PALM Meeting

We had a PALM meeting last Sunday. I was hoping that we would have almost all the applications entered except maybe for some late staff by the meeting, but such no luck. We have completely processed 389 riders so far, about half. As I've mentioned before, all applications that didn't make the cutoff date of Feb 3 were mailed back on Feb 13. If you mailed in your application before Feb 3 and didn't receive your application back, you are on the ride. Until Vickie processes your application she won't cash your check, so don't be worried if your check hasn't been cashed. If you're still worried, email us. Vickie has alphabetized all the applications that she is processing so she can check to see if you're there.

We got a report on all the sites at the meeting. Things there are going well. Meal menus are pretty set. Entertainment has been arranged. The Stanton site co-ordinator said that the only food outlets in town are McDonalds and Subway. The downturn in the auto industry has caused the three downtown restaurants to close. Monday night might be a good night to pay for a PALM dinner. We got a look at this year's t shirt. If you thought last year's shirt was bright, wait until you see this year's shirt. The staff wanted to be sure that if you wore the PALM shirt while biking that you would be seen. They succeeded. I can't wait until this year's PALM parade. All the spectators will be squinting.

I've taken a look at the breakdown at the PALM riders so far. I would expect that the first applications received would be from former PALM riders. I remember adding only a handful of complete addresses when I was entering the applications. From this perspective, there should be only a handful of new riders. In fact 103 of the 389 riders that I've registered so far are first timers: 26%. Since I only entered a few addresses, this means that the first time riders were all on the mailing list. This shows that if you want to ride PALM and you've never ridden PALM before, you've got to get on the mailing list. (Former PALM riders are automatically on the mailing list.)

We already have 32 riders in their 70's and 7 riders in their 80's registered. Typically the 10 thru 19 year old age bracket is one of the two top age brackets. So far there are 49 riders in this age bracket as compared to 93 riders in their 50's and 101 riders in their 60's. This is low. I've found that families register later than individuals. With this year's Feb 3 cutoff date, I hope that they had enough time.