General Cycling Discussion - My bike club is more casual then I thought.

The Siouxland Cyclists have been around for about 22 years now. That is that is how long we've been a non-profit organization with articles of incorporation & by-laws.

I have served on its board of directors off and on for the last 4 years or so.

This past Sunday was the RIDE RIGHT/RAGBRAI meeting in Des Moines. The guest speaker was Brain Martindale from the Adventure Cycling Association. His speech was about how to improve cycling in our communities.

I came home from the meeting hoping to rally the rest of the board of directors in the bike club to come up with ideas to help me do so, by sending them a e-mail with the intention that it would be discussed at the next meeting. How ever it is not to be. I was kindly informed that the club is casual & does not have the man power or the desire to take on community projects to improve cycling in the greater siouxland area.

In other words my suggestion was rejected. That's ok, I take rejection very well & I was thanked for my enthusiasm. There is concern that my well meant intentions are alienating me from the rest of the board. And that I am not as familar as I should be with the goals of the club.

I am familar with the club's goals, but I was hoping to improve upon & increase them.

As I have posted about before I have helped to create a new non-profit organization called The Siouxland Trails Foundation. Our goals and purpose is to improve cycling in the siouxland area by inproving the rec. trails & bike route systems. But I was hoping to give the bike club a chance to do what the foundation is not going to do, or will not be able to do. Now it seems that the foundation will have to eventually take on more of a role to improve cycling in this area.

So now I am left with some decisions that I have to make.
1. Do I resign in protest right here and now from the siouxland cyclists board?
2. Do I make this my last "term" as an officer of the board?
3. Or do I say ok if what the club currently does is all we are going to do then that's cool, we have a new organization that will take on the things that the club won't?

Which would you do?

Thanks.

My take on it is that when you agreed to serve on the board, the articles of incorporation were not kept secret from you. Serve the remainder of your term, then devote your full attention to the club that best serves your interests.

Actully buzzbomb I've never read the articles of incorporation or the by-laws that govern the siouxland cyclists bike club. I'm sure if I ask they will be made available to me. But I'm not so sure reading them will do any good either. And it may not state that the club is to remain casual and not take on any community projects. Then again it might and the club has lost it's focus on why it was incorporated. Guess I'll have to ask to read them to find out.

My take on it is that when you agreed to serve on the board, the articles of incorporation were not kept secret from you. Serve the remainder of your term, then devote your full attention to the club that best serves your interests.

I have to agree. You don't want to burn any bridges here either. There may be club members who will be willing to help out the Foundation. I think the two orgainizations could work together and you wouldn't want to mess that up.

Now you have my 2 cents worth..:)

I guess my first post was pretty cavalier, it's easy to make snap replies that aren't quite what you meant. I guess I would have to assume that in order for you to get so involved in the organization, you must have had a pretty good idea what it's personality was. Either it changed or you have, but you still need to finish out your term, then move on with the goodwill of that club's membership. The cycling world isn't that big, and you will be running into those guys for a long time...

I have served on its board of directors off and on for the last 4 years or so.



In other words my suggestion was rejected.

So now I am left with some decisions that I have to make.
1. Do I resign in protest right here and now from the siouxland cyclists board?
2. Do I make this my last "term" as an officer of the board?
3. Or do I say ok if what the club currently does is all we are going to do then that's cool, we have a new organization that will take on the things that the club won't?

Which would you do?

Numero uno.

You should not expect other people to jump on the train you have just jumped on. People let go of habits and ideas slowly; they change with a certain amount of discomfort. Because the board members of the Siouxland Cyclists do not, right now, want to take on community projects does not mean they will never want to do so. As the Siouxland Trails Foundation becomes effective and gains the noteriety and prestige associated with its effectiveness, you may find the Siouxland Cyclists board members running to catch up with that train. You ought to consider continuing your involvement with both organizations. You could be the person who eventually connects the two organizations.

become Mayor...

Why not make a presentation to the general membership of the cycling club promoting the work of the foundation and its goals. Extend an offer to those who have the time and inclination to join the foundation and lend a hand. That way the cycling club can stick with cycling and the foundation can do its thing with no question of priorities.

