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

The Prez Sez...

Greetings Fresno Cycling Club members and fellow bicyclists.

May is Bike Month!!

   What does that mean for us as members of the Fresno Cycling Community? It means it’s time to get out as often as possible and ride your bike! 

   May has been declared National Bike Month for the purpose of focusing on the benefits of bicycling. It is a time for Advocacy groups such as the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition (FCBC) and the Fresno Cycling Club (FCC), along with all the area bicyclists and want-to-be bicyclists to get out and actively promote bicycling. 

   As the Fresno Cycling Club President, my desire is to fill our Club ride calendar with as many rides, activities and events as we can think of to get people out on their bicycles. We will be partnering with the FCBC to make that happen.

Central Valley Bike Month

   Central Valley Bike Month is a campaign that takes place in Fresno, Merced, Madera, Tulare, and Kings Counties each year. The focus of the campaign is to promote bicycle use as a mode of transportation whether for running errands, commuting, riding recreationally, or working. 

   We encourage people to get out of their cars and on their bikes year-round, but we make it a big deal every May so that as more people become energized and comfortable on their bicycles they will be more likely to replace a car trip with a bicycle trip year-round. 

   Fewer cars on the road improves air quality and reduces traffic congestion; and as more bike trips replace car trips, we expect to see a greater demand for investment in bicycling infrastructure and facilities. 

   Record your miles at: http://cvbikemonth.com/. Get your team together and challenge others to see how many miles you can ride this month. 

Ride Calendar

   There is a very busy Ride Calendar This Month.  Keep an eye on the FCC Ride Calendar on the FCC website, fresnocycling.com for the latest updates on all things bicycling coming this month. 

Some items coming up during this busy month:

May 2nd - The 18th Annual Mall-to-Mall Ride.  FCBC's annual celebration of cycling.  This event promotes cycling as an active means of transportation. 

There are four FCC start locations: 

• River Park, Edwards Theater @ 06:45am, 
  
• Steven’s Willow - Nees @ 06:30am, 
  
• Armstrong-Herndon Ken Herrington @ 6:45am, or 
  
• Sierra Vista Starbucks @ 07:00am 
  

All of these locations will join together at Manchester Center @ 08:00am, and then ride Downtown with all of the other riders. 

May 2nd 6:30 pm Regal Theater at Manchester Center. FCC Members Movie Night.  Purchase tickets at: https://tickets.demand.film/event/4253.

May 3rd ART HOP https://www.facebook.com/events/311425409390347/

May 5th Cinco de Mayo Century (Kirch Flat) and rides. https://fresnocycling.com/event-2778151

May 9th FCC Belmont - Academy Time Trial:    https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=132472

May 11th Fresno Bike Prom 2018 https://www.fresnobike.org/event-2849123

May 12th Bike & Pedestrian Safety Rodeo https://www.fresnobike.org/event-2855098

May 16th Ride of Silence to honor victims in bicycle vs vehicle collisions.  https://www.facebook.com/events/1850662911899026/ 

May 17 Ride to Work Day 

May 19th Davis Double Century 

May 25-28th Great Western Bicycle Rally.   http://www.greatwesternbicyclerally.com/

All of these events are in addition to the normal rides we have each month! 

Bicycling Safety Alerts

   Lately, there has been an alarming increase in the number of vehicles harassing bicyclists in our area. The worst has been an all-out assault on a bicyclist who was attacked by three assailants along Friant Road.  They left him for dead and stole his bicycle and valuables. The bicyclist was severely injured with a broken arm and eye socket. The suspects are still at large. It makes one take stock of the safety of riding alone.  

   These are reasons why the Fresno Cycling Club advocates for riding with partners and in small groups. You have better protection in numbers. 

   Whenever you have an incident of harassment or a near collision, don’t hesitate to report it to CHP or the local police. If at all possible, get a description of the vehicle, the driver and a license number. If you have a video, that is great evidence that law enforcement can use. Even if you don’t have a lot of details please report it. A lot of these perpetrators are repeat offenders, and they will eventually get caught. 

