The Rough Draft

A Monthly Update from The Fresno Cycling Club - January 2019

The Prez Sez

Happy New Year!

Greetings to all Club members and fellow bicyclists.

As is tradition, the Annual New Year’s Day ride will be held on New Year’s Day morning at 10 AM, leaving from the Steven’s Bicycles parking lot at Willow & Nees. (Be there by 9:45, wheels on the road at 10:00).

The Killer Bees, led by Joseph and Kelly Cassinerio, will be manning the Lost Lake rest stop with hot coffee, chocolate, muffins and other goodies. The weather this year seems to be perfect for the annual event, cold but no rain or fog predicted.

If you didn’t pre-register, it’s okay just show up. We try to get members to register to help with planning the amount of food needed, but we don’t want you to miss out. After all, this is a freebie! It is an “all level” ride out and back to Lost Lake, however there will be those that will make a longer ride out of it, such as riding to Spring Valley school, the backside of Millerton Lake or even the Circuit Loop.

WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR 2019

The start of a New Year is always a fun time. There are the parties and get-togethers (and bike rides!) with friends and family celebrating the new year. For we bicyclists it is a time to reflect on our accomplishments of the past year and re-set our goals for the new year. We look at how many miles we did last year and ask ourselves how many miles we want to ride in the new year. How many event rides (such as century, double century, charity or Gran Fondo rides) do we want to plan on doing? Is this the year to conquer the Climb to Kaiser, earn a Triple Crown jersey doing three or more Double Centuries or do a tour?

Setting new goals is necessary as it helps us determine how much training will be required to get in shape. Some riders can continue riding all year round, allowing them to maintain their conditioning. They brave the cold weather to do this. Others (most of us!) generally take time off during the winter months, which (fortunately for us in the valley) is only a couple months of really cold weather. For those of us who enjoy riding all year long, there is the FCC Ride Calendar that continues to have daily and weekly rides to challenge us and keep us riding.

CLUB PLANNING FOR THE NEW YEAR

As a bicycling club, the New Year means the planning process begins fresh. What events are we holding this year? Are we doing the same events as last year? Do we want to change things up or keep them the same? What events were successes and which ones weren’t? Will we have enough volunteers to help with all the events we are planning? Are there plenty of riders that are still interested in doing the rides that we sponsor? Should we change our rides or our routes? These and more are questions that the Board of Directors (with input from our members) must confront in order to make certain we are accomplishing our mission for the club, it’s members, and the bicycling community.

Board Meeting: January 2nd, 6:30 PM. Location to be announced.

General Club Meeting: January 9th. 7:00 PM. Steven's Bikes @ Willow and Nees. Nancy Dooley and Hilton Osborne sharing their adventures of this past year on their respective Bike Tours.

COMMUNICATING WITH THE FCC BOARD

Speaking of the Club and its planning, you may be wondering how does one get in touch with the Club Board of Directors? Glad you asked. There are several ways to contact our Board members:

- they all have email addresses and phone numbers listed on the FCC Website https://fresnocycling.com/Current-FCC-Board,

- there is also the FCC Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bikefrezno/,

- or FCC Members Group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/186373694799519/where comments can be made.

Remember you can always come to a monthly Board meeting as well.

CLIMB TO KAISER

Planning is underway for the 2019 Climb to Kaiser scheduled for June 22, 2019. The start/finish venue has been secured. We will be going back to the Alta Sierra Middle School location. To avoid date conflicts, the 2019 C2K has been moved ahead a week from previous years. This also provides riders longer daylight hours to complete the ride.

I want to get a jump on the Climb to Kaiser Finishers Jersey and Event T-shirt Design. To do that I would like to have a design contest open to anyone interested in submitting a design concept. Contact me if interested.

I would also like to assemble a Climb to Kaiser committee to distribute the workload of preparations for C2K. Please contact me or Tina Summer if you’re interested in being involved.

NEW LAWS RELATED TO CYCLISTS

As always, there are a number of new laws that take effect January 1st:

When cyclists crash: AB 1755, sponsored by then-Assemblyman Marc Steinorth, R-Rancho Cucamonga. This law extends the felony hit-and-run provisions to include cyclists on bike paths, requiring a cyclist involved in a collision to stop at the scene of an accident.

Helmet-free scooters: AB 2989, sponsored by Assemblyman Heath Flora, R-Ripon. This law removes the requirement for riders of motorizes scooters to wear a bicycle helmet, provided they are 18 or older. It also prohibits riding a motorized scooter on highways with a speed limit greater than 25 mph, or roads with a speed limit greater than 35 mph, unless it is within a marked bikeway.

Put some helmets on those kids: AB 3077, sponsored by then-Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas. This law provides law enforcement the ability to issue a “fix-it ticket” to anyone under 18 who doesn’t wear a helmet while on a bicycle, skateboard or skates. It is correctable if the minor completes a bicycle safety course and gets a helmet that meets safety standards within 120 days of the ticket being issued.

RIDE CALENDAR PLANNING

We are starting off the New Year with our annual New Year’s Day Ride, often referred to as the “Annual Muffin Ride” thanks in part to the support of past Club President Diana Herrington (RIP) who, along with her husband Ken and daughter Kendia, spent her days leading up to the ride for the past several years baking muffins, bread and cookies in preparation for the annual ride. They would then set up the rest stop at Lost Lake to treat the riders to a fabulous rest stop filled with hot coffee, hot chocolate, oatmeal and apples, and all the muffins, breads and cookies. We miss you Diana, but we will carry on as the Killer Bees lead by Joseph and Kelly Cassinerio will host this year’s Muffin Ride.

