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

The Prez Sez

  Greetings Fresno Cycling Club members and fellow cyclists.

  Wow! October was such a great month was for cycling. The weather was beautiful. Our two big events, the Grizzly and the Bass Lake Double Century were both very successful events. Also, the Third Annual Hammer Rally was bigger and better at raising funds for the Edward Lund Foundation. 

  Here's to an exciting November, where we'll need to ride at least enough to work off the late-month turkey & stuffings.




October Ride Recap

  The Grizzly Century has had a few set backs over the past few years. The forest fires occurring in recent years put the ride in jeopardy, due to cancelling the ride on two recent occasions. Also, the Ride Director (who put on the ride for the past 23 years) had suffered some health issues that had taken its toll on him. This ride has a great history. The ride was started after the closing of the North Forks lumber mill. The closing left the community both financially and emotionally depressed. The ride was initially started by the employees of the Forestry Service, to bring some life back to the community. The Grizzly has been a community effort ever since. 

  The members of the Grizzly Century Committee and the North Fork Community contacted the Fresno Cycling Club to help keep this ride going. Their hope was by partnering with FCC, the Grizzly Century could be revived. Together, we could bring back this successful community fund raising event. Proceeds from the Grizzly have been used for projects in the North Fork community and the Sierra Vista Byway. The new partnership pulled off a very successful event. The riders had a great ride experience and the community came together to put on this great event. Many riders expressed that they love the ride and will be back next year. 

  The Bass Lake Double Century was another successful event for FACT (Filipino American Cycling Team), under the leadership of Ride Director Angelo Quitorio. Angelo’s idea of providing trophies and finisher medals to the riders was enthusiastically received by the participants. The trophies went to those riders who had completed the BLDC ride at various levels over the past 14 years. They went to riders who had completed five consecutive BLDCs, 10 and 15 cumulative Double Centuries. 

  Many of our Club members, including several Board members, participated in this year’s BLDC. It is nice to see that the events that we have are well supported by our Club members. Congratulations to Angelo and the FACT for your continued success in hosting this great event for the Club and the Cycling Community.

Gravel Ride – Everyone Loves Raymond

  We are excited to bring to the Fresno cycling community the first organized and fully-supported gravel grinder bicycling event. The Everyone Loves Raymond Gravel ride is coming this November 17th. It is so named as it starts and finishes in the town of Raymond in Madera County. 

  The event will have three routes to choose from: the Pint (35 miles), the Growler (60 miles) and the Kegger (90 miles). The routes are designed to be mostly gravel with some asphalt involved. There will be camping available at the Raymond Community Park, the start/finish location. 

  Register by November 4th and receive an event T-shirt included in the $45 fee. Rates increase on November 5th.  There will be day of event registration available for cash only. Ride includes fully stocked Rest Stops, SAG and an after-ride meal.

Register at: https://fresnocycling.com/event-3023020.

Other Club News

FCC Board Elections

  The election of 2019 FCC Board members will be conducted this month via our website. Everyone eligible to vote will receive an email with voting instructions. Voting will commence on November 6th and end two weeks later. Please take a moment to vote, even if it’s just to show your hard-working Board members that you support what they are doing for the Club.

FCC Annual Christmas Party

  Mark your calendar for Saturday evening, December 1st!  Plans are currently underway for this year’s Annual Christmas Party.  VP Diana Milhollin is in charge and will be soon posting updates on the event on the Club website with all the details. 

Board Meeting:

Due to a conflict at our normal location, please note address:

 WHEN:  Wednesday, Nov 7th, 2018  6:30 PM 

 LOCATION:  2037 W Spruce Ave, Fresno, CA ... near Herndon and West Aves, NW Fresno.  (call 960-6140 if you need directions)

Homegrown Cyclocross – Woodward Park

  Did you make it out to the first of three Homegrown CX events this year? Don’t worry, there are two more!  Cyclocross events like this are a great place to try your hand at racing. Grab your CX Bike, Gravel Bike, or MTB and head over to Woodward Park.  

  Central California Off Road Cyclists (CCORC) has been putting on the Homegrown CX series for a number of years.  More and more people are giving these races a try.  Get out there and join them.  Check out the Facebook event page below:

https://www.facebook.com/events/762864600724133/

The two remaining dates are:
  • Sunday, November 11th
  • Sunday, December 2nd

Bicycling Medical Issues

  Personally, I have been experiencing issues with leg muscle pain. From that, I now have some advice for all bicyclists. I have been receiving treatment from a Sports Chiropractor. He has advised me that my issues stem from not taking care of myself after my rides. 

  He advised that all cyclists need to "roll" their muscles after they ride. Stretching after the rides is key as well. He says I may have caused a hip issue because of neglect to take care of my muscles after workouts. If you aren’t already rolling your muscles, you may want to start. It only takes 5 to 10 minutes. 

That’s it for now.  See you on the road,

The Prez, 

 Aka Dennis Ball

American River Bike Path

  It's time to go to Sacramento to have a great ride on the American River Bike Path and watch the salmon run.   We will be staying at the Best Western Sandman Motel, 236 Jibboom St, Sacramento Calif. 95814 (Ph# (916) 443-6515), and this will be our starting point. 

  We will be arriving on Friday November 9th, and then on Saturday the 10th we will be riding to Folsom via Nimbus.  The ride starts at 8:30, so you can just drive up for the day. Distance is right around 50 miles. Lunch is at a wonderful café, Karen’s. Everything is homemade. Possible ride on Sunday the 11h, if there is enough interest. Lots to do for non-riding family members (yes there is an IKEA and an outlet mall). Information? Call Ken Herrington at 299-2275 or e-mail campyherrington@sbcglobal.net.

Keep an Eye on the FCC Website and Facebook Pages

   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 FCC, as well as the various "subgroups" (FACT, Killer Bees, All-Roads, etc.). (Links to their Facebook pages are on the FCC website).  There may be additional rides posted there.

Shop Talk with Devin

  Devin Bovee is the FCC A/B Ride Coordinator, and manager of Steven's Bike Shop Clovis. He also finds time to write a blog for our website.  

  His latest blog is "Stop Braking My Heart."  He discusses advances made in braking, specifically the advantages of disc brakes. 

Check out Devin's latest blog posts 

His other blogs discuss:

  • Rear Derailleur Maintenance
  • Bike Fitting
  • Getting Back in the Saddle
  • Chain Wear


Pine Flat - The I Forgot Store

  A special THANK YOU to the McCrackens and Sunnyside Bicycles!  

  Diana Dean just checked in to say:  

  I recently found out that John at Sunnyside provided tubes and CO2 cartridges to the I Forgot Store up at Pine Flat for stranded cyclists.  Is it possible for us to mention this in the upcoming Rough Draft to make cyclists aware of this?

  Why, yes it is!!

 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 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. 

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!


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.