The RAC this Week (October 10th)

Every riding adult is required to read every Tuesday Newsletter. 

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Dear Parent 

Good to see so many of you on Sunday. A special welcome to Odin, Ryan, Sam, and their families. Your first ride was a warm one!

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DATES AND TIMES 

Tuesday, November 7. 7 pm. Parent meeting. Bring the kids. 

Design 39 School. MP room. Not mandatory 


Tuesday, March 26. 7 pm. Parent Meeting. Bring the kids 

Design 39 School. MP room. Mandatory 

The Escondido Hill Rides 

Sun Feb 11 | Sat Feb 17 | Sun March 3 | Sat March 9 | Sat March 16 | Sun Mar 17 | Sat Mar 23 

Two are mandatory for each rider. We offer seven. Please plan on coming more often than twice 

The RAC Calendar is now updated and final. 

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BIKE MAINTENANCE 

Don't Ignore Frayed Cables by our very own Dr. Bob. Enjoy! 

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HOMEWORK. 

  1. Stay in your seat 

  • Please encourage your kids to stay in their seats 

  • Standing up and sitting down (and standing up and sitting down) makes for an uneven experience for the riders behind you

  • Encourage your child to shift instead of standing and powering through. 

  • Our hills are long. This is a marathon and not a sprint, and it’s the rare 5th grader who can stand for the entire uphill. 

  • If your child stands up for momentum, check the saddle. It might be too low. 

  • The occasional standing stretch to rearrange one’s shorts is appropriate. 

  1. Power Pedal Homework 

Keep at it. What we saw last weekend was very good. 

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RULES OF THE RAC | New 

  • We ride in a way to be a good example to all 5th graders. 

  • We support everyone, not just our own kids. 

  • We ride predictably.

  • We single file. We never ride next to each other. Tires never overlap. 

    • If you need to speak to your child, stay behind her/him and raise your voice. 

    • Or pull over. 

  • We stop at stop signs, individually, at the white line, and put our foot down. Every time. 

  • We wear vests and name tags. Front and back. Large enough for us to read 

  • We wear vests over camelbacks. Unless it's neon yellow. Then we don’t care. 

  • We never pass our front volunteer

  • We scan left before we pass other riders. 

  • We say “passing on the left” when we pass other riders. 

  • We never pass on the right. 

  • We never pass more than two people at a time. 

  • We stop on uphills only when we have to 

    • If we have to stop, we look for a shady and flat-ish spot 

    • If we have to stop, we move to the right to let others pass us 

  • We try to make it to the top of the hill

    • By using smaller gears, smaller numbers 

    • By hamstering (spinning)

  • We never pass when there is no space ahead of us. 

  • Kids stay with their parents. Parents stay with their kids.

  • We say “slowing” when we slow down and “stopping” when we are about to stop and “going” when we are going again.  

  • We are friendly to all passing motorists. 

  • We follow the advice of volunteers and Youth Support. 

  • We treat everyone with respect. 

  • We share this list with our kids. 

Safety is our 1st priority. (Fun is our 2nd) 

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MEET THE VOLUNTEERS: ANNIKA TROM - YOUTH SUPPORT 

   

  • 5th grade RAC rider in 2018 

  • Youth Support volunteer since 2022 

  • Junior at Poway High 

  • On the swim team and in the Marching Band 

  • Owns a calligraphy and a baking business 

  • Rode RAGBRAI (the ride across Iowa)

  • “The RAC completely changed my life. I know that sounds totally cheesy, but it really did. It got me into the amazing lifelong sport of biking, which led me to do rides in Mexico and across Iowa 5 years later. It taught me the value of working hard to achieve my goals, and how months and months of training really pay off. I made so many friends on that trip that I’ll never forget. Life is a journey. Enjoy the bike ride.”

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OUR NEXT RIDE

Saturday, October 14 

Gonzales Canyon 

13.5 miles. 752 feet 

Mesa Verde Middle School |  8375 Entreken Way, San Diego, 92129 

Please arrive by 8:45 a.m. We start promptly at 9 a.m.

Sections of Saturday’s route are on canyon trails. This ride is not a good one for skinny tires. ____________________________________________

Looking forward to seeing you this weekend. 

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Your friendly RAC volunteer team 

Abhi | Ana | Bill | Bob | Christiane | Frans | Hannah | James | Jeff | Joe | Julie | Kate | Kristen | Kumar | Olav |  Phil | Robert | Sabine and co-founder Dennis Bueker 

Youth Support: Annika | Bryce | Caroline | Evan | Grace | Grant | Jadon | Kendall | Kiki | Michael | Nikhil | Nolan | Olive | Ryan | Sadhika | Sawyer | Sophie | Vishnu | 

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All participants are responsible for being familiar with RAC rules, regulations

Repeated failure to follow RAC rules will result in your family's removal from the program.

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IF YOU HAVE DECIDED THAT THE RAC IS NOT FOR YOU, 

  • please inform us immediately. 

  • families on the waitlist are eager and anxious to join us on training rides.  

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