Rocky Mountain Cycling Club
The Club for People Who Love to Ride!
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Rocky Mountain Cycling Club
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Newsletters of 1998
RIDE CALENDAR INSIDE The 1998 ride schedule is done and included with your newsletter. There have been some subtle changes, and you will notice that the fall rides are shorter. As usual, there are options for long and short distance rides. Not everyone can be a distance animal... Remember, RMCC is a riding club, and we try to cater to a wide range of ability. RECOGNITION We want to recognize and congratulate Ken Billingsley for completing the 97 SUPER RANDONNEUR SERIES.. Due to a record keeping error we failed to acknowledge that he was the third member to complete this difficult series. The fact that three members completed this series out of a club of 500 speaks for itself! Great Job!! Victor Selenow of Buena Vista recently won his age group (45-49) in the Great Floridian Ironman Distance Triathlon. Overall, he ranked 60th in the field of 750 participants. Great Job!! In the October newsletter, we mentioned that Barbara Kostner was going to compete in the Ironman Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii. Barbara competes using crutches! I recently spoke with Barbara, and she informed me that she competed in the 45-49 women's able bodied division, but she did so on crutches. She finished in 15:35:37 with a ranking of 24th out of 27. She endured 35-55 mph winds and informed me that this year's event had the highest drop-out rate ever. Barbara was featured on ABC and NBC. Talking with Barbara is an inspiration and we hope to chronicle her incredible accomplishments in an up-coming issue. Great Job!! U.M.C.A. LEADER Long-time club member and volunteer, John Hughes, was recently named Director of the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association and publisher of Ultra Cycling Magazine. His new responsibilities will include; participating in events around the country , publishing the magazine and corresponding with members., John's cycling accomplishments are extensive and will add depth to the UMCA. John began riding double centuries in the 1970's. In 1979, he rode his first Paris-Brest-Paris and has ridden the P-B-P four times. He has won Boston- Montreal-Boston and Furnace Creek 508 twice. John raced RAMM in both 1994 and 1996 and plans to race again in 2000 in the over-50 division. In addition, John is an active ultra cycling coach, coaching dozens of cyclists training for RAMM, Furnace Creek, PAC Tour and other events. He is a USCF certified Sport Coach and National Strength and Conditioning Association certified Personal Trainer. John also runs the Pacific Crest Bicycle Tour. We are proud to have John in charge of the UMCA and he wants to extend the offer of a complimentary copy of Ultra Cycling to any RMCC member. You can reach him at (303) 545-9566. Congratulations John! AVOCET ORDER COMING The opportunity to order AVOCET equipment is being arranged by Barry Nash. He hopes to have it set up by mid-March. Look for the announcement. CLUB BUSINESS The next RMCC meeting will be held on February 3 at 7:30 PM at Terri Durbin's home in Broomfield. The meeting is open to all, and we would welcome some new faces. Contact Terri for directions. RENEWAL NOTICE: We would like to remind our members that it would be very helpful to us if you would renew your membership after receiving your first renewal notice. PEARL IZUMI ORDERS: The orders are in and have been mailed. The order was a very large one and took some time to assemble and ship. Look for the spring order soon! VOLUNTEERS WANTED: With a club of 500 members, there are a great many things to be done, and we need your help. Contact me, Tim Tripp, if you would like to get involved. THANKS TO OUR VOLUNTEERS: RMCC has some outstanding people, and they are truly dedicated to cycling. The core of the volunteers are your ride leaders and are named on the 1998 Ride Calendar. Without them, this club would not exist as you see it. These folks all have jobs, families and other commitments. They are awesome, and I would encourage you to take a look at those names and thank them when you see them. They do it all for FREE! NEWSLETTER DEADLINE: is the 20th of each month. If you have an item, please forward to RMCC, P. O. Box 101473, Denver, CO 80250-1473 or e-mail; Ttripp1@Worldnet.ATT.NET FOR SALE This FOR SALE section is meant to be a service to our members who have cycling stuff to sell. We rarely have the extra space to devote to 'tlassifieds but January seemed like a great time to "pedal" stuff. Enjoy and good luck!!
