Back in the dark days before personal computers the club utilized a simple system for tracking ride sign ups and open dates. It was a set of three large dry erase boards with a calendar grid over laid on each one. Each board represented a month in the coming quarter. The ride boards, as they were called, were a large part of our system back then. And for most members, the ride boards represented the planning side of the Ride Schedule.

Today, I'm using the old Ride Board term as a metaphor to represent the planning side of the Ride Scheduling System.

The Ride Scheduling system utilizes three different Calendars.

RIDE CALENDAR
The Ride Calendar, or simply the "Calendar", is where everyone goes to see what rides are scheduled. These are rides that have been "Approved" by the Ride Coordinator. This calendar is basically the online version of the printed Ride Schedule but with any last minute updates or additions.

For the quickest view of any important updates to the Ride Schedule click on the "Hot Updates" link. It is located on the Calendar page.

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The Ride Board uses two calendars. Both Ride Board calendars show all the un-assigned rides, proposed rides and approved rides. Both calandars are always up-to-date with the latest information.

PUBLIC RIDE BOARD
The Public Ride Board is the place where ride leaders can quickly check the current status of all the rides listed for the upcoming quarter. You don't need to "Log-In" to view the Public Ride Board. If you are just looking to see what dates are open or what Un-Assigned rides are available, then the Public Ride Board is the place to look. The information on the Public Ride Board is always up-to-date.


RIDE BOARD
Once Ride Leaders "Log-In" they will see the Ride Board Calendar. This calendar is where ride leaders manage their rides. They can add rides, update rides, and check the current status of their rides. To access the Ride Board you need a Ride Leader account, and you'll need to "Log-In".

For the printed Ride Schedule, rides must be approved by the Ride Coordinator by the printing deadline.

For the (online) Ride Calendar, rides and ride updates must be approved by the Ride Coordinator at least 14 days before the ride date.

In both cases you should submit your updates a couple of days before the deadline.

Like the old system you can still "reserve" a date for the upcoming Quarter.

1. Check the Public Ride Board to see if any existing rides conflict with your ride. Remember, we want rides that complement existing ride, not compete with them.
2. Log into the system
3. Click on the date that you would like to reserve.
4. Click on the "ADD a Ride" Link.
5. Enter a Title and a Description. (The Description can be as simple as "TBA". If no "Grade" is entered your ride will show up as "???" on the Ride Board calendar, which is okay.)
6. Click on the "Sign Up" Link

It's easy to sign-up. Just fill out the Ride Leader Account Request form. The information you enter will be forwarded to the Ride Coordinator and the Ride Coordinator will set up your account. After the Ride Coordinator sets up your account he/she will notify you, via e-mail, that your account is set-up and ready to go.

Any current club member can be a ride leader. Ride leaders are not required to repair flats or broken bikes but knowing how could make your day a lot easier. For more information see the Ride Leaders page.

History ... With the old system, weekly and annual rides were listed, title only, on a small paper calendar. To sign-up for a ride you wrote in your name on one of the dates. Unfortunately the old system had a few short comings. If you couldn't make a club meeting then you would probably never see the calendar and would have no idea of what dates were open. Even after signing up you may or may not actually get the date.

The "Un-Assigned" rides are the equivalent of the rides listed on the old paper calendar. They represent the weekly and annual rides that happen every year and/or every week. The main difference is that when you sign-up for an Un-Assigned ride the Ride Board automatically updates to reflect the changes, allowing all ride leaders to see what dates are still available.

Rides and ride updates only appear on the Ride Calendar and printed Ride Schedule after they have been "Approved" by the Ride Coordinator. In the case of the printed Ride Schedule, they must be approved before the printing deadline. For the online Ride Calendar, they must be approved at least 14 days before the ride date.

To have your rides listed in the printed Ride Schedule your rides must be "Approved" by the Ride Coordinator by the printing deadline. The deadline is listed on the Public Ride Board page. It is generally about 6 week before the start of the next quarter.

After the printing deadline only rides that fill a gap in the ride schedule or rides that complement existing rides can be added.

A gap would be a date without a ride.

A complementary ride would be a ride that offers riders an alternate type of ride. For example if one day had a very difficult ride, a easy ride could be added to balance the schedule. Or, if a short easy rides was scheduled, then a longer/harder ride could be added.

During the current quarter, rides may need to be updated. They may be cancelled, the start location may need to be moved, or new rides may have been added. All these important changes are listed on the Hot Updates page.

You can find the Hot Updates by clicking on the "Hot Updates" link on the Ride Calendar page.

Before the quarterly deadline there are few restrictions on what updates you can make. But after the deadline there are restrictions. After the deadline only necessary changes will be allowed. Changes for the convenience of the Ride Leader(s) or to "correct" what should have been posted are not allowed. If conditions change to the point that the ride description must be modified, then an update will be allowed. In the case of an error in the printed Ride Schedule an update will be allowed only if the error renders the ride description unusable. Whenever a update is needed a "Hot Update" will be posted by the Ride Coordinator.

It's all about control and continuity. Like the old system the Ride Coordinator(s) need to review all the ride descriptions before they go public and make any necessary changes. In addition the approval process allows the Ride Coordinator(s) to manage the schedule to better serve that club.

Ad Hoc rides are rides entered from outside the system. In the old system all rides were entered via the "Ride Entry" form. Anyone could enter a ride description, even non-members. There was no control over who or what was entered. In the new system Ad Hoc rides work the same way, anyone can enter a ride and they can enter whatever they want. No log in or verification is done.

For this reason Ad Hoc rides are handle differently than ride enter via the system. Ad Hoc rides do not appear on any of the calendars until the Ride Coordinator(s) reviews them. After review, Ah Hoc rides are treated just like every other ride. But for the purposes of scheduling, Ad Hoc rides do not exist until reviewed. Also, Ad Hoc rides are not directly editable by the ride leader.

Ride Leaders are highly encouraged to sign-up as a ride leaders and enter rides via the system rather than using the Ad Hoc Ride Entry Form.

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