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Potomac Pedalers is a non-profit educational, recreational and social organization for bicycling enthusiasts. We are one of the largest bicycle clubs in the United States, and the largest in the Metropolitan Washington D.C. area. Potomac Pedalers is affiliated with the League of American Bicyclists.  READ MORE >

Guidelines for Cyclists During the Pandemic

 

These guidelines were put forth by USA Cycling in consultation with their Chief Medical Officer as well as the USOC Chief Medical Officer. You can read the posting here . NOTE: This is guidance for YOU, as a cyclist, in your community and surrounding region, as all official PPTC rides are still canceled until further notice.

1. Do NOT ride while symptomatic. Know the signs and symptoms. If you feel even slightly under the weather, even if you think it’s allergies, do not put yourself or your cycling community at risk.

2. Ride ONLY with people of KNOWN health status. This may limit your group to yourself and anyone in your current household. Anyone outside of your household that has been in contact with other people is considered a person of unknown health status.

3. You have a responsibility to not CONTRACT the virus, and to not SPREAD the virus. Operate under the assumption that you are an asymptomatic carrier that can make others sick either directly or by passing it to another potential carrier. Ride FAR from other riders, with at LEAST 20 feet of spacing in between, and ride with a mask or face buff to limit your respiratory signature.

4. Practice your responsibility OFF THE BIKE. Gathering places such as ride starts and rest stops mean higher risk of spreading the virus. Wear a mask at all times off the bike, bring hand sanitizer, wash your hands at rest stops, and even bring a spare mask or buff to switch to when the first one gets too wet.

These guidelines have been put in place to not only stop the spread of COVID-19, but also to stop the spread of maligned stigma against cyclists seen as acting irresponsibly in the community.

 

 

 

Potomac Pedalers Group Rides.

 
Greetings Potomac Pedalers,
 
 
As you know, the Executive Committee has spent most of our time late this summer carefully monitoring regional restrictions and regulations, surveying ride coordinators and leaders for their comfort levels of resuming club activities, and updating our current ride guidelines and waivers to reflect the pandemic climate that we all face.
 
It is with a great mix of hope and caution that I am dropping the flag, and am writing to officially announce the return of Potomac Pedalers group rides.
 
You will notice a few things when you look at the ride calendar:
 
1.    It is behind your membership wall. We are limiting our group rides to members only until further notice.
 
2.  It is MANDATORY that you sign up for a ride on the website to be able to join the group ride. Please get accustomed to doing this. Your ride leaders have indicated that they want a full roster of their attendees that have acknowledged and agreed to the new waivers, along with all pertinent emergency contact information, to move forward with offering rides. We agree that this should be done in a contactless manner. The ride leaders are also capping their ridership to a number no greater than 10 riders per ride leader. If a ride is full, please indicate that you would like to join the waitlist, in case there are cancellations or another ride leader becomes available to help lead that ride.
 
3.  It looks different than what you’re used to seeing for a normal week’s volume of ride offerings. Your ride leaders that have volunteered to lead rides as we reopen are a subsection of our total ride leader population. I urge you to give these leaders your utmost respect, as well as your ride leaders that you do not currently see on this calendar.
 
 
Before you sign up for your return to riding, please review the new ride guidelines and waiver, to be found here and here. I’ll give you the Cliff’s Notes:
 
  • A mask/face covering is as mandatory as a helmet. No mask, no ride. You do not have to wear it during the entire ride, but you must in situations where you find yourself indoors or unable to maintain social distance with other riders.
 
  • Do not, and I cannot stress this enough, DO NOT SHOW UP TO A RIDE IF YOU ARE UNWELL. No heroics, no rule 5, none of that. Live to ride another day, and act so others can do the same.
 
  • Lastly, and most importantly, RESPECT YOUR RIDE LEADERS. They are also eager and anxious to get back out there. Don’t make this difficult for them. They will not be shy about letting us know about any hiccups or difficulties encountered on their rides.
 
I will reiterate what I’ve said in several communications leading up to this moment: If we all follow the guidance, and respect each other, we can have nice things. Remember that sports and sporting events are a reward of a well-functioning community. The Executive Committee is on standby to adapt, adjust, or even cease ride offerings again depending on how all of this goes.
 
Hope to see you out there.
 
Be safe, ride well, Allez.
Anne

PEDALERS! LEND US YOUR STORIES!
 
We'd like to keep rolling with items in the "good news" column for Pedal Patter, so if you have a story about cycling that you'd like to share with everyone, now's definitely the time! Want to tip everyone off to an awesome cycling trip experience? Have you had a great encounter on the road with another rider? Have an embarrassing cycling story you'd like to get out of your head once and for all? Send these stories to catherinekitchell@gmail.com, with the subject Pedal Patter Good News, and we'll feature your story in the upcoming issue. 

 

 

 

 

 

Become a Member!

When you join Potomac Pedalers, you're not just joining a cycling club, you're joining a community. With a variety of benefits and over 1,000 group rides each year, Potomac Pedalers is the bike touring club for all cycling abilities. 

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