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

The Prez Sez

  Greetings Fresno Cycling Club members and fellow cyclists.

   Have you met all your cycling goals for this cycling season?If not there are still opportunities to get in some great riding. As October brings with it some cooler weather, it also makes for more comfortable riding. You won’t have to leave so early in the morning to avoid the heat, but at the same time you will need to start wearing some cool weather gear. 


 Upcoming FCC Meetings

Board Meeting:
  WHEN:  Wednesday, Oct 3rd, 2018  6:30 PM 
  LOCATION:  Sequoia Brewery North
                       (Champlain & Perrin)

General Meeting:
   WHEN: Wednesday, Oct 10th, 2018 7:00PM
   LOCATION: Steven's Bike Shop
(Willow & Nees)
    WHAT: Club Meeting, Guest Speaker, Board election nomination opportunity


Great October Rides

  October has some great riding events on the calendar. It’s not to late to sign up for the FCC’s “Bringing the Grizzly back” Grizzly Century happening on October 6th. It is shaping up to be a fun event. There will be a pre-ride pancake breakfast put on by the North Fork Lion’s Club (open to everyone, but free to riders). There are 4 great ride options: the Century, the Gravel Byway option Century, the Metric century, and the Loop the Lake ride. There will be an after-ride BBQ meal (also open to the community), and there will be the annual North Fork History Festival.  So, even if you don’t ride there is lots to do to have a fun day discovering the history of North Fork (which also happens to be the center point of California). Register at: https://fresnocycling.com/event-2846401.

  This weekend I had the opportunity to ride the Bass Lake Double Century Volunteers Ride which is a feature of most Double Century rides. These rides allow volunteers to not only work the ride on the day of the event, but gives them credit for completing the ride to count for the California Triple Crown (three century rides in the same year) and Gold Crown awards (5 double century rides completed in the same year). 

  The 15th edition of the Bass Lake Double Century will occur on October 13, 2018. If your looking for a fun and challenging ride this is definitely one to consider. This year for the first time, Ride Director Angelo Quitorio will be providing Finisher medals to riders and special trophies to those riders who have ridden the Bass Lake DC every year for 5, 10 or 15 years. Angelo, assisted by the FACT (Filipino American Cycling Team) are in their second year of directing the Bass Lake Double Century for the Fresno Cycling Club. They did a great job last year and have plans in place to have another great event this year. The BLDC is scheduled for October 13, 2018. Show your support of this great ride by signing up and doing the ride. Register at: https://fresnocycling.com/event-2694600.

  Another October ride this year will be the annual Hammer Rally and festival occurring on Saturday October 20th. The ride is a charity event to support the Ed Lund Memorial Foundation whose proceeds go to provide scholarships for Fresno State Art Students who are selected by Ed Lund's family from qualified candidates.  Guest rider will be Levi Leipheimer!  

   Did I mention that the Hammer Rally is a festival? There will be great live music all day, food, items to purchase to support the Foundation, so there is a lot to enjoy even if your not riding in the Rally. So come out and support this awesome event in the honor and memory of our great Friend and fellow cyclist Edward Lund.  The ride and festival will be held at the Madera Backside of Millerton Lake.  You can register at: https://www.hammerroadrally.com/ride#register-section.

Updates on Club Rides

  I want to commend our Killer Bee leaders Joseph and Kelly Cassinerio and the various Killer Bee ride leaders who are providing a great opportunity for Club members to learn and become better bicyclists. Not only are they challenging each other to do things like training for upcoming events, but they have stepped up their game to include training for the recent Tour de Fresno Metric Century (82 miles) and the Sacramento Century ride occurring on Oct 6th. Good luck to all the KB’s who will be riding in that great event. 

  If you like to ride fast, like to climb, are either retired or have time off during the week, you will want to check out the FCC Mountain Men/Women group. They communicate daily on the FB Messenger app regarding their rides on Monday and Wednesday mornings as well as Saturday and Sundays. They are a group of C/D riders that love to challenge their abilities with all the rides in the local foothills and mountains. When they decide on a ride they will generally post it on the FCC Club calendar, in their Messenger feed and send out an email to a list of interested riders. A few of the group leaders are Jeffery Simpson, John Hazelton, William Ewy, Greg Schoonard and Amy Ivanoff. 

  Ride Leaders Ken Herrington and Nancy Dooley are still providing a lot of ride opportunities for those who like to ride on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and weekends. Their rides are geared toward the B and C easy paced riders. They meet at Armstrong and Herndon every Tuesday and Thursday to lead a group of some 20-30 riders. Each ride usually has a snack or coffee stop and culminates with lunch at the Cravings Restaurant.   Check out the Fresno Cycling Club website for the ride calendar.  www.fresnocycling.com.  

American River Bike Path

  More from Ken Herrington: AUTUMN IS HERE. That means that it is 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 the 9h, 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.

Cyclocross Season

   It’s almost Cyclocross season. The Home Grown Cyclocross events will start up toward the end of October. They will have three events this year, Oct 28, Nov 11 and Dec 2. All events are held at Woodward Park. Check out their Facebook page for more info at: https://www.facebook.com/events/297595711068354/. Other Items

  Is there anyone interested in helping to put on a Halloween-themed ride toward the end of October? We have had them in the past in conjunction with the County Bicycle Coalition. If interested contact any of the Board members.

   October is the nomination month for next year’s FCC Board of Directors. Elections will be in November. If you’re interested in helping to make the Club better and would like to contribute your time and talents, then nominate yourself or someone you know to run for one of the positions. The elected positions are: President, Vice President, Secretary, Editor, Advocacy Director, A/B Ride and C/D Ride Coordinators. 

That’s all I have for now, see you on the road.

The Prez

AKA Dennis Ball

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, the FCC A/B Ride Coordinator and manager of Steven's Bike Shop Clovis location, also writes a blog for our website.  

Check out Devin's latest blog posts 

His most recent blogs discuss:

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


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. 

Upcoming FCC Meetings

Board Meeting:
  WHEN:  Wednesday, Oct 3rd, 2018  6:30 PM 
  LOCATION:  Sequoia Brewery North
                       (Champlain & Perrin)

General Meeting:
   WHEN: Wednesday, Oct 10th, 2018 7:00PM
   LOCATION: Steven's Bike Shop
(Willow & Nees)
    WHAT: Club Meeting, Guest Speaker, Board election nomination opportunity

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.