B.J. Murray
The Progress has been delivered to SaddleBrooke residents since 1990. In January of 1997, Cyclemasters Cycling Club united with Robson Publishing to deliver the newspaper. Now, 24 years later, Cyclemasters continues to get this important communication out to all our residents. We start the process by learning from Robson when we can expect to get the newspapers each month. Our Cyclemasters coordinators, Jim Thom and Dan Hoshino, line-up the Cyclemasters delivery volunteers of 43 permanent and 30+ alternate routes.
On the big day of Progress delivery (typically a Wednesday or Thursday), you can really see us spring into action! Bruce Hale meets the truck from the publisher at 5:30 a.m. at our Mini-Mart staging area. Bruce and various volunteers who help from time to time (including his wife, Linda), sort the newspapers into bundles, specifically sized for each delivery route. There are 43 routes in 47 SaddleBrooke units. Each bundle is tagged with the route and associated delivery volunteer’s name. Substitute volunteers get a unit map so they can successfully deliver to each home. Jim or Dan creates all these tags and maps each month!
When the papers are bundled, Dan or Jim send an email notifying volunteers that it’s time to pick up their bundles at the Mini Mart staging area. Once they get their bundle, volunteers head home to stuff each newspaper into the clear plastic bags where you’ll find the Progress each month … then off to deliver them!
Robson pays Cyclemasters for delivery of the Progress paper. In the beginning it was $150/month, though today that number is significantly higher, as more homes have been built in the community. As of January 2021, the Cyclemasters have earned a total of $152,511.70.
We are grateful to Robson for this opportunity, since it allows us to purchase bikes and helmets for deserving kids in the Oracle, Mammoth, and San Manuel school districts. We leave it up to the principals of each school to determine which kids are worthy of getting new bikes. Last year, COVID-19 prevented us from getting bikes to these schools. However, this year, even with COVID-19, we are committed to partnering with Oro Valley Bicycle to donate 12 to 16 bikes. Each bike costs the Cyclemasters from $300 to $400.
If you are interested in joining our club or donating to our cause, check out our website at www.saddlebrookecyclemasters.org. We always enjoy riding with new members. E-bikes are welcome.