COMING IN THE FEBRUARY ISSUE Training
Tips
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Kinder and Gentler Club? We're very happy to get feedback from our members. Thanks to those who have recently taken the time (mostly via e-mail) to contact Tim Tripp, the new newsletter editor, with suggestions on how to improve the club's image and offerings (rides and otherwise). One of the recurrent themes has been the desire of some that the rides be more friendly and accommodating for newer or more casual riders. Let's talk. First of all, it is important to the club that those who join us on scheduled rides have a safe and enjoyable outing. We have generally taken this to mean that the route should involve challenging terrain over relatively low-trafficked roads with good surfaces. Secondly, the average cyclist should be able to have some social needs met through the group, whether by finding others to ride with, learn from, or compete against. The first criterion we think we accomplish very well -- succeeding in the second is much more difficult since it involves synergy of personality and skill level, items impossible to predict or devise. It is a sad fact that some newer members have shown up for a club ride, perhaps with expectations groomed by memberships in other clubs, and been disappointed when the pack roared out of the parking lot and dropped them, leaving them to spend the day riding alone. These problems are magnified since Ride Starters normally perform little-to-no shepherding on the ride, establish no rallying points mid-ride, and don't wait at ride's end to check people in. Some of this is not by accident. The RMCC was originally formed to cater to cyclists of intermediate and advanced abilities looking to develop their levels of conditioning, plus take advantage of an organization to conduct special events and trips and obtain discounts from sponsoring shops and manufacturers. It was never intended to emphasize social aspects (meetings, parties, etc.) nor provide basic instruction nor intensive on-the-road nurturing. As a volunteer organization, the club is limited by the number and interests of those actively involved in its leadership. Ride Starters, being cyclists too, want to take advantage of the schedule as much as anyone, and find it difficult to give up a day's training for slower speeds, shorter distances, and the personal responsibility for another rider's happiness. 1998 (those who have been on the early-Feb rides may have already experienced this), on as many rides as possible we will be asking riders to voluntarily start slower and attempt to stay together for the first couple of miles out of the parking lots. This won't handicap faster riders much (they will, after all, get a welcome chance to warm up more casually and still blast 98% of the course), and the slower riders will have more opportunity to fall in with a like-minded group. Furthermore, an unofficial "rally point" will be established on route. These will be 7-11's or similar places where riders can re-group if they so desire. There will be no obligation for anyone to wait at these rally points, but slower riders can look forward to a specific place to rest and meet up with others. We think most riders stop along the rides anyway, and a mapped rally point merely encourages more togetherness at those times. We'll see how it works. Again, thanks to those who took the time to contact us. We hope the changes noted above will meet with favor and that everyone will feel free to pass along additional suggestions to Ride Starters at rides or via e-mail at "tripp1@worldnet.att.net". Memorial Weekend Trip Now is the time to call and reserve your space on the RMCC Memorial Weekend trip. This will be a first-ever ride from Glenwood Springs to Grand Junction and back, highlighting the "don't miss" road over the Colorado National Monument and the rarely-ridden Grand Mesa and McClure Pass. Only 15 riders can be taken. Overnights are in Fruita and Cedaredge, with a first-night optional overnight in Glenwood Springs on Friday. Fully SAG supported. AVOCET Discounts This issue of the RMCC News contains an order form for Avocet products offered to the club at a discount averaging 45%. You will not find Avocet seats, tires, and cyclometers any cheaper! Our apologies to those who experienced significant back-order delays in receiving last year's orders. We will be getting the orders in to Avocet earlier this year in hopes of eliminating some of these problems, PLUS the club will plan to direct-mail your items to you so you won't have to worry about picking them up at rides. The order forms MUST be returned by Saturday, Feb 28th!!! Contact Barry Nash for further information. *NOTE* In order to communicate the important message of Berry Nash, I had to postpone the RECOGNITION section and make space for the Avocet information. In the March edition, I will bring everyone up to speed on what our members have been doing in their "off" time. We at RMCC feel that our members successes should be shared, and I am committed to getting all recognition items in print. In the March edition, you will find an insert that will provide our members with yet another way to save on some valuable merchandise. REMINDER: Please renew memberships on the first notice. CAR POOL whenever possible, it will help us all, and free up parking space for more members.
