Rochester Active Sports Club

After much excitement and unexpected twists in the order processes, both the snowmobile and groomer are now here and ready to groom! Checkout these pictures taken on Saturday November 30.

Sunday's snow isn't quite enough yet to groom. There's maybe 2+ inches of snow on the trails however we need another inch or two plus some cold temperatures to safely start. We did experiment today but the snowmobile skis are going right through the light snow to the grass and dirt underneath. Hopefully we'll get some more snow soon!

Defeet is a company that specilaizes in socks for biking and skiing (amongst other things). For this winter they are offering RASC members their wool nordic socks at 40% off retail price (normally $13 / pair, but available at $7.50 / pair to RASC members). If you are interested in getting some, please contact Henry Walker (walker.henry@mayo.edu).

Socks come in 4 sizes:
S:  Womens 6-8
M:  Womens 8.5-10.5; Mens 7-9
L:  Womens 11-13; Mens 9.5-11.5
XL:  Mens 12+
 

The club’s annual meeting was held on Sunday November 16th from 1-4 p.m. in the conference room of the Edina Realty building. Full minutes of the meeting can be found on the RASC Info page under "Annual Meeting 2008". Many thanks to Bob Gritman from Bicycle Sports for the excellent prizes (heart rate monitor, sunglasses, free bike fitting !!) that were raffled off at the meeting.

The RASC Hot box is now operational for 08/09 ski season

For hot boxing, please follow the following steps
1) Iron in a layer of a soft wax such as Swix CH10 or Toko Yellow (hard waxes are not absorbed well at 140F)
2) Drop the skis into Rochester Cycle and Fitness
3) Be sure to put a note or label giving you name and contact info
4) Include a check for $10 (payable to RASC) or $10 bill
5) E-mail me to let me know the skis need to be picked up from RCF. (mkoconnor@mayo.edu)
6) I will contact you when the skis are finished and back at RCF (turn-around time should be 1 week or less).
Note: This facility is ONLY available to club members

Olmsted County has started putting rumble strips on many of the newly paved roads in the county. These are wide grooves at the edge of the white line on the hard shoulder. If you hit these on a regular bike you will definitely understand the implications. It becomes impossible to ride these roads without keeping to the left of the white line – which put you a lot closer to the traffic. Previous studies on bike lanes have shown that closing the separation between cyclist and cars results in a 2-3 fold increase in accidents. Michael Sheehan is the county engineer with Olmsted County responsible for this idea. He indicated that they plan to add the rumbles to all the new roads! The rumble strips are designed to keep sleepy-drunk-text-messaging-cell-phone-yapping-coffee-drinking-drivers on the roads. They just added them to CR 8 south of Bamber Valley School. If this idea is replicated on all county roads, then fairly soon you will not be able to cycle anywhere in Olmsted County with safety. It is VERY important that all cyclists contact Michael to call for a halt to this project until such time as the county and the cycling community sit down and discuss this issue. Michael can be reached at sheehan.michael@co.olmsted.mn.us or call him at 507 328-7070 Fax: 507 328-7090, mail 2122 Campus Drive SE - Rochester MN 55904.

Paul Scanlon completed his kayak / ride event for the Red Cross on May 4th. This is the 3rd time Paul has done some type of endurance event as a fund raiser for the Red Cross. Full details of his 26 mile kayak trip and 100 mile road bike (back to back) are given below. If you are interested in supporting the Red Cross,. you can still do so - pledges / check can be sent to his home address and should be made out to the American Red Cross.
C/o Paul Scanlon
100 Mayo Park Drive SE
Rochester MN 55904

Supporters of several state recreational trail projects celebrated a milestone Wednesday. Earlier this week, funding for several trail systems was included in the 2008 bonding bill signed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The state bonding bill included a total of $15.32 million for state trails, with at least $4.27 million designated for segments of five state trails in southeast Minnesota. The bill included more than $13 million for regional parks and trails across Minnesota.

Local trails getting funding for expansions and improvements include the Stagewood trail (Oxbowpark to Owatonna), $500,000, the Chester Woods segment of the Blufflands State Trail, $970,000; the Great River Ridge Trail in the Plainview area, $1.5 million; the Mill Towns Trail expansion from Lake Byllesby Park to Cannon Falls, $500,000; and several sections of the Root River Trail in the Preston area, $600,000 total. Trails with the best chance at funding were those connected with another trail and ones where construction could start this year to complete the trail, such as segments of the Great River Ridge Trail and the Blufflands State Trail from Rochester to Chester Woods Park.

For full details see the Post Bulletin article