Bicycle
Bicycle Committee Chair 2025
Skip Doyle: SkipNewYork@Yahoo.com
The Bicycle Committee embraces all the missions of the Appalachian Mountain Club: education, recreation, conservation. It sponsors rides on all type of bikes (road, hybrid, mountain, ebikes) and varying terrain (roads, gravel, rail trails, single track, mountain trails). Helmets are required for all rides, as are gloves unless deemed optional by the ride leader.
Our priorities are safety first, fun second, and achieving our goals third – and of course, we always want to learn something. Before a ride, check your equipment: tires should be properly inflated, brakes tested, shifting crisp, seat height comfortable and efficient, and broken spokes causing misalignment should be fixed. Besides being prepared with ample food and beverages, provide for contingencies: clothes for a change in weather (especially a windbreaker) and spare tire.
All rides require registration.
Check the ride description for a detailed description of the route, terrain, mileage and elevation gain, and type of bicycle suitable for the ride (road, hybrid, mountain). E-bikes are permitted unless specifically excluded. Riders must be adults unless minors are specifically included.
Check AMC’s Activities Database for upcoming rides.
How challenging will the ride be?
Every bicycle ride will have a detailed description of its mileage, type of terrain, elevation gain, and so forth. In addition, the trip write-up will note which difficulty the ride falls into based on the AMC’s Activity Difficulty Rating System.
| Activity Level | Moving Time (Up to___Hours) | Distance (Up to __Miles) | Average Moving Speed (__ miles per hour) | Elevation (Up to ___feet) | Rise (__Feet per Mile) |
| Relaxed | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 1000 | 40 |
| Easy | 4 | 35 | 8.8 | 2000 | 57 |
| Moderate | 4 | 45 | 11.3 | 3000 | 67 |
| Vigorous | 5 | 60 | 12.0 | 4500 | 75 |
| Strenuous | 6 | 80 | 13.0 | 7000 | 88 |
Education
Basic bicycle maintenance: covers chain lubrication, flat tire replacement, and components of the pre-ride (A-E) check list.
Mountain biking fundamentals: skills and drills in learning to ride a mountain bike.
Bike touring: Preparation and gear for trekking regional multi-day rides: Erie Canalway, Empire State Trail, Hudson River Valley circuit.
Transportation
Bikes are permitted on trains and subways. Check with MetroNorth and MTA for limitations: for example, non-rush hour and number of bikes allowed on each car. Amtrak requires reservations. Bicycles and public transportation are more than means to recreation; they are fundamental to conservation.
Helpful Links
New York Bicycling Coalition Ride preparation, technique, gear and guidelines.
The Bicycle chair is available to any answer questions about biking: gear, attire, venues: SkipNewYork@yahoo.com.
Becoming a Bicycle Leader
The Bicycle Committee’s New Leader Coordinator is Skip Doyle, who can be reached at SkipNewYork@Yahoo.com. Contact Skip to discuss the process of becoming a bicycle leader and how you can get in on the excitement! Skip will work with you personally and guide you step by step through the process, which is:
1. Successfully complete the AMC Leadership Training course offered several times throughout the year (note: this program can be completed during the ‘skills’ training portion of the Bicycle Leadership training program; it is not a prerequisite)
2. Co-lead a minimum of two rides with someone who is already a bicycling leader, and pay attention.
3. Scout and plan a ride on your own, submit a ride listing to the Activities Database, and conduct the trip according to the AMC’s Leader Requirements and Guidelines, the Outdoor Leader Handbook, the Code of Conduct, and all other club rules, under the guidance of an experienced, qualified New York-North Jersey Chapter bicycling day-ride leader.
4. Demonstrate reasonable mastery of important leader skills, including the “soft skills” of being an AMC leader (making participants feel welcomed on the ride, and being part of the group; maintaining group cohesion and an espirit de corps
4. Complete a ‘check ride’ with the Bicycle Committee chair or designee.
Bicycle Leader First Aid Training Reimbursement Policy
First Aid training is recommended, but not required, for bicycle leaders. The Bicycle Committee encourages its leaders to take the Adult First Aid/CPR/AED class offered by the American Red Cross. The Red Cross offers its programs frequently, and at many locations, in the New York-North Jersey area. The Bicycle Committee will reimburse its leaders for the cost of the program, and may also reimburse ancillary expenses (travel, meals; other) at the discretion of the Bicycle Committee chair. In all cases, leaders must communicate with the Bicycle Committee chair prior to registering for the class so that everyone is clear as to which costs and expenses will be reimbursed.
Explore bikepacking
Bikepacking is an activity which combines elements of bicycling, hiking, backpacking, and traditional car camping. It’s easy! Strap your backpacking gear onto your bicycle, and head off to the campground. Now you’re bikepacking.
Some bikepacking trips are run as “backpacking, with a bicycle,” while others are run as “car camping, with a bicycle.” Which means that some events will involve 4-6 miles of cycling to a campsite, and then setting up camp, followed by hiking. Other trips will ride many more miles each day on the bicycle, perhaps 25 to 65, before setting up camp for the evening.
If a cycling ride involves an overnight component, it will be listed as a “backpacking” activity for AMC purposes, since the trip leader will necessarily have to be certified by the Backpacking Committee due to the additional skills required to lead the trip successfully.
Helpful Information
There are a lot of components to safe group cycling. This page from the New York Bicycling Coalition (NYBC) has a lot of information which cycling leaders must know to safely leads rides for AMC.