Here are answers to questions commonly asked by ride leaders:
You can print waiver forms in PDF format. Minors need to have their parent or guardian sign a parental consent form. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to read these files. A free download is available of Acrobat Reader.
Liability waivers can also be obtained from the Insurance Coordinator (currently, Don Blake, 1 Gleason Road, Bedford, MA. 01730).
These should be mailed to the Insurance Coordinator (currently, Don Blake, 1 Gleason Road, Bedford, MA. 01730).
Consult the Ride Arrow Design page.
The best paint to buy is called "upside-down (or inverted) marking paint". You should be able to find it at any large hardware store, such as Home Depot or Lowes.
This will vary depending on the type and size of the arrow and the number of turns on your route. Typically, you can arrow 15-20 miles with one can of paint.
No, you can just draw the arrow "free-hand".
If total expenses are under $25, you can email the amount to the club treasurer (currently, Don Blake) for reimbursement; receipts are not needed below $25. For amount of $25 and up, submit receipts to the club treasurer (currently, Don Blake, 1 Gleason Road, Bedford, MA. 01730). You can list expenses using the form contained in the ride leader packet or just write them up. Please try to submit expenses promptly; the limit on reimbursement is 12 months from the ride date.
Summer rides should start at 9:30 for the long ride and 10:00 for the short ride. This can be altered slightly depending on the season and proximity of the lunch stop. In the colder months of October and November, 10:00 is a better time. Winter rides should start at 10:30.
Plan at least two routes -- a short ride of 25-30 miles and a long ride of 50-60 miles.
There is no requirement for a leader to provide a sweep for weekend rides.
Contact the the VP of Rides or any Rides Committee member. Contact information can be found on the contacts page.
If a person develops a route, makes a cue sheet, maps, arrows, and leads a ride, that person will be considered the "owner" of the ride. Other people should not lead that ride without the owner's permission, and permission may be granted temporarily or permanently. However, if the owner can't or doesn't want to lead their ride or grant temporary permission, they can't continue to claim ownership; the ride becomes available for anyone to lead. Cue sheets in the Rides Repository that are not identified with an owner are considered available for anyone to lead.
CRW policy is to arrow all Sunday rides from May 1 through October 31. Arrowing is encouraged for Sunday rides in April and November, but not required because of cold weather, lower participation, sand in April, and leaves in November. Leaders are also encouraged to arrow Saturday rides during the warm months and advertise them arrowed in WheelPeople and the website in order to encourage more participation in Saturday rides. If you list a ride as arrowed in your WheelPeople description, you must arrow it!
Ride information can be entered online, and should be whenever possible. The information will be available immediately on the web site, and used for the appropriate issue of WheelPeople. Contact Saturday or Sunday Ride Coordinator for information on how to do this. Alternatively, ride information can be emailed to the coordinators above, or you can contact them by phone if unable to do that (see the contacts page).
To be published in WheelPeople, the ride information must be available online or received by the appropriate coordinator by the first day of the month preceding the ride date (so for a July ride, you must get the ride description in by June 1).
It is easiest to do in MS Excel or another spreadsheet. There is a template cue sheet and an example cue sheet you can use.
The number of riders you will get will of course vary based on the weather. Rides on nice Sundays in June can attract 150 or more riders. This number usually goes down a bit in July and August and is probably around 70-80 max during the other months of the season. Saturday rides typically attract fewer riders, but again, will vary based on the ride and the weather. Some Saturday rides in April can get 70-80 riders. If you have no idea how many cue sheets to print, contact a member of the Rides committee for advice.
The Ride Leader Guidelines and other documents, such as this FAQ can be found on this site, currently under the Resources -> Ride Leader Resources link. You can always ask questions of any Rides Committee member as well (if you don't know who they are, see contacts page.
If you are at the scene, you should do as any by-stander would and call for necessary help, as needed. Any injuries should be reported to the CRW Safety Coordinator, currently Bob Zogg. See the contacts page.
Contact Ken Hablow. Allow a week for delivery. Or you can download a PDF version and print them.
Post-ride parties are encouraged. Typically, these are simple affairs with soft drinks, chips, cookies, an so on. Some leaders have small BBQs with hot dogs and hamburgers. All parties are expected to be self-funding. Leaders should spend modestly and do as much of the purchasing as possible last-minute when you have a better idea of the weather for that day. Contributions should be collected from attendees, typically with a helmet that has a small sign affixed, stating its purpose. Leaders might even want to indicate a suggested contribution amount. If expenses aren't covered by contributions, leaders can submit receipts for reimbursement; the club will cover up to $50.