January Reminders!
- The Early Bird Clinics and Practice Crits in Fremont continue this coming Sunday, January 11. These are promoted by Velo Promo & Golden Chain Cyclists, under USAC rules & permit. If you’re interested in racing, you don’t want to miss these! Registration opens at 7:45 a.m. at Dumbarton & Campus in the Ardenwood Industrial Park. Full details, including the event schedule, can be found at the promoter’s website: www.velopromo.com
- The joint VSRT Winter Training Ride originally scheduled for January 17th conflicts with the Early Bird Road Race and will be rescheduled to January 24th or 31st.
- The Snelling-TLRR Pre-ride will be on January 24th or 31st. Like last year, we are hoping to have a special guest in attendance. This is a “show and go” ride with multiple teams and riders participating. More information to follow as details are finalized.
- January 21st is the first general membership meeting of 2015, and it will be held at Surla’s in downtown Modesto at 6pm. We hope to have a big turnout. A full meeting agenda will be posted soon!
Skills Clinic with John Cheetham on February 8th!
The details of the first 2015 Skills Clinic have been finalized. The clinic with John Cheetham of Performance Cycle Coaching will be held Sunday, February 8, 2015 at Sierra View Elementary School in Oakdale, CA from 8am-2pm. It is geared to improve your cornering, descending, pack skills, sprinting and get you ready for the upcoming racing/riding season. Check out John Cheetham’s Bio, and learn more about our coach for this member’s only event. All participants must have a valid 2015 USAC License ($70) or purchase a one day license for $10. The cost of the clinic is $35 and you can REGISTER ONLINE now at USA Cycling. Space is limited to 30 riders, so don’t delay and register today! A second clinic, with the same instructional format and content, will be held March 7, 2015, for those who may be racing on Feb. 8th. Please direct all questions regarding the clinic to the FSB Event Coordinator, Debbie Sommerfeld, at debbiesommerfeld@gmail.com. Thanks and see you there!
Save the Date – Skills Clinic!
SAVE THE DATE…there is a members only Skills Clinic being planned for February 8, 2015. If you will be racing the Red Kite Bump Circuit Race that day or can’t make that date, a second clinic will be held on March 7, 2015, covering the same content as the first clinic. More details and an information flyer will be posted soon.
JL Velo Team Clothing Store Open Until Dec. 11
The team JL Velo clothing store is finally open. Thank you for you patience. The instructions were emailed to all members via Yahoo group email on Dec. 4 and the full instructions were also posted to the team’s member only Facebook page. Please read the instructions completely and thoroughly and do not forget to apply the member coupon code when checking out! We will be charged by JL Velo for every ordering mistake that they need to correct, so please be careful when ordering. The store is only open for seven days. There is a timer at the top of the page showing how much time remains to place your orders. The store closes Dec. 11, at midnight (PST) and there will be no exceptions. You can order any items you wish from the store, but remember this order is for CdV members only. Do not share this link or the code with non members. Do not order for family, friends, coworkers – only for yourself (except for the kids jersey – you may purchase those for others). When you check out, there is an option to insert a coupon code. This will give you a credit for the value of a single top/single bottom($145). Any balance must be paid by you. The coupon code may only be used one time per person. Be careful in your selections and do not use the code more than once. If you do use this code a second time, it will show up on the report run by JL Velo and there will be a $15 service fee per instance incurred to fix the transaction. The club will collect these fees from anyone who uses it more than once before we release your clothing. The team clothing will be sent in a single shipment. When the clothing has been received and is ready for pickup a notification will be sent out. The current target date for delivery is the end of January 2015. Thank you!
2015 SUPPORTED RIDERS ANNOUNCED
Congratulations to the following riders who have been selected to the Supported Rider Program for the 2015 race season. These riders have committed to a significant amount of racing next season. We wish all of the supported riders, as well as the many other dedicated racers on the Funsport Bikes Cycling Team, much luck in the upcoming season and know you will all represent our generous sponsors and the Ciclistas del Valle Cycling Club well!
