New Mexico Touring Society
Club Information

• Monthly Meeting Location
• Objectives
• Membership Benefits
• Membership FAQ
• Officers
• Assets
• NMTS Policy on Obeying Traffic Laws
• Ride Leader Guidelines
• Cyclist Etiquette
• Officer Duties

Club Objectives

• The New Mexico Touring Society is a League of American Bicyclists affiliated bicycle club consisting of cyclists of all ages and abilities, both road and mountain biking.
• The NMTS schedules member led daily and multiple day trips of varying distances and difficulties.
• The NMTS encourages local bicycle advocacy to further bicycling opportunites and safety.

Benefits of Club Memberships

• Receive the NMTS monthly newsletter, the Freewheel, that lists monthly rides and other good gosip.
• Find out all the neat places to ride in the state.
• Travel to outside rides as a part of a group, e.g., Santa Fe Century, Enchanted Circle Century, etc.
• Participate in weekly rides as a particant in friendly, non-competetive bike rides. Become part of the club.
• Be eligible to attend the annual member Christmas party and Ride Leader Appreciation party (for ride leaders and helpers).
• Be eligible to purchase the snazzy NMTS jerseys and ride leader socks (for ride leaders and helpers).
• Be eligible for the annual rider (male and female) of the year awards.
• Be eligible to borrow or rent club equipment like bike boxes, BOB trailer, etc.
• Only members can post For-Sale/Wanted classifieds on the NMTS WebSite. It works!

• Anyone (member or non-member) giving a presentation is elegible for $20 reimbersment for slides and developing.
• Anyone (member or non-member) giving a presentation gets a pair of ride leader socks.

NMTS Membership FAQ

• NMTS Membership runs for a year beginning with the month we receive your dues and is renewed annually on that month.
• NMTS dues are not collected all at the beginning of the year.
• There is no online signup for dues.
• The Ride Waiver Form is kept on file so renewing members do not have to fill one out every year.
• If you have a question about your membership status, email the treasurer.

NMTS Club Officers

Bill Thompson	President	299-0302
Chris Marsh	Vice President	891-3464
Bob Griffith	Secretary	897-3122
Dianne Cress	Treasurer	294-2928
Tom Sullivan	Freewheel Editor	299-6545
Mary Ann Sweeney	Ride Chairman	247-4866
Pete Stirbis Don Simonson	Government Advocate	271-9265
Mark Pasnewski	Mileage Chairman	292-6347
Eric Russell	Webmaster	281-1289

Club Assets

The NMTS has the following equipment available for use on club rides. The shipping cases and BOB trailer, etc. can be used for other rides.

• B.O.B. Trailer
• 1 Hard-sided Bicycle shipping case.
• 2 Coolers
• 3 Water Jugs
• First Aid Kit
• Tool Kit
• Small Bike Work Stand (holds rear wheel off the ground)
• Floor Pumps
• Front and Rear Panniers
• Slide Projector for club meetings

NMTS Policy on Obeying Traffic Laws

The NMTS Board of Directors has promulgated this policy in November 2001

The New Mexico Touring Society encourages and expects its members to obey all state and
municipal traffic laws. The State of New Mexico and the Coty of Albuquerque require bicyclists to
obey all traffic laws that apply to motor vehicles. Also NTS is a member of the League of American
Bicyclists, which advocates that bicyclists obey traffic laws. The Albuquerque Traffic Code Subsection
16.5 states the traffic regulations that apply to persons riding bicycles:

A. Operators of bicycles have the same rights a operators of automobiles in the use of streets,
highways, and roadways within the City of Albuquerque, except as otherwise specifically
provided herein.
B. Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway shall be subject to all duties applicable to the
drivers of motor vehicles, except otherwise expressly provided in this article and except which
by their nature can have no applications of this article to which a motorist is subject.

