Hey Team Alamedans! 

We are very excited to announce that we have a new TA sponsor – Flying Embers, straight from Ojai California. 

They are fine purveyors of refreshing drinks, and their “sparkling botanical teas and hard seltzers are made with simple ingredients but packed with complex flavors.  Handcrafted with adaptogens, superfruits, and whole plant botanicals, [their] organic recipes are lighter, brighter, and audaciously bolder.”  You can find their refreshing products at local grocery stores around Alameda, including the Grocery Outlet on Buena Vista where our member, Kal Ghanem, was able to connect Flying Embers with Team Alameda (thank you so much, Kal)! 

Flying Embers was just getting going when the 2017 Thomas Fire came very close to destroying the company.  After Flying Embers survived the horrible fires, the founder of the company created the Embers Foundation, wherein 1% of all the Flying Embers revenue is set aside to help first responders and affected communities.  So, when you are looking for a post-ride refreshing adult beverage, check out the Flying Embers products knowing that you will also be contributing to helping those who have been affected by fires nationwide. 

And an extra bonus:  All of their products are dry fermented, which means they are ZERO sugar and ZERO carbs!!!  Enjoy, and look for some of their products at our annual picnic in the Fall.

A message from SAN FRANCISCO BAY FERRY BAYALERTS

Effective Thursday, masks will no longer be required on San Francisco Bay Ferry. While transit mask mandates have been lifted, public health officials continue to recommend wearing masks on transit. We ask that passengers be kind to fellow ferry riders regardless of their choice whether to wear a mask on board. Outdoor seating is available on every ferry. Thank you for riding San Francisco Bay Ferry.

Hi TA!  We have received a notification about some upcoming work on Bear Creek Road (the road that makes up the Three Bears ride) in Lafayette, and thought it best to share with everyone as this is a very popular route for many of us.

East Bay Municipal Utility District’s (EBMUD) plans to remove soil from EBMUD’s storage site at the Briones Reservoir located off Bear Creek Road.  Trucks will be utilizing Bear Creek Road and Camino Pablo to and from Highway 24 for hauling activities.  

The project is planned to begin the week of April 18, 2022, and should last approximately 4.5 months, until late August.  Work hours will be Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. during the school year, and 9:00 a.m-4:00 p.m. during the summer break.  

EBMUD says that their project contractor and drivers will be expected to exercise extreme caution while hauling and in the presence of bicyclists and pedestrians. Signs will be posted to alert drivers to bicyclists and alert bicyclists to trucks. Truck drivers will be monitored for compliance with the project’s rules for speed and safety throughout the project.  

However, they are also asking that bicyclists be aware and cautious of trucks during hauling. Bicyclists may choose to plan their trip to avoid that area during the haul times, such as in the early morning, evenings, or on weekends.  

Thanks!

HEY Team Alamedans!

We are so happy to announce that we have a new Sponsor – The Electric Bike Warehouse (formerly “Island City Bikes”), a full-service electric bike retail, service, and repair center founded and run by our very own Alvin Carpenter! 

Alvin began Island City Bikes back in 2017 when he recognized the upcoming wave of demand for electric bikes.  He first concentrated on converting standard bicycles to electric bikes and, since that time, has converted nearly 3,000 standard bikes to electric.  Since founding, Alvin had to move his business twice due to quick growth and the need for ever more space.  When moving to San Leandro, at 2551 Williams Street, he changed the name of his company to The Electric Bike Warehouse. 

The Electric Bike Warehouse is the Bay Area authorized dealer of Aventon electric bikes, and also have a large selection of other electric bikes such as Eunorau, Snapcycle, Addmotor and Nakto.  They also continue to undertake bike conversions using products from the Bafang Corporation, and have a full-service repair shop for helping customers with electric bike repairs, tune-ups and safety checks.  And, the company also maintains a wonderful blog on their website where you can read and learn about electric bikes. 

Please be sure to visit their website at www.electricbikewarehouse.com and swing by their warehouse to see upwards of 40 different electric bikes from a variety of suppliers! 

There’s a new federal resource to get free FDA-authorized coronavirus test kits. At COVIDtests.gov, you’ll find information about testing and a link to the U.S. Postal Service – special.usps.com/testkits – where you can order up to four rapid tests to be sent to your home address. Or order your kits by calling 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489). Your kits will be mailed through the U.S. Postal Service within 7 to 12 days.

The tests are completely free. There are no shipping costs, and you don’t have to give a credit card or bank account number. You only need to give a name and address. Once you place an order, you’ll get an order confirmation number. If you give your email address, you’ll also get an order confirmation email and delivery updates.

Source:  https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2022/01/its-official-get-free-covid-test-kits-covidtestsgov

Your board will vote on creating a new position for communications. The person in this role would compile the quarterly club newsletter and cover all functions related to articles, event summaries and descriptions of community efforts submitted by our members.  We have already opened a new e-mail account, newsletter@team alameda.com, for this position. Please send submissions, including photographs, to that address, so that we may make the newsletter more relevant and current. 

 

Every fall the Team Alameda Board issues a "Call for Candidates". This is that "Call".

What this really means is that we are looking for volunteers to help run the organizational side of our club for the next 2 years.  If you have ever given thought to giving back to Team Alameda, or to helping TA improve our club, this is a great way to do that -- and a perfect time to get involved at a new level.

