters
Written by: Hilary Angus
It’s no secret that regular exercise is good for your health. Around 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week can boost energy, improve sleep patterns, increase resilience to disease, control weight, and have a significant positive impact on a person’s mental health and overall mood.
When many people consider the health impacts of cycling, they think of the sport-oriented form of cycling that involves long-distance, fast rides and lycra, or at the very least a pair of sneakers and a workout shirt. Casual commuter cycling is better for you than sitting in a car or on the bus, sure, but it can’t be that much better, can it?
A recent study undertaken at Brunel University in London, England, found that English people who regularly commute by bike are four times more likely than other commuters to get the 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week recommended by the World Health Organization. With its focus narrowed to London rather than nationwide, bike commuters were six times more likely to meet the recommended activity guidelines.
Despite wide public acknowledgement of the innumerable benefits of exercise, rates of regular physical activity among adults worldwide still remains staggeringly low. An international survey of 122 countries using three definitions of physical activity estimated that a full 31.1% of adults (aged 15+) are physically inactive. Rates of inactivity are highest in the Americas and the eastern Mediterranean, and tend to increase along with a country’s GDP. Inactivity also increases with age, and is more common in women than men.
While the reasons many adults abstain for exercise are manifold, what is clear is that much more needs to be done at a policy level to encourage physical activity. While the government cannot force its residents to join a gym or a soccer team, they can certainly build the infrastructure that enables people to incorporate activity into their current schedule.
“People are often put off by the thought of being active for 150 minutes a week,” study lead Glenn Stewart told the Standard. “But if this is made part of getting around, it almost becomes hard not to meet the guidelines.”
Stewart’s research provides impetus for greater investment in safe cycling infrastructure and promotion of commuter cycling as a simple, cost-effective solution to a what is becoming a significant public heath issue. “We get stories about the National Health Service (NHS) being financially overburdened every week,” Stewart explained. “Seventy per cent of the NHS budget is spent on long-term conditions and 20 to 40 per cent of all long term conditions can be reduced or ameliorated by physical activity. So physical activity is a very good thing. Cycling and active transportation are very good things.”
While Stewart’s research was limited to England, his findings corroborate a 2011 study undertaken by Thomas Götschi at the University of Zurich. Götsch undertook a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of investment in bicycling in Portland, OR. He determined that, by 2040, investments in the range of $138 to $605 million will result in health care savings of $388 to $594 million (…) and savings in value of statistical lives of $7 to $12 billion.
Stewart also cast aside any notion that potential risks caused by cycling outweighed the potential benefits of the exercise. “Yes, there are risks in terms of collisions and exposure to pollution, but those things statistically are very, very small in comparison with the health benefits that you get from cycling,” adding, “The evidence on pollution is you’re much better off cycling than being in a car.”
As nations worldwide grapple with the obesity epidemic, rapidly rising rates of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, skyrocketing rates of mental health issues, and the 3500 people killed in traffic crashes every day, encouraging regular cycling seems like the least complicated way to begin addressing some very complicated issues.
NEWSBRIEF
Published at least ten times a year by The Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society, a non – profit organization for retired people and others who enjoy recreational cycling. The NEWSBRIEF is available, in colour, to paid up members, on the CCCTS website.
Items for the NEWSBRIEF must be received by the 28th of the month. The Editor reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity and suitability of publication. The views expressed in “NEWSBRIEF” are not necessarily those of the CCCTS or the Editor.
Submissions for NEWSBRIEF may be mailed to J. Klein, Newsbrief Editor, 1421 Wende Road, Victoria, BC V8P 3T6 or emailed.
E-mail: jklein@3web.com or derailler@gmail.com
Please be sure to notify the office of any changes in your personal contact information; be it address, phone or e-mail.