Ride Leader Guidelines

• Ride leaders will advertise the ride in either the newsletter or on the telephone ride line. Ride line announcements must be submitted to the ride coordinator by the Sunday noon before the ride meeting.
• Ride leaders should hand out maps or give explicit instructions of the ride route.
• Ride leaders will assure that all riders sign the NMTS waiver including the Emergency Contact information.
• All cyclists are required to have CSPC, SNELL, or ANSI approved helmets. For after sunset rides cyclists will have head and tail lights.
• Ride leaders should designate regroup or rest stop areas if and where appropriate.
• Ride leaders will assure that the last person is accounted for during and after the ride. For large rides or with a diverse group a sweep rider may need to be designated.
• When the ride is complete the ride leader should turn in the waiver form to the Mileage Chairman.

Rider Etiquette

• All cyclists will wear CSPC, SNELL, or ANSI approved helmets.
• Cyclists should be prepared to contend with the normal occurances of cycling such as flats and be prepared with the correct equipment.
  • Ample water and snacks. A water-bottle per hour is a good rule of thumb for water consumptions. Remember that New Mexico is a desert so plan accordingly.
  • Basic repair kit including spare tires and a pump.
  • Sunscreen and sunglasses.
  • Identification (drivers license), medical insurance card, and written emergency contact, name and phone number.
  • Raingear, gloves, tights as the weather demands.
  • Change ($.35) for a phone call.
  • Head and taillights if riding after sunset.
• Cyclists will obey state and city traffic ordinances as they pertain to cyclists.
• Cyclists should arrive at the designated ride meeting place with sufficient time to get ready for the ride to start at the advertised time.
• Cyclists should maintain the pace as advertised. The rider may ride faster or slower than this pace if s/he knows the route and advises the leader accordingly. In this case the leader will not be responsible for the cyclists safe return or completion of the ride.
• Cyclists should notify the ride leader if s/he has a cellular phone.
• Cyclists should advise the ride leader if the rider will not complete the ride or deviate from the designated route.
• Cyclists should warn nearby rear cyclists of road debris or, when in the rear, warning leading cyclists of approaching motorists from behind.
• Cyclists should as simple courtesy help out others with mechanical problems.
• Cyclists should use common sense and courtesy.
• Cyclists should not antagonize vehicle drivers, you can only lose.

Club Officer Descriptions

President

• Leads monthly meetings. Responsible for setting up the meeting area, calling the meeting to order, making announcements, introducing the guest speaker.
• Coordinate refreshments at monthly meetings.
• Occasionally makes policy decisions, issues club official statements and letters, schedules board meetings when the need arises.
• Proposes annual budget.
• Delegates responsiblity for major events: Gila Inner Loop Super Tour, Ride Leader's Annual Party, Christmas Party.

Vice President

• Assists the President.
• Takes the President's duties when he/she is absent.
• Schedules monthly programs.

Secretary

• Takes minutes of monthly meetings and board meetings which are submitted to the newsletter editor.

Treasurer

• Manages the club's finances, deposits membership payments, issues checks to reimburse authorized expenses.
• Manages the club's membership list.
• Keeps the club's LAB membership dues, insurance, and ride line phone payments up to date.
• Collects the printed newsletters from the printer and mails the monthly newletters. produces mailing labels or information for the monthly Freewheel.
• Maintains ride waivers, checks, and other documents for 5 years.
• Issues monthly account balance for the Freewheel.

Freewheel Editor

• Collects ride information from the Ride Chairman, ride recaps from ride leaders, advertisments from REI and other sponsors, and members, and other useful information.
• Formats the Newsletter.
• Submits the Newsletter to the printer.
• Sends the front page of the newsletter in text to the webmaster.

Rider Chairman

• Collects information for upcoming rides at the monthly meetings.
• May have to call some of the usual suspects to twist arms to fill out monthly ride calendars.
• Submits this information to the newsletter editor.
• Submits weekly rides to the Journal for the Thursday paper.

Government Liason

• Attends meetings of cycling related groups such as GASP!, GABAC, and NM Highway Department meeings.
• Reports minutes to the newsletter editor and gives a summary at monthly meetings.

Mileage Chairman

• Collects ride waiver sheets from ride leaders and maintains totals for each year.
• Submits running totals and the Rider of the Month to the newsletter editor.

WebMaster

• Keeps the NMTS website up to date.
• Receives monthly rides from the newletter editor or Ride Chairman.
• Adds descriptions of rides received from members.
• Troll external sites to maintain regional calendar of events of interest to members.
• Answers email from all over.