| The 2025 Iron Man 70.3 is Almost Here! |  |
And we Need Volunteers!
Hello Salem Bicycle Club Members,
The Iron Man 70.3 is coming to Salem again on July 20th. This event brings thousands of cyclists to our area and brings attention and financial support to cycling in Salem. We think it’s important to support this event regularly.
Salem Bicycle Club is again stepping up to man (or woman!) Bicycle Aid Station #2. We are looking for several more volunteers. To help motivate more volunteers, we are offering raffle tickets for any member who is able to recruit one or more volunteers to join them at the event. You will get one raffle ticket for every volunteer you recruit. To be fair, this will include people who have already signed up another volunteer to join them. The raffle prizes will include items like T-shirts and water bottles, as well as a free membership to Salem Bicycle club for one year.
If you are interested in volunteering or in bringing in another volunteer or two to join you, please contact the SBC Iron Man Event Coordinator, Juan Lopez, by email at lopez.1126@yahoo.com
Thank you
Juan Lopez
Board Member
Iron Man Event Coordinator
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John Poole, a long-time Salem Bicycle Club member, passed away on June 12 from an abdominal aneurism. He was 78. John stayed active and on the go, working on a concrete project at a property in Medford just days prior to his death.
John was born in Klamath Falls and was riding bikes from a young age; his grandfather and then his father owned a bike shop in town. John was also a runner, but switched solely to cycling in his 30s to be kinder to his knees. Cycling became a passion for John, and he continued biking for the remainder of his life. In 2024, he logged 6,400 miles. It’s not a stretch to figure that he covered at least a quarter of a million miles during his cycling years.
In the late 1960s, John moved to Salem and joined the SBC sometime after that. In typical John fashion, he was involved in numerous volunteer positions and activities (most of them with his wife, Karen), including serving on the Board of Directors, coordinating the Watermelon event ride, representing the club in advocacy and testimony at city council meetings, influencing the city’s master plan for more useful placement and better maintenance of bike routes, working on displays at Earth Day events, and successfully lobbying the Statesman-Journal for more positive and frequent coverage of cycling and related issues.
In May 1991, John led the memorial bike ride to Scio for Margie Scott (killed by a motorist while she and her husband, Jim, rode their tandem on Lardon Road). Karen joined that ride, her first with the SBC. More than just clipless pedals clicked; John and Karen were married in February the following year.
Thus began an amazing life of adventure together on bicycles for the Pooles. Their first tour together was in 1991 when Karen was biking across the country and John joined the ride at either coast for some distance. During their 34 years together, they honey mooned in Baja, riding 1,200 miles; biked across the country five times on various routes, went south to north on the Great Divide Route, did at least half a dozen Cycle Oregon's or Oregon Bicycle Rides, and biked in several overseas countries. All these rides were self-supported tours. This is not a complete list by any means.
Other remarkable bicycle feats were when John and Karen marked the entire Monster Cookie and Watermelon routes by tandem, carrying the spray paint in bottle cages and panniers. They also cleaned the route at least once, carrying a leaf blower and broom on their bikes. Their longest one-day ride was the 246 miles from Salem to Lake of the Woods near K-Falls on their tandem, where they spent time during summers at their family cabin.
John was also involved in many other activities, with an engineer’s mind and a talent for solving almost any mechanical conundrum. In the 1970s, he completed the final development of Paradise Island Mobile Home Park that his parents had begun; he and Karen owned and managed it for 35 years before retiring. For five years, they hosted the Governor’s Cup Criterion at the park. He and Karen volunteered for the USFS during 13 winters in Arizona, refurbishing and upgrading aspects of a historic site and campground. He designed and built a bike-powered boat and also enjoyed kayaking and sailing on the Lake of the Woods.
John leaves behind his beloved wife Karen, their very special kitty Woody, daughter Lindsey, and son Cory and family. An obituary in the Statesman Journal includes more information onJohn and his remarkable life. |
A Summer Ride
By Jackie Lefevre
It was June 21, the second day of summer. According to the weather prediction it
was NOT going to be a nice day for riding. The Salem Bicycle Club listed four rides on the club calendar: Kings Valley 73 miles, Mt Angel/Pratum 39 miles, SBC Family Ride 6 miles, and Oregon Garden’s Petal Pedal various lengths.
Doug Parrow originally planned to do Kings Valley as part of his birthday ride, but with the weather prediction decided to save that ride for another day. However, he did dress in his riding clothes and rode down to the Red Lot to register anyone who showed up. As he left he said he may see me in about an hour or else at 5:00. While at the Red Lot, he decided to ride Laurie Garrett’s route of 39 miles. He arrived home in the early afternoon telling me how miserable it was out there with wind, cold and rain. It was so bad that he didn’t even stop at EZ Orchards for his after ride “Doug” order. Doug is at EZ Orchard so often during strawberry season that EZ Orchard set up a cash register key called “Doug” for a coffee and a small strawberry shortcake. A couple of bike club members have ordered a “Doug” at EZ Orchards shortcake stand.
Meanwhile, Laurie opted against riding. Instead, she went up to Portland to see her grandchild. It seems to me that Laurie was one of the few smart riders that day. Her day was very enjoyable, and she stayed warm and dry. Tim Newman waited around at the start for the family ride, not expecting anyone to be crazy enough to ride. He was about ready to go home when none other than Mark Lebow drove in to do the ride. Tim and Mark got on their bikes and rode the six-mile route. It rained the entire time, but they got it done.
