Our volunteers are the heart of CRW, making it possible to offer the diverse rides and events that bring our cycling community together. Your dedication and enthusiasm help make CRW one of New England's premier cycling organizations.

Safety First

• Follow all safety protocols and club policies
• Ensure all participants are registered and wearing helmets
• Report any incidents promptly

Code of Conduct

• Act as a club ambassador
• Create a welcoming environment for all
• Treat everyone with dignity and respect
• Follow club policies and applicable laws

Getting Started

• Complete any required training for your role
• Familiarize yourself with relevant procedures
• Use official CRW channels for communication
• Direct questions to your committee chair or board@crw.org

Financial Guidelines

• Get approval before spending:
  • Up to $50: Program Coordinator
  • $51-$250: EVP/VP of Rides
  • $251-500: President
  • $500+: Board
• Submit receipts promptly for reimbursement

Need Help?

Contact:

• Your committee chair is your primary contact
• Use our Contact Us form on crw.org for general questions

Thank you again for helping make CRW a vibrant and welcoming cycling community!

We all owe the members of CRW a fiduciary duty to spend club funds prudently and effectively. CRW is a non-profit charitable organization. Our fiscal year is the same as the calendar year and we will continue having an annual budget.  Note that budgets are for spending and activities during the same fiscal year.

Budget:

We are asking each Program Coordinator to provide a budget for the year to the EVP or VP of Rides.  Our VP’s will be available to help the Program Coordinators with their budgets.  We will incorporate the Program budgets into the overall annual budget for submission to the Board.

For each budget, we will be asking for:

• The number of unique members expected to be attracted to the Program.  What is the constituency that you expect to serve?
• A rough outline of events for the year: educational, kick-off, end of season, social
• Number of riders expected for each event;
• Amount for each event;
• Location of each event.

We understand that budgets are rough projections at best, so the EVP and VP of Rides will be available to talk about adjustments to the budget during the year. Adjustments over $250 need the approval of the President and adjustments over $500 need the approval of the Board. These adjustments are not just to the total budget but for a single event that reaches those caps.

Spending Philosophy:

• Maximize cost effectiveness;
• How will it look to members who are not participating?  Is the spending a good use of club funds?  We encourage hosting an event at someone’s home or a public park (such as picnics) as opposed to a restaurant or bar if possible;
• Maximize the spread of benefits to as many unique riders as possible.  We want to avoid the appearance of a small group of “insiders” enjoying a disproportionate share of club spending;
• Modest spending for one-time rides, such as an “ice cream” ride or “cider and donuts” is fine.  For a ride series, having a treat for the first ride (kick-off the season) and last ride (celebrate the end of the year) is fine, but not on a recurring, regular basis.  The guiding principle is whether the treat would work for a ride of 60 riders as well as a ride of 10 riders;
• If money is being spent on a club ride or event, it must be posted on the calendar and email;
• When in doubt, run it by the EVP or VP of Rides.  It never hurts to have a second opinion.

Spending Levels:

Budgets will be imprecise, so to the extent that there are discretionary amounts built into the budgets, the following spending authority applies:

• $50 is within the discretion of Program Coordinator.
• $51-$250  requires approval from the EVP or VP of Rides.
• $251-500 Requires approval from the President.
• $500+ requires board approval.

These spending approval requirements do not apply to budget items already approved,

Merchandise:

• Prizes/raffles should be open to the whole club. To the extent that Programs purchase merchandise, they should be raffled rather than just for participation or “showing up” to an event.  Try to avoid giveaways that also are limited to a small subset of members as a practical matter, such as raffles for a ride that only Primož Roglič would be able to complete.
• Merchandise shop.  We will be creating a merchandise shop for members to purchase items like CRW water bottles, jerseys, etc.
• Ride Leaders/volunteer thank you gifts.  Our Ride Leaders and volunteers are important, so CRW will be including these gifts in the budget
• Club-wide challenges available to all are okay.  

Centuries/Charitable Donations:

These guidelines do not apply to the Centuries or charitable donations.  These two categories of expenditures will be handled separately. Charitable donation will require approval by the Board in advance of the donation. 

Reimbursements/Expenses:

As an initial matter, all CRW expenses should be paid by the individual running the program and quickly reimbursed by CRW with a detailed receipt submitted to the Treasurer with an approval as noted above. For substantial expenditures (over $500), a request for a direct CRW payment can be submitted to the Treasurer, who can either issue a club check or make payment by the club’s credit card.

