Spoken' Words
By Roy "Bikerdude" Burnham

By now, some of you have gone into full hibernation mode, the bike a distant memory as sunshine shortened days pass by. The Holiday Season has no doubt left us all a little light in the wallet but heavy in the mid-section. What is a COP member to do? Well friends we have choices!

• Winter Century Series - Many of you already have taken advantage of Bob Waddell's Winter Century Series. This is the 3 rd year in a row that the series has been offered and as the name suggests, distances up to 100 or so miles are offered. Be sure to try your hand at cold weather riding. Remember, you can always elect to do some of the shorter distances Bob has planned.
• Northwest Winter Ride - Steve Barbour offers distances of 40-60 miles depending on weather. The pace is always manageable and the terrain is mostly agreeable.
• Sunday Canal Winchester Ride - For those in the southwest corner of the metro area, consider the Sunday Canal Winchester ride. We have a mix of terrain, pace and distances for those folks building base or just trying to maintain some fitness.
• Tuesday Spin Class - Finally, new this year, we are offering a Tuesday Spin Class at Cyclist Connection in Canal Winchester. If you can't stand to ride in the cold, come for some indoor workouts with friends.

New Rail-trail Opened

On Saturday, December 1st Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails opened the newly paved Roberts Pass section of the Prairie Grass Trail. This section of trail extends the paved network of rail-trails an additional 6.5 miles to the Franklin County line. Plans eventually call for trail to be extended into the Columbus metro area via by sharing the railway right of way currently being used by the Camp Chase industrial railroad. For more information check out the Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails website at: www.fmcpt.com.

Bicycle Activity Leader

As many of you know, Jack Hornsby stepped down as Bicycle Activity leader late last summer. Many thanks for Jack's 4 years of service in the BAL role. In light of the vacancy, I talked with some of the ride leaders about help with filling in on this important position within COP. With assurances from a few folks, I threw my hat in the ring to take up the position. I do need help however. In the coming weeks, we will be scheduling a ride leader meeting to discuss the Saturday and Sunday roving ride series as well as volunteer help needed to maintain the bicycling program. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible soon.

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