Erosion, it happens. When we hear of erosion, we often think of streams that in the course of time take soil away from a stream bank. This erosion widens the riverbed but also carries silt downstream where it can clog the stream or create “sand bar” islands in stream that divert the flow of the stream. Although it is a natural part of an ecosystem, erosion is seldom thought to be a positive thing. Recently in Pennsylvania, the Susquehanna River Watershed has asked land owners and farmers not to plant crops or utilize the land right next to streams. Instead they have asked for the farmers and land owners to plant trees in this space to create/reinforce a riparian buffer. They hope to minimize erosion and have the trees absorb excess water and fertilizers used in agriculture and landscaping. The excess fertilizers getting into streams have added to algae and plant growth in streams, thus diminishing water quality in the Watershed. Now, I am not a hydrologist or a biologist, but all of this got me thinking about our spiritual life with God.

Hello all, and Happy New Year. I hope you are in the beginnings of a great New Year. Perhaps you are working on a winter project for your bike or making plans for a new riding season. Or if you're an Australian, you could be in the middle of the riding season. Either way, 2016 looks to be a great year with some new things happening.

As I look back on the past year we were able to get a lot of positive things accomplished. Many of the chapters are doing well and two new chapters were launched. We achieved our non profit status with the federal government and the sales tax license with the Commonwealth of PA. We revised the By-Laws and brought some new faces onto the Board.

This year will continue as last year with the same Operating Principles of Vision, Accountability, and Transparency. We as the Board commit to follow these and model them for you by being: Accountable- Our email addresses are up for you to access us when you need to do so. To call us out if you disagree with a decision or question our actions. Transparent: Whenever the Board meets or has a conference call, the Secretary will take minutes and after approval from the Board, they are posted in the Members Only Section of the forum, so you can see what is being discussed and decided. Any questions and concerns you have can be brought to the Board by your chapter leader for discussion at any of our meetings. We also invite chapter leaders to four conference calls each year.