Survey #1 Comments (April 1996) Dick Blaine 5/1/96 Some comments have been Paraphrased Ennn is entry number Qnnn is question number E002: Injured on a LDTR. Did not warm up/cool down. A rider trying to be a B/C. Injured after 4 weekend rides - PLEASE TEACH SOME WARM UP. Caught cold after 1 1/2 hour sit down lunch in A/C restaurant. Lunch was too long and expensive. Otherwise, I love the club. E003: Several surveys have shown that members want to primarily ride bikes together with other people. Concentrate on that - forget the other b___ s----. Q5- No interest in meetings. Q16- Lunch should be a noontime. Q17-Not if we lose money. E004: The Sequoia is the best ride in the community no matter what distance you choose1-Alternate between road & mountain bike. Milage varies between spring & summer based on work schedule. Q3-Marked B & C. E006: Now lives in Massachusetts - hope to work the Sequoia in '97. Answered as if still in area. E009: Sequoia does not have to avoid coast for 100Mi & 200 Km. Just the 100K, to avoid being a killer century. Agrees with varying the route each year. E010: Sequoia is best in terms of spectacular scenery, good food and overall organization. Ranks with Davis and Death Ride as one of the phenomena that make CA one of the premier cycling regions. E012: 100K should be less difficult - rest - same. Yes, would ride 100K that does not go to coast. Lunch: 100mi and 200km needs to be prior to middle of route; rest in middle. Food in past was too fancy and expensive. E014: "Singles" rides should be more social and "B". Would attract more riders. Hard rides scare away more riders; we get the hard core but many recreational riders stay away. Got dropped on ride because of lack of map. E015: Q17 - make food a little simpler. Q12 - 100K should be easier. 100M & 200K should remain difficult. Scott & Hildy did an excellent job with the Sequoia but they did make a few mistakes which should be avoided in the future. 1) Changed route every year which caused much extra work & planning. Although the same ride every year would get boring, alternating 2 to 4 routes wouldn't. 2) They had no route for people who weren't trying for new "personal bests." An easier 100K would solve that. 3) They did too much themselves and trained nobody to take over when they quit. These two are related. 4) They ignored past experience (does anyone even know where the blue books are anymore?) which meant everything had to be learned from scratch making the effort bigger and leaving little experience behind when they quit. Signed by member of Sequoia Committee. E017: Q11 (1997 Sequoia) - not for me - too hard. Q15: Yes but with changes to make it profitable. Q17 (food) - If you provide food, make it enough so last riders can eat! E018: Q7 (Volunteer) - It's time for younger members to carry much of the load. Q10 (Work the Sequoia) I did extensively in the past. Younger members need to now take over. Q12 (difficulty) - should be routes for all levels. Q13 (Route to coast) - Not the only way [to reduce difficulty]. Q14 (Profit) - profit used to be obscene. Q18 (Sponsors) - Yes but not advertise on T-shirts. I won't wear shirts covered with ads! E023: Q2 - (#rides) injured last year. Q4 (Club meetings) - Used to attend regularly but now have conflict with REBAL meetings. Q12 (Difficulty) - Less difficult - in response to complaints from riders. Q17 - Good food is part of the attraction. Q18 (Solicit sponsors) - yes if you can get the volunteers to do the soliciting - a big if! E024: Q5 - Would like to see weekend "workshops" on riding techniques. Q15 (Break even) - yes if you can get the volunteers support. E028: Moved out of the Bay Area 5 years ago - good luck; I feel nostalgic reading the FT and hearing about the demise of Sequoia. E029: WW is a fine organization. Bike safety is not discussed at club meetings. Suggest that each accident be reported and discussed - with analysis of how the accident could be prevented. E031: Q16 (Lunch) near end for 30-63 Mi; middle for 100&120Mi E032: You can do easier century and still go to the coast. Old route - up 9, North on Skyline, down 84, Haskins Hill, Pescadero, Cloverdale loop, Stage, Tunitas, down Kings is around 7500 Ft, much less than 10.5K of recent routes. E033: If the Sequoia does not break even, raise the entry fee and/or scale back the number of routes offered. E034: Usually do not do club rides but the Sequoia & occasional other rides have been enjoyable. Good