   Hope to see you at the Kirch Flat Ride. 

The Prez,  Dennis Ball

Upcoming Ride Events

The Cinco de Mayo (Kirch Flat) Century

  The annual Kirch Flat Century and rides will be held on Cinco de Mayo, May 5th, 2018. Register at: https://fresnocycling.com/Kirch-Flat-Cinco-De-Mayo-Century-and-Rides. The Kirch Flat has long been a great annual Club event, a time for all our members to get out and ride with one another. This year we will also be hosting a Volunteers’ ride for those who help put on the ride. 

The Climb to Kaiser

  The 42nd Annual Climb to Kaiser Challenge ride will be on June 30th, 2018. This year Grandfondo.com named C2K one of the Top 10 Best rides in America. Along with the C2K will be the Tollhouse Century and back this year, the Millerton Metric. You can register at:  http://www.climbtokaiser.com/.

The Tour de Lakes

  The Tour de Lakes, the annual Club member bike ride will be held on July 28th, 2018. Tour de Lakes is still free for members only, and is a popular favorite to get out of the heat in the middle of summer. Registration will be available in the coming weeks at: https://fresnocycling.com/Cycling-Events.

The Grizzly Century

  The Fresno Cycling Club is helping to bring back THE GRIZ - the Grizzly Century and Rides. This has been a popular Central California ride for nearly 25 years. The rides start in North Fork, noted for being the geographical center of California. Two years ago, a second century route was added with a gravel portion called The Grinder.  You can sign up for either one, the Griz or the Grinder. There is also a metric that goes a little past the Mile-high overlook (rest stop) and a Loop the Lake (Bass Lake). You can register at: https://fresnocycling.com/Grizzly-Century-Home.

Bass Lake Powerhouse Double Century

  The Bass Lake Powerhouse Double Century will be on Saturday October 13th, 2018. The FACT (Filipino American Cycling Team) and Ride Director Angelo Quitorio did a fantastic job on this event last year, as confirmed by rider reviews.  Riders commented that it was one of the best supported rides they had done. There should be a large number of FCC members riding the BLDC for Triple Crown credit this year (if those doing doubles this year is any indication). You can register at: http://www.basslakedouble.com/.

First Annual FCC Gravel Grinder

  The gravel grinder committee is working to put together the date and route for this event. Tentative in November 2018. Details will follow when secured. 

Where's the Ride Calendar?

   Please check out the FCC website www.fresnocycling.com for the latest Ride Calendar.   This gives a more accurate picture of upcoming rides, as it's updated constantly.  Please also check the Facebook pages for the various "subgroups" (FACT, Killer Bees, All-Roads, etc.) if you want to catch any of their rides. (Links to their Facebook pages are on the FCC website).

Shop Talk with Devin

  Devin Bovee, the FCC A/B Ride Coordinator and manager of Steven's Bike Shop, also writes a blog for our website.  Check out Devin's latest blog posts on the website www.fresnocycling.com, or directly through this link Shop Talk w Devin.   

   He'll be providing more information and bike maintenance tips each month.  Check in now, for ideas on getting back in the saddle, installing new bar tape, washing your bike, gravel riding, and getting your bike set up tubeless.

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 me or 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 Cassinerio, Cody Hill, Leon Thiessen, Michael Stevens. 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. 

Time Trial Series

   The next event in the Belmont - Academy Time Trial Series will be Wednesday, May 9th. The TT Series consists of 7 Time Trials, with the Tollhouse and Four Lane Time Trials to follow in September and November for a total of 9 TT’s. 

  Time trials are a fun way to test your endurance. It’s not just for racers, it’s for anyone who wants to challenge themselves and see how fit they are. It’s also one of the safest types of races as you are only racing against yourself and the clock. 

  The TT’s are a 10-mile race. This year we will have more categories, so come out and challenge yourself and have some fun doing it. These TT’s are free to members and $5.00 for non-members.

Upcoming 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