The Birmingham Bicycle Club was reestablished in 1972, having existed in various forms since the turn of the century. Its purposes are to encourage and promote safe recreational and touring bicycle riding in central Alabama.
The BBC is open to all members of the community who wish to cycle with a group for recreation and/or fitness. It is a non-profit organization with approximately 300 members. The club provides organized rides every weekend throughout the year, and during the evening while daylight savings time is observed. All rides have a ride leader, with a planned route. Ride leaders are volunteers who make a commitment to plan these rides in advance so that all riders may enjoy the benefits of riding as a group on new routes or old favorites. Rides vary in length and in the level of ability required. Attempts are made to provide rides for the novice, average, experienced, and expert riders. The goal on all rides is to promote safe riding and to encourage camaraderie and friendships. We do not provide competitive events, but do try to help riders improve their skills on the road. Some formal classes are offered, but most of this learning comes through riding with a group. All cyclists in the club are expected to obey the Alabama Motor Vehicle Laws.
We have monthly meetings and provide learning opportunities at some of these meetings with scheduled speakers. Some past topics have included nutrition for cycling, injury prevention and stretching, and safe riding practices in a group.
The BBC is a member of the League of American Bicyclists (formerly the League of American Wheelmen) and Adventure Cycling Association (formerly Bikecentennial). The BBC is the first institutional member of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Coalition. We offer the LAB-sponsored class, called Effective Cycling, at least once a year. This class consists of approximately twelve to fourteen hours of classroom and road instruction. It is based on the premise that cyclists fare best when they act as and are treated as motor vehicles. The skills learned in this class enable the cyclist to safely maneuver in traffic and handle situations that might impede his safe progress.
We maintain an association with other bicycle clubs in Birmingham-the Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers (BUMP) and General Classification Cycling (GCC) for the purpose of supporting each other's efforts and communicating about issues that affect cyclists in general. We communicate with other clubs in Alabama and in the southeast via newsletter exchanges. All clubs provide support for each other in events, information, and advocacy issues.
The BBC sponsors special events and outings throughout the year. These include weekend trips to other locales for touring, seasonal parties/events, rides in conjunction with civic events or other clubs, and the annual century ride. The century ride features a 100-mile ride on a preset route. This route is fully supported with rest stops and vehicles patrolling the route to provide mechanical assistance and gear, if needed. Shorter and longer distance options are available to make the ride attractive to riders of all abilities. Such routes might include distances of 17, 36, 55, 75, 125, and 200 miles. The proceeds from this event are used to promote better cycling in the area, and some are donated to charitable causes. Past contributions have been made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society and to the American Red Cross. This year (2002) the beneficiaries will be Shelby County schools.
As a member of the Birmingham community, we strive to have relationships with other groups who have goals similar to ours or whose causes we may contribute to. We have associations with the Mercedes Marathon, the Earth Day event at the Botanical Gardens, the Aunty Litter campaign, the metro area YMCAs, and local health clubs, as examples.
We hope to communicate the fact that we are responsible members of the community, and try to utilize the media for positive coverage of events and endeavors by our members. Many of our members work for charitable causes. An indoor ride event at an area mall was sponsored by members Jerry and Angie Kelly. Riders on stationary bikes rode day-long, collecting money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Members Jeremiah Haswell and Jeff Colburn, college students, are taking their summer off to cycle cross-country 4200 miles. They are riding for Push America, a group that raises money and completes projects to improve the lives of those with physical disabilities. Many other members ride for fund-raising events sponsored by the American Diabetes Association, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society.
The club is very involved in bicycle advocacy, supporting legislation and traffic engineering that encourages and promotes safe use of bicycles in our area. We have representatives that attend Birmingham Metropolitan Planning Commission and Regional Planning Commission meetings as advisors. We work with the Alabama Department of Transportation Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator to address issues and develop policies that promote safe cycling within the state. We are actively involved in summit meetings held recently in Montgomery to address the future of non-motorized transportation with representatives of other bicycle clubs in Alabama, environmental groups, city planners, and representatives of the ALDOT. We are interested in any other groups whose agendas would affect cyclists. We would endeavor to promote cycling as an alternative method of transportation when appropriate, given present environmental concerns, traffic congestion and concerns about the fitness of citizens. Our hope is to raise the awareness of citizens to the benefits of cycling and to recognize cyclists as an integral part of the community.
-- Kathy Troup, President 2002