Member Info

Guest Rider Info

We have purchased liability insurance for the club through American Specialty Insurance Company’s program for clubs that belong to the League of American Bicyclists. Some information related to the policy appears in the attachment to this page. Additional information is available at the linked brochure. We have the general liability coverage.

Club Communications

We have two main avenues of communication. For all general information communication, the officers will communicate via e-mail. This includes, but is not limited to, weekly pre-ride announcements, annual membership drives, clothing information, team party announcements and general team welfare communications (road closings, safety concerns, etc.).

All of the other communication such as weekly post ride reports, general cycling discussions, bike or parts deals, sharing of pictures, bike vacations reports, and the like, will move to Facebook, which is best suited for this type of communication.

Please respect the wishes of those who are not on Facebook by not replying to all on e-mails from officers. If you do not join the VCR Facebook group, you will only see officer communications from the new VCR lite e-mail group.

RIDE INFORMATIon

During the main biking season, we have road rides on every weekend day. The rides start from Jaycee Park in Deerfield on Saturdays and from Northcroft Park in Lake Forest on Sundays.

Our regular routes maps are available in the ride map page. These rides generally vary from 45 to 70 miles in length and last from 2 1/2 to 4 hours.

While we often stop once at a convenient store during the second half of each ride, our rides have no SAG or support. Riders are expected to bring enough food, fluids, tubes, tools, and money to be self-sufficient.

Everyone rides at his or her own risk and is required to sign the linked waiver and release. By participating in one of our rides, you automatically agree to the terms of the waiver and release, even if we fail to collect a signed copy from you.

On both Saturday and Sunday we divide into A and B rides. The A ride is an aggressive ride which has large stretches at 22 to 27 mph. The B ride is more moderate, yet follows the same route as the A ride. It usually tops out at 25 mph and averages 20 mph.

Because our club and rides are pretty big, we ask that any riders who want to join us do so at the invitation of a club member. If you don’t know anyone in the club and want to talk about joining or riding along, or if you otherwise want to contact the club, please send an email to us at: info@vcrbikeclub.com.

CLUB RULES

How We Expect Members to Act on Rides

We all come to the rides to have some fun and get some exercise in a setting with compatible riders.
Specific rules about member conduct are:

1. All riders must wear a cycling helmet on our rides

2. Don’t run red lights.
3. Stop behind cars at lights.

4. No using aerobars, ear phones or ear buds on club rides.
5. On B rides, breakaways off the front generally are not permitted.
6. Three violations of 1, 2 and/or 3 constitute grounds for terminating membership in the club, but the member has to have prompt notice of each violation that is being counted against him or her.

How Our Rides Work

1. So long as turnout is sufficient, each ride is split into separate A and B groups, except that some longer rides split on a long/short or other basis.

2. At the beginning of each ride, we will determine whether there are non-members riding along with us.

3. Stick to the posted route for at least the first half of each ride, in case members are looking to meet us en route. However, in bad weather we may switch routes earlier. If you plan to meet the ride part way in bad conditions, it’s a good idea to let someone know.

4. If any member is uncomfortable with how a non-member is riding, the member should feel free to ask the non-member to stay out of the pace line or otherwise adjust his or her riding. When necessary, the ride leader should back up other members on issues like this.

5. If any member invites a non-member to come along on one or more of our rides, the inviting member has to ride in the same group with the guest and help integrate him or her into the ride (or get some other member to agree in advance to do it). Also, please only invite people who you have ridden with a significant amount.

6. When we have a combined ride with both A and B riders, the A riders are required to ride at the B ride pace. However, just having one or a few B riders along on a ride that is mostly A riders does not make that ride a combined ride: it’s an A ride with a few B riders along. In those circumstances, A ride conventions apply.

Club Governance

Members annually elect four officers: president (Susan Helfrich), vice president (Gene Kucher), treasurer (Scott Osterman) and secretary (Phil Brown). The elected officers also act as the club’s board of directors.
No one can be elected as either president or vice president if he or she has already served four or more years in those positions cumulatively. The term limit does not apply if no one new steps up for a slot.
Members are admitted to the club by the officers, generally after riding with the club a few times on a trial basis.