Left to right: Joan Elder, Bill Powell, Johanna Pawelczyk, Frances Adams, Susie Proust, Phoebe Bax, Linda Wilsber, and Roger Phillips. Two bikes = 624 rides per year.
Phoebe Bax
The SaddleBrooke Indoor Cycling group* (new name by mid-June 2016) started our first annual voluntary contributions drive on April 5, 2016. In six weeks our group donated $3,330 towards our ultimate goal of purchasing six new Keiser Bikes for use by all of SaddleBrooke in their indoor cycling fitness program. Indoor cycling is a low-impact cardio exercise that benefits all exercise levels.
It was noted that our community needed to be made aware of this effort. We would like to ask for your support in making a donation, no matter the amount, to help us meet this need for our SaddleBrooke Community. Mail your check, made out to SaddleBrooke Indoor Cycling, to Suzanne Reagan at 37446 South Golf Course Drive, Tucson, Arizona 85739. For questions about this fundraiser contact Phoebe Bax at [email protected] or 818-9415.
There are 14 qualified volunteer leaders in the SaddleBrooke indoor cycling group, 15 bikes and six 45 to 55 minute sessions offered per week. Please sign up with Jim Ryan at [email protected] to be placed on the weekly notification email list if you are interested in indoor cycling. There is no charge for these classes.
The SaddleBrooke indoor cycling history is very exciting. On July 5, 2011, Jim Ryan began an effort in making sure that the indoor cycling bikes were being used at the Mesquite Fitness Center. He started with eight bikes and sent out emails to homeowners in SaddleBrooke to let them know that he was starting 45-minute, volunteer-led classes. A few years’ later five additional bikes were donated by The Health Fair Committee. In 2014, HOA2 provided two additional bikes bringing the total to 15.
Why are six new bikes required? The requests for bikes have continued to increase each year as the community hears about this terrific exercise. Due to the lack of bikes many riders will not even mention the value of this program in order to get a bike to ride, rather than risk being placed on a waitlist which could be, in high season, as many as 22 individuals. The current goal is two new bikes which would allow 36 additional riders per week for a total of 624 riders per year and reduce the number on the waitlist. We are approaching the purchase of the first two new bikes in the near future.
A meeting was called in November, 2015, for those indoor cyclists who were interested in getting some type of solution put into place for more bikes. From the meeting a group was formed that conducted a survey emailed to the current riders’ email list used by Jim Ryan. That survey indicated 83% of the 60 participants would be willing to make an annual voluntary donation in order to purchase bikes. Also, 53% stated that they would participate in fundraisers and 25% would volunteer for fundraisers.
Dave Palermi and Joan Elder found out that tee shirts would be a great fundraising effort for us. SaddleBrooke tee shirt collectors please contact Dave for information on the tee shirts at [email protected].
Please come and join the SaddleBrooke Indoor Cycling Group!