FEBRUARY 7th - MARCH 29th TRAINING RIDES: START TIME 10:45 AM
*** READ-READ-READ *** We have many great things happening in the RMCC this time of year. The 1998 Club jersey and shorts order deadline is fast approaching. The Denver Spoke will have fewer available this year and at retail prices. The 98 jersey main part will be royal blue that fades to white with e large yellow lightning bolt running from the right shoulder to left hip. There are two chain rings on the right hip and the other on the left shoulder. The club name is a dominate feature on the jersey with stylized lettering down the front.and back. The shorts will have matching blue lettering so you look totally color coordinated. Special Thanks to Joe Lookingbill for his expert graphic design! DeFeet SOCKS AVAlLABLE... RMCC just contracted with "DeFeet" socks to create RMCC logo socks for our members. These are well built socks and the price will be only $4.50 per pair including shipping. You will pay twice that in the retail market! Check your newsletter for order forms. WANTED: Graphic Artist ... RMCC is in need of a volunteer Graphic Artist to take over the design and development of our jersey, short, T -shirt and misc. design needs. Please contact Charlie Henderson. We need you!!!!! DENVER/ASPEN VOLUNTEERS ... RMCC is in need of volunteers to assist with many aspects of the Denver/Aspen Classic. If you are not riding and could help us out, we would be grateful! Please contact: Rita Saunders. RECOGNITION Club member: Debbie Haynes will join 1000 other American riders on the GTE Big Ride Across America to benefit the American Lung Association. She is one of 7 women from Colorado. The ride begins on June 15 in Seattle and ends August 1 in Washington D.C. The ride is not only a major personal commitment for the riders, but they each have to raise $6000 in pledges for the American Lung Association. If you would like to share in her effort and make a pledge, contact Debbie Haynes. RMCC members Ken Brecheisen, John Homick and Keith Winchell completed in the 15th El Tour de Tucson in honor of Lance Armstrong. They were among 3600 riders to enjoy warm temperatures, relatively flat terrain and a very competitive "race". The 111 mile course included two river crossings and 3500 feet of vertical. The event was won for the first time ever by a tandem from San Diego in 4:16. Kent Bostick was the winning single rider in 4:18, and Julie Hendey (Team Saturn) was the women's winner in 4:25. It was a rare opportunity for "mere mortals" to compete and ride with professional cyclists from around the country .John even had the chance to give a "pull" to Chris Hoerner ... Awesome!!! We know that our members are doing some amazing things and we want to shale your accomplishments with others. Please forward your recent accomplishments to us so that others can see that dream achievement is possible ... and our members are willing to share their experiences with you. Maybe it's time to take that Transcontinental ride ... You can e-mail us or send them to our PO box ... Just do it! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Hey ... remember our club sponsors and especially those product or services sponsors who support our events. One major club event is the Denver-Aspen Classic, and the new sponsor this year will be PEAK BAR, from Way Cool, Inc. in Colorado Springs. Bob Fritz, President and owner has agreed to provide PEAK BARS, an energy supplement, for the event. Bob and his Chief Baker; Fred Hiltbrunner are both heavy duty roadies and will be riding the event this year. Also of note, Bob's wife, Lu Fritz, owns and operates the DATE BAR, a great lunch stop at 24 East Kiowa in the Springs. Stop in if your looking for a lunch spot, and tell them you're with RMCC. The guy behind lining up great sponsors is Rick Yeo, and Rick needs some help! He needs a helping hand in raising sponsorship support for the Denver-Aspen Classic. Rick is a great guy and can be reached by phone: 771-9107 or e-mail at: yeorick@juno.com. RMCC voted "Best Bike Club" for 1997 by Rocky Mountain Sports Magazine. Did you know ... that on the Valentines Day ride, 65 RMCC members and friends showed up and enjoyed sunny 50 degree weather? I just wonder how many Tapdems rode on Valentines Day ????? MORE DISCOUNTS »»»»»»» RMCC has obtained an agreement from INNOVATIONS in CYCLING to purchase selected products at a large discount. They specialize in the new CO2 inflation systems such as: SuperFlate, AeroFlate and UltraFlate, as well as patches, glue and other tire items. Remember, three cartridges weigh one fourth what a frame pump does. If you would like ordering information, contact Barry Nash. MARCH 7th - APRIL 12th TRAINING RIDES: START TIME 10:45 AM
There are many really "cool" things beginning to heat up for the up-coming riding season. We have some really awesome people putting tons of work into this years events. WE DO NEED MORE HELP!!! Even if you can only help a little! Denver-Aspen Update: Chairperson Rita Saunders has several important up-dates for this years Denver-Aspen Classic. The finish location frustration has been eliminated! The finish has changed to PAEPCKE Park. This downtown park will eliminate the ride all the way through town. The finish festivities will be in one location. There will be a shuttle available to get you from the park to the hotels. Riders completing the 155 mile event will be awarded a framable certificate of completion, a nice addition! In addition, there are two wonderful hotels that have accommodated us with some great rates. The Wildwood Lodge is making Deluxe Double Occupancy rooms available for $90.00 (kids under 12 free). The Silver Tree Hotel is offering Deluxe Double Occupancy rooms for $120.00 (kids under 12 free). These are RMCC group rates and you need to call ahead for reservations. Both hotels are located in Snowmass. We have several Denver-Aspen Classic committees that need some help. Putting on an event of this magnitude takes many volunteers. Please lend us a hand when you can. Contact Chairperson Rita Saunders.
