bs0405-1

Boxer Shorts, May, 2004 - 1 of 3

Progress Report

by Kit Wise

Well, the results are in. I was sort of hoping that the survey we published in the March Boxer Shorts would produce at least a 10% return rate, to make it meaningful. I am very pleased that 90 members (that's getting on for 20% of the current membership) took the trouble to respond. I am even more pleased that the responses were thoughtfully done and included lots of interesting and funny suggestions and comments.

We will be posting the full tabulation of the survey on the club web site for anyone who wants to see it in detail. I don't really know yet if the survey is going to produce noticeable changes in the Club; it will take some time and discussion to digest all the data and ideas. But take a look at the full tabulation on the web site, and help me and the other officers decide what it all means.

For now I will share the highlights of the survey with you. Some of it we already know, and some of it is very surprising. These figures of course reflect those who responded and not the whole membership. But the numbers are probably pretty much representative for the entire club. I have to warn you that this is my personal interpretation of the data. You might see it differently:

* We are almost all male.
* We fall very strongly between the ages of 40 and 60.
* Most are married, most have kids.
* Most went to college and many to grad school.
* On average we live 85 miles from the intersection of the Mass Pike and route 495.
* We have been riding for an average of 24 years.
* We own about 2 and half bikes each.
* We ride an average of 6,685 miles a year.
* Casual riding, commuting and touring are the dominant uses for our bikes.
* Every last one of us claims to always wear a helmet.
* We almost always wear protective clothing.
* 58% have taken an MSF course.
* Respondents have belonged to the Yankee Beemers for an average of 5.24 years.
* The dominant reason for joining the Yankee Beemers has to do with people and friendship.
* Everyone reads the Boxer Shorts, most without fail.
* Monthly meetings are well attended.
* The holiday party, summer dinner, organized rides and rallies are never attended by quite a lot of people.
* The Boxer Shorts gets generally good ratings.
* Opinions about advertising in the Shorts are evenly split.
* The web site gets generally good ratings.
* Most would not like to see advertising on the web site.
* Breakfast meeting time of 8:30 on Sunday morning is heavily favored.
* The location of the breakfast meeting is OK with a large portion of respondents.
* The price of breakfast is acceptable to most at $10.00. $12.50 is too expensive for almost everyone.
* Only 3 thought the business meeting is boring.
* Meeting at the same place every month is strongly favored.
* Among those who do not attend breakfast the dominant reasons are distance and the early time.
* Only one doesn't come to breakfast because of bad food, and I bet he hasn't been to Stone's.
* There is strong interest in all the suggested instructional sessions, with mechanical and maintenance getting the most votes.
* In the group ride category "Ride to Destination" garnered the most interest.
* There is strong interest in doing a show or event to replace Larz Anderson.

I personally think that the breakfast meeting is the club's most important activity, and I think that getting it right is critical. There were some very good suggestions about having the meeting in different locations so that more people could conveniently attend. Several respondents clearly are frustrated that the meeting isn't nearer to where they live. The numbers in the survey do seem to indicate that the respondents, at least, favor meeting regularly at one place, and they like the place we meet. But there may be a strong correlation between respondents and people who regularly come to breakfast - in fact, it's just about the same number. We still don't know what 75% of the members think. Anyway, the subject is far from closed.

Without a doubt the best reason for joining the Yankee Beemers was "It will look good in my obituary."

Thank you all for your responses.

Kit Wise

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