CRW is pleased to introduce Jim Salvie, who is our new Club Volunteer Coordinator. Members interested in volunteering with CRW are encouraged to contact Jim at:  volunteering@crw.org.

Thank you, Jim!

Jim finishing his transcontinental tour.

Where did you grow up? Where do you live now?

I live in Stow, MA, not to be confused with Stowe, VT! I grew up on Long Island in New York and in New Jersey, but like a lot of people gave up cycling when I learned how to drive. However, I do remember my first "ten speed" -- a bright yellow Schwinn "LeTour" with frictionless shifters on the headset. I still like frictionless shifters...

How long have you been cycling, and what initially got you interested in the sport?

I gave up running in my early 40s due to knee problems. One day in the summer of 2007 I was on the elliptical machine, indoors, looking out the window at all the cyclists going by and thinking that they had the right idea. Maybe I should try cycling. Somehow, I convinced my wife to let me buy a decent aluminum road bike. I only rode for a few months until the weather got cold, but I was hooked! I did my first century the following year.

How long have you been a CRW member?

For a very long time. My routine for years was to do the Spring Century (now North to NH) and Climb to the Clouds every year. I'd do the occasional metro West ride too, usually the ones beginning in Sudbury.

How many miles do you typically ride per year?

When riding consistently with no health problems? I can do about 5,000 per year not including indoor riding. When I did a transcontinental ride in 2015, I hit almost 9,000.

What is your greatest cycling accomplishment?

In 2015 I did a transcontinental tour with an outfit called Pacific Atlantic Cycling. It was run by a former Race Across America champion, Lon Haldeman, and his wife, Susan. In the early 80s, I think Lon was the first person to do RAAM in less than 10 days. Fortunately, by 2015, he had slowed down a little, though he could still smoke most of us. San Diego to Savannah in 27 days, no rest days (Lon does not believe in rest).

What is your favorite route to ride?

I have several. Metro West is a perfect place to ride. I have a flat 24-mile route that dips into Sudbury and Marlborough that is fun because I feel fast! I have a couple of beautiful rides through the town of Harvard, including a 53-mile one that I call "Every Hill in Harvard." My legs get rubbery just thinking about it. And I love to climb Wachusett Mtn.

What is your favorite post-ride food or drink?

Anything that isn't healthy.

What is your best advice for a new club member?

The easiest bit of advice is: single up! We're engaging in a slightly dangerous activity and the easiest way to stay safe is to ride single file. Save chatting for before the ride and after. During the ride the only communication should be about the ride itself: "Car back," "Hole," etc.

In what capacity do you volunteer for the club, and for how long?

I just started as the club's Volunteer Lead, a coordinator between club leadership and those members who've offered to help out. There are a tremendous number of opportunities in this club, some really involve a lot of work over a long period, others are briefer. But they are all very important and much needed. This club only get things done through volunteers!

I'm taking John O'Dowd's Ride Leader training over the next few weeks and I'm hoping to share some of the routes that I've discovered out here in the Stow-Harvard-Bolton area! Lots of hills, great scenery, a lot of quiet roads.

Folks, spring is coming! That means we’ve entered the final month of our winter ride challenge!

There’s still time to jump in! The challenge runs through March 31, and every mile, hour, and elevation gain counts—whether indoors or outside.

Want to join the challenge or update your ride data? Find detailed instructions for signing up and entering your miles by visiting this guide. It’s easy to track your progress and be part of the action!

Most importantly, we will celebrate our winter training with a get together where we’ll hand out prizes to the winners, which includes a drink on CRW. Appetizers will be provided for all. This bash is for anyone who entered the challenge.

Location: The Mighty Squirrel

Date: Saturday, April 5

Time: 1:00 PM

PRIZES!!

• Highest Elevation - Polka dot CRW sox
• Farthest Distance – regular CRW sox
• Longest Time - CRW short finger gloves

There will be two additional winners for each category chosen at random (raffle winners).

Special winner! The rider with the combined highest elevation, farthest distance, AND longest time will win a bike light!

All winners will be notified by email prior to April 5. A rider may only win one prize (Board members are not eligible, sorry).

So, keep riding! ‍We’re almost to spring!

Save the Dates: Preliminary 2025 CRW Event Schedule

We've listened to your feedback and are excited to share a preliminary list of CRW events for the upcoming year! Please note, these dates are tentative until officially posted on the club calendar.

• Happy Hour: Third Thursday of each month

• March 27: Ride Leader Training

• April 5: Winter Ride Challenge Party

• April 6: Ride Leader Kickoff

• May 1: Bike Thursday Season Begins

• May 4: Swap Meet

• May 17: Eli Post Ride

• May 18: North to NH Century

• July 26 or July 27: Climb to the Clouds Century

• September 18: Annual Meeting

• October 12: Cranberry Century

• October 16: Volunteer Party & Ride Leader Appreciation

• October 30: Bike Thursday Party

• December 18: Member Holiday Party

Additionally, we're aiming to open the club clothing store twice this year. Keep an eye out for updates and get ready to show your CRW pride!

