The Rough Draft
A Monthly Update from The Fresno Cycling Club  - January 2018

The Prez Sez...

Greetings Club members and Happy New Year! 

Are you as excited about 2018 as I am? I hope so. I am looking forward to all the exciting bicycling that we’ll have in 2018. Not only do we have some great events planned, but we are gaining more ride leaders to fill our daily ride calendar with lots of rides. More rides mean more miles! Many of our members posted some very impressive mileage numbers for 2017, and with more members coming on board, I can see those numbers getting even more impressive.

With the increasing popularity of cycling, we have experienced a significant increase in our Club’s membership over the past few years. With a Club membership approaching 1,000, it is impossible to get everyone out at once. I suppose a reason for this is that as bicyclists we tend to ride in small groups with friends and bicyclists we feel comfortable with. It is nice to be able to ride with a group with similar abilities and riding styles.  We’ve found that when we do put on Club rides, usually only 75-100 or so show up and even on one our largest rides (the New Year’s Day ride, or the Tour de Lakes) we might see a little over 100 riders come out.  While we’d like all members to come out for these larger Club rides, we really appreciate all of the smaller ride groups that have stepped up to meet the needs of the Club members!

Order Form for FCC Club Jerseys, Shorts, Etc., from Voler

It's time to update your riding wardrobe! Until January 15th, the following link will be active, by which you can order new Club Jerseys, Shorts, and Accessories from Voler.  They will basically be the same as the current design, with a few minor changes on the back.  Orders must be placed by January 15th, and they will ship at the end of February.  

FCC Ride Groups

In an effort to broaden our ride offerings, we are adding more Ride Groups to the list on the website and Ride Calendar.

As always, the Fresno Cycling Club website (www.fresnocycling.com) is a great way to get the latest info on rides, with the Ride Calendar.

Some of our longstanding ride groups have been:

• the Mountain Men/Women Ride Group lead by Tom Braner,
  
• the Ken and Nancy Ride Group lead by Ken Herrington and Nancy Dooley,
  
• the Social Train Ride Group lead by Mark and Michele Locatelli, and
  
• the Killer Bee Ride Group lead by Joseph Cassinerio. 

• the All-Roads Ride Group with leaders Henry Pretzer and Susan Smith,
  
• the Velominati Ride Group with leaders Greg Schoonard and Jeffery Simpson,
  
• the FACT Ride Group,
  
• the Sunnyside Bicycles Ride Group lead by John and Vanessa McCracken,
  
• the Steven’s Bicycles Ride Group lead by Tina Kutzbach and Devin Bovee,
  
• the Rubber Soul Bicycles Ride Group lead by Helen Guenther and Jon Stewart
  
• and The Bike Shop at Woodward Park Ride Group lead by Joshua Houssiere and James Zumwalt.
  

There are many advantages to ride groups: you can find a group that you can identify with, whether it’s their style of riding, speed of riding, or just they are a cool group of friends you can connect with. Some groups may have a distinct riding style or speed, while others may offer a wide variety of riding. Each of the groups have been and will be posting rides to the Club Ride calendar. If you don’t find a group you like, then by all means create one and let me know and we will add you to the list. All groups must have at least one (preferably more), Club approved ride leader.

New Rough Draft Format

We’ve been switching the Rough Draft to a digital format over the last few months.  The exciting thing about the new format is that we are not limited to the amount of content or pages we can have. As such, we will be adding new features in coming months, such as articles on Advocacy by the new Advocacy Director John McCracken, as well as tech/ride talk by Devin Bovee. If you have a story about a ride that you recently have done, or some training hint and want to share it with our members, write it up and send it to Bill Reddington at editor@fresnocycling.com. Watch for the Rough Draft to be delivered via your email. If you don’t receive it, there are two possibilities: your membership is expired, or we have an incorrect email for you. Contact the member Director Gia Parker at membership@fresnocycling.com to determine which it is.

Welcome New Board Members

I would like to introduce our two new Board of Directors. 

• Moving up from Director at Large to Vice President is Diana Millhollin, 
• Taking over the Director of Advocacy position is John McCracken, owner of Sunnyside Bicycles. 
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We are excited about the new energy that these two will be bringing to the Board and the Club.

I want to thank out going VP Michael Quiroz for serving the Club for the past four years. We had some fun parties at his place. He won’t be going to far as he will still be Co-directing the Kirch Flat Century ride with Yvonne Moreno.

2017 Annual Christmas Party

Over the years, the FCC Christmas Party has grown from a potluck-event to a catered dinner.  With our increased membership, the party grew to the point we had to reserve a room to accommodate 200+ people. Last year Diana Herrington was kind enough to cater the dinner and with the help of our volunteers they put on a great meal. This year, due to the loss of Diana, we were forced to go to an outside source for a caterer.

