Fresno Cycling Club - November 2024 |
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THE PREZ SAYS.....
Greetings all you wonderful passionate bicycle riding folks. We finally made it to Fall weather. It appeared Summer was never going to end. The beauty of our central valley is that there is still great weather for riding, you just must layer up a bit.
We had a great month of riding in October, I know not all of us are into Double Century rides, but the Bass Lake Powerhouse Double Century has been going now for 19 years and it is rated as one of the best Double Centuries in the state. We received so many compliments from the riders praising our great volunteers who provide one of the best-supported Double Centuries with SAG support, great well stocked rest stops, and a delicious after-ride meal that everyone gets to enjoy. This year’s ride was blessed with beautiful weather from start to finish and the riders enjoyed it.
Next year for the 20th Anniversary of the Bass Lake Powerhouse Double Century, we plan on celebrating all the riders who have done the BLPDC over the 19 years. Many of our members love doing Double Centuries. Richard Hoff has done 200 plus Doubles, his 200th being at last year’s BLPDC, Roehl Caragao is well on his way to 200 doubles. There are many of our members who have multiple doubles ranging from 3 to 200. I have done 5 but not in the same year. Doubles will challenge you physically and mentally so finishing a double lets you know that you’re not only in good shape physically but that you are tough enough to overcome the mental game when your mind is telling you to just quit when the going gets tough. If you think you want to start doing doubles you need to talk to Richard Hoff, Roehl Caragao, Lori Cherry, Jeanine Spence, Gary Egorov, and other experienced long-distance riders that can give you some advice on how to train.
The monthly Birthday rides seem to be a hit as the October Birthday ride had a good turnout. The C/D ride led by me rode to Prather and back from Stevens. The B ride led by Gary Lattus rode to Millerton Store and back, and the A ride led by Mary Stubblefield. We were blessed with some great weather and a safe ride. Hope to see you on the November Birthday ride.
We wrapped up this year's club-sponsored bicycling events with the Tour de Femme & Homme ride, coordinated by our VP Janet Lucido and her staff of volunteers. This year the Board voted to combine the Annual Picnic with the After Ride meal of the event. Janet felt we should also open the ride up to men as well as the Ladies to gain more riders due to last year’s ride only having 56 riders. The event offered three routes to choose from, a 77 mile that went up to Kirkmans Point at Pine Flat Lake, the 63 miler that went out to MR5 and back, and the 41 miler that went out to Marechal’s Winery and back. This year there were 88 riders registered as well as 44 for just the picnic. The Annual picnic/after ride meal was combined as we were running out of weekends to have the Picnic separate due to the long-lasting heat as well as other ride events. The Clovis Hills church venue was an ideal location for the start/finish and the meal. The weather was ideal, and a great time was had by all.
I want to give a shout out to all our amazing Volunteers without whom we couldn’t begin to have as great a cycling club as we do or sponsor such great events for our cycling community. A lot of work goes into organizing and putting on ride events and the willingness of volunteers to help makes less work for everyone. On those occasions where we don’t get enough volunteers it really puts a strain on our ability to get the necessary work done in a timely manner for the event. If you have never volunteered to work at an event, you would be surprised at how fun it is to work with your fellow volunteers and how fun it is to be on the giving side of an event rather than the receiving side. With 600 members, if everyone could volunteer to work at least one event a year, we would have no trouble staffing our events. Please keep that in mind when the opportunity presents itself by asking you to volunteer.
Thank you, see you on the road, the gravel, or the dirt.
