Well do I remember my first TRC event, the Spaghetti Feed of ‘96. I knew no one when I arrived, but we chatted during dinner, dessert, the awards ceremony, and most hung around later as I met so many friendly cyclists- one who had just finished a cross country tour in ‘95 that I hoped to make a regular cycling companion. I never saw that cross country tourist again at any TRC event, but it was a very successful “get acquainted” and join the club meeting for me.

Last night I went to LRC (Lost River Cyclists) annual membership drive. It’s held in a small bike shop which really went out of its way to accommodate us. Great snacks- or actually a meal of mostly healthy finger foods except for those tasty desserts! Sean would hate the food- all those fresh vegetables of so many types and chips were hard to find! They also gave away beer and soda pop, would that help, Sean?

Memberships are $5 if members purchase a $50 jersey or $25 without the jersey, so that’s a no brainer. The shop offers matching shorts, gloves, arm warmers, and knee warmers and all items in the shop except bikes are 20% off to LRC members that evening. The shop is small, but it was elbow to elbow LRC members - even behind the counter and in the workshop area. We were welcome to their entire square footage! Some members were just visiting, others shopping, and everyone was filling out the membership form. The club has sponsors- much like our ex-racing team; this is a club not too different than TRC in ‘96 when we had a race team as a subset within the club. The sponsors names are on the jersey. LRC has about 125 members which would put it very close to TRC's size in ‘96 (they don’t do family memberships, so couples down here count as 2 members). Those sponsors put adds on the jerseys and offer LRC standing discounts thoughout the year.

LRC isn’t a corporation, but manages to have a checking account (under whose taxpayer ID? Banks are unbelievable picky about this anymore). They also have no treasurer, and from what I can determine make no accounting of the finances to the members. Of course, the “Treasurer” in me is very interested in the particulars of how they do things.

As a new guy at both membership events I can say that my first TRC membership meeting was socially much more successful in meeting others plus I had the pleasure of being entertained by President Kleeburg who was at his best as a master of ceremonies that evening in the annual awards ceremony. A meal is a better place to meet than a sale.

I thought I’d write this to the board, but decided any active member may have an opinion to express to board members, so I’ll post this as an alternate way to do several things. I’m making no recommendation; I rather like the spaghetti feed format and awards ceremony, but we might want to consider something on this line next time we order jerseys! No club money subsidized or was at risk for these jerseys! The cost of TRC jerseys is a big deal to at least one ex-member who has expressed his opinion to many of us. If you have an opinion on this or any other topic, let a board member know it!

Happy cycling for fun, fitness, and transportation!

Steve