ClubExpress has been having technical issues affecting the HBC website. This problem occurs if you open Folks on Spokes on your phone, laptop or desktop with Gmail webmail or a Gmail App. None of the pictures or images will be shown.

Good news, the pictures and images will appear on phones, laptops, and desktops using non-google email programs. (for example, using Outlook on a desktop, built-in mail programs on phones and Macs, and Optonline)

ClubExpress is working on this issue. This has delayed us from sending out FOS for several days. The survey deadline has been extended to January 5th for that reason, so please submit your answers! It is very important for the year's planning.

     A sunny, Happy New Year 2024!

Everybody on the Board is excited about sponsoring many rides and events for the new year. Please help us, and fill out the survey which will give us ideas about what activities the membership is interested in doing. Board meetings are posted on the ride calendar. If there are any issues you want discussed, please contact us so your concern can be a topic at one of these meetings.

         (deadline is Wednesday, Jan. 5) 

The Gold Coast East drew 241 registrants, but more importantly HBC was able to make significant donations to many charities this year: Kids Need More, The Dementia Society of America, the New York Bike Coalition, the American Diabetes Association, and Long Island Cares. This was possible due to the many sponsors who donated to the Gold Coast Fund. They are listed on the Gold Coast and Main Webpages, so please patronize their businesses. And...we had two really nice parties!

Yearly ride stats, curtesy of Malachy: 2400 rider registrations for club rides this year, not including the Gold Coast.134 different people on the 2400 registrations, which averaged 18 rides per person. This average included those who only did a couple of rides, balanced with those who did a lot of rides. Speaking of Malachy, check out his Tech Corner, introducing a Zwift group for HBC members. (Funny, he doesn't look like a "Zwifty"!) We are still looking for a Social Media Chairperson, contact Malachy (malachyoco@gmail.com) if you're interested.

  Coming attractions: Look for a new Club jersey in the next Folks on Spokes; A better hotel for the Covered Bridge ride in August; Gold Coast East-July 14 with either a full Century or a 75 mile route. 

  Have a great New Year, and see you on the road!

  This is the time of the year that more people will be riding indoors, even though some people find it convenient to ride indoors all year long, too. Zwift is one of the more popular indoor training Apps. HBC has some tools that could help new and experienced Zwift users.

First, there is the Zwift Interest Group, currently with 39 members. In addition, there is the Zwift Group, currently with 5 members. There is also a Zwift Server page with information about the HBC Zwift Discord server. All three of these can be found under the Club Main menu. 

Members of the Interest Group can view other members using the View Members link. This is one way of seeing who else is interested in Zwift. Members are asked about their Interests when joining or renewing membership. Members can also join or leave an Interest group through their Profile under Website Functions.

Any member of the Zwift Group, located under HBC Groups, can simply email all the members of the group using the “Send Email to Members” button. In addition, anyone can join this group using the “Sign Me Up" button.

Gary Rauch, who is an experienced Zwift user, explained to me how Zwift works and that many users use a Discord server for voice during rides. This Discord server lets riders talk to each other during their Zwift rides. (just like a Club ride-do they point out holes and cars back, too?)

Knowing this capability, we created an HBC Zwift Discord server. On the HBC Zwift Server page is an interface to our Discord server. This interface will indicate how many, and who are on the server. Gary said he would send out a Zwift Meetup to those interested users. However, he would need your Zwift name.

So, if you are interested in getting involved with some other HBC members using Zwift, check out these resources. Also please email me with your Zwift name and I will forward them to Gary.

Send emails to: webmaster@hbcli.org