luck on '97 Sequoia. I may be able to work on route markings as I did a couple of years ago. E035: Q18 - (Sponsors) - Offer food vendors booth locations, at a price, to sell their products. E037: Involve club members in community bicycle safety education and bicycling club P.E. activities in Jr. High and High Schools. Back to our routes! E034: I would not like to see dues increased. Q5 (topics) - does not like club business discussions. E040: Need less strenuous beer rides. Q5 - Maintenance/repair classes (clinics), weekend camping tours. Q6 - enjoys beer/coffee/activity related rides. How about a semi-annual bike clinic or classes & bike repair/maintenance tips? Q13 - I don't do centuries. E043: Q16 (Where lunch) - End except at 60-80 miles for Mr. Bill's or sandwiches, etc. E044: Sequoia questions are confusing. Only those persons who are familiar with, or are interested in Sequoia's should answer Sequoia questions. E046: Would like to see more singles rides. E051: New Member. More "A" rides? Are teens allowed on any ride? More family A/B rides? Is there hope for an out-of-shape former cyclist to begin riding from the basics in this club? Can WW help us turn into Dominant Female E riders/bikeaholics? Do you really have new member mentors? E052: [Membership list is needed to coordinate rides (especially reoccurring rides)] E054: How about improvements to the FT? More 2ds - OK if it support a bigger, more reformstive [?] format. E058: Q16 (Lunch) Middle of 100M and 200K; end of shorter rides. - - I would be more interested in participating in the club if it concentrated on its historical fundamentals: 1) rides & tours (still great) 2) social (not so great) 3) NOT bicycle activism (not so great) 4) Great monthly programs (spotty lately). I have been a member since 1977 and believe that the above values are what WW is about. E060: Q7 Is there really a mentor for new riders? - -Was member for year or so before riding my first ride in 7/95. Too long for a beginner. Shy. Went on 20 mi "A" ride in 7/95. People were great. Ride was poor. I was exhausted. Now I see rides for beginners. Yeah! I'm involved in the LDTSG (B) and love it. I/m getting exercise, seeing areas never seen by me, and making new friends. The people, especially leaders, have been supportive and friendly. I hope to slowly increase my involvement. E062: Q12 (difficulty) Offer same & less difficult. Q13 (Route) - NO, too many hills. - - "Hilliness rating" is confusing for me & probably for many people who are new to bicycling. The old system seemed easier to me. ... big difference bwt 900 & 1700 ft for someone just conquering a fear of hills. We used to lead some "B" rides, but thought many of the riders were inconsiderate. They'd take off/leave/go back/etc. with no notice. They complained "too fast", "too slow", "why are you turning here?", "didn't you mean to take that other street?", etc. So we don't lead anymore. E063: Q17 - YOu can go more back to basics E064: Q5 - All are fine, depending on presentation. Q7 - Other - editing, maybe. Q15 - Every 2 years.. Q16 - 100K, 50 MI - End; 100Mi - Middle. Q17 - It should be excellent. ORGANIZATION OF THE SEQUOIA [highly paraphrased]: three loops from Foothill College. Possibly to Woodside, La Honda and Boulder Creek, of, say 35, 55 and 75 miles. A rider would do one or two loops having a choice of 35, 55, 75, 90, 110 and 130 mi. Lunch at Foothill - mid-morning in La Honda and Boulder Creek. Woodside also for novices, slow riders and families. Lunch should be first-class. 75 mile loop would be used only in the AM - should down by 2PM. Nothing wrong with having the event every tow years. E066: Q13 misrepresents the facts. Many of the toughest rides recently haven't gone to the coast. Many of the coast rides were easier than the last few years routes. E067: Purpose of club rides is to (1)promote vigorous exercise and, (2) facilitate social interaction. To maintain the latter, we need to ride together. The club has devised different schemes to do this, with mixed results, mainly because some riders exceed the speed categories. The solution is reasonably frequent re-groups. SEQUOIA needs to cater to a variety of skill levels. In the recent past, route planning has been done by very strong riders and resulted in a very difficult event. I recommend that the route selection committee be formed as follows: Mr Bill's: E and F riders; 200K" D riders; 100 Mi: C riders; 100K B & C riders; Short rides: A & B riders. E069: Sequoia should be a revenue producing event. This is easy to do, just ? someone with business acumen to be allowed input... E074: Q7 - Other: Major Taylor Cycling Club E076: Q12 - Start near coast or Half Moon or Skyline. E078: I would not ride the Sequoia only because I ride these roads all year long. Therefore, I work the Sequoia. ...new jerseys for 1997 and sell them. E079: Q13 - Could we start and end on the coast side? If the Sequoia does not make a profit (i.e. break even), it would seem that club needs to increase dues so that more than newsletter production and mailing is covered. Having a thousand members is no advantage if we can't cover our expenses. E080: Q7 re cleanup - On occasional NOT standing basis. Q16 0 midday. For a 30 mi short version, then end. for a long version, the middle. Q 15 & 16 are deep questions that address what one feels the purpose of the club should be. My sole reason for joining was to have additional access/information about local cycling and for possible company riding . In 3 years ... 1 WW ride. I am not heavily motivated to "contribute". If WW collapses from lack of internal motivation/interest, ... natural selection. I enjoy the Sequoia as challenging centuries. I do not feel that the club should break itself putting on a money-losing century and making charitable contributions. .. so cut the charity! Look for ways (like sponsorship) to cut costs - charge for special activities rather than finance them. If we can't break even on the centuries, I say we terminate the club and split assets among members. E084: Q5 - Like them all in moderation. Q12 - About the same or slightly less difficult. Q17 - Slightly less elegant would still be appealing. E087&E088: Q18 - More riders leads to more revenue leads to less out of pocket costs; i.e., sponsor for the meals. Get bike shops, manufacturer to sponsor food and drink vendors (gatoraid, PowerBars, etc.) E089: Q9&10 New member - would love to ride Sequoia and work in gratitude for lots of fun club rides. Q18 - Why not? All the other rides do, and this commercialism doesn't seem too offensive. Though I only have time to ride with WW once a month or so, and WW isn't a major social outlet for me, I am EXTREMELY glad that WW exists: I've learned lots of new routes, ... fun rides, ... solidarity. Wish I could ride Sequoia (injuries prevented). Glad to work it - hope to ride. Look forward monthly to the FT. E-mail list is not replacement for the paper version of the ride list on the refrigerator! E093: Q7 (Other) - picnic or solicit sponsors for sequoia. E095: Q1 varies by seasons. Q12 - Don't like to ride in large groups [I] Like the LDTR. Presume when I retire in 3-4 years will ride on week day rides. E099: Q11 If we decide we really care, not just because we've always done it. Q10-Q18 - I may be biased [in my answers]; I was on the Sequoia committee the last few years. E102: I belong to WW so that when bicycling issues come up with local governments you can say WW represents [900] members. E103: Thanks to one ride leader for helping with first few rides. He waited for me, gave me guidance. E104: WW should not try to regulate which rides the members are allowed to lead. The rides should all compete for riders, and the best ride will win out. Lasser-faire. It's the American way, and will produce the best selection of rides. E015: Q4&Q5 - 9-Club business. Q16 - depends on the route. E108 Only go on weekends/weekday rides. Not especially interested in Sequoia.. May be important for other members. E109&110: Q6(Holiday party) Yes, when it was weekend & pot luck. Q7(Other) - bike advocacy. Q14 give profits to bike advocacy organizations not social. Q15, 16, 17 - This should be left up to the organizers. They are volunteers so let them choose. Club should start working on advocacy. One of us has largely given up on leading rides because she is tired of being dropped by those who refuse to stop at announced meeting points, by those who choose to go faster than advertised or those who go faster than the leader. There is no formal ride category for those who go slowly downhill and describing that in the writeup still doesn't keep others from dropping the leader. It isn't just the leader's responsibility to keep the pace as advertised. It is all member's responsibility. E115: ... Sequoia could be scaled down & not as difficult as in past & still be fun & challenging. The food could also be simpler & less expensive.