LEVEL 1 SQUAD:
- Perry Johnson – cat 2 / Road
- Alan Nevin – cat 3 / Road
LEVEL 2 SQUAD:
- Robert Cortes – cat 4 / Road
- Jeff Purcell – cat 3 / Road, CX and Track
- James Ruffin – cat 4 / Road
- Pete Schoenenberger – cat 4 / Road and CX
- Allen Shaw – cat 4 / Road, cat 3 CX, cat 1 MTB
- Bao Thanh – cat 4 / Road
2015 Focus Races Announced
The Race Director has designated the following races as Team Focus Races for 2015. The races are being announced early so members have plenty of time to plan out their year. The RD is looking for our race team to have a large presence at these events and represent our sponsors well. Most of these races are on roads we ride and train on frequently. Even if you’re not racing, we encourage members to attend these events, if possible, and support those on the team who are racing. If you’re interested in racing, come on out and see what it’s all about! There are even opportunities to help out the team at some of these events by working in the feed zone and handing up water bottles. We’ll have the team tent out at most of these races as well, and will try to make the day special for all in attendance with food and drinks. These focus races are being added to the calendar page on the website and additional details will be posted as each of the focus races get closer. Looking forward to a great year of racing!
- Knight’s Ferry Road Race – Saturday, February 7, 2015
- Coppertown Circuit Race – Sunday, February 15, 2015
- Red Kite Criterium – Sunday, March 8, 2015
- Topsport Stage Race – Saturday, April 11 & Sunday, April 12, 2015
- Regalado Road Race – Sunday, May 10, 2015
- Modesto Criterium – Saturday, May 16, 2015
- Modesto Road Race – Sunday, May 17, 2015
- Red Kite Criterium – Sunday, July 12, 2015
- Warnerville Time Trial – Saturday, August 8, 2015
NEW SPONSOR: Next Level Performance by RdV
We are happy to announce another new sponsor – Next Level Performance by RdV. Rich del Valle is a Level 3 Certified USA Cycling coach. Although he recently became a certified coach he brings over 28 years of racing experience in USA Cycling events. He will be training and coaching beginning January 2015. Rich has been married for 20 years and has two grown boys and a teenage daughter. He has an understanding on how to maximize the time on the bike and truly understands work, life balance. Rich has raced for over 28 years upgrading to a CAT 2 racer in his first year of racing, and later upgrading to an Elite CAT 1 racer. He understands how to train as a full-time bike racer and a very part-time bike racer. Rich now races in the Masters 45+ 1/2/3 ranks but still competes in a few P/1/2 races. He has competed in track and road events, such as the Elite National Road Race, Redlands Stage Race, Gila Stage Race, Bend Stage Race, SuperWeek, and numerous NRC races. As a master racer, he won the 2002 Tour de Nez, 2002 Masters State RR, Patterson Pass RR and Madera County Stage Race. His “Elite” and “Elite Fuerza” programs are outlined below. To contact Rich about these coaching opportunities please e-mail him at coachrdv@comcast.net or by phone at 408-655-5738.
FSB/VSRT Ride Moved to Sunday, November 23rd
We received an update from VSRT. Due to the forecast for rain on Saturday the 22nd, the FSB/VSRT Joint Winter Training Ride has been moved to Sunday, November 23. This is the first of three joint FSB/VSRT (Valley Spokesmen Racing Team) Winter Training Rides. VSRT will be hosting this ride and they have chosen to do the Moraga Loop. There are two route options for this ride (approximate mileage and elevation are listed below). We will be meeting in downtown Livermore at Peet’s Coffee (152 S Livermore Ave) at 8:30am. A stop is planned in Alamo at Livermore Cyclery on the return leg of the longer route. Heavy rain cancels the ride.
ROUTE OPTION 1: 70 miles, 3900′ elevation gain
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/583461110
ROUTE OPTION 2: 50 miles, 2400′ elevation gain
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/583444486
Early Bird Criterium Training Series
The Early Bird Criterium Training Series in Fremont is highly recommended if you are interested in racing in 2015 and learning valuable racing skills. Even experienced racers attend the series and use it as an early season tune-up and chance to get in a little crit practice before the real racing begins. Each day in the series focuses on a different skill, which is practiced in a mentored environment and followed by a mentored training race (no placings are recorded). There are five days in the series: 1/4, 1/11, 1/18, 1/25, and 2/1. In the past there has been online advance and day-of registration. Upgrade points are available for attending the sessions and training crits. We usually have a large number of FSB team members that attend each year. More info and registration details will be posted once it is announced by the promoter, Velo Promo.