THE PREZ SEZ....

Greetings club members and fellow cyclists.

Well, as usual July was a hot month in Fresno/Clovis, but not as hot as it could have been. There was a lot of bicycling happening none the less. The weekday rides, both morning and evening, were great for preparing for all the weekend rides lead by our great Ride Leaders. The highlight of the month was the Annual Tour de Lakes ride. I trust that everyone is able to make use of either the website ride calendar and/or the Facebook groups to be able to join in on the club rides.

Our club is growing by leaps and bounds. The latest check of our club membership indicated 1,056 names, of that number 705 are active members (with dues current) and 351 are in various stages of being lapsed. There are many things that can be done to help our members stay current with their membership, and also reach out to our community to encourage other local riders to join. Staying current on your membership is important. That allows you to join our rides at any time and to be covered by the Club’s insurance for riders. You never know when an accident may occur, and it is best to be covered. See you on the road!

The Prez, Dennis Ball

Tour De Lakes

This year the Tour de Lakes was held on the last Saturday of July. TDL was put together by new Ride Director Gia Parker, aided by Volunteers Director Diana Dean, and their merry band of FCC volunteers. This ride has been happening now for well over 10 years. It has been put on by the Club for our Club Members at no cost. It is just one of the many benefits of Club Membership. This year, the ride was attended by well over 100 riders. They were treated to a great ride with perfect weather, beautiful scenery and terrific support with Rest Stops and SAG support. We want to thank everyone for registering for the ride. It makes the job of rest stop planning much easier so we make sure to have enough food, water and ice to meet the needs.

Board Member Changes

I am excited to announce some recent changes to the Club Board of Directors, changes that will undoubtedly be beneficial to the overall operation of the Club. The changes are as follows:

Ariel Cleofas has turned over the FACT Presidency to Vernon Bresenio;
Gia Parker will switch from Membership Director to The Tour De Lakes Director;
Patricia Dailey will switch from Volunteer Director to Director of the Everyone Loves Raymond gravel ride; and
Diana Dean will assume Director of Membership and Volunteers. Diana will also continue as the Quartermaster of the storage and equipment.
Devin Bovee has stepped down from his position as A/B Ride Coordinator. We have appreciated all the work he has done for the club.

August Board Meeting

The next Board Meeting will be held at the Me N Eds Victory Grill 4010 N Cedar at 6:30 pm on Wednesday August 7, 2019.

FCC Club Picnic

On August 24, FCC will be holding its annual Member's Picnic at Railroad Park, Peach & Alluvial in Clovis. Come on out for some food and fun with your cycling friends. Check the Ride Calendar or Facebook for more information, start time, etc.

The 25th Grizzly Century

You will notice right away that the date of the Grizzly Century has changed this year, to Saturday September 14, 2019. For the past 24 years the event has been held on the first Saturday of October. For a variety of reasons, the first weekend of October has not garnered the same level of participation in the ride as they had previously enjoyed. There are several reasons that could be cited for this decline in attendance; the increased number of rides throughout the year, newer rides being held on the same day (such as the Levi Leipheimer GranFondo, or the Bay Area Double Century); also the recent fires that had caused the ride to be cancelled on 2 occasions to name a few.

In an effort to rebuild the attendance and to relieve the pressure of FCC putting on two big rides back to back, the decision was made to try the new date this year. Changing an event date is not as easy as one would expect. There are a lot of issues that have to be dealt with to make this happen. We are hoping that the change will be beneficial for the majority of those involved.

Last year was the first year that the Fresno Cycling Club partnered with the North Fork folks in an effort to salvage this great ride. The partnership worked great, and the ride was a great success. This year, due to the date change, some of the groups that helped last year will not be available. As a result, we will be looking to our Club members to help with some of the volunteer positions. As soon as Diana Dean gets the Volunteers signup form completed, we will post it by email and Facebook.

You can find the latest information on the 25th Annual Grizzly Century ride by following this link. The community of North Fork and the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway are the main beneficiaries of this ride, which helps promote the scenic vistas of the area.

Time Trial #6 – Friant

Check out the Time Trial page on the FCC website for up-to-date information on this series.

We'd like to give a shoutout to Layla's Kitchen in Friant, who has been a supporter of the Friant Time Trials. Be sure to thank them with your business when you are in Friant!

Fall Northern California Cycling Adventure Informational Meeting

For those club members interested in joining a self-supported 5-day bicycle tour from Old Sacramento to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco at the end of September, please attend an informational meeting on August 6th, Tuesday evening at 6:00 at Marcos Pizza at the corner of Herndon and Armstrong.

Nancy Dooley, Brian Bellis, and Ken Herrington are planning this 5-day bicycle tour beginning Wednesday, September 25th thru Sunday, September 29th. It will include 200 miles of riding over 10,000 ft. of climbing. Elevation profile maps will be available. The tour is two months away so we need to get a final count of those who would like to join this group. Lodging reservations for the four nights along our route need to be reserved.

For those who have expressed an interest, please attend this meeting or contact either Nancy Dooley (559-875-6399), Brian Bellis (559-288-2094), or Ken Herrington (559-299-2275).

THE FCC Thursday Night Taco Ride

Now that the weather and sunlight are cooperating, the Thursday night rides from Enzo’s Table is becoming a very popular ride.

We meet at 5:45 pm and roll at 6 PM. There are currently 2 ride offerings; from Enzo’s to Friant and back; or from Enzo’s riding the Circuit CCW.

The start location was changed as there is less traffic to deal with and there is ample parking.

Pay-To-Ride Events

There are some great paid events coming our way.

The Grizzly Century will be on Sept 14,
The Bass Lake Double Century on Oct 12,
The Hammer Ride will be Oct 19th.

Local Bike Shops and Other Friends

For many of us, eating and riding are the two major things in life. We all rely on and support our local bike shops. These are the people dedicated to making sure that we can all safely enjoy what we do. A few local restaurants and other supporters go out of their way to accommodate cyclists. Please be sure to support these folks, and tell them you are an FCC Member!

List of Bicycle Shops and other Supporters.

Other Items

Click Link Below, or go to www.fresnocycling.com

The Fresno Cycling Club is a group of some 800+ cyclists who enjoy bicycling as recreation and sport. As a club we seek to offer cycling events and activities that span a spectrum of cycling interests. Club rides are scheduled year round and range from novice level to 200-mile expert rides. We protect the rights of cyclists by following local, state, and national affairs as they concern cycling. Club members receive a monthly newsletter listing ride schedules and other information of interest to cyclists. Don't wait another minute! Join now! Welcome to the Fresno Cycling Club.

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The Rough Draft

August 2019