Denis Diekhoff recently checked out a DVD from the library entitled “The End of Suburbia” that predicted only another 10-15 years of affordable petroleum supplies. He found it interesting but was disappointed with how little attention it gave to bikes, whether pedal or electric assist.

Carl Gulbronson brought his 1998 Twike electric assist velomobile, but it was way too big to get through the door here, so we waited until after the meeting to look it over.

Trail news: There didn't seem to be any really definite knowledge, but several people thought that both the Cedar Lake trail and the Midtown Greenway should be extended to their respective Mississippi river terminuses some time this season. The big unknown with the Cedar Lake Trail is whether there will be a new sports stadium (most likely for the Twinkies) built on the Rapid Park lot that the probable trail corridor runs right next to.

Mark and Lance usually do a fair number of weekday rides for the self-employed or retired, so we particularly need people to volunteer to lead some of their favorite routes on the weekends. We generally do “mapless” rides to make sure everyone stays together and to save work for the leader, though a map is a plus to help riders come back later to a route that they really like. Good snack or meal stops on the route are also a definite plus.

Dave would like to start by late March, so we need to get going SOOOON. Rides would mainly be publicized by e-mails, though they could also be posted on our website if anyone will volunteer to maintain a rides page. Any ride scheduled considerably more than a few days in advance should probably have a rain date. Several people stressed that we need to set a standard on what a ride time means (ie. is it a loose “HPV time”, a time to start gathering, or a firm departure time?). Mark suggests announcing a socializing time as well as a definite departure time.