As always “Ride Safe and Ride Legal”
The Prez
Dennis Ball
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ENJOYING THE MONTHLY BIRTHDAY RIDES? Back on Memorial Day, the club held its first Monthly All-Level club ride of 2024. These monthly rides have proven very popular with anywhere between 40-70 riders signing up across the three ride levels. The next two monthly birthday rides are scheduled for 9:00 am on Saturday, November 16th, and Saturday, December 7th. If you are enjoying these rides, the board could use your help. These larger rides require helpers. This help can come in the form of going on the ride as a ride leader or helper, or for those interested, they could drive SAG and check on any riders with mechanical problems along the route. So, if you are one who regularly attends the birthday rides, please volunteer to help. We are in particular need for ride helpers on the C/D rides for November and December You can sign-up to help for any level ride (A, B or C/D) coming up in November or December. If you won't be around for the November or December rides but are willing to help out in 2025 you can sign-up for that too. If you have questions or need more information, please email editor@fresnocycling.com |
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THE CHRISTMAS PARTY IS COMING UP! The FCC Annual Christmas Party is coming up on Sunday evening, December 1st. Mark your calendars now and come and join the fun. All club members will receive an email invite within the next 10 days. |
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RAGBRAI - RIDER REVIEW WITH MARK FLETCHER PART 1
If you are not familiar with RAGBRAI it began back in 1973 and is an annual bicycle ride across the State of Iowa. RAGBRAI stands for "Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa." It began with two writers from the Des Moines Register getting approval to ride across the state and write stories for the Register about their experience. You can read more here.
The 2024 RAGBRAI took place July 21 through 27. Club Member Mark Fletcher participated for the first time. In the picture above Mark is at the finish at the Mississippi River. Per RAGBRAI tradition riders dip a tire into the Missouri River (Western border) on Day 1 and dip their tire into the Mississippi River (Eastern border) on the final day. Now, let's hear from Mark.
What was your favorite part of the ride? It is very hard for me to choose a single favorite part of the ride, but I really enjoyed staying at the county fairground in Atlantic. It reminded me of when I was young and showed beef, lambs, and rabbits with 4-H at the San Mateo County Fair.
What was the most challenging part of the event? I really did not find great challenges in the ride, but I did lots of riding every day beforehand, especially spin bike training. However, what was annoying was the headwinds in the afternoon. The conception that winds always blow west to east does not apply in Iowa. We constantly had fairly strong headwinds when riding east in the afternoon. This is all the more reason to start riding very early in the morning on this ride as the winds build up in the afternoon.
Would you do this event again? I would absolutely do this ride again. I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who would not want to do this ride again.
If someone asked you about doing this event, what advice would you give them? You should definitely watch the many RAGBRAI preparation (not experience) videos on Youtube. Do a YouTube search of "RAGBRAI For Virgins". Except for being with charters that have food provided or stopping at the crazy (in a good way) convenience stores (Casey's in particular), you will be in a cash based economy where you must have the exact change. Also, remember that except for the commercial vendors, the event is a fundraiser for many local causes like volunteer fire departments. Thus, if something is a worthy cause you might give them a $5 bill for a $2 or $3 item. Also, do not try this event without some degree of training. Lastly, although there are many good bike shops with mobile stations along the way as well as the Air Force riders (US Air Force members who ride and help riders along the way with some mechanical issues), make sure your bike is in good mechanical shape.
I've heard that there are so many riders that you can ride into a small town and have to get off and walk because it's basically a bike traffic jam. Is this true? Yes, you do want (and also will need to) get off your bike when going through the towns. There will be a lot of people and sometimes it can be a minor inconvenience when you are pushing the bike through a town and want to move left or right to a vendor. Thus, you will want to know your commands and use them regardless of whether on a bike or pushing the bike - "rider going right" or "rider going left". However, there is one point people do not realize. You will not be able to reliably use text messages on your phone because the number of people overwhelms the mobile phone system. Thus, if you are riding with someone else, always have a back-up mode in case messages do not go through. However, sometimes the number of people on this ride can make certain situations annoying.
