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You should find here information that is useful for users of the web site. It also contains a few warnings. It is divided into several categories. There is some information for all users of the web site, then there is some additional information and warnings for the members of the Bike Club. This is followed by a frequently asked questions (faq) area. Please take the time to read this information and the warnings. If you have suggestion about the site or about this page, please send them to webmaster@phillybikeclub.org.

Feel free to just scan down the page or there are some links which will jump you to particular items.
Link to General Information
Link to General Information for BCP members
Link to information about submitting a ride
Link to Shortcut for submitting a recurring ride
Link to Frequently Asked Questions (faq)

General Information
There are numerous links available at the site. They are primarily available using the menus associated with the icons (small Pictures) near the top right of the page. Some items are restricted for members only use but most items are generally available. In particular, information about rides is available to everyone and everyone is welcome to join our rides. Before joining one of the club's rides, you may find it useful to read the information available under the 'rides' menu, the item 'classifications'.

Most pages also contain some backward links near the top of the page. These usually look like the following:

Bicycle Club of Philadelphia > Rides > Classifications


They may contain two, three, or more links separated by '>'. If you click the first link (Bicycle Club of Philadelphia) then you will go to the home page for the site. If you click the second link (Rides), in this case you will go to a page with a listing of the items in the Rides menu. If you click the third link (Classifications), in this case you will go to the rides/classifications page. These type of links are sometimes called 'bread crumbs' (think Hansel and Gretel) because they are intended to provide you a path back to the home page.

We hope you find the site useful and that you will consider joining the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia. There is a link to do that on-line which can be found under the 'Join' menu.

Information and Warning for BCP members
Warning: This site is intended to provide information to the bicycling community. As a member of BCP you can contribute to the information available at the site. It is important that you not abuse this privilege by doing things that are disruptive. Do not use language that is offensive. Do not use the site to advertise your personal business or your favorite charity. Do not provide information which is false or misleading. In general, remember that this site represents the Club and in some way it represents you as a member of the Club. If it is determined that you as a member of the club have been abusive to the web site, then you will first be warned and if you fail to heed the warning your privileges as a member can be revoked.

The Bicycle Club of Philadelphia reserves the right to police the conduct of its members in using this website and, in its sole discretion, revoke the privileges of any member who abuses this website. The list of examples just given is not all inclusive, but is meant to illustrate some of the abusive conduct that has plagued other websites and the Internet in general.

Information: As a member of BCP you should be able to log in at this site. In general the email address provided to the club acts as your username and you should be provided an initial password. The link to log in to the site is normally found in the upper right corner of the page. Once you have logged in, you should find a link near that same corner which will allow you to change your password. As a logged in member you have additional privileges at the site. These include:

  • Adding a ride to the ride calendar
  • Adding an event to the event calendar
  • Adding a link to the biking links
  • Viewing the Quick Release on-line
  • Viewing the membership directory.
  • Paying your annual dues on-line.

When you are logged in to the site, you should find a link near the upper right of the page, which will allow you to display and to modify information about you. This information includes the usual items such as name and phone but also includes some optional items such as your volunteer interests, how you would like to view the ride calendar, and your willingness to be listed in the on-line Members Directory. By default, members are not listed in the on-line Members Directory but it is useful to have more members listed in that directory. Please consider changing your option so that you are listed in the directory.

If you are one person in a household membership, each person in the household should have her/his own log in privileges at the site. Only one person in each household is given an initial password but additional persons may be added to a household membership using a link available under the 'Membership' menu. Each member of a household having her/his own log in privilege also means that each member of the household is listed by her/his own name when leading a ride, being listed in the Members Directory, indicating volunteer interests etc. It also means that each person is responsible for her/his actions while logged in at the site.

Suggestions for things a person should do when they first begin to work with the new web site

  • Make sure you can log in using the password provided. If the password does not seem to be working for you, you may want to try using the link for a forgotten password.
  • Once you have logged in at the site, change your password to one that you can remember. The link to do this should be in the upper right of the screen.
  • Go to the links in the upper right of the screen and select "Control Panel". From there, select "Edit Profile" and update the information that is there. The gender and riding level information may not be correct because this was not stored in the old database. There is room for three telephone numbers. Be sure to include the one you would want people to use. If there is information about yourself as a member of BCP that you are willing to share please take the time to provide it in the "About" area.
  • Similarly in the Control Panel, select "Edit Options." There are five options that you can modify and you can also indicate volunteer preferences. The phone number you indicate as your preference is the one that will be displayed when you lead a ride and in the on-line Membership Directory. Because we did not want to intrude on people's privacy, members must opt to be listed in the on-line Membership Directory. Only members can view this directory and only minimal information about the members is available in this directory. It would be nice if a large percentage of the membership would allow their information to be displayed in the directory. As you know a club such as BCP depends on volunteer support. Again, this was information that was difficult to transfer from the earlier database and so it may not reflect information you previously provided. Please take a few minutes to indicate areas where you may be willing to help the club with your volunteer Activity.
  • If there are other members of your household who share your membership, add them to the members list