Death Ride Update: Because of the difficulty of this ride and the logistics of keeping participants safe, RMCC will now require that participants qualify in order to participate. Any rider wishing to ride the Death Ride must have officially completed the 200 mile Denver-Aspen Classic. If you have questions, please contact Death Ride Chairman Charlie Henderson. Club "Stuff" Update: There are still a few 1998 women's jersey's available. RMCC must order minimum numbers in order to pass the savings on to you, therefore we have a few extra's. Contact Terry Durbin. DeFeet Socks: Deadline for ordering RMCC "Custom" socks is April 15th. Contact Ken Brecheisen. CO2 Inflation Systems: If you would like to order an inflation system from "Innovations in Cycling", the deadline is here. Contact Barry Nash. Memorial Weekend Ride: May 8th is the registration deadline for the Memorial Weekend ride. You must pre-register! Contact Barry Nash for information. RMCC is still looking for a "volunteer" Graphic Artist to take over the design and development of the club T-shirts and riding apparel. Contact Charlie Henderson at: 290- 8406. RECOGNITION Since I took over the duties of producing the newsletter, I have been exposed to a volunteer member whose contribution is very significant and often overlooked. The volunteer that I am referring to is our own Chuck Gillis. Chuck maintains the database for our ever-growing club. He maintains the club roster, mailing labels and the membership renewals. Anytime I have ever need a rush for labels or computer information, Chuck gets it done without complaint. He handles all the membership information, and maintains the club's Web Site. This means that Chuck must visit the post office box regularly and spend hours at the computer inputting information. Chuck has a full time job, a family, and all the other commitments we all have! In addition, he even likes to spend some time on a bicycle once in a while. Our current membership for the RMCC is sitting at about 575 members and sponsors. It all runs smoothly because of people like Chuck! Thanks Chuck for doing what you do for us! Renewal Information: Renewal notices will only be done the month before and the month after a membership expires. This is being done to save membership time and costs. Please renew on your first notice - it will save us time and cost. If you have moved, notify Chuck so he can change the mailing list. He can be reached at: 973-1127.
APRIL 4th - APRIL 11th TRAINING RIDES: START TIME 10:45 AM
We would like to apologize to all of our riders who showed up on April 11th at the wrong time. Those who arrived at the Littleton start location either showed at 8:45 AM or 10:45 AM. This put our ride leader Mike Fulton in a bad position. He started the ride at 8:45 AM and left a few extra maps on his car. What Mike found was that the majority of the riders came at 10:45 AM. This mix-up was caused when the information was pulled off the Master Ride Calendar. It was one day off, and this created the mix-up. Our sincere apologies to all whom were inconvenienced. Denver-Aspen Update: Chairperson Rita Saunders has informed us that she still needs volunteers for the Denver-Aspen Classic. She has many positions available and can fit your talent to a job. Putting on an event of this magnitude takes many volunteers. Please lend us a hand when you can. Contact Rita Saunders.
Club "Stuff" Update: The RMCC will be staffing a membership tent at the Start/Finish line of the Elephant Rock Century ride to be held on June 7th. The club will staff a tent and will promote itself to the cycling community. The Elephant Rock Century has become a very popular ride and draws large numbers. If you can help us out contact Tim Tripp. RECOGNITION Just who is the "MAP" guy? Who provides us with all the detailed maps, mile by mile written directions that take us all over this Front Range? Just what does it take to keep our rides current among an ever changing area? The RMCC is proud to have it's own "MAP GUY"! Our affectionately called "MAP GUY" is John Klever. John is truly a behind the scenes volunteer. He attends nearly every meeting and receives input from our ride coordinators. He takes this information and transforms it into accurate and up to date maps for YOU. In addition, he sends ride rosters and the map to the ride coordinators long before their scheduled rides. John "The Map Guy" puts tons of his "extra" time into our cause and we appreciate the huge effort. Thanks John!!!! Did you move?:. If you have moved, notify Chuck Gillis so he can change the mailing list. He can be reached at:973-1127. FOR YOUR INFO ... The Colorado Springs Cycling Club is hosting the Tour of the Arkansas River Valley on May 16 & 17. About 160 miles over two days. Great deal on food, Sag, camping etc. Information: Bill Bailey 719-685-3899. 98' Midwest
Tandem Rally, Omaha, Nebraska. September 4th thru 7th. Over 500 tandems
from all over the country. Parade, workshops, seminars, families welcome. For
information: WANTED ... Ride Coordinators...who can help us start and coordinate the many rides that we do throughout the year. You don't have to be "super bicyclist" to coordinate our rides. A ride coordinator is responsible for copying the respective ride maps and rosters and arriving at the start location a few minutes early. The person will then explain any changes in the route, address any safety concerns and encourage the group to ride together for the first few miles. They may distribute a few ride calendars and answer some basic questions, but the job is not hard. The ride coordinator is not required to lead the fast riders, or make sure that the slow riders finish. They simply "coordinate" the ride and must be dependable. We need your help and will help you get started. If you have what it takes and want to give it a try, contact Tim Tripp. MEETING DATES We encourage our members to attend our business meetings and get involved with a swell group of people. All meetings begin promptly at 7:00 PM on the last Tuesday of each month.
Contact Terri Durbin. She would love to give you directions to her home. MAY 2nd - MAY 24th TRAINING RIDES: START TIME 8:45 AM
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