Alcohol Policy:

If alcohol is served or paid for by CRW, it must be available to everyone who participated in the program that day and offered in a prudent manner. This is the insurance guideline.

Special Events per Insurance Guidelines:

Certain events trigger a special event status from CRW’s insurance company. Special Event criteria include the following:

• There is a charge for the event.
• New Members are signed up specifically for the event.
• There is social media or other advertising for the event outside of normal club channels.
• There are benefits to the ride that are not typical for the average Club Ride.
• Festivals with a ride.
• Races.
• Camps or Clinics with a Fee.
• Time Trials.
• Large number of riders.

A special event determination can only be made by the insurance company, so please contact the EVP or VP of Rides to discuss if any of the criteria are present in your proposed ride. Often a special event determination can be avoided by limiting registration to members (e.g. the fall century or the Adventure rides) which would otherwise require separate insurance policies.

Charles River Wheelers (CRW) members and guests are club ambassadors. They are expected to practice good sportsmanship and act respectfully at all CRW rides and events to foster a trusting environment free of harassment, intimidation, and discrimination and to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all. Behavior that is found to be inappropriate will be subject to disciplinary action.

As a CRW Member or guest, I will:

Code Violations:

Members are encouraged to promptly report inappropriate behavior to a club official or via an online incident report. Upon request, the name of the reporting party will be kept confidential.

The Board assigns an impartial investigator for credible Code of Conduct violation reports. The President or EVP (if the President is conflicted) can end investigations or give warnings. Expulsion or suspension requires a 2/3 vote of unconflicted Board members.

Approved by CRW Board on 9/30/2023

April 1, 2022 On April 1, 2022 CRW updated its policy regarding non-members participating in Club rides. In the past, non-members could participate in an unlimited number of club rides without joining. Non-members are now limited to two club rides in their lifetime. The change is being made to comply the Club insurance liability coverage. Our registration system tracks how many times a guest registers for a ride. If they try to register a third time, they’ll be sent to the membership page and invited to join the club. How can Ride Leaders Enforce This? We’re not asking for you to be the registration police. As you prepare to start your ride, wander the parking lot, welcome everyone, and ask if they’ve registered. This applies to both members and guests. If anyone hasn’t registered, asked them to go to CRW.org and register. FAQ What if someone doesn’t want to sign up for the ride? Let them know our policy and explain that they can’t be on the ride. Leave it at that. These are public roads and you can’t and shouldn’t try to stop them. How does this relate to our insurance coverage? Should someone be injured on a ride, whether it’s a member or guest rider, leader, or innocent bystander, our insurer provides liability and supplemental medical insurance. For the insurance to apply, we must be able to prove that the rider was on the ride. Registration is the way to do that. Why is the club being so fussy about this? We do not want you or the club to have any liability exposure. Additionally, people who continuously ride for free without joining the club are not paying their fair share and are adding a burden on ride leaders. The fee to join is nominal and anyone with a bike should be able to afford this. What does the insurance company ask for in the event of a mishap or accident? They ask for a copy of the signup roster, the liability waiver signed for the ride and a person's membership status. What if I still have questions? Contact the VP of Rides: ridesvp@crw.org. What if a rider has questions? They can contact anyone on the Board. The contact info is on the website.

Members and qualified guests of the Charles River Wheelers may ride bicycles with electric assist motors (e-bikes) on all club group rides and events with the same benefits and responsibilities of any rider, provided:

• The bicycle must be pedal-assist (specifically, the bike does not move without pedaling). Throttled e-bikes are prohibited.
• Riding other than on a public roadway is under the rules and the jurisdiction of the governing body.
• It is the rider’s responsibility to know and obey CRW’s policy and the law.
• All riders are to conform with CRW guidelines and policies.
• An e-bike rider should be certain they have sufficient battery reserve for the ride they have chosen. It is not CRW’s responsibility to ensure that the e-bike rider is returned to the ride start should they run out of battery.

Back in the day, CRW had an answering machine set up in someone’s house. To learn about upcoming rides, you called the phone, on a seven digit number, and listened to the recording so you’d know what rides were coming up. We now have a website where rides can be posted and updated with a few clicks.

Rides always had cue sheets that were created by the ride leader by hand, after carefully laying out the route on a paper map and hoping there weren’t any errors. If you go back far enough, the cue sheets were in the telltale blue ink of a mimeograph machine. We now have “RidewithGPS” that spits them out, with multiple options for formatting.

