Escape New York Needs YOU!

A Message from ENY Ride Director Allan Friedman

Contributing to planning Escape New York is rewarding, fun, and a great way to give back to NYCC.

If you have participated in ENY either as a rider or a volunteer, you know that ENY offers the cycling community a uniquely generous ride and festival that is infused with NYCC’s spirit, really fun, well-run, and thoughtfully detailed and welcoming. New to the club or the ride? Being part of the management team is a great way to grow your cycling circle within and outside the club.

ENY will take place September 28, 2024.

I can match you with a role that works for you.

There are opportunities for volunteers with all types of interests and areas of expertise and different amounts of time available, and it’s a team effort.

It is also possible for a role to be filled by more than one person.

Click on any of the titles in the list below to see a detailed description.

Volunteer Lead - Recruits and places volunteers, deals with the details, and gets people psyched!

Logistics Lead - Gets everything where it needs to be

Provisions Lead - Makes sure the rest stops and finish festival are well supplied with food, drinks, and other necessary things

Festival Lead - In charge of the parties at the beginning and end of the ride

Public Relations Lead - The face and voice of the event

Sponsorship Lead - Gathering sponsors is a group effort. Pull a paceline of ambassadors who help companies connect to NYCC

Project Manager - All-around organizing, problem solving, and supervision (in closer partnership with me :)

The team always benefits from more people to help continually scout and improve our Routes and Route Marking, two separate areas within the management team.

A strong team is already in place, but if you’d like to join it - let me know.

If you can see yourself contributing in any way,

Please email me at enyridedirector@nycc.org 

Thanks!

Volunteer Lead

The Volunteer Lead recruits volunteers and assigns them specific roles and has organizational responsibilities such as scheduling and hosting volunteer orientation and training. Infectious enthusiasm and excellent organizational skills, as well as the ability to manage many details at once, are great for this role. A wide network of club members would be a helpful asset as well. Alternatively, a desire to develop your network - the board is committed to helping the person in this role rally the membership as the ride approaches.

The Volunteer Lead is critical during two periods. In the early spring, the ENY team posts roles and recruits candidates for other leadership positions. In the 6-8 weeks leading up to the ride, the Volunteer Lead focuses on staffing and communicating with day-of-ride volunteers, including coordination of briefings for Sakura Park activities and Rest Stop volunteers. In September, the Volunteer Lead generally must commit 4 to 8 hours per week to the role.

Logistics Lead

The Logistics Lead is responsible for planning and executing the logistics of ENY, specifically: ensuring that all supplies are delivered to ride start, end, and rest stops in a timely and organized manner, including overseeing delivery of food and supplies and ensuring the team packs supply vans efficiently. Working closely with the Provisions team throughout the planning of the ride is essential. 

This is a great role for someone who is organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple moving parts simultaneously. Comfort working with a team and strong communication and coordination skills will come in handy. 

The Logistics Lead plays a critical role from May to September, with an expected commitment of 0.5 to 4 hours per week. In the week leading up to the event, the Logistics Lead must be available for  8-16 hours, depending on circumstances. 

Provisions Lead

The Provisions Lead is responsible for planning, procuring and coordinating (with the Logistics Lead) the supplies necessary to run the event: catered food for the finish festival, food and drinks at rest stops along the route, and necessary facilities such as portable toilets. The Provisions lead  keeps a close eye on the number of participants registered and adjusts supply orders accordingly.

Comfort working with a degree of uncertainty, passion for food, and experience managing a budget are assets for this role.

The Provisions Lead plays a critical role from July to September, with an expected commitment of 0.5 to 2 hours per week until the 2-3 weeks leading up to the event, when the role typically requires 3-4 hours per week.

Festival Lead

The Festival Lead creates a welcoming and festive atmosphere at the start and end festival, with a focus on enhancing the rider experience. This includes coordinating the activities that take place at Sakura Park throughout the day of the ride—registration/breakfast at the start and festival/meal at the end, as well as the transition period between the two. The Festival Lead works with the whole ENY team to ensure all necessary supplies are available. Supported by the Volunteer Lead, the Festival Lead works closely with Sakura shift captains and the many volunteers to ensure they have the resources and support to execute their tasks and to provide guidance and feedback. 

A customer service mindset, excellent communication skills, and a knack for problem-solving are important for the person in this role.

The Festival Lead plays a critical role during two periods. The majority of planning occurs from May to July, with an expected commitment of roughly 0.5 to 2 hours per week. In the 2-3 weeks leading up to the ride, the Festival Lead typically dedicates 3-4 hours per week to providing additional support.

Public Relations Lead

The Public Relations Lead is the face of ENY to the external community and is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with the communities we ride through, securing necessary permits, and ensuring that local stakeholders are supportive of our presence. The PR Lead also promotes the ride to the public through tabling at external events and similar channels.

The PR Lead will benefit from excellent communication skills, the ability to build relationships, and an interest in community engagement, and plays a critical role in May, with an expected commitment of 2-3 hours per week. Some additional work may be required between May and September. 

Sponsorship Lead

The Sponsorship Lead quarterbacks a team of New York Cycle Club members in contact with companies that are interested in supporting the club in any of a variety of ways. Sponsorship historically in the club has been a team sport. A member’s friend or acquaintance hears about the club and it’s 3000 avid cycling members and wants to connect in a meaningful way. Someone from the board will hear them out and, as long as they bring value to our members, will help them navigate to the best way to bring value to our members that can return value to their brand from their investment. Can you tell this blurb was written superbowl weekend 2024? Go COMMERCIALS!

Project Manager

The Project Manager partners with the Ride Director to ensure that planning remains on track by identifying and managing tasks, communicating with stakeholders, and ensuring that issues are resolved quickly. The Project Manager also plays a key role in coordinating management team efforts by creating, and tracking progress against, a project plan and by chairing team meetings.

Flexibility and willingness to wear many hats, as well as comfort adapting to changing circumstances, are important in this role. Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage deadlines are also helpful. If you have experience managing large projects - you will be very welcome in this role.