According to Debbie Miller, the SBC coordinator for the Petal Pedal, there were only five people from SBC who rode. She said the staff at the Petal Pedal talked of the large number of riders they rescued due to the cold and wet weather. Debbie and Jim signed up for the 50-mile route, but opted to ride the 30-mile route as did many of the non-SBC riders. Mike Fordyce was planning to ride the 100 mile route, but took a wrong turn and ended up with only 79. Hey Mike, was that by accident or on purpose? Either way 79 miles is a lot on a cold, rainy, and windy day. Colin Benson was the only SBC rider that rode the 100-mile route. Knowing the inauspicious start he had with the club, it didn’t really surprise me that he would stick with it. On his very first ride with SBC a couple of years ago, he crashed within the first five miles. We called an ambulance and let him know we were leaving his bike at a nearby business. From what I remember, Tim couldn’t contact him to find out how he was doing because we didn’t know his phone number. For a short time we didn’t have the phone number on the ride sign-up sheet. Colin is the one of the reasons we added it back to the sign-up sheet. I thought, there is
no way this guy will join the club, but around six months later, I was surprised to see him on another ride, now as a member. For his second year with SBC, he was voted to the board and signed up to be the Spokes newsletter editor. So, being a glutton for punishment, I guess it’s only right that he rides his first century on a particularly nasty
day.
Welcome to summer in Oregon.
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Off The Back
Mid-Year Reflections: Looking Back and Ahead
It's hard to believe we’re already into July 2025! As we cross the halfway mark, it’s a great time to reflect on everything we've achieved so far—and to get excited about what's coming up.
What We’ve Accomplished in 2025:
- Hosted our Volunteer Awards Dinner
- Fully supported the Salem-Keizer Safe Routes program
- Launched Gravel Rides
- Ran Monster Cookie 2025 with 508 riders
- Approved 8 event rides for credit
- Set aside $10K for donation—all from Monster Cookie proceeds
- Strengthened ties with other clubs across the biking community
- Reconnected with Marion County Farmers
What’s Ahead in the Second Half of 2025:
- Staff Iron Man Aid Station #2, plus apply for a Foundation Grant to benefit SKSR—Club to match grant for the second year
- Expand gravel and family rides from Keizer and Minto-Brown Park, along with our regular 5-day-a-week schedule
- Host the San Juan Islands multi-day event
- Plan our End-of-Summer Potluck & General Meeting (tentative: Saturday afternoon at Minto-Brown)
- Support the Salem Art Fair Bike Corral in September (volunteers needed!)
- Open donation applications—please see our Donation Policy on the website for details
- Hold our November General Meeting, share digital election results, and enjoy a year-end potluck
We’ve accomplished a lot already—and there’s even more ahead. One of the most important items on the horizon is our November board elections. Five positions are up: three board members, plus the President and VP. If you or someone you know would be a good fit, now is the time to start thinking seriously about it.
- Board terms are two years, with the option to renew once.
- President and VP serve one-year terms.
- Each position carries a commitment to our shared cause.
Together, we’ve built a strong foundation—and we’re only getting stronger. Please consider getting involved and helping us carry that momentum forward.
In Summary:
Our first half of 2025 was packed with accomplishments—from the Volunteer Awards Dinner to the Monster Cookie ride. As we head into the rest of the year, we’ve got exciting events lined up and key leadership roles to fill. Let’s keep the energy going!
Questions or ideas? Reach out anytime.
— Tim Newman, Club President
president.sbc.salem@gmail.com
| For Sale
LifeCore 850RBs, recumbent stationary bike. 12 program profiles. Displays time, rpm/speed, distance, watt/calories. Quality, solidly built machine, like new, with user manual. $200 or make me an offer.
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Spokes asks a club member five cycling questions each month. This month's featured bike rider is Juan Lopez, SBC Board member and Ironman Event Coordinator. Here is what he has to say:
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1. What is your favorite Club ride?
I became a member back in September of 2023, the first ride I did with the club was the Bethany ride (Steve Budde) was ride leader and hung back with me the whole ride. I think we stopped at Bauman's on this ride, and it's still one of my favorite club rides.
2. Do you have a favorite out of town ride?
I haven't ridden much out of town, but I did a coast ride in Coos Bay last year that was very scenic.
3. Do you prefer uphill or downhill?
I prefer downhill, but you have to earn that by going uphill first. Going uphill is a great way to build character and develop strong legs which you need in cycling.
4. What is the best part of being a club member?
I ride to try stay "somewhat in shape", over all I love riding my bike because I like being outdoors and challenging myself. Cycling allows me to consistently see the improvement I've made, or where I can devote some more attention. And now I get to do that with my family on our new SBC family rides in Minto Brown Park.
5. For people that are members who might be hesitant to volunteer, do you have any words that could help them decide to give a little bit of time?
The best part of being a club member is getting a chance to meet some great people and riders. I have enjoyed volunteering with Safe Routes to School Program as well as the Iron Man event. I encourage our members that haven't volunteered before, to do it at least once, its such a blast watching all the riders come through.
|  | JULY CLUB RIDES SCHEDULE
Find your next ride on the club website.
Click Here
| UPCOMING MEETINGS
Rides Committee Meeting
1st Wednesday of the month at 7pm
The Salem Bicycle Club Board Meetings
Second Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m.
Online
Zoom. please check the website for updates.
| The Salem Bicycle Club is an affiliate of the
League of American Bicyclists
1612 K Street NW, Suite 308
Washington, DC 20006
202-822-1333
We encourage our members to join the LAB | Spokes
Spokes is published and distributed via email each month by the Salem Bicycle Club in Salem, Oregon. The opinions expressed in Spokes are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Salem Bicycle Club.
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