Township Bike Ride Event Sub-committee

October 30, 2003

Attendees:

Dan Gerstenhaber

Ken Leon

Roger Alig

Myra Hochman

Daryl McMillan

Dan started the meeting by asking members for their vision for a township bike event. The discussion became lively with the consensus forming around a family event with three different rides all within the township.

In addition it was felt that the event should tie in with another event to boost participation and allow us to leverage publicity. We are looking at a Memorial Day event, possibly with tie in to WaterWorks opening. Ken Leon is looking into possible conflicts with other township and bike events.

Three bike related items were; a tie in with the police on road and ride safety, a tie in with the Bike/Ped Committee on developments of Bike Lanes and Off Road Trails, and lastly a bike maintenance program run by a local bike shop. Dan will speak with the Police to see what events they already run and see if/how we might participate. Ken Leon will be speaking with George of Bike Line in East Windsor to see if he is interested in participating in a bike maintenance workshop after the ride.

Discussion items included:

· Start/Finish locations – Community Park was selected, this fit in with merging the ride with the pool opening. This would also provide sufficient parking and assembly areas as well as post event party space.

· Rides offered – concern was expressed about having very young riders which rode entirely within the park last year as well as rides within the community. It was decided that we would look to offer three rides, an in park ride for young families, an easy 8 mile ride within the community and an 15-20 mile ride for those who are more adventurous.

· We would look to have an after ride event including food and music and exhibits by at least one local bike shop, local vendors who might want to have a presence.

· We see giving shirts away to all riders after the ride.

· Pricing was discussed with the initial thought of singles at $10, couples at 15 and Families at 20.

· There will need to be a lot of support for this to be successful. We will contact WW Rec Commission to discuss their possible involvement and the potential use of the Rec Department for coordination, registration and other items as needs arise. Dan will talk to Newell Benedict the Chair of the Rec Commission to discuss coordination.

· We will need to put together an advertising program.

The group has some concern given the amount of planning and preparation needed to run this program successfully and the limited amount of time prior to Memorial Day. Time critical elelments include: Mayoral approval (presupposing immediate support from the Bike/Ped Board), lining up vendors and supporters, gathering volunteers, planning routes, coordinating with the police, advertising, and setting up registration.