Quale...February,
1999
Welcome to 1999 and
trust the holidays treated you well...now it is time to focus on
the coming year. I had promised to have a recap of last year for
you at this time. Unfortunately, this will not be available until
later.
Spring has nearly arrived and many of us are anxious to begin our
rides here in the Northeast. RePete has several that are
suggested for your consideration.
Peach Blossom - RePete will lead this ride for two
different bicycling clubs on separate days. This is a great tour
that has two starting locations that allow for either 65 or a 40
mile route. There are several features that make this tour
special...the miles of pink and white peach blossoms...then lunch
is at a 50’s era eatery! For additional details visit Quest
Tours: Apr - May, 99.
Other tours of merit include:
Icicle - Many excellent comments have been received on this tour.
Starting location is the University of Delaware.
Taxing Metric - Hilly tour that is a challenge for most cyclist
so early in the season...but you will not find prettier, quieter
roads anywhere.
Tour de Cure - Provided by the American Diabetes Association from
many different locations. Visit their web site at ADA.
Pixton Memorial Poker Tour - A favorite of PePete that has a
unique feature...you draw a card at 5 rest stop locations on the
route. The five highest “Poker” hands are awarded
prizes at the end of the ride!!
If you wish to know more about these tours or have comments on
other rides, then simply email RePete.
While we are on the subject of tours...what do you think of the
Governor of New Jersey providing a total of $7.3 million to 37
communities to build bike paths? As reported in the Philadelphia
Inquirer, Governor Whitman spoke about her vision of laying 2,000
miles of bike paths throughout New Jersey over the next 12 years.
The first installment of that pledge was awarded for
approximately 54 miles of local bicycle projects! This is a bold
move and one that we cyclist should support. Surprisingly, there
are many in our own bicycling community that do not support bike
paths! I recently attended a South Jersey Wheelmen club meeting and suggested that we
assist with this effort. The following are my comments that
appeared in their newsletter:
Have you heard that Governor Whitman released grants for bike
paths that total $73 million! Local towns to receive some of this
money are Burlington Township, Medford, Lindenwold, Camden City,
Gloucester Township, Clayton and Monroe. We may believe this is
great news but not all agree. While the Economic Development
Commission is Monroe stated that, “It’s going to be
terrific...a quality of life issue.” Others in the same town
believe these funds could be spent on other issues, such as the
library. Here you already hear, “There haven’t been
construction funds for libraries for longer than I can remember.”
...We need to take an active role to help these towns with their
projects and with any negative public opinion. RePete will discuss
this with our Board of Directors. With their approval, my goal
will be to organize a committee. We then can contact these town
to volunteer our assistance and suggestions. Join me at the
February meeting or contact me if you wish to help, email RePete
My idea received a very summary discussion...shorter than that
for a club jersey!
I would like to know what you think...should we as cyclist
support efforts like this in New Jersey to build bike paths?
Should bicycle clubs help with this support? What suggestions do
you have that would help communities build better bike paths?
You can now visit Freewheel’n.
These are also submitted and published in the South Jersey
Wheelmen’s monthly newsletter. You can read my latest
release by visiting this site after the middle of each month.
Then there are the Quale sites where topics are varied, like the
highly imaginative Tales of Pauline.
Also visit the Quote site that contain your comments. Here you
will find submissions on Bicyclist Against Helmets and many other
issues and links. Additionally, don’t forget to visit the South Jersey
Wheelmen and the Outdoor Club of
South Jersey web sites.
The next update of Quibbles is scheduled for mid-March and for now......have a Happy Valentine's Day!
Email me now!
RePete
2/4/99
