Finger Lakes Cycling Club

Saturday Kick-off

Andrejs — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:41:21 +0000

Gathering in the far parking lot of Sapsucker Woods

The newly established FLCC Saturday (no-drop) Rides kicked off with a tremendous turnout last week. The 26 or so riders were treated to a jewel of a route on the ridges east of Cayuga Lake under picturesque blue skies. The ride was ideal for slower riders, since most of the ride was very gently rolling to flat — although, being a route mapped by Kyra Stephanoff, it included one hill with a zillion percent grade. True to the terms and conditions of this ride, nobody was dropped — or allowed to get lost, as I found out when I wandered off route!

All riders have to sign in for this ride and check off their names when they return — or else notify the leader or sweep of their intentions. We’re really trying to establish a routine by which everyone who attends can feel secure they won’t wind up lost or with a mechanical. The first run of the system proved pretty successful. Another feature

Linda's Home Cooking was a mid-ride break for several riders.

of the ride that some riders wanted to include was the potential for a lunch stop somewhere along the route — whether in the middle of the ride of at the start/finish. This was accomplished today at Linda’s Home Cooking, where about eight of the participants paused to eat and swap lies for a half hour. In mapping out some routes for future Saturday rides, we’ve tried to make sure we’ve identified a place to stop and get together, preferably indoors.

I think everyone was enormously appreciative of Kyra’s work in getting the rides going, getting a ride rating system established so newcomers can judge what they’re in store for, and making up the sign-in/out procedure. It promises to be a wonderful event not only for the FLCC members who were asking for it but also for many new riders.

Fatboy Racing – a tale

twinkieboy — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:00:47 +0000

It’s been about 2 or 3 years since I last pinned on a number and served as pack fodder – work, travel, and age have all conspired against me recently. That, and the fear of road rash when racing with brain-dead, oxygen-deprived, testosterone-laden 20-somethings, also known as Cat 4 racers. This year, the weather and travel gods conspired to get me onto a road bike in February (for the first time since leaving Australia in 1997, where of course, February is the best time to ride). March was “the warmest on record”, allowing me several days of pushing my bike up Culvert Rd, or Mt Pleasant, or Rt327 (basically, pick any hill with a >5% grade and I was going to be pushing at some point). But I felt that I might be coming into the season slightly better conditioned, and slightly less cushioned than in previous recent springs. There’s a reason that I sit on my arse in my car doing results at Hollenbecks, and it’s not because I’m such a nice bloke. It’s a nemesis called Parker Street…

Well, given the relative (and this, truly, in the Einsteinian sense of the word) fitness this early in the season – I only started riding in mid-June last year, so I’m way ahead of the curve this season – I decided to sign up for the Binghamton Circuit Race. In the past, even with less fitness, I have usually managed to hang with the pack, and even help out at the finish, provided the obligatory Cat4 crash 3 laps into the race didn’t upset my plans. The race is relatively short, with a small punchy “power” climb that you can do in the big ring – something that Fatboys can tolerate. Rather than risking life-and-limb in CrashFest 2012, I signed up for the more statesmen-like 45+ race, where racers ride hard, but figure that showing up for work without a visit to the ER trumps a pair of TVC socks you got as 3^rd place in a meaningless priem.

The weather was as perfect as upstate spring can be – cold, sunny, and with a gale-force northerly “breeze”. Several “well-seasoned” Cookies showed up to race the same race, so it was going to be a good time, even if I had to walk up Mt Pleasant the day before (oh, the humiliation) on a warm-up ride. The 45+ field was about 10 racers (hmmmm, that’s awful small for what is usually one of the biggest categories in this region). Well, I could always brag I was Top-10 by merely finishing…The organizers had the 35+ and 45+ fields racing together……….with…….the 1/2/3 race. OK, so we were all going to be in the same “race”, but would be starting a little apart and racing separately. That’s fine.

What? We’re racing together as one field? In today’s texting parlance: “WTF???” I’m about to start a race with half of the Mt Bora team, a bunch of young guys, who, while nowhere near as sketchy as the Cat4 Demolition Derby crewe, have been racing STAGE RACES all spring.