Ride Submission Process

Ride Leaders can make ride submissions to the website anytime of the month (but by the 12th of the month to be listed in the QR) and they will automatically be posted on the website. This also applies to "Ad Hoc/Add On" rides. Just follow these steps:

  1. Log in with your user name and password.
  2. Click the "Rides" menu item on the Home page and a drop down menu will appear.
  3. Click "Submit a Ride".
  4. Follow the prompts for each section.
  5. When you select the ride leader from the menu, the leaders telephone number and email address will automatically be input from the data base. You do not have to add this information.
  6. Click "Submit".
  7. Verify that your ride is listed correctly by going to the ride calendar.
  8. Click the "edit" button to make changes or correct mistakes.
  9. A confirming email is automatically sent to the Ride Coordinator.

If your ride is not listed, you probably made a mistake. A very common error is to forget to select your name from the list of ride leaders. Entering the wrong date is also a common error.

Shortcut for Submitting Recurring Rides

Each month a recurring ride must be entered as though it were a one-time ride. But you do not have to retype the entire listing every month. Just follow these easy steps:

  1. Go back to the previous month and select the recurring ride(s) you want to list in the current month.
  2. Edit the ride with the new date and any other info that has changed.
  3. Be sure to Save as New.

Note that both individual rides and recurring rides must be listed via the web site by noon on the twelfth of the month in orider to ensure that they make it into the monthly Quick Release ride calendar.

Cancellation/Postponement of a Ride

The BCP list serve and BCP website ride calendar are two areas where cyclists can find out about changes in a ride. In the event of a ride cancellation or postponement, a ride leader should post an email to the BCP list serve. However, since not everyone is on the list serve, another way to get the information out as widely as possible is for the ride leader or coordinator to cancel or postpone a ride on the website with the flick of a few keystrokes:

  1. Select Edit Ride.
  2. Modify the name of the Ride by adding CANCELLED or POSTPONED UNTIL ____ at the beginning so that it will be the first thing people see when they view the listing.
  3. If the weather is iffy the day before, and the ride leader intends to make a call on canceling the ride the morning of the ride, s/he can add a note such as "Will make call at 8:00 AM if the ride is cancelled".
  4. Save the changes.

FAQs.

Q. Does each member of my family need to join/renew? A. No. Your membership fee covers every member of your family. To add family members, log in to the website, click on the membership menu item, and then click on "Add a Person to Household Membership."
Q. Has my BCP membership expired? A. Log into the website. If your membership has expired within the past two months, you will be informed of this. If you membership has lapsed beyond two months, you will not be able to log in. If you can log in, you are a current member. Once logged in, you can view your membership status by clicking on "[View Profile]" at the top of the homepage.
Q. I would like to renew my BCP membership, but my membership expired many months ago, and I no longer have login access to the website. How can I renew? A. You will need to submit a membership application by mail. Visit the BCP webpage, click on the "Membership" menu item, click on "Membership Application" and select "Via Postal Mail." Print the application, fill it out, and mail it with a check to BCP, P.O. Box 30235, Philadelphia PA 19103.
Q. My email address/phone number/address has changed. How can I change it in the records? A. Log onto the website. At the top of the homepage click on "[Control Panel]". Click on "Edit Profile."
Q. What is my password? A. You may reset your password. Click on "Login now" in the upper right hand corner of the home page. Click on "Get help here." Enter your email address and click on "Reset my password.'
Q. I tried to log in with my new email address and couldn't. A. Log in with your OLD email address and password. Click on "Control Panel" and "Edit profile." Change your email address here. From this point on, you will log in with the NEW email address.
Q. Who should I contact with questions about the website? A. Contact Sam Wiley, the webmaster, at webmaster@phillybikeclub.org.
Q. Who should I contact with questions about membership? A. Contact Marsha Hyman, the Membership Chair, at mfkqueen@yahoo.com.
Q. In my ride leader info, it lists my home phone number. It would be better to give my cell number. How can I change this? A. After you log in to the web site, in the upper right, near your name, you will see a link to "Control Panel". When you click on that link you will be given 3 choices. Pick "Edit Options". On that page there is a drop-down labeled "Primary Phone", just change it from "Home" to "Mobile" and click on "Save Settings" at the bottom. On the "Edit Profile" page you can set/change the 3 phone numbers, Home, Mobile, Work, that the site supports.

We hope you find this new site useful and attractive. It should contain the important features of the previous site but if there is something that was missed please write to let us know. By the way, we will not be upset by positive comments as well. Both types of comments can be sent to webmaster@phillybikeclub.org