THE PREZ SAYS.....
Greetings fellow club members. I hope you’ve all had a great summer of riding. It was especially nice since the weather was kinder to us this year with much less triple digit temps during July and August than we had last year. As Fall approaches we still have a lot of great riding weather to enjoy. Let’s make the most of it.
Giving us more to enjoy, the County Road crew is blessing us with some newly paved roads on some of our favorite routes. They recently repaved Old Millerton Road from Auberry Road to 168. Also, Trimmer Springs Road goes from Belmont to Hwy 180. Another one done last year was Watts Valley Road from Ashlan to the Corrals corner, one of my favorites. It's amazing how some nice fresh pavement can make a ride much more enjoyable. If we could get Madera County to repave Road 211 to Spring Valley School, wouldn't that be glorious. One problem I see with new pavement in the foothills is that on one hand it is great for us, on the other it results in drivers driving faster and more dangerous for us. You can tell this by the number of skid marks going off the road from people driving too fast on the nice, paved roads. Slow down drivers. Save your life and ours.
So here it is September, I'm thinking about what fun rides we can schedule this month. The first ride I'mthinking ofis of course a Labor Day ride on Monday. While contemplating where to ride, it occurred to me that 13 years ago the club did a Labor Day ride to Spring Valley School. We had a big group of riders and were enjoying a great ride. What was so significant about that ride was that it ended for me with a crash on my way down from Spring Valley School on Road 211. Some of you may remember that day, I didn't think I was hurt that badly, I called a friend to get a ride and wound up going to the hospital ER, where they determined I had 3 fractured ribs. Whenever I think back on that crash, I always remember my last thoughts as I was skidding off the road at the 25-mph curve, "my prayer was don't hit the rocks, don't hit the rocks", the next thing I knew I had landed on the ground before the barbwire fence lyingflat on my back between the rocks. It was amazing, I didn't even hit my head on the rock nearby. But hitting the ground hard did fracture my ribs. I was off the bike for about 7 weeks, but itpretty much ended my riding season for the year. Which was crazy after having done the Race Across America in June without so much as a flat.
I digress but back to the topic what rides will we be doing in September? Since no one volunteered to lead a Labor Day ride, I guess everyone is on their own. The next ride will be the Birthday Ride on Sept 6th. Watch for the event information for 9/6/25
Hopefully this month as the temps cool off, we can get some weekday evening rides in. The past couple of months there hasn't been much of this type of riding. It seems we really haven't recovered from the Covid debacle as I don't see many of our trained Ride Leaders stepping up to lead rides.
Putting on daily, weekly, and monthly rides is what keeps our members engaged. When members aren't getting their needs met they move on. A few years ago, our membership numbers were in the 1200 range. In the past few years that number has dropped to where our average paid membership is between 525 and 550. We need more members participation in the ongoing activities of the Club. We want to be a Club that provides what our members want and need to maintain their continued interest in remaining as club members. If we are a business, what's our product? If our product isn't good people won't buy it. Our product provides opportunities and encouragement for members to get out and enjoy riding their bicycles. To provide a friendly atmosphere where we can develop great friendships and create memorable experiences. As well as the ability to learn from experienced members the does and don’ts of riding bicycles. We need our ride leaders to show up. You don't have to be an expert rider to lead rides, all it takes is a willingness to schedule a ride and show up to lead it. Group Riders like having a leader.
Ladies, I was checking our cycling club clothing inventory the other day and realized that we still have club jerseys and vests available that hadn't been purchased. The jerseys will be discounted to $60 and the vests to $40. Send me an email at fccprez@live.com if you're interested.
I have mentioned in the past that the Club could use an influx of new talent to fill positions on the Board of Directors. Elections are approaching in November and nominations for Board positions occur during the month of October. Most of the Board members have been faithfully serving for many years and are ready to have someone take over for them. Of course, the tiring old line is, "oh you're doing a great job just keep it up". The problem with this is no onenew becomes familiar with the workings of the club, and the same people are stuck doing all the work. I would encourage anyone interested in learning about the inner workings of the club and considering serving the Club as a Board member to attend the Monthly Board meetings, they are open to members. The next one is Wednesday Sept 3, 2025, at the Me N Ed's Victory Grill at 4010 N Cedar.
Hope to see you out on the road, on the gravel or in the dirt (MTB).
As always "Ride Safe and Ride Legal"!
Cheers,
The Prez
Dennis Ball