I've heard mixed things about rest stops. Are there official RAGBRAI stops or from what I've seen, they rely on you stopping at local shops or people that have set up roadside stands along the way? The towns the ride passes through are the rest stops. You will be overwhelmed with choices of foods and drinks - even Bloody Marys to get the day started at 6:30 am if you want. You will have to push your bike through the towns, but if nothing sounds good, just keep riding. However, I feel the ride through towns are one of the best parts of this ride. This is not a ride where you want to count calories - despite the many miles riding, you will probably gain weight. There are also restaurants and sit-down locations in these towns. I did not go to any of them, but was told that they are good. One point that is probably different from all other rides is that there are people all along the way selling or giving away food and drinks. Most of these are people who live along the way selling from the front yard. Thus, the availability of food and water is never an issue on this ride. Another important point - on many other organized rides the snacks at the rest stops are provided as part of the registration, but this is not the case for RAGBRAI other than the many port drinking water dispensers in each pass through town.
What else can you tell us about event week? You will meet many people on this ride. You will also not be able to see or do everything that is available. For example, if you go with a fully organized charter, you have everything you need at the end of the day in your charter's area, so you will probably not go see the entertainment in the downtown area in that town. I got to ride and made it up Snake Alley in Burlington at the end. This was not part of the actual ride, but rather a bonus. Snake Alley (search for it on Wikipedia) has more turns than Lombard Street in San Francisco. This street was very steep (21%) grade and also did not have an even surface, thus it was a real challenge.
Next month we will have Part 2 of Mark's Rider Review dealing with all of the logistics and preparation for RAGBRAI. |
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HAVING FUN WHILE RIDING INDOORS
Did you know that long time FCC member Edwin Van Spew (aka Van) teaches Spin Class at the GB3 on Palm and Nees? While you may think Spin Class is for mom's wearing the latest Lululemon outfit, there are actual cyclists (aka other club members) that show up as a way to mix things up and keep their legs moving during the short, cold, and wet days of winter. As a bonus, you can't get a flat in spin class although there is a story going around that Joe Cassinerio did break his exercise bike in class one time. Van has been riding for 20 years and teaching spin class for about the past 10 years. He was a spin class attendee for a few years before he became certified to teach. When it comes to teaching spin class, Van says, "Everyone is on their own journey and it's very encouraging to see people come back and see their progress. I like to ask people for a favorite song, and if it has a good beat, I'll play it. Come to find out when I play their songs, they are working twice as hard. Riding a home trainer can be really boring. But here, it's like a community and you get to know the other regulars, which makes it even more enjoyable." Classes run for 1 hour and have a lot of intense intervals so be sure to bring your water bottle and a towel. All the bikes have clips and straps on one side of the pedal and Shimano SPD on the other side. Van teaches classes Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 5:45pm - 6:45pm. And if you don't know Van, check out the tattoos on his calves. If you want to know what they say, you'll have to see him in class or on a club ride. |
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FCC BOARD MEETINGWednesday, November 6th, 2024
6:30 PM
Me N Eds Victory Grill
4010 N Cedar Ave |
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MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL
Your Membership Renewal Date:
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FCC 2024-2025 EVENT CALENDAR
- November Birthday Ride - Saturday, November 16th
- FCC Christmas Party – Sunday, December 1st
- December Birthday Ride - Saturday, December 7th
- New Year's Day Muffin Ride/January Birthday Ride - Wednesday, January 1st
- Annual 17 Mile Drive Ride - Saturday, January 18th
- February Birthday Ride - Saturday, February 1st
- March Birthday Ride - Saturday, March 1st
- Everyone Loves Raymond - Saturday, March 29th
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SUBMIT YOUR CLUB RIDE PHOTO FOR THE ROUGH DRAFT
Have a group picture from a recent club ride? Submit it to editor@fresnocycling.com for a future edition of the Rough Draft. Please include the date and the destination of the ride. See the picture at the top of this newsletter as an example. |
