Have you been slacking over the winter months? Has your bike been collecting dust in the garage? Are you looking for an excuse to get out and ride again? Well then you sound like a great candidate for the DSSF March Saddle Challenge!

This annual DSSF event lets you set a mileage goal for the month of March. We have set up a logging system on our website that allows you to enter your miles on a daily basis. The tracking system will tally your miles and let you know how close you’re getting to your goal. There are charts available that let you see how other participating members are doing as well.

To get started, you will need to create your login here (use “sc2008” for the password.)

Then on March 1st, just sign in on the same page and start logging your miles!

The Ron Wilmot Ride will not be happening this year, but DSSF is continuing with the tradition of supporting Project Inform in his name. Ron Wilmot was a DSSF member who founded the ride in 1995. He died of AIDS in 1997 and we would like to continue supporting this cause. When you sign up for the Saddle Challenge, you have the option of making a pledge on a per mile basis or as a fixed, lump-sum contribution. Again, note that this is optional; you may participate in the event without a donation.

This event has been enjoyed by members for several years now and, as is the case with most events, the more people that participate, the more fun it is! So whether your goal is 10, 100 or 1000 miles, we hope you will join us in the DSSF March Saddle Challenge!

– The DSSF Web Team

For questions, please contact Jerome at webmaster@dssf.org or Michael at webslave@dssf.org

Date: Saturday, February 9, 2008

Time: Immediately following the Jersey Ride

Present: David Gaus, Chair, Will Bir, Roger Chapman, Chris Contos, Dave Glidden, Patrick Heryford,
Michael Schmucki, Jerome Thomere

1. Call to Order

David called the meeting to order at 3:40. Agenda was reviewed and no changes were made.

2. Public Comment

No members present for public comment.

3. Approval of Minutes

As this is the first meeting of this board, there were no Minutes to approve.

4. Board Reports

A. Treasurer: Roger reported that he had a transition meeting with Scott Steffens. There are two keys to the club’s Post Office box. Roger will keep one, and Michael will have the other and volunteered to check the box when Roger is away. The primary expense this time of year is the club’s annual renewal with the Insurance League of American Bicyclists. The premium is approximately $100 and is based on the number of members. Other annual memberships which will be renewed are San Francisco Bike Coalition and California Mountain Bike Association. Roger reported that the club has $3,200 in its credit union account and $800 in its Citibank account. Roger noted there is a $10 monthly fee for the Citibank account. He questioned why we have two accounts, particularly since one charges a service fee. He recommended closing the Citibank account and moving all money to the credit union account. Board unanimously accepted this action. Roger, Chris and Jerome will meet to clarify membership and PayPal instructions.

B. Membership: Chris reports there are currently 57 paid or pending members. Chris will send an email to those who have not renewed. Patrick suggested after the second email that the board divide the remaining non-renewals to see if a personal call will encourage them to renew, or give them an opportunity to discuss why they did not renew. Some work needs to be done to update the PDF that includes the membership card. The PDF still refers to the old eGroups distribution list, and the list of benefits should match benefits listed elsewhere (on dssf.org, in renewal correspondence, in the Member Guide, and other places where club benefits are listed). Chris will update the benefits list. At Pride and for the remainder of the year, memberships will be $10 for the rest of the year.

C. Web Content: Jerome will present suggestions at the next board meeting for combining main website with Yahoo! features. We need a list email function and a polling feature. It might make it easier for members to only have to go to the dssf.org website instead of also the Yahoo! Group site.

5. 2008 Board – Appointed Positions

Four positions are open: Ride Coordinator; Newsletter Editor; Women’s Outreach; and Men’s Outreach. Board discussed potential appointees who will be contacted to determine interest.

6. Newsletter

Board agreed that the newsletter should be a quarterly, four-page publication. We would like to distribute the newsletter to local bike shops as a way of promoting the club. Because of this, the newsletter should avoid “inside jokes” and have appropriate design and graphics to present the club in a positive view. Patrick suggested that a team be formed to help produce the newsletter. Patrick and Chris will oversee the newsletter until the team is formed.