CRW Member Survey Results: Your Feedback Drives Our Future!

A huge thank-you to everyone who took the time to participate in our recent membership surveys! Your insights directly shape our rides, events, and the future direction of CRW. Here’s a quick summary of the highlights and trends from 2024 and 2025.

Participation & Motivation
We’re thrilled to report increased participation, with over 150 members contributing valuable feedback across both years. Top reasons members join CRW continue to be Cycling Activities, Health & Fitness, and Community. We've also seen a rising interest in training, cycling advocacy, and e-bike–friendly rides.

What You Value Most
Members consistently rated our Ride With GPS Route Resources as “Extremely Valuable,” especially praising the Route Library and turn-by-turn navigation features. WheelPeople, our monthly newsletter, and the Website Calendar remain popular, reliable sources for club updates. Preferences split between members enjoying quick Slack updates and those who favor traditional email communications.

Areas for Improvement

• Weekend Rides: Many of you miss the classic CRW weekend rides, seeking more varied routes, pace options, and additional ride leaders.

• Skills & Education: Demand is high for events like Fix-a-Flat workshops, paceline training, beginner-friendly rides, and guidance for e-bike users.

• Social Connections: Members expressed interest in more post-ride social gatherings or coffee stops to strengthen community bonds and easier ways to connect with rides matching their pace or availability.

• Inclusivity: Members indicated a need for clearer guidelines regarding ride paces, e-bike participation, and better labeling of “advanced” or “specialty” rides, making participation more welcoming to all cyclists.

• Advocacy: There's a growing call for CRW to engage more actively in local cycling advocacy efforts, partnering with organizations working to improve bike safety and infrastructure.

Plans for 2025

• Volunteer Opportunities: We’re creating clearer volunteer roles and a dedicated mailing list for opportunities. Join by emailing Jim Salvie at volunteer-lead@crw.org or use our contact-us form.

• Enhanced Weekend Rides: Offering more routes, varied pace groups, and frequent rides—dependent on volunteer involvement.

• Social Engagement: Hosting regular post-ride gatherings and inclusive events welcoming all members.

• Educational Opportunities: Scheduling workshops on cycling skills, bike maintenance, and group riding etiquette.

Your feedback is crucial for making CRW a vibrant, welcoming community. Didn’t get a chance to respond to the survey? No problem—reach out anytime through our contact-us form with your thoughts or suggestions. Remember, CRW is your club, and together, we’ll keep improving our cycling community.

Ride on!

CRW Board Offsite and Board Meeting Recap: Turning Your Feedback into Ideas for 2025

At our recent board offsite and meeting, we reviewed your survey feedback, brainstormed exciting ideas, and finalized the budget for 2025. Here are some key suggestions we're exploring—many of which depend on member volunteers to bring them to life:

Building Community & Social Connections:

• Monthly Happy Hours (third Thursday each month) to enhance social connections.

• Ideas to encourage snacks and casual gatherings around rides.

• Exploring ways to include social engagement in ride leader training.

• Possible regular welcoming events for new riders.

Enhancing Safety & Training:

• Considering workshops on group riding safety and essential cycling skills.

• Potential targeted skill-building sessions for new members.

Expanding Ride Opportunities:

• Brainstorming a "Get Ready to Ride" series, similar to a "Couch to Marathon" approach, offering structured training with cohorts and progressive ride experiences that build rider confidence and stamina, culminating in participation in our centuries and other major cycling events.

• Exploring a Century Season Pass concept for members who seek avid long-distance riders.

Volunteer Opportunities:

• Clearly defined roles and a dedicated volunteer mailing list.

• Regular volunteer opportunities shared by Jim Salvie, Volunteer Coordinator (volunteer-lead@crw.org).

The 2025 budget was finalized, aligning resources with our strategic goals and member feedback.

Your continued involvement as volunteers will be crucial for turning these ideas into reality. Let’s collaborate for another outstanding year of cycling and community!

[Second in a series of articles about "Advocating for Bicyclists – At the Community Level" First article focused on the new MA Vision Zero program.]

Quiz:

Look at the following choices of words and consider which ones might be more effective when speaking as an advocate or ambassador for bicycling in your community:

1. 'crashes' vs. 'accidents'
2. Speaking as a 'cyclist' or 'somebody who bikes'
3. 'vulnerable road user' vs. 'active transportation user'

Answers:

Let's acknowledge upfront that there rarely is one correct answer for all situations; so treat these as examples which can be modified to fit a specific context and audience.

