The original Yaquina Wheels
Bike Club was formed around 1984 with the help of the owner of the old
Newport Bike Shop that was near the high school. John Mayrbat, the
owner was on the Parks and
Recreation committee and helped write a bicycle master plan for
Newport. He is the one that inspired me to promote bicycling.
I (Ken Dennis) joined the
club in 1985 and it was while riding on club rides that I learned how
to ride farther and faster than I had in my previous 10 years of riding
and commuting to work. In 1986 the club held its first and only century
ride. It was advertised nationally and we had about 50 riders.
John moved away in 1988 or
89 and I took over as President of the club which at one time had about
20 full time members.
I moved to Eugene in 1990
and turned the club over to one of the other members who subsequently
moved away within a year and that’s when the club ceased
operations. When I came back to Newport in 1993 all of the original
club material was nowhere to be found.
Yaquina
Wheels was created in the current form in the spring of 2003.
Because I recognized that it
was through club riding that bike riders learned more about bikes and
riding that I put the word out that I wanted to reorganize a bike club
in Newport. A new club was started in 2003 using the same name as the
original and the same basic logo (I still have one of the original
business cards).
Here is an excerpt from the
club’s by-laws:
2. Objectives:
A. The objective of the
association shall be the promotion and
encouragement of and the education of the public to its
benefits.
B. In furtherance of
objective "A", this association may hold championships, races on the
road or track, lectures, fun rides, educational activities, clinics and
social events. The association may print and publish books, magazines
and newsletters; present awards and do other things that may be
conducive to the encouragement of cycling.
C. Other objectives are to
engage in community activities and publicize the benefits of bicycle
riding as a means of physical fitness including promotion and financial
support of youth teams, activities and facilities.
We have attempted to bring
organized rides to the central coast and have riders from Lincoln City
to Yachats that join is our weekly rides. We have monthly
meetings where cycling events and issues are discussed. The
club attempts to support cyclists. We will sponsor events and
support programs for bicycle safety and safe routes to schools in our
coastal communities. If you are interested in joining us,
look at the calendar page for ride and meeting dates as well as other
local and regional events.
If you are interested in
contacting us, look for e-mail links on left of each page and at the
bottom of the home page.
We are very happy to have
the Bike
Newport Store opened on 6th Street at US 101, behind the Newport Cafe.
They have a full line of parts, a mechanic on duty at all
times,
& are an authorized Trek Dealer. They sell our club
jersey.
The owner, Elliot Crowder sponsers weekly road rides on
Saturday
mornings, starting at 10:00 AM & mountain bike rides on
Wednesday
evenings, starting at 5:00 PM. His store is on both the Links
page & the For Sale page. We have our Club rides on
Sundays
usually (weather can cause schedule changes). Check
our
claendar page for the ride leaders contact information & a
brief
description of rides.
