Meeting with NFBC is almost as great as biking with NFBC

The New Friends Bike Club (NFBC) held its winter meeting at what has now been renamed "the Party House," (to the great shock and amazement of its owner.) After sampling a wide variety of blue cheese selections, washed down with a beverage of choice served in a wine glass, the members sat down to a meal of lasagna. Dinner was followed by team building exercises which involved a melting elephant and a martini hat.

With the preliminaries aside, the meeting itself commenced. NFBC President Liam Cofell-Dwyer guided the members from agenda item, to agenda item, ensuring that much was accomplished. The NFBC will be taking part in a community education session at Revolution Bikes which will provide training on changing a tire, cleaning a bike, and other basic bike maintenance. An ambitious schedule of spring and summer biking was also established. NFBC will be scheduling a regular ride for Wednesdays and Saturdays until school is out, at which time an additional ride will be added. There will be a banquet and awards ceremony at the end of the season, so riders are urged to keep an eye out for efforts which will merit recognition at the banquet.

NFBC has also opened itself up to international membership, with strong hopes of securing members from Germany and Paraguay. Plans are in the works for a European Tour including Austria, Germany and France in 2011. International tour members will be welcomed into the homes of US members and tours will be planned for them.

The good company, good cheer, and great leadership provided by President Cofell-Dwyer ensured that this was a successful meeting.

Dreams about the NFBC European Tour

I have been dreaming up a wonderful three week long tour around Europe that will be accomplished with several modes of transportation, including biking and trains. As has been discussed previously within the NFBC (New Friends Bike Club), we would all enjoy taking a trip to Germany to bike for a while. well, i was thinking that this dream European Tour could start off with a stop in Austria, then a train ride up to Bremen in northern Germany, where we would do a five day bike tour. after enjoying N. Germany we would all hop on a train to Paris, France, where we really wouldn't bike, but I'm not going to Europe without spending at least a day in Paris! we would continue on train to the French Pyrenees. These mountains are renowned for some great rides and have been biked many times throughout the Tour de France. i have read about some great houses in the mountains that have been modified into really nice hotels. from one of these hotels we could do numerous different day trips of varying difficulty. if we are in the mood for some really challenging rides we could tackle some of the famous Tour de France peaks.

Tour Destinations:

Austria: 2-4 Days
Melk
Salzburg
Vienna
Germany: 5-6 Days
Munich ?
Bremen and surrounding area
France: 5-6 Days
Paris
Pyrenees Mountains



A trip of such magnificence would most likely take place in the summer after i graduate from St. John's Prep. This would allow the participants ample time to save up enough money for ticket, housing, transportation, and food costs...as well as a brand new carbon fiber bike to propel us up the mountains. This would be the summer of 2011.

Spring Fever

After buying a biking magazine about health and fitness i am really ready to get back out on the trail and ride for miles and miles into the sun and with the wind. i am really inspired to get in as many miles as possible this season. hopefully 3000 or more. i want to bike some centuries and maybe even ride in a tour or race. i want to take a trip and ride new terrain. new territory. a new world. i want to don a bike jersey and get out on my jamis ventura bike and ride. the problem being we have snow...a lot of it. and the trails are buried deep. true, there is such a thing as a turbo-the stationary bike thing that you can set your bike in and bike without moving. but who wants to do that?! wheres the fun? true, i should mount that bike on the turbo if i want to get in shape so when the real bike season comes i can start out strong, but why cant the magic sun fairy come and sprinkle some of that magic, inspiring warmth all over the trails? i want to ride with the sun, the wind (although it is troublesome), the world, and my team mates. is that too much to ask? please, summer! Wipe this spring fever away!