2022 Meeting Minutes

DCR Board Minutes December 5, 2022

Meeting convened at 19:03.

Attendance: Duvall, Hillas, Felker, Nicholson, Mazur, Readinger, Ranson (Non-voting)

Board previously approved November minutes by email.

1. Budget

The club will end 2022 with around $13,000 in the bank. This is in line with the board's commitment to maintain a balance of $10,000 to $15,000 to fund otherwise unfunded expenses and as a reserve in case of emergency.

Excluding the Mason Dixon 1200, club receipts ($5,275) for the year slightly exceed expenses ($5,222) through November 26, 2022.

The Mason Dixon 1200 lost $2,728 on revenue of $17,800 (spread across 2021 and 2022) and expenses of $20,528.

The board voted to approve the following schedule of ride fees for 2023:

  • International Women's Day: $5
  • 200 kilometers or less: $7
  • 300 kilometers: $35
  • 400 kilometers: $40
  • 600 kilometers: $60

These fees remain low in comparison to those of peer organizations. The board did note with some concern the rising cost of hotel rooms both for the club and for individual riders.

2. The board voted to endorse the following slate of candidates for board positions:

President: Ed Felker

Club Brevet Administrator: Emily Ranson

At-Large: Mimo DeMarco

Meeting adjourned at 20:20.

DCR Board Minutes November 7, 2022

Meeting convened at 19:05.

Attendance: Duvall, Hillas, Felker, Nicholson, Mazur, Counts, Ranson (Non-voting)

Board previously approved October minutes by email.

1. President's Report

The annual meeting will take place on Saturday, January 21 from 3 to 5 at the Glen Echo Town Hall. Thanks to Andrea Matney for once again securing this wonderful venue for the club.

The club treasurer will develop a draft budget for discussion at the board's December meeting. Final financials for 2022 and a board approved budget will be distributed in advance of the annual meeting.

Voting:

  • Voting for club offices will be online and in person at the meeting.
  • The board will endorse a slate of candidates for open positions at its December meeting.
  • Nominations from the membership will be solicited after the board has announced its slate.

2023 will be a Paris - Brest - Paris year, so the non-business segment of the annual meeting will focus on that event, how to prepare for it, and what it's like to experience for the first time . . . or the fifth time.

The club will provide pizza for the meeting. Beverages will be BYO.

The president received the go-ahead from the board to explore whether club members are interested in a club jersey order.

2. Jack Nicholson described a MeetUp app used by other cycling clubs and its possible use by DCR.

3. RBA Report

Gardner summarized the successful first running of the Tubman Blackwater brevet, highlighting in particular the informal socializing that took place after the ride. "Good finish locations matter," says Gardner.

The club's December ride will be Woodbine - Dillsburg.

Gardner has agreed to stand for election to the RUSA board and encourages DCR members to vote for him.

Meeting adjourned at 20:28.

DCR Board Minutes October 3, 2022

Meeting convened at 19:00.

Attendance: Duvall, Hillas, Felker, Nicholson, Mazur, Counts, Ranson (Non-voting)

Board previously approved September minutes by email.

1. Roger began the meeting by congratulating board members on their summer exploits, including New York - Montreal (Bob), Endless Mountains 1000 (Ed), and Ride Across Britain (Jack and John).

2. Ed Felker noted that the club's Strava group leader board is frequently dominated by riders who are not members of DC Randonneurs and asked the board for guidance on the group's purpose and membership guidelines. After discussion, the board agreed that Ed would delete all current members at the end of 2022 and allow riders to rejoin only if they are active members of, or closely affiliated with, DC Randonneurs.

3. Treasurer's Report. Jack presented Q3 financials that showed the club's finances in good shape.

  • The club broke even on the two events it ran in Q3.
  • The club breaks even or runs a small surplus on 200 kilometer brevets. It tends to lose money on 400 and 600 kilometer brevets, which have fewer riders and greater expenses because of the need for organizer hotel rooms. The board agreed to raise the price for those longer rides in 2023 in hopes of breaking even on them as well.
  • Most of the club's annual expenses have already been paid, as have expenses associated with the Mason Dixon 1200. The big exceptions are web hosting and development of the MD 1200 site.

After discussion, the board agreed to set a target of maintaining a bank balance between $10,000 to $15,000. Such a sum allows the club to develop and host new rides, especially grand randonnees, without undue risk. Having riders register through the club website and pay through PayPal also makes it easier to refund money to riders in the event of windfall profits on any one ride.

4. RBA's Report. Gardner noted that all the club rides through the end of 2022 have been put up on the club website. Emily noted that the schedule for 2023 had been submitted to RUSA for approval.