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THE RIDE GROUP A Ride Group is just that, a group of cyclists that choose to ride bikes, together. The Ride Group is a fundamental part of any bike club. The more groups, the better. It is an attractive item to offer a new rider as well to help build friendships and ability. A Ride Group is created when two conditions are met: Condition one: a group of cyclists who share a common interest. Condition two: a Ride Leader (or a team of 2-3 Ride Leaders) Each condition has specific responsibilities. The ride leader(s) set-up the rides, i.e., date, time, start and finish location, speed, distance, and regroup points. (It’s also good to keep records for review later). The Riders are just that, cyclists who want to stay together in accomplishment and training. It’s that simple… There really isn’t anything tangible, but can become something priceless to the members. A typical Ride Group will have members that are similar in ability & goals. A simple goal is completing a local or out of town ride event such as Kirch Flat Hilly Metric, Tollhouse Century, C2K, Davis Double, SLO Lighthouse, America's Most Beautiful Ride (Lake Tahoe), or Cool Breeze. The Ride Group can work together to set goals and create a schedule to follow to reach those goals. However you look at it, the more ride groups a Club has, the greater the attraction will be in growing the club. Ride Leaders are always in short supply. Lots of cyclists want to ride but only a few want to be in charge. One solution to that is to form a Ride Group and then rotate leadership responsibilities. There are some clubs that have Ride Groups that have hundreds of members, some even have their own merchandise, such as jerseys, bib shorts, socks, etc. So get out there and find a Ride Group, or better yet, create your own with the help of FCC. Happy Riding, Joe
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BIKE MAINTENANCE BY RICHARD LAWLEY
Winter is Coming
Maybe you’re not from the House Stark, but chances are you’re going to be reminded that the long dark days of winter are closing in on us and we need to be vigilant against the harshness of what this weather will do to our precious rides.
Riding in inclement weather can be fun, training in the Fresno winters means bundling up in multiple layers, affixing mudguards or fenders to our bikes, starting a ride a little later to avoid the super cold part of the mornings, or wishing there were a Strava Segment for getting your winter kit on so you can get the QOM or KOM for getting dressed.
One thing to remember when riding in the wet weather is your bike will need to be cleaned a bit more often (every ride is preferable). Last month I talked about lubricants and maintaining smooth frictionless motion to ensure component longevity. Well, now it’s more important than ever to keep your parts clean and lubricated.
Someone once asked me if they should use wet or dry lube on their chain. Then they said they would prefer dry, so it doesn’t drip off. That’s a common misconception in wet vs. dry lube… they’re both wet. So, what’s the difference? There you go, asking great questions again.
Wet lube is a lube meant for riding in wet or muddy conditions. It last long but can attract dirt and buildup overtime. Dry lube is a lightweight lube that can be applied multiple times; however, it does not last long and washes off easily with water.
Cleaning your bike must be a very regular part of your maintenance. There are many ways to do it; however, I do not recommend riding though the Red Carpet car wash, short of that it’s entirely up to you. I would stay away from using a pressure washer too, they have so much power it could damage your bike. Just a bucket of warm soapy water, a sponge or terrycloth towel and the garden hose will be sufficient. First rinse as much debris off your bike as you can, soap it up, and then rinse it off. Your bike is water resistant and can withstand the standard pressure of a garden hose over every component.
Once your bike is clean you need dry it. There are many effective ways to dry it, a hair dryer (I don’t own one), an air compressor, leaf blower, the decorative towels nobody uses in your guest bath, or even picking it up a few inches off the ground and dropping it to shock the water off. Whatever method you choose, make sure you get it good and dry. Just before you call it a day and retire to the sofa to binge watch cycling videos on YouTube, lubricate your chain. Even if you use wet lube, a clean chain needs lubrication.
These cold wet days will destroy your bike if you neglect it and put it away wet. Take care of your investment with a little bit of intentionality and you’ll get many more years out of it.
Richard Lawley |
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LOOKING FOR FCC RIDES??
The following is a list of FCC ride groups and locations to find FCC Rides.
FCC Website
Facebook
EMAIL
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COMING UP IN THE DECEMBER ROUGH DRAFT More winter training ideas and Part 2 of Mark's RAGBRAI experience. |
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