• 19 — Club meeting: Jim Olson & Pat McHugh will talk about what to take and how to pack it on overnight rides. Be there.
• 20 — Evening ride: Start at TCC parking lot, 19th Street 7:30 PM. Going anywhere. Bring city map and pencil.
• 23 — Carbon River ride: Length of ride can vary from 40 miles and very hilly to 20 miles and wild. Meet at TCC parking lot near Ram Pub for maps and info at 10:00 AM. Very scenic.
• 27 — Evening ride: Come and unwind with us. 7:30 PM — TCC parking lot.
  Balmy Breezes! Shorts & T-Shirts! Golden Twilight Hours! Bring coins for ice cream cones! See Sights!

• 3 — Executive Board meeting: Everyone welcome. 7:30 PM — TCC library.
• 4 — Evening ride: Meet at TCC lot — south end 6:30 PM to fireworks.
• 7 — Poker run: Much fun — Details to come.
• 14 — Peninsula ride: Peninsula ride with Jim Olson — Details to come.
• 28 — Haven Lake Overnighter: Details at club meetings and in July newsletter. For information and registration, call Harvey Lister at 474-2849, or 472-1374. Registration deadline July 19. Fee for non-members.

Also: Time Trial and practice racing series if interest is generated. Get details at meetings or from club members.

Representative John Dawkins (D-26th District) spoke to the club at the April 17th meeting. John is involved in planning bike routes, pedestrian, and horse trails for Pierce County, and is a bike commuter.

On April 10th I attended a meeting of the citizen advisory committee on bicycling of the Senate transportation and utilities committee meeting at the Roadway Inn, and introduced myself as action committee chairman of Tacoma Wheelmen. From that, I have received the minutes of the meeting and am digesting the 14 pages. So far, it appears that they, too, haven't figured out what a bike is either, and can't figure out what to do with them. The next meeting of this committee will be at Jantzen Beach in conjunction with Oregon in June.

I was sitting around thinking and — well, you know — and I came up with an empty bottle that said, "Recycle For Money." Ahh, I said, what a way to raise money for the club! But wait! To do this, we need three things:

1. People that drink out of recyclable containers.
2. Have those people bring to the Tacoma Wheelmen's Club empties that they don't want.
3. A person to collect them when they get there.

The first one is easy, we all do that! The second is the hardest because it's easy to just throw away empties. Don't do that. Save them and bring them to the meetings, along with yourselves! I will take care of the third part, which is sorting, recycling, and turning the money over to Pat McHugh. So save your bottles, cans, or whatever, and turn them into bicycle fun. Oh, by the way, I'm Steve Perret.

Three dozen "for real" members, a bunch more onlookers, all sorts of people out riding their bikes all over the place, lots of ideas, dreams, and confusion; these are a few things the T.W.C. is made up of. So far the membership is a small core of more or less "dedicated" cyclists, some of whom have thousands of dollars worth of equipment and riding skills developed over thousands of miles. Others are asking, "Can I put toe-clips on my Varsity?"

We feel that we're one of very few groups in the Tacoma area who know what the cyclist needs in terms of Public Roads, and it is becoming quite evident that if we don't tell our Government what we need, they're going to tell us! Hence the political action wing — an integral part of the club. Club rides offer the opportunity for group fun and learning from more experienced cyclists for those so inclined. It seems that many cyclists are basically loner types, myself included, so this may not be everyone's cup of tea. Also, membership cards, badges, maps, and that sort of thing are in the works. We are off to a good start — considering the way things are done and happen in Tacoma most of the time — lots of inertia and lethargy usually, maybe it's the air we breathe?!

T.W.C. is about clean air to the degree that people trade steering wheels for handlebars! Sometimes it's hard to tell where we're going but if you're a cyclist it's in your interest to support the club as best you can. Our most precious commodities are Time And Energy — please do whatever you can to keep things rolling and to increase momentum — to help accomplish what I feel is the main goal of the club — to create Desirable Situations!

We're going on some evening rides — every Thursday leave T.C.C. at 7:30 to see what's actually out there on the streets and byways of our fair city — you might see something you never knew existed — I have!

We are the Tacoma Wheelmen's Club, organized to support and promote bicycling. To do this, we need your help. We need to know where you want to go and how far you want to go. How many rides a month, a week or whatever. We want to organize a group of maps of the Tacoma area that will be available to anyone planning to ride with a group, or just by themselves. If you can help us, just jot down your favorite ride and your ideas on a piece of paper and give it to Harvey Lister. He'll put it in the right place, and when you can't think of any places to go, the Tacoma Wheelmen's Club will give you a guiding light.

Hello! My name is Harvey Lister, Road Captain, and I would like to mention something about the riding portion of the Tacoma Wheelmen. Up until now, the Tacoma Wheelmen have had four club rides. These rides have taken us from the interesting back alleys of Tacoma, to the rain-drenched hills of Vashon Island. Each ride has been just a bit longer, and has covered more varied terrain. The purpose of these rides, and of the ones in the future, is to get bike people together with other bike people, to share in the fun and sometimes the pain of bike riding. The rides have been set up with both the skilled rider as well as the beginning rider in mind, hoping that each group would have a chance at improving their riding skills. The one sure way to improve these skills is to get out and ride.

One of the more important factors involved in the enjoyment of bike riding is having a bike under you which is mechanically sound. Every rider should become familiar with his or her bicycle and be able to spot trouble before it happens. Clinics are planned for this purpose, but a little feedback on your part will enable the planners to plan accordingly.

"Take care of your wheel and your wheel will take care of you!"
— Harvey Lister, Road Captain (Happy bicycling! Harv)

There will be some events of interest to those who like to ride a little faster sometimes. We will be having Time Trials at Point Defiance and possibly some practice races if anyone ever decides to come out and do it. Tacoma area has about a dozen semi-serious racers who hold ABLA cards and go to races. What we'll be doing will be getting involved and having fun even if it hurts!