Meeting adjourned at 20:02.

DCR Board Minutes September 12, 2022

Meeting convened at 19:05.

Attendance: Duvall, Hillas, Felker, Readinger, Counts, Ranson (Non-voting)

Board previously approved July minutes by email.

1. RBA-elect Emily had circulated a draft ride schedule for 2023 and received some feedback. Emily was unsure whether to schedule an audax brevet in 2023. Current RBA Gardner pointed out that it is easier to schedule non-RUSA rides now and cancel them later than the reverse.

2. Roger informed the board that he is in Maine until at least early November while structural work is completed on his DC house.

3. RBA Report

Gardner previewed the club's fall ride schedule:

  • Civil War Tour 200
  • Double Ox Audax 200
  • Mountain Church 200
  • Dart
  • Possibly a gravel ride and enough populaires to complete a Rouleur series
  • Tubman Blackwater 200
  • Woodbine - Dillsburg 200

4. Ed Felker mentioned that while the next Paris - Brest is eleven months away, hotels on course are close to selling out already. The board discussed the possibility of individual club members supporting club riders at PBP, in addition to any support organized by RUSA.

Meeting adjourned at 20:09.

DCR Board Minutes July 18, 2022

Meeting convened at 19:05.

Attendance: Duvall, Hillas, Felker, Mazur, Nicholson, Readinger

Board previously approved June minutes by email.

1. RBA Report

At its July meeting, the RUSA board approved Emily Ranson's application to succeed Gardner as RBA for MD: Capital Region effective January 1, 2023. Emily will henceforth be included in meetings of this board, as well as helping Gardner schedule and organize club rides.

The board discussed ideas for possibly improving the Mason Dixon 1200 when it is next run:

  • Use the Blue Ridge tunnel to completely eliminate US250 from the route over Rockfish Gap.
  • Shorten Day 2 by moving the overnight from Shippensburg to Chambersburg.
  • Reduce climbing wherever possible, especially Day 3.
  • Schedule the ride at another point in the quadrennial PBP cycle.
  • Move the ride to late summer or fall in search of better weather.

Gardner previewed the club's fall schedule:

  • Civil War Tour
  • Audax Brevet
  • A 200 starting in DC
  • Possibly a gravel brevet
  • November brevet will start from the Eastern Shore, and December will start from Woodbine, but the exact routes are not decided.

2. Treasurer's Report

Jack Nicholson summarized Q2 financials for the club:

  • Events other than the MD 1200 broke even.
  • Hotel costs are up year over year.

The club has been running slight deficits since 2018 and its reserves are drifting towards $10,000.

Jack provided detailed financials and analysis for the MD 1200. Jack also has captured this information on paper so it will be available to the club the next time the event is run.

Highlights include:

  • The club's bottom line is a $3,000 loss on the event.
  • Ridership was at the lower end of its projected range.
  • Among costs than ran above budget were more organizer rooms at overnights than planned. On the other side, riders pretty consistently commented on the excellent support both on the road and at controls, with special praise reserved for Theresa and John Mazur, who organized the overnights, and Jason Kamps, the mechanic.
  • Costs that ran below budget included ride development, although some of those savings were lost to a pre-ride that did not completely recoup its costs.

3. President's Report

RUSA has published a new mission statement what, while in many ways excellent, makes almost no mention of clubs. The president feels that large, established clubs such as DC Randonneurs are an important part of the randonneuring ecosystem and should be more clearly recognized as such by the national organization.

Meeting adjourned at 20:14.

DCR Board Minutes June 6, 2022

Meeting convened at 19:13.

Attendance: Duvall, Hillas, Felker, Mazur, Counts, Nicholson, Readinger

Board previously approved May minutes by email.

1. Mason Dixon 1200

Bob Counts was given an action item to post positive feedback from riders to the MD 1200 website as advertising for future runnings.

The pre-ride went well, with four out of five riders successfully finishing.

Final revisions to the cue sheet set to go out the night of the meeting. Theresa Furnari (food) and Emily Ranson (volunteers) have their responsibilities under control.

Two riders informed Gardner that they would be late Did Not Starts.

Jack Nicholson reported sufficient money in the club checking account to cover ride expenses. Food was a little over budget, but route development was well under.

Chris Readinger reported weather forecasts tending cool with a chance of showers Thursday morning and Friday night, but no thunder.

Gardner mentioned that the Turkey Hill in Akron PA closes at 23:00, but the control there does not close until 02:30.

Meeting adjourned at 19:59.

DCR Board Minutes May 2, 2022

Meeting convened at 19:03.

Attendance: Duvall, Hillas, Felker, Mazur, Counts, Nicholson, Readinger

Board previously approved April minutes by email.

