Dear DWC Members,
Thank you for taking the time to fill out the DWC feedback questionnaire. Including those of you who filled out the forms handed out at the DWC Championships party and those of you who completed the online survey we had 129 responses!
Here is a summary of the data:
72% of you are male, 28% are female. Your average age is 45.
The list of occupations was diverse. Examples include: Software Developer, Pro Cyclist, Computer Programmer, Firefighter, Writer, Pharmacist, Realtor, Dentist, Teacher, Aircraft Mechanic, Physical Therapist, Lawyer, Ski Resort Manager, Bike Rider & Ski Bum, Radio Station Marketer, Machinist, Surveyor, Physician, Student, Scientist, Contractor, Hydrologist, HVAC Technician, Heavy Equipment Technician, Oil & Gas Engineer, Seamstress, Accountant, Neuropsychologist, Graphic Designer, Retiree, Professor, Archeologist, Marketer, Welder, CFO, Landscape Architect, Probation Officer, Massage Therapist and Editor.
49% of you are primarily road riders, 34% are Mountain Bikers, 15% are Commuters and 2% of you wrote in that you were Cross riders.
74% of you said that Advocacy was Very Important to you, with 85% of responding that Local Advocacy was Very Important to you.
29% of you think Member Discounts are Very Important. 25% think Member Discounts are Not Important at all.
DWC Social Events were somewhat important to the majority of you, with only 11% responding that they were Very Important.
DWC Social Rides are important to you. 61% responded with 4 or 5 on a 5 point scale where 5 is Very Important. DWC Training Rides are Very Important to you. 62% of you responded with a 5 on the 5 point scale.
Non-sanctioned DWC Races are slightly more important to you than Sanctioned (ACA or USAC) Races. The types of races that you would like to see the DWC promote (in order of preference) are Road Races, Time Trials, MTB, Criteriums, and Cyclocross.
The open-ended question regarding the DWC Championships had many helpful responses. Many of the comments had to do with making the categories more clear, requiring a minimum number of participants for each category, putting in rules to prevent sandbagging and announcing the Champs well ahead of time. A few of you wanted more variety in the road race and to bring back the Hill Climb Prologue. Some of you thought the MTB TT was a good addition. Many of you were happy with the event and complemented the volunteers who organized and ran the events.
The open-ended question regarding changes to the club also had many helpful suggestions. Many of the comments had to do with two main topics; advocacy and group rides. For advocacy, there were several of you that want to see the DWC become involved with promoting safer cycling, better awareness of cyclists, more bike lanes, and better roads for cycling.
Many of you would like to have organized rides of some-sort. Suggestions for rides included; training rides, social rides, women’s rides, masters rides, and D rides. Some members felt that the DWC needs to do a better job policing the rides and that we need to be strict about holding group rides for members only. A few of you thought that the DWC Board was right to end the 2008 Tuesday evening rides, an equal amount thought that the rides should have been left as they were. Many of you felt that the rides were dangerous and that the DWC needs to be better about teaching club members how to ride in a group on open roads. A couple members said they stopped participating in DWC group rides because they were too dangerous.
Other comments about club changes had to do with changing the web-site to make it easier to navigate, and to improve communication between the DWC administration and our members. We had many responses from members who simply wanted to thank us for doing a good job.
I have thoroughly gone through the questionnaires and discussed the results with the DWC Board. In the next couple of months we will be developing a plan for the 2009 season and we will use this information to help us decide what our focus needs to be. From speaking to members and from reading your feedback I know that many of you feel that local advocacy and group rides are very important to you. Both of those issues are at the top of my list too!
-Spencer