1. 'crashes' vs 'accidents' - This is the easiest one. The Boston Globe, local Police Departments, Drivers Ed, etc., years ago switched from "accidents" to "crashes"  when referring to car collisions. Using "accident" implies that the incident was unintentional and not preventable, while "crash" acknowledges that most collisions can be avoided through responsible driving or can be attributed to factors like driver error or unsafe conditions.  This encourages a focus on prevention and safety measures. If your local paper, fellow rider, or police officer slip up and says 'accident', remind them in a tactful way of the importance of word choice.
   
   
2. 'cyclist' or 'somebody who bikes' - Many of us can identify as either depending on the circumstances. Wieke Wicks has a great way of describing the distinctions, so I'll quote an excerpt from her article:

Do I consider myself as a “cyclist”? Well, I love to go out into the countryside on my road bike (yes, all kitted out, I’m one of those). After an hour on the road I’ve had every thought in my head, remembered (and forgot), every errand, mulled over every work problem, and had every silly idea that’ll never be followed up. After that, it’s just the road, the landscape, me, and my bike, and maybe the odd pothole. Those are the days when I’m a cyclist.

But day to day cycling is a different thing - it’s not a hobby, or a leisure choice: it’s simple logistics. I’m just a person on a bike. I fully appreciate that for many it’s pretty daunting, or practically unfeasible - often due to the (lack of) infrastructure, bad experiences or near misses.

Why is the distinction useful when speaking as an advocate for improved bicycling policies and safety in your community? There are many articles (one example) out there that delve into psychological reasons why 'cyclist' conjures up negativity among the general public. One simplified explanation is that:

• Cyclists are usually invisible to motorists
• But if the cyclist runs a red light or commits some other traffic violation, they become quite visible
• Or if the cyclist is properly taking the lane on a narrow road and thus holding up impatient motorists, the cyclist is unfairly viewed as a cause of traffic congestion
• Confirmation bias kicks in and we end up with the negative stereotype of (all) cyclists

If you speak as 'someone who bikes' in a public forum you will connect with a lot more people who occasionally bike but who don't identify as 'cyclists.' 

3) 'vulnerable road user' vs. “active transportation user” - No easy choice here.  Recently enacted in Massachusetts with the support of MassBike is the Vulnerable Road User Bill. Because the bill covers multiple road user types including pedestrians, roadside workers, horse riders, bicyclists, and wheelchair users, the label 'vulnerable road user' makes a lot of sense. 

For some trying to promote more bicycle use in their community, 'vulnerable road user' perpetuates the bias that cycling is dangerous. They prefer 'active transportation user' and then describe the proven health benefits associated with regular cycling.

For those of us who have challenging segments for some of our regular trips by bike, 'vulnerable' can be an appropriate term. When encouraging others to bike more often, I try to find the right balance - I will focus on the health and environmental benefits and then help them find routes with minimal vulnerability.

__________

CRW has invited Terry Gleason to contribute articles to WheelPeople from my perspective on cycling community advocacy. We hope that these articles will serve to educate CRW members on local, regional, and national issues that directly affect their safety and enjoyment of cycling.

Comments, suggestions, and alternate opinions are always welcomed. Click on “Add Comment” below to share your thoughts and get a public conversation going. Feel free to contact Terry directly via email (BedfordBike@gmail.com [include "CRW" in the Subject]) If you are an active bicyclist advocate and/or wish to do more in your community,

John riding his city bike, a modified Raleigh Twenty folder.

Where you are from?

My father made a career as a Community Chest/United Fund administrator. My family moved every four years as his career advanced. So I didn't really feel that I was from anywhere except where we went on vacation summer after summer in Canada and many relatives were there.

How long have you been cycling, and what initially got you interested in the sport?

I first rode a bicycle in 1953, at age 7. I took up cycling as an adult as a student at Middlebury College in Vermont to get around town, and for recreation. Cycling became my main mode of local transportation when I moved to Boston for further studies. My cycling horizons expanded bit by bit as I took up recreational riding.

When did you join CRW?

My first CRW ride was led by Ralph Galen from Cambridge Common in 1975. I joined the club in 1979 and have been a member almost continuously since.

What is your best advice for a new club member?

Get involved and make social connections in the club. Most people who join CRW already are fit and able to ride the distance. But I hope that we have more intro events and skills training to help get people up to that level.

In what capacities have you volunteered for the club, and for how long?

I served on the Safety Committee which was active in the early 20-teens, served on the Board for 6 years, and now serve as Safety Coordinator.

Are you a Ride Leader?