Our next ride of the New Year has also become an annual favorite. It’s the annual Monterey’s 17 Mile Drive Ride, hosted by ride leaders Janet and Jim Lucido. This year’s ride will be held on January 19, 2019 at 10 am. This allows for those who want to just come for the day to participate in the ride. It's a 36 mile, B-pace ride, with lots of scenery. Check the ride calendar for details.

If we have learned anything over the past several years, it’s that it is near impossible to have too many bike rides on our ride calendar. We have found that some of the best rides are those that involve smaller groups, usually less than 20 or so.

Rides tend to be more enjoyable when the riders tend to be of similar abilities and skill level. We appreciate all of you ride leaders who step up on a regular basis to host/lead rides. What is beneficial is when rides are held on a regular basis, from a set location, at a set day and time. These rides allow members to be able to count on showing up at a time that fits their schedule. Good examples of this are:

- The Tuesday/Thursday morning rides with Nancy Dooley and Ken Herrington. They meet every Tuesday and Thursday at Herndon-Armstrong, on Tuesdays they ride north and on Thursdays they ride south. They are a B/C group who love to regroup often and finish with lunch at Cravings Hamburger shop.

- The Mountain Men/Women who ride every Monday and Wednesday in the morning. Their rides vary but always involve rides into the mountains.

- The Killer Bee group rides on Tuesday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays.

- This past year the local bike shops, Steven’s, Rubber Soul, Sunnyside, Clovis Bicycles and the Bike Shop at Woodward Park have all stepped up by leading rides as well and helping to fill the calendar with great rides.

- Besides all the road rides, we have ventured into offering “gravel rides,” another type of ride that is gaining popularity. These generally offer a mix of dirt, paved, and gravel surfaces. Ride Coordinator and ride leader, Henry Pretzer initiated the first of many gravel rides. In 2018 we held the first gravel event, Everyone Loves Raymond. It was a great event drawing nearly 150 riders, and the feedback from the riders indicated that they loved it. Henry also created the All-Roads Riders and Friends FB group to share discussions and post gravel rides. You can also find the rides on the Club’s Ride Calendar.

If you think of a great ride and want to lead it, or you want someone else to lead it, don’t hesitate to contact our Ride Coordinators Henry Pretzer or Devin Bovee. They can help with whatever it takes to get it on the Ride Calendar.

NEW YEARS MEMBERS MEETING

Don’t miss this month’s Members Meeting featuring Nancy Dooley and Hilton Osborne sharing their adventures of this past year on their respective Bike Tours. It will be at the Steven’s Bicycle Shop, Willow & Nees in Clovis, January 9th at 7 pm. Come join us for a fun filled entertaining evening.

That’s all for now. Have a great New Year. Set your riding goals high. Let’s have a fun year.

See you on the road,

The Prez

Aka Dennis Ball

Ride Groups

Our list of Ride Groups is growing. It’s exciting to see our members have so many options to ride. The purpose of ride groups is to provide a way to connect with riders of like abilities and styles of riding. I encourage everyone to check out the various ride groups and ride with as many as you can, as often as you can. We are trying to provide more and more rides to accommodate as many ride schedules as possible. If you have a ride group that you like riding with that isn’t yet one of the listed ride groups, please contact one of the Ride Coordinators, Henry Pretzer or Devin Bovee to have your group added.

The current schedule for these, and other Rides, can be found on the FCC website: www.fresnocycling.com.

The Tuesday/Thursday morning Ride Group - Lead by Nancy Dooley and Ken Herrington. B/C rides
The Diana Dean and Larry Allred Ride Group - B/C rides.
The Mountain Men/Women - Ride Leader Tom Braner. C/D rides
The Velominati Ride Group - Lead by Greg Schoonard and Jeffery Simpson. C/D rides
The Killer Bees Ride Group - Ride Leaders: Joseph & Kelly Cassinerio, Cody Hill, Michael Stevens. B to B/C rides
The FACT (Filipino American Cycling Team) Group - Ride Leaders Angelo Quitorio B/C/D rides.
The Steven’s Bicycles Ride Group - Ride Leaders Devin Bovee and Tina Kutzbach. A/B/C/D rides from their shop.
The Sunnyside Bicycles Ride Group - Ride Leaders Vanessa and John McCracken. A/B/C/D rides from their shop.
The Bike Shop at Woodward Park Group - Ride leaders Joshua Houssiere and James Zumwalt. A/B/C/D rides from their shop.
The Rubber Soul Bicycles Ride Group - Ride leaders Jon Stewart and Helen Guenther. C/D rides from their shop.
The “A” Train Ride group - A rides
The Social Train Ride Group - Ride leaders Mark and Michelle Locatelli. A/B Rides
The All-Roads Ride Group - Ride leaders Henry Pretzer and Susan Smith. B/C/D gravel and road rides.

Reminder: see www.fresnocycling.com, including pages Ride Codes and Rules of the Road for a full explanation of the A/B/C/D codes above.

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

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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Happy New Year from the Fresno Cycling Club!!