7. Rides and Events Calendar

The calendar was discussed and final decisions were made on key events. David will finalize the calendar in the absence of a Ride Coordinator and post. All rides will be listed on the calendar, but it was decided to make a distinction between those rides actually organized by DSSF and those in which we are participating as a club. Rides used to be referred to as “club sponsored,” which was confusing to some people in that it implied DSSF was more involved, i.e., providing SAG support, making trip arrangements for members, rather than just as a team of riders. Rides will now be designated as either “DSSF Sponsored” or “DSSF Involved”.

Dave reported that the Team DSSF Fundraising Party for AIDS/LifeCycle is Sunday, April 13, 2008. We will continue to have a parade contingent and a booth at the San Francisco Pride festival. We should discuss having a presence at other Bay Area Pride celebrations. Project Inform is no longer organizing the Ron Wilmot Ride, but DSSF will continue to organize the March Saddle Challenge with donations going to Project Inform. Michael will handle the weekly Saddle Challenge reports.

8. Member Guide

David presented a draft of a new Member Guide which will provide helpful information for both new and renewing members. David will continue to work on the guide and all board members are encouraged to send him suggestions and ideas.

9. Website Updating Needed

Two pages need to be updated: Links and Discounts. Michael volunteered to check and update the Links page. We need to work on updating the Discounts page since there is a good deal of bad information there, such as bike shops that no longer exist and a few that have new addresses. There are also new bike shops in San Francisco that have never been solicited to be included in the DSSF discounts program. Jerome mentioned that the most traffic on dssf.org comes through the Discounts page as people are searching for bike shops and the follow a link to our site. So, even if a shop does not give a discount, we should include them on the page. Patrick recommended that perhaps the page could be divided into two, with shops that give discounts more prominently displayed at the top, and other bike shops listed below and less prominently.

10. Communications

A. Monthly Email Blasts: It was suggested that, as a way to further communicate with members, that we institute a monthly email blast, including a President’s Message and other information of interest to members. This would include more pressing information rather than the quarterly newsletter.

B. Annual Report: Patrick will be preparing an Annual Report at the end of the year. He shared a draft of the information that will be collected through the year.

11. Annual Awards

Patrick shared an idea for encouraging participation on rides: a set of annual awards given at the Holiday Party in December. The data for these awards will be collected from Ride Waivers, so it will be critical for ride leaders to return the waivers. Members will be told about these awards early in the year so that they can set a goal of winning one (or all!).

A. Most Road Rides Led
B. Most Mountain Bike Rides Led
C. Most Miles Logged on DSSF Rides
D. Highest Participation on DSSF Rides

12. Meeting Calendar

A. Board Meeting: David will let the board know about the next meeting in March or April.
B. General Membership Meeting: David, Will, Dave and Chris will work off-line on the General Membership Meeting.

13. Jerseys

A. Refunds: When the last jersey order was placed, the club eventually ordered extra jerseys, and as a result the price per jersey was reduced after members made payments. This means that some members are due a refund. Unfortunately, the refunds were not processed at the time the jerseys were received. In fact, so much time has passed that some people are no longer members. However, the board feels the refunds need to be given to the jersey owners with an apology for this not being handled sooner. Records show that two former board members already received their refunds. A total of $738 is owed ($27 per jersey). Roger will email those remaining members due a refund and ask them to confirm their mailing address so that he may send them a check. If they decline the refund or if Roger is unable to locate the jersey owner, the money will be applied to the club’s next jersey order.
B. Inventory: The club has some jerseys left in inventory. Some jerseys were never delivered to members who purchased them at the time of the last order. The jerseys are marked with these names. Michael will follow-up with these members (or former members in some cases) to deliver the jersey. If they no longer want the jersey it will be donated back to the club inventory. Chris will do an inventory on remaining jerseys and send an email to the club offering to sell them to members.
C. New Order: David has had conversations with Voler and will oversee our next order with Dave. If we have an order to Voler by March 17th we would have delivery by the end of April. Pricing: Short-sleeve jerseys: $99; Sleeveless jerseys and wind vests: $92; Long-sleeve jackets: $103. It was suggested that perhaps this time we only order short sleeve jerseys since those are the most popular garments.

14. Adjournment

David adjourned the meeting at 6:58.