Getting political is what killed the League of American Bicyclists. They used to be all about riding bikes and having fun. Membership was high. Now they are all about politics. Membership is way down. Fun and politics are not compatible.

I have to agree. You don't want to burn any bridges here either. There may be club members who will be willing to help out the Foundation. I think the two orgainizations could work together and you wouldn't want to mess that up.

Agreed. If your bike club is "casual", they won't be particularly concerned if members have community interests. Maybe you could just mention it to other members informally to guage the amount of support you'd be likely to get.

I have to agree. You don't want to burn any bridges here either. There may be club members who will be willing to help out the Foundation. I think the two orgainizations could work together and you wouldn't want to mess that up.

Now you have my 2 cents worth..:)

You're correct in saying I don't want to burn any bridges. That is one thing I'll be very careful of. I do hope that the 2 organizations can work together.

I sent a reply stating I understand better as to why the club is not a advocacy group and it does clear the way for the trails foundation to do anything & everything we have to do as an advocacy group because there are no toes to be stepped on in the bike club.

I guess my first post was pretty cavalier, it's easy to make snap replies that aren't quite what you meant. I guess I would have to assume that in order for you to get so involved in the organization, you must have had a pretty good idea what it's personality was. Either it changed or you have, but you still need to finish out your term, then move on with the goodwill of that club's membership. The cycling world isn't that big, and you will be running into those guys for a long time...

Part of the reply I sent back stated that this may be my last term as a Siouxland Cyclists board officer. The main reason being I won't have time next year to serve on 2 boards as I will be very busy with the trails foundation and it's advocacy projects.

You should not expect other people to jump on the train you have just jumped on. People let go of habits and ideas slowly; they change with a certain amount of discomfort. Because the board members of the Siouxland Cyclists do not, right now, want to take on community projects does not mean they will never want to do so. As the Siouxland Trails Foundation becomes effective and gains the noteriety and prestige associated with its effectiveness, you may find the Siouxland Cyclists board members running to catch up with that train. You ought to consider continuing your involvement with both organizations. You could be the person who eventually connects the two organizations.


I don't expect that. and I do realize people change slowly and with discomfort. But if they have not become a advocacy group in the past 20+ years they probably never will. I think ideas like this have been brough up long before I joined the club and like now they were rejected too. I fully intend to have the trails foundation eventually show it's noteriety and prestige. When the club see's that hopefully they will come around and maybe even want to help out. Time will tell.

Why not make a presentation to the general membership of the cycling club promoting the work of the foundation and its goals. Extend an offer to those who have the time and inclination to join the foundation and lend a hand. That way the cycling club can stick with cycling and the foundation can do its thing with no question of priorities.

Working on this as I speak.

damn! ... I thought this thread was going to be about swapping! Imagine my disappointment.

-mark

N_C,

What would stop you from being involved in both the "casual" club and efforts improve cycling in your community? Why resign in protest? If the club met your needs before this problem, why shouldn't it continue to meet some of your needs in the future?

Unless time constraints keep you from being involved in both, I see no reason you can't divide your interests. But if you find yourself being pulled in two opposite directions, you might have to choose between one or the other.

damn! ... I thought this thread was going to be about swapping! Imagine my disappointment.

-mark

Swapping just ain't right. It's immoral. Some people do it for variety, but trading bikes other cyclists does more harm than good.

Be faithful to your ride and your ride will be faithful to you. Ride right. Ride true.

N_C, I'm in the same predicament.
I'm the bicycling advocacy board member of the Southern Bicycle League (http://www.bikesbl.org) and have asked myself the same questions. No one in the club has any "real" concerns about cycling safety, promoting cycling, or working with politicians or state DOT about changes. It seems that most of the other board members only want to promote membership, group rides, and fund raising events.

The club regularly contributes a token amount to the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign (http://www.atlantabike.org) and feels that is sufficient. ABC is a true bicycling advocacy organization. In my position with SBL I work closely with ABC (I'm also a member of ABC).


We have a new club president and will be having our first meeting with him this weekend. I hope things will improve, but if they don't I'll probably resign at the end of my term (not in protest, just frustrated) and move over to ABC next year. :(

no, informal is if the speaker was wink martindale.