Yes. In the 1980s I organized weekend trips with stays at youth hostels on Cape Cod and the Islands. I more recently took over the East European Ride from its founders. I run a Waltham history ride with cycling historian Larry Finison.

What led to you becoming a Ride Leader?

Wanting to make the pleasures of cycling available to others and maintain the tradition of recreational road riding.

What types of rides are you planning on leading in the future?

Same as before but I also want to lead intro rides. As a CyclingSavvy Instructor, I am keen about helping to build riders' skills and confidence.

How many miles a year do you typically ride?

It was around 5,000 in my heyday and 2,500 in the pandemic year (empty roads, and what else to do!), but otherwise I am down to around 1,500 miles, largely local utility riding but some recreational riding and rides in my courses.

What is your greatest cycling accomplishment?

Building on my cycling experience and engineering background to become an instructor, author, editor, and cycling videographer.

What is your favorite route to ride?

A three-day weekend trip to Cape Cod that can include a stop on Martha's Vineyard and a stay at its youth hostel (cyclists stay young!), then to Hyannis by ferry, next night in Truro, and then take the ferry home -- a tour without the need to carry camping gear. Or you could carry it and stay at campgrounds.

What is your favorite post-ride food or drink?

Oh, I have a story. I took my first ride down to the Cape in 1975, got hungry somewhere around Scituate, stopped at a seafood shack and ordered fried clams. I learned the hard way that they were indigestible while riding and suffered my worst stomach aches ever for the next 50 miles. I quickly turned to fig newtons and, bananas. Drink? Water, with plenty of salt and bananas to avoid leg cramps on a hot day.

Anything else you want to share?

I value CRW's fostering joy, exploration, camaraderie and healthy exercise through cycling and that is why I continue to volunteer.

CRW and the Rippers cycling club members gathered at The Mighty Squirrel in Waltham on February 20 to warm up with bikes, brews, and banter. It was great fun to meet fellow cycling enthusiasts and to look forward to riding together in the upcoming season. 

Watch the calendar for more Happy Hour gatherings in 2025!

RIDES are the heart and soul of CRW, and RIDE LEADERS are its backbone. 

Have you ever thought about leading a ride with CRW? Do you have questions about what is involved? We are offering Ride Leader Training on March 27th from 7:00 - 8:30 PM for anyone who wishes to learn more about what it takes to lead a club ride. Our ride leaders are at the core of what makes CRW an outstanding bike club.

CRW leads a huge variety of rides, from our signature weekend road rides to gravel, devo, women’s, multi-day adventures, centuries, weekly recurring rides, and more. It takes volunteers to develop the routes, secure a ride start location, and consider the details that ensure an enjoyable experience for our riders.

There are a lot of reasons to consider leading rides.  For one, you’re the boss!  Leading rides means you get to do the kind of ride you like, including start location, pace, distance, destination, theme, social activities, etc. You can choose to lead a group at a specific pace or have people ride on their own, pick a great spot for lunch, arrange for ice cream or other treats at the finish, and find other creative ways to make your ride interesting. Leading rides is also a great way to give back to the club.  We’ve all benefited from others who are willing to organize, post to the calendar and lead rides for us, so if you’re looking for a way to give back, this is a great opportunity. Plus, leading rides is a fun way to meet and make friends in the club.

You can also be an assistant ride leader. Sometimes we get big groups at our rides, too many for one person to effectively manage. When that happens, having an assistant or two really pays off. It makes for a better organized, more enjoyable event for everyone. Plus, you don’t have all the work of organizing the ride and taking care of all the minute details!

Anyone who would like to lead any ride for CRW this season (including weekend road rides, gravel, adventure, recurring, devo, etc.) is required to attend this year’s ride leader training and complete subsequent ride leader training tasks. A recording of the Zoom session will be made available. 

Oh, and did we mention that leading rides comes with benefits? You get to join century rides for free, there are great parties for ride leaders and the seasonal thank you gifts are amazing!

By Eli Post

March offers intermediate warm days

And if you ride, you get praise 

It may be before the season 

But it's not for us to reason

The need to be out and play

Alongside a snowy sleigh 

A short ride on a warm day will be ok

You might even shout out "Hooray!"

As you conquer the open road 

And have a story that can be told 

We strive to come up with advice we can provide 

But we hope you enjoy your ride 

And credit us for this poem, so

The biking world will show 

That we are in the know 

When you reach a new plateau 

We will have more to say in April

When we plan to be more wakeful 

WheelPeople is republishing the above poem written a year ago by our dear friend and dedicated editor Eli Post who left us in January 2025. Eli wrote these hopeful words from his hospital bed and went on to exceed doctors' expectations by returning to cycling with us in 2024. As we cyclists look toward April and the promise of a new season, Eli’s determination and passion for the sport continue to inspire our club.