About Great Plains Bicycling Club
Great Plains Bicycling Club is a social club that promotes safe recreational bicycling in and around Lincoln, Nebraska. We organize free, informal club rides on weekends and weekday evenings on the roads and bike trails in and around the city from March to October each year. We try to set up our noncompetitive club rides with varying distances and speeds to accommodate cyclists with a range of fitness level and time. We also conduct several fully supported day rides each year that are open to the public upon payment of a registration fee.
GPBC also provides planning and support for community activities relating to safe bicycling. For the past several years we have held a Lincoln edition of the international Ride of Silence in May to honor persons injured or killed in automobile/bicycle accidents and to raise public awareness of the need for motorists and cyclists to "share the road". We set up an information booth at many family-oriented recreational events around Lincoln to promote bicycle safety and educate children about the "rules of the road". Club members have also participated in public efforts to promote bicycling as an alternative means of transportation in Lincoln.
Great Plains Bicycling Club publishes a newsletter(Chain Gang) in alternate months during the riding season to communicate with club members. Chain Gang includes rides schedules, club news, and items of general interest to cyclists. We also hold an annual club picnic in September and an annual membership meeting and dinner in November which are free of charge to members.
Membership
Now that you've read all about our club, don't you want to join? You'll receive the Chain Gang newsletter, be invited to attend the club picnic and annual meeting, have voting rights to elect the club board of directors, and have the opportunity to propose and lead club rides.
Annual membership dues are only $10 for a Single Memberhip and $15 for a Family membership. Membership renewals are due by March 1st each year. You can download a membership application and mail it to:
Great Plains Bicycling Club
P.O. Box 5621
Lincoln, NE 68505
Organization
Great Plains Bicycling Club is a Nebraska nonprofit corporation with Federal tax exempt status under IRS Section 501(c)(7), Social Clubs. Club affairs are managed by the Board of Directors elected by the membership at the annual meeting in November. Club officers are elected by the Board of Directors.
Officers and Board of Directors
| President | Bob Boyce | bobboyce66@gmail.com | 402-475-0783 |
| Vice President | Hal Smith | highlandsvet@aol.com | 402-476-5800 |
| Treasurer | Steve Clements | steve.clements@nifa.org | 402-730-3908 |
| Secretary | Eric Yule | eyule@nebook.com | 402-742-7006 |
| Co Ride Director | Pat Bracken | pbracken@neb.rr.com | 402-477-6357 |
| Co Ride Director | Chris Blackstock | blackstock_787@hotmail.com | 402-261-4043 |
| Newsletter Editors | Ron & Mary Poe | ronaldpoedesigns@yahoo.com | 402-474-5563 |
| Webmaster | Randy Smith | rbsmith943@windstream.net | 402-438-8942 |
| Board Member | Chris Hilton | crhilton@gmail.com | |
| Board Member | Dean Irvine | bike@irvines.us | |
| Board Member | Steve Lauck | steves-world@att.net | |
| Board Member | Mary Poe | marygpoe@yahoo.com | 402-474-5563 |
| Board Member | Di White | dfowler@lps.org | 402-570-1665 |
Board Meetings
The Board of Directors meets monthly, typically on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 6:30 pm. Board meetings are held at locations to be announced for each meeting. Club members are welcome to attend meetings of the Board of Directors, but only board members are eligible to vote. Board meetings are sometimes rescheduled for a different week or night, so if you wish to attend, please contact a board member to confirm the date and time of the next meeting.
Minutes of Board Meetings
| February 2010 | March 2010 | April 2010 | May 2010 | |||
| June 2009 | July 2009 | August 2009 | September 2009 |
Club History
Early records of the club are somewhat sketchy, but Great Plains Bicycling Club has been in existence at least since 1980, and was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation in 1990. The club has always organized rides for club members and had some role in advocating for bicycling and bicycle safety. The balance between riding and advocacy has shifted over the years according to the makeup of the Board of Directors. The current Board of Directors intends to support members with a range of interests in recreational cycling.