[Phillip Beall (W5EBC)]

All,

Click image to enlarge.

I’d like to encourage everyone to put another outstanding regional public service event on your calendar—not just because it’s an excellent event, but because it gives us an opportunity to return the favor.

Autumn in Bonham returns on Saturday, October 3, 2026. Established in 1986, it has become one of North Texas’ premier cycling events, offering routes for riders of all experience levels—from a family-friendly ride to challenging road and gravel courses through the beautiful backroads of Fannin County, including Bois d’Arc Lake and the Caddo National Grasslands.

Many of us had the privilege of working shoulder-to-shoulder with members of the Fannin County Amateur Radio Club during Tour de Paris 2026. They answered our call for help, filled critical positions, and played a major role in making the event safe and successful. RRVARC simply could not have covered every assignment without the assistance of our neighboring clubs, and we remain sincerely grateful for their support.

Autumn in Bonham gives us an opportunity to return that same spirit of cooperation. Whether you’re interested in providing amateur radio communications, volunteering, riding, or simply cheering on the participants, I hope you’ll consider supporting this outstanding event.

I searched for a dedicated 2026 Autumn in Bonham flyer but wasn’t able to locate one anywhere online. I’ve included this small promotional graphic to help identify the event. If anyone comes across an official flyer, poster, graphic, or other promotional material, please send it my way and I’ll be happy to add it to this post so everyone can benefit.

You can learn more about the ride, registration, routes, volunteer opportunities, and event details on the official Autumn in Bonham website. If your interest is in supporting the event as part of the amateur radio communications team, I’d love to hear from you. Just let me know, and I’ll be happy to introduce you to the Fannin County Amateur Radio Club coordinators so they can get you plugged in where help is needed.

Let’s continue building the friendships and regional partnerships that make events like Tour de Paris and Autumn in Bonham successful. I hope we’ll have another outstanding RRVARC turnout as we return the favor for our friends in Fannin County.

73

Phillip Beall (W5EBC)

[Phillip Beall (W5EBC)]

All,

I just had an email exchange with former Fannin County Amateur Radio Club (K5FRC) president and Autumn in Bonham bike rally coordinator Mark Hetherington (KF5KUW). From him:

I just got the finalized route and rest stop map (below), which identifies the 11 rest stop locations. Please note that the 100 mile has a loop that goes into NW Lamar County, and those rest stops are located at a trailer manufacturing plant (Load Trail I believe) and a local church (Direct Baptist Church).

Also, be aware that we will also be needing people with radios to assist with the flaggers that are also being added this year. Some of the intersections with flaggers that have been discussed (still being finalized) are FM273 & FM1396, FM1396 & FM897 (NOTE: map says 987, it is really 897), FM100 & FM2216…

Some new things this year…

• • We will start and end the rides at the Bonham Trades Day area (near intersection of hwy 56 & hwy 121), specifically 1100 W. 5th St. Bonham.
  • This is where net control will be located. I will be net control for this event…
  • We will have a rest stop in Honey Grove, where they will also be celebrating with Davy Crockett Day.
  • There will also be a festival starting around 10am in Bonham, with acts and activities scheduled every half hour.
  • I will be sending out a signup sheet for the rest stops through our fanninhams groups.io email forum in the next week or so. We have had a number of folks already request specific rest stops (based on last year’s layout), of which many this year have changed. This should give me time to check with them before publishing the list of open slots…

Thanks again for all your help!

Cheers,

Mark Hetherington
markh11@aol.com
214-471-7100

Let’s see what we can help them to get done!  Also, I want to point out that I am trying out a new feature where we can mask email addresses and phone numbers.  Once I hit post if it doesn’t work, drats!  If it does work then you should see something like – Click to reveal the phone number – for the phone number and email address.  I am trying this out for security purposes.  It keeps bots from being able to scrape our site for contact details.  Anyway, here it goes!

73

Phillip Beall (W5EBC)

 

• This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by Phillip Beall.
• This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by Phillip Beall.
• This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by Phillip Beall. Reason: I have made multiple tries at getting the short code to mask the phone and email. - Phillip
• This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by Phillip Beall. Reason: Still trying different methods of masking phone and email info. - Phillip
• This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by Phillip Beall.
• This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by Phillip Beall.
• This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by Phillip Beall.
• This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by Phillip Beall.
• This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by Phillip Beall.

[Phillip Beall (W5EBC)]

OK, I finally got the right combination of changes made to facilitate what I wanted it to do.  Now you can click (or touch on your smart phone or tablet) and it will reveal the email address and phone number. A second touch will spawn an email or, in the case of a phone, it will offer to dial the number.  I have fully automated this so that these feature will just make it happen going forward.  More detail on the topic will be posted to New Forum Post Features!

Phillip Beall (W5EBC)

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