This year we again planned to accommodate 200+ members, and had the room reserved and the caterer acquired. As the date of the party approached, the number of people signed up was only 78 and we had to make a decision with only a week to go. Well, Party Organizer and VP Michael Quiroz did what was necessary, and cut our losses by reducing the room size to about 120. As a result, there were some members who had to be turned away because they had waited to the last minute to decide to go.

For those of you who didn’t get to go this year, all I can say is you missed a great time and ask that next year you sign up early (to help us plan better). We’ll likely open the registration for the party a month earlier to give people ample time to sign up.

Guest of Honor Nick Paladino

The guest of honor at this year’s party was retiring Advocacy Director Nick Paladino. Nick has served the Club and the Cycling Community for 20 years as the Advocacy Director of the Fresno Cycling Club. Nick was able to accomplish a lot during his 20 years of service. Many of the Bike Lanes and cycling infrastructure we have today is as a result of Nick keeping the iron in the fire at many government meetings and task forces. Thanks you Nick for your devoted service.

A special treat at the party was the entertainment provided by the Killer Bee Choir and musicians directed by their fearless Bee Leader, Joseph Cassinerio II.

Look forward to seeing everyone on the road.

That’s all for now.

The Prez

 New Year's Day - Remembering Diana Herrington

Looking ahead, the New Year’s Day ride for 2018 will be entitled the Diana Herrington New Year’s Day Muffin Ride. Join us New Year's Day.  Ride starts at 10:00. The rides starts at Steven's Bicyles (1365 N Willow, Clovis), and heads north on Willow to Lost Lake Park, where oatmeal, muffins, coffee, hot chocolate, and the wonderful snacks will be available.

This is a family, all-level ride.  What a great way to start out the New Year!!!

New Year's Resolutions

The start of a new year is a perfect time for new beginnings. It is a way to trick you mind or another way of saying it, motivate yourself to do something new. One thing a lot of people think about after the holidays is how out-of-shape they are and maybe they gained a few inches with all the great parties of eating and drinking. Now it’s the first of the year and they need to make some changes. One way to make changes is through exercise. What better way to get that exercise then riding a bicycle? Studies have shown that people who regularly exercise not only have a healthier and better quality of life, but a longer life as well. Our own membership is a great example of this. We have members who are still riding their bicycles into their 70’s and 80’s. And not just riding their bicycles but doing things like self-supported tours, supported tours, century rides, double century rides, Brevets and even the Silver State 508 race. So get that bicycle out of the rafters, or get that new bicycle and come join the Fresno Cycling Club rides to get yourself in shape and having fun.

RIDE GROUP SPOTLIGHT

All-Roads Ride Group

If you haven’t been on an All Roads ride yet, you are in for a treat. Created by our C/D Ride Coordinator, Henry Pretzer, along with his side kick (ride leader) Susan Smith, this group is all about having a good time on bicycles on a variety of road surfaces (the more dirt and gravel roads the better). These rides tend to travel on low-traffic roads, which makes the rides all the more attractive. Fewer cars, less noise and greater safety. They also tend to be more scenic. They do require you to have a road bike with larger size tires (at least 32mm), or a gravel bike or cyclocross bike. Mountain bikes have also been very useful. Expect to see more All Roads Rides on the calendar each month, as they are gaining popularity! I know they have been some of my favorite rides.

Ride Calendars

Please check out the FCC website www.fresnocycling.com for the latest information on published rides.   However, please also check the Facebook pages for the various "subgroups" (FACT, Killer Bees, All-Roads, etc.) for their rides. (Links to their Facebook pages are on the FCC website).

For those still adapting to the digital world, here's a list (current as of Dec 30th) of the Weekly and Non-Repeating Rides for January (please check on-line for any changes that may have been made since Dec 30th!):

Weekly Rides for Month of January

Non-Repeating Rides for the Month of January

Annual FCC 17 Mile Drive (Monterey) Ride

Join us on Saturday, January 13, 2018, at 10 am for this fantastic Club Ride! We’ll meet at Pine Acres Lodge, 1150 Jewell, Pacific Grove. For more information, check ut the FCC website at www.fresnocycling.com .  The Ride Leaders for this event are Janet and Jim Lucido 360-1921.

Upcoming Club Meetings

Bicycle Shops and Other Supporters

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 go out of their way to accomodate 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

• Ride Codes
• Rules of the Road
• Bicyclist Code of Conduct
• Membership Application

• Board Member List