president's message - the Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey

13Most members join BTCNJ for the day rides or multi-day tours. If youthink about it, “rides make the club go ‘round.” However, without rideleaders, there are no rides – and no club. We now have over 1,500members. And even though we have many dedicated ride leaderswe need more volunteers to keep up with the growth of the club.I started leading rides three years ago. I enjoy the social aspects ofriding and showing riders parts of New Jersey they haven’t seenbefore. On tours of far western New Jersey I often hear the comment,“Are you sure we are still in New Jersey?” It also feels good to hear“thank you” after a ride and know that I helped involve newer ridersWANTED - RIDE LEADERSAfter speaking with two of our experienced ride leaders I thought itwas time to interview one of our new leaders, Sharon Hurwich. Sharon’sfirst day of ride leading, and coincidentally one of her best rides,was the 2011 Bergen County Bike Tour. “I enjoy teaching new ridershow to ride safely and courteously. It’s just fun to share my love ofbiking with other people.” After that experience, Sharon started toco-lead rides. Now she is creating a ride of her own, Tour de Montclair,so she can, “show off the sites of my hometown. I am lookingforward to planning the route. I think it will be fun to ride with myBTCNJ pals and show them my home town and some of my favoriteplaces, as well as the celebrity homes in Montclair.”The leaders I interviewed:• All experience an enthusiasm and excitement forriding, which they want to share with others.• Clearly enjoy the social side of biking.• Find satisfaction from the gratitude they get fromthose on their rides.• Enjoy the freedom to lead a ride when and wherethey want.• Enjoy developing new routes. Since not everyonemay want to develop their own routes, there is a cuesheet library on the BTCNJ website that can do this foryou.in a sport I enjoy. I decided to ask a few other leaders what they getout of leading, in hopes that some of you will feel ready to give it atry.First, I spoke with Ted Semegran who has led C* rides for the pastnine years. Ted’s rides, such as the Katz’s Deli Ride, the Hudson Loop,and the Jersey Shore Ride are a magnet for many BTCNJers. WhenTed first joined the club, he went on many rides led by Joel Seidensteinthrough the streets of New York City, as well as much of NewJersey. Joel was a bit of a tour guide, giving the background on sitesthe group visited. After Joel moved on to other activities, Ted, bittenby the ride leader bug, developed cue sheets for Joel’s rides anddeveloped a few new rides of his own.When asked why he leads rides Ted responded, “I get to do only therides I enjoy and I get a kick out of meeting new club members.” Tedis noted for the social aspects of his rides. Riders stop for lunch andget to know each other. Laughingly, Ted says that by leading a fewrides a week, “I get to eat more and especially good places.” AmongTed’s best days riding have been his multi-day tours of Canada andFlorida. “The seven mile bridge across the Florida Keys is a real kick.”I hope you will want to give ride leading a try. Here area few resources to get you started:• On Sunday, July 22nd from 4:00 to 6:00PM we will hold a NewRide Leaders Workshop. We will cover tips on ride leading, howto use the BTCNJ website to enter a ride (a bit daunting at first –but easy after you have done it once). Contact Don and CarmelaSchaller at schacd@optonline.net or 201-327-4047 for moredetails.• Kevin Gately wrote an excellent on the how to of ride leadingfor the March 2012 edition of Masterlink (available on the BTCNJwebsite – go to Masterlink Archives or click link in prior line).• Ask a ride leader if you can co-lead a ride with them. This is agreat way to get a feel of what it is to lead a ride.Finally, thanks to Ted, Ralph and Sharon (and all of our leaders) fortheir time and enthusiasm.-Don SchallerNext I spoke to Ralph Pantuso, a B ride leader with twenty years ofexperience. “When I first joined BTCNJ I lived in Hackensack andthere were always plenty of club rides nearby. I moved to Mahwahand the only way to avoid driving to the start site was to lead ridesfrom Mahwah or Ramsey, so I started to lead rides.” In addition tohaving the freedom of time and start site, Ralph said, “There is asatisfaction when someone tells me what a wonderful ride it was.I’ve also found when leading a particularly challenging ride or a ridethrough a remote area that people were extra glad that someonewas able to help them finish.”