That cue sheet once sat in a plastic map case on your handlebars. It’s been replaced by a cellphone with an app or an overpriced but highly addictive Garmin. The cellphone app is free to all CRW club members.

Oh, and Wheelpeople appeared in your mailbox once a month, arriving via snail mail. Eventually we moved to a PDF and now onto an email format.

CRW has always moved forward when technology is available to do the job better and more easily. It’s time to take the same approach with arrows.

Why?

• Arrowing is a tremendous amount of work and takes a lot of volunteer hours.
• Arrowing can only be done when the roads are dry. If it’s windy, you’ll end up with spray paint on your bike and cleats plus an undiscernible paint splotch instead of an arrow.
• Arrows disappear when disgruntled community members black them out, the local DPW tears up or paves the road, or someone parks over them.
• Many towns no longer allow us to arrow their roads or require special permission before we are allowed to do so.
• Too many arrows for different rides using the same roads can be confusing to follow.
• Spray paint is environmentally unfriendly.
• There’s a better way.

CRW has embraced RidewithGPS and it’s a great way to create and follow a route. There’s a free app for your phone and we’ll teach you how to use it. You can always print a cue sheet and links are available on all ride listings. Many of our club rides have a ride leader that will take a group at a specified pace. It’s a great way to meet other riders and let someone else handle the navigation. Finally, those volunteer hours used for arrowing can be redirected to other initiatives in the club.

Effective in January 2020, CRW will no longer be arrowing rides, including centuries. Arrowing may still be done at the discretion of the ride leader.

 

CRW Board approves new policy on non-members

by Larry Kernan

At the May 9^th meeting of the CRW Board, a new policy regarding nonmembers was approved.  Formal new policies are rarities in the club. The only other policy that I’m aware of is that “All riders on CRW rides must wear helmets.  The new club policy is:

As required by our insurance carrier, non-members may participate in only one CRW ride per calendar year.

Century events are not affected by this policy nor does participating in a paid century event count as the one-time guest ride.

I admit to feeling partially conflicted by this new policy.  On one hand, I want CRW to be welcoming to all riders. On the other hand, we have an obligation to protect the interests of our club, our members, our officers and our ride leaders.

Why does CRW feel the need to institute this policy?  Our liability insurance policy only covers CRW members and first-time guests.  A non-member who shows up on a club ride for a second time will result in our insurance carrier not providing liability insurance for accidents related to that rider.  Unfortunately, no waiver or release can solve the problem. This issue is not about the guest getting hurt. This issue is about a guest who gets into an accident doing property damage or worse, injuring or killing another rider or pedestrian.  The injured party may very likely sue the guest, the club and the ride leader. In the case of a non-member on his second ride with CRW, our insurance carrier will not cover these damages nor defend the club and ride leader.

This new policy goes into effect on June 1^st.  Mary Kernan, our Rides VP, has created a comprehensive implementation plan which has been shared with all Ride Leaders.  This document includes new non-member releases which make clear that it allows a rider to ride with the club only once during the year.  We also have a form which allows a guest to become a member on the spot. If you are not a Ride Leader and want a copy of this plan, please contact Mary.

As members, you should not see much impact from this new policy.  Ride Leaders will see a small change. Before the safety talk and route rap, the Ride Leader will ask as they do today, “Are there any non-members here?”  They will then ask, “Have any of you already done your first-time guest ride?” First-time guests will be asked to sign a waiver if they have not already signed one online.  Second time guests will be asked to join the club or not participate in the ride.

I’m sure there will be a learning curve as we implement this new policy but overall it means that we will be able to better serve our members and protect our Ride Leaders and volunteers.  Please feel free to address any questions to Mary (ridesvp@crw.org) or myself (president@crw.org).

Club policy	All participants in a Charles River Wheelmen-sponsored ride are required to wear properly attached ANSI-, SNELL-, or CPSC-approved bicycling helmets.  The CRW will enforce this policy by requiring that members agree to wear helmets as a condition of membership and non-member participants agree to wear helmets as part of the non-member liability waiver.
Membership/ waiver statement	I hereby agree to wear a properly attached ANSI-, SNELL-, or CPSC-approved bicycling helmet during  ·         [for non-member waiver] CRW rides. ·         [or for membership renewal] any CRW ride during the term of my membership.
Website & WheelPeople	Helmets required on all CRW rides.
Ride leader statement (or equivalent)	All of you have agreed to wear properly attached helmets as a condition of your participation in today’s ride.