1. RBA Report

The club ran five events in April with over 100 starters and almost 100 finishers.

May events are the second gravel populaire and the Many Rivers 600. The gravel route has been submitted to RUSA but not yet approved.

Preparations for the Mason Dixon 1200 in June are proceeding smoothly:

  • John Mazur is finalizing room reservations with overnight hotels.
  • Theresa Furnari is finalizing food.
  • Mimo DeMarco is organizing the pre-ride.
  • The road around Little Round Top in Gettysburg will be closed for repairs at some point this summer and may require minor re-routing.

The club may offer rides at short notice in July and August, but there are no ACP rides scheduled.

2. From the floor

John Mazur thanked Gardner for his post-ride write-ups and was seconded by other board members.

The board discussed possible changes to covid protocols but decided not to act until the fall.

3. Treasurer's Report

Ridership is up over 2021.

Because of strong registration numbers, the club made $145 on the Northern Exposure 400.

Feedback on using the Fairfield Inn as the start / finish for Northern Exposure was positive.

Meeting adjourned at 19:40.

DCR Board Minutes April 4, 2022

Meeting convened at 19:03.

Attendance: Duvall, Hillas, Felker, Mazur, Counts, Nicholson, Readinger

Board previously approved March minutes by email.

1. Ye Olde Frederick 300 Recap

The consensus of board members who organized or rode the Frederick 300 was that the new start hotel was less expensive than the Hampton Inn and more attractive than the Motel 6 but lacked a reasonably sized lobby with restrooms. The club will explore other options nearby.

2. Treasurer's Report

Jack reviewed Q1 financials that he had distributed before the meeting. The club is slightly in the black for the quarter.

Jack had a problem paying the RUSA insurance fee for one ride through the RideStats site, but Michele promptly diagnosed and fixed the problem.

3. RBA Report

Turnout has been good so far this year, with more than 30 riders for every event except Warrenton - Orange. Weather has varied from favorable (Warrenton - Orange) to not so favorable (Ye Olde Frederick) as it tends to do in the Spring.

Four teams have registered for this year's fleche.

Work on the gravel series continues. Gardner is waiting for RUSA approval of the first route, GravPOP Coffee Stop. Other routes are nearing submission.

Registration for the Mason Dixon 1200 closes April 15. A few riders have withdrawn, but the club is still near its break-even point.

A weather page has been added to the ride website.

Remaining tasks include finalizing how many rooms and how much food is needed at the overnight hotels.

Riders will receive cycling caps gratis.

Gardner offered a brief preview of fall rides, which will include an audax ride, a populaire series, a dart, and RUSA 200s.

Meeting adjourned at 19:33.

DCR Board Minutes March 7, 2022

Meeting convened at 19:00.

Attendance: Duvall, Hillas, Felker, Mazur, Counts, Nicholson, Readinger

Board previously approved February minutes by email.

1. RWGPS Account

Jack is researching the current billing setup for the club's RWGPS account and how to direct annual billing notifications only to the treasurer, who pays the bill via DCR PayPal.

2. MD 1200 Website

Bob and Gardner discussed recent updates to the MD 1200 website.

  • The history page has been updated.
  • The geology page has been updated.
  • A volunteer form has been added to the site.

Pages not yet launched include a weather page and a rider tracking page.

Ride jerseys are on sale through the end of the month.

For now, registration closes on April 1.

Registered riders display on the RideStats site.

3. Treasurer's Report

The club currently has about $33,000 in the bank, divided evenly between club money and MD 1200 payments.

The club paid for this year's Directors and Officers insurance and membership in the League of American Bicyclists, through whom we purchase that insurance.

The club filed its form 990N with the federal government.

The club will pay $250 to RWGPS for the club account this year and $300 to Michele Brougher for using her RideStats web platform.

A RideStats issue prevented paying RUSA insurance for O.T. Doe D.O. directly from the site. Jack is investigating.

4. MD 1200

Hotel rooms have been reserved for the pre-ride.

The current count of registered rides is right at the club's break-even point.

5. RBA's Report

Spring events are now live on the RideStats site.

Two events have already been run. The IWD ride featured nine women riders and three first-time finishers.

RUSA is reviewing the route for the club's first gravel ride this Spring.

The club has organizers for all the Spring events.

Meeting adjourned at 19:46.

DCR Board Minutes February 7, 2022

Meeting convened at 19:02.

Attendance: Duvall, Hillas, Felker, Mazur, Counts, Nicholson, Readinger

Board previously approved January minutes by email.