Directors are elected for a 2 year period.  Approximately half of our Directors' 2 year term ends each year.  Some will run again, others will not. The monthly Board meetings have been reasonably short, often not exceeding 60 to 90 minutes.

It would be great to have some volunteers and new faces step up to fill some pending vacancies!  If you are interested, or if you have questions, please contact any of our current Directors, their email addresses are listed under the Contact Us Tab on our website.  Don't be shy - volunteer to serve.

The nominating period (read volunteer period) is open and will close on October 30th.

The slate of new candidates shall be presented to the Board at its regular November meeting.

If the number of candidates is equal to or less than the number of open seats at the time the nominating period closes (November 30th), all candidates shall be deemed elected and such result shall be published to the membership without undue delay.

Should there be more candidates than there are open Director seats, the following election process will be followed:

1. Voting shall be conducted electronically, with voting instructions e-mailed to all members and posted in an appropriate "members only" section of the website no later than November 15th
2. Voting shall take place during the period November 19 - 23 and the results shall be published to the membership not later than November 30^th of each year

Specific positions and functions for each Director have been formalized and committed to writing on 09 June 2020.  This detailed list has been posted to our website.  The job descriptions will give you a fair idea what the various responsibilities entail.

As presently  constituted, the Board comprises the following members:

	Board Position	Name
1	President	Ralph Bruni
2	Vice President	Emil Palacios
3	Ride Leader Coordinator/Calendar	Steve Elias
4	Treasurer	Jack Pigott
5	Membership	Michael Castro
6	Secretary	Zoraida McNulty
7	Sponsors and Publicity	Janet Shaver
8	Webmaster	Klaus Schniedergers
9	Process Ride Sheets (Assistant Webmaster)	Norman Woo
10	Member at Large (Tasks as assigned)	Tony Ng
A	Newsletter Editor	Ralph Bruni

Email addresses for Board members are listed below; we may wish to institute a separate email address for the Newsletter:

Contact
President	president@teamalameda.com
Vice President	vicepresident@teamalameda.com
Ride Leader Coordinator/Calendar	ridecoordinator@teamalameda.com
Treasurer	treasurer@teamalameda.com
Membership	membership@teamalameda.com
Secretary	secretary@teamalameda.com
Sponsors and Publicity	sponsorship@teamalameda.com
Webmaster	webmaster@teamalameda.com
Process Ride Sheets (Assistant Webmaster)	ridesheets@teamalameda.com webmaster@teamalameda.com
Member at Large (Tasks as assigned)	memberatlarge@teamalameda.com
Newsletter Editor	[No dedicated email]

A – "A" - Adjunct Position                                                 

Designed by R. Bruni (December 2019)

            Ralph Bruni

President, Team Alameda

Team Alamedans!  We are so very pleased to announce that we have another new Team Alameda Sponsor – Coffee Cultures (www.coffee-cultures.com)!  You may recognize their name from their newly opened Alameda site at the base of the Park Street Bridge.  This is the third Coffee Cultures site, but one that is very close to the heart of the owner, Jason Paul, as he is a true born-and-raised Alameda native.  Jason also has close ties to the Alameda biking community, so we are all excited to be making this connection. 

As the Coffee Culture website states: “Coffee brings people together and makes them happy.”  So, for your post-ride shot of happiness, feel free to stop on by their site at 1926 Park Street (on the corner of Blanding) and enjoy a lovely and tasty brew, a tea, or some soft serve ice cream and pastry, all made with only the finest ingredients.  They have a private courtyard with space for bikes, and have offered Team Alameda members a 25% off discount. 

Team Alameda Annual Picnic

Harrison Center in Lincoln Park

1:00pm to 4:00pm

We have again reserved the Harrison Center in Lincoln Park on Sunday, September 19^th, for a Team Alameda Picnic and get-together! 

We will have catered lunch and drinks, some nice give-aways, and a raffle with excellent prizes from Alameda-based businesses.  As always, we will also be honoring our ride leaders.

If you would like to bring a dessert or salad to share with the club, that would be wonderful and very welcome!

We will have a table set up for a “bike gear swap”.  If you have any tools, kits, bikes or other bike-related items gathering dust, this will be a great way to free up some space in your home.  Any items that you bring that your fellow Team Alamedans do not want will be donated to a local, bike-focused organization.

This event will be held outdoors.  However, please bring your mask, as we will be asking everyone who goes into the inside area of the site (and while queueing up for food) to wear one.  We will also provide disinfectant to sanitize your hands.

Also, bring your thoughts and ideas on how to better our club as we will be distributing a short survey for everyone.  The information gathered will help the Board in crafting the future of the Club.

After your Sunday morning bike ride, please join us between 1:00-4:00pm on September 19^th.  We look forward to getting everyone together again in a lovely, outdoor setting.

Happy Friday all.  Our member, Tracy Robbz, sent out this link about the upcoming California Bicycle Safety Stop Bill.  If you support this bill, or are curious about the bill itself, please visit this site...and let your elected representative know how you feel!  Thanks.https://www.calbike.org/bicycle-safety-stop-law/?utm_source=CalBike%2BMailing%2BList&utm_campaign=55ccee8c8a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_16_10_53_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5f10494028-55ccee8c8a-114142897&mc_cid=55ccee8c8a&mc_eid=f2162abb88