1. Listserv

Ed Felker, who moderates the club's Google group, raised some questions about how closely group access should be restricted to current and former DCR members, and whose posts should be moderated before being published. Discussion also touched upon how the group aligns with other forms of club publication, including Facebook and the DCR Strava group.

After discussion, the board agreed that no significant changes to current practice were required. Posts by DCR members are not moderated prior to posting; posts by non-members will be moderated as needed.

2. RBA Succession

The board discussed the general topic of the club's role in selecting RBAs and the specific topic of Gardner's desire to step down as RBA at the end of the year.

The position of RBA for a given region is a RUSA post, and RBAs are approved by RUSA, not by local clubs. The RUSA procedures say that an RBA intending to retire should "identify" a replacement, who then applies to RUSA. The RUSA procedures are silent about any club involvement, or non-involvement, in this process. Likewise the DCR bylaws.

The board felt that the club should be involved in the process of selecting a new RBA but given the silence of the bylaws left the task of more clearly defining that involvement to a future board.

Gardner has identified Emily Ranson as his chosen replacement. After discussion of her outstanding qualifications for the post, the board voted unanimously to endorse her nomination to become the region's RBA.

Meeting adjourned at 20:20.

DCR Annual Meeting January 8, 2022

Meeting convened at 15:02.

Attendance: Maximum of 19 Members

1. Treasurer's Report

Treasurer Nicholson reviewed 2021 actuals and the proposed 2022 budget prior to member voting. The budget proposed for 2022 assumes member and ridership numbers similar to 2021 actuals. It also assumes that club rides through June will be run as no-touch events.

The proposed 2022 budget includes summaries of anticipated costs and income for the Mason Dixon 1200. That ride has a more detailed budget that is maintained separately.

Mimo DeMarco asked whether RUSA is aware that charging $5 per rider per event for insurance, vs. a year's worth of permanents for $25, creates an incentive for riders to ride permanents rather than club events. RBA Gardner Duvall responded that the insurance cost to RUSA is the same for each ride, whether brevet, populaire, permanent, or team event. RUSA charges us $5 per starter of a DCR event. RUSA funds insurance for permanents by charging $25 per year for permanent riders, and riders who ride less than 5 permanent in a year supplement riders of more than five permanents.

Nick Bull and Bill Beck asked several questions about how expenses for the Mason Dixon 1200 had been budgeted and about whether the club had done contingency planning in case the number of riders was too low to meet the club's fixed costs. RBA Duvall replied that current registrations for the ride are already very close to the club's break even point. The club has also planned to refund money to riders if registration rises to a point where the club turns an excessive profit on the event.

2. RBA's Report

RBA Duvall reported that the club will run the following types of events in 2022:

  • An SR series
  • An International Women's Day populaire
  • A series of gravel rides
  • An Audax brevet
  • A fleche and possibly a 12-hour dart
  • The Mason Dixon 1200
  • A fall brevet series
  • Possibly additional populaires to achieve a Rouler award

The RBA then presented an overview of the MD 1200 route and the ride planning that has already taken place.

The RBA expressed his intention to rotate out of the RBA position at the end of the year and his desire to have his successor shadow him on the job in 2022. Emily Ranson has expressed her willingness to succeed him as RBA. He asked club members either to express by the end of January their own interest in becoming RBA or to suggest members who might be suitable for the job.

3. Recognition

President Hillas recognized local riders who had earned the following awards in 2021:

  • 10000
  • Randonneur 5000
  • Mondial
  • Ultra Randonneur
  • Ultra R-12
  • RUSA Cup
  • American Randonneur Challenge
  • K-Hound
  • R-12
  • P-12
  • Rouleur
  • ACP Super Randonneur

in addition to riders who had ridden domestic 1200s, the most events or kilometers with the club, and 15 fleches.

President Hillas also recognized ride organizers and noted those who had organized more than one event in 2022.

4. Bill Beck presented a fascinating selection from his randonneuring photos over the past 15 years. Newer members got to see some of the club's history, and all members got to reminisce about the feats and foibles of past and present riders.

Meeting adjourned at 17:00.

DCR Board Minutes January 3

Meeting convened at 19:00.

Attendance: Duvall, Hillas, Felker, Mazur, Counts, Nicholson, Readinger

Board previously approved December minutes by email.

1. RBA Report

Club rides through June are now on the RideStats website except for gravel events. Everyone agrees that the gravel events will be challenging.

Gardner and Chris Readinger are still working on finding a more affordable replacement for the Hampton Inn for rides starting and finishing in Frederick.

2. Treasurer's Report

Jack updated 2021 actuals for presentation to club with 2022 budget.

Board voted to approve the 2022 budget developed by the Treasurer.

Meeting adjourned at 20:10.