We set of, and on the small slight uphill grade right off the start line, the pack is approaching velocities normally exhibited by spacecraft trying to enter near-earth orbit by the time the hit the top for the downhill. I’m last wheel and pedalling like crazy just to stay on… ON THE DOWNHILL! As I start feeling a dreaded sense of futility on the very first lap around the downhill curve, envisioning the pack disappearing ahead of me before I go past the finish-line for the first time, the bunch suddenly sits up as they come face-to-face with Mr Northerly. Thank you, Canadian tundra! I sit up, inhale some of that sub-arctic wind, and coast. Up the climb, sheltered on the shoulder of the road, I’m starting to feel a bit better. Around again, chase chase chase, and then recover into the wind, hidden in the pack. This goes on for 3 laps. I’m using the well-known strategy previously described as “Pass-Fail Racing” by BikeSnobNYC. On the 4^th time up the hill, somebody (probably John Hunter, who soloed away and won by half a lap) punches it, simultaneously punching my ticket. I pop, less than 15 minutes into the race. I spend the next 45 minutes doing a training ride as the field keeps lapping me. Over and over and over…

It was no surprise to me that I was not of Cat 1/2/3 caliber. I’ve NEVER been Cat1/2/3 caliber. Not even when I could keep up with the A’s on Coddington and half of Ringwood. But the 45+ race turned into a race of attrition – hanging on with the main field was the most that any of them could hope for. I think 4 of them actually finished in the field, including Glenn, who played sweeper up the final climb for the final time. Meanwhile, I caught my ride home, and downed 2 cocktails to help with post-race rehydration. That made most of this feel so much more bearable. Maybe next year, I’ll risk my 401K and race with the WRECKING CREWE category again. At least there, I might have a chance of finishing. If only I can make it through the first 4 laps…

Wednesdays Womens Rides 2012!!

wroad — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:19:30 +0000

Wednesday Women’s road rides will return next week on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 at 6 pm at Rite Aid, East Hill. Roll out at 6 pm prompt! Rides will be every Wednesday until the end of August.
Last year we split into 2 groups, 12- 15 mph and > 15 mph with some success depending on the number of riders. The route will again be pre posted via FLCC email-so sign up for FLCC email! (I also encourage you to sign up for FLCC membership while you’re at it (!)
Hope to see you out on your bikes!

Cynthia

Club Membership

Andrejs — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:37:39 +0000

Join the club: MEMBERSHIP PAGE
With this continually surprising weather, making it virtually summer when we should just be recovering from winter, it’s hard to realize the cycling season is still young. So, getting 65 people signed and paid up with a 2012 membership card is actually pretty good. Still, there are a lot more people than that who are interested in biking in the Finger Lakes, who support the club, who use the club’s routes and email list to enhance their biking, who join in on our rides — but who haven’t managed to actually commit to a membership. Well, if the ten bucks is a problem for you, that’s fine; read no further and be welcome among us. But, for those who are merely forgetful or procrastinating — please, let’s get this membership thing done before the season is on in earnest and nobody wants to sit at a computer, either to join the club or to work on rosters and cards. And maybe you’ll want that card for a discount on something for your bike to kick off the season. It’s all on line and simple: Membership Page

Annual Meeting

Andrejs — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 16:35:37 +0000

The FLCC Annual Meeting is one week from today. The preliminary agenda is below (or download FLCC 2012 Annual Meeting). The meeting will be at Kelly’s Dockside Café where the Annual Touring Meeting was held in January. The Club will provide appetizers and other food items will be available for purchase.

The agenda this year has a number of new items. Two in particular will be the possibilities of Saturday tours and of a Cycling Advocacy Committee:

· Saturday Tours: Should we have Saturday tours with weekly leaders and sweeps and a no-drop policy? If so, should we create a VP for Saturday tours? The VP’s primary responsibility would be to find a leader and sweep for each Saturday. The VP would not be required to ride every Saturday.

· Advocacy Committee: Discuss the need for creating an Advocacy Committee to help promote safer cycling and bike touring in our community and region. Vote to create an Advocacy Committee, then election to fill the position of committee chair. Need to determine how other members of the committee are appointed. Appointed by President? Appointed by Committee Chair?

It would be fine to start discussion of these issues now using the listserv. If you have any opinions, please send them to everyone. There are several other important agenda items, so please look at the agenda when you have a chance. Since there are many new directions that the Club will be planning, I hope as many Club members (and potential new members as possible) will attend.

After at least 12 years (I cannot remember for sure) as FLCC President, I am stepping down this year. Steve Powell, who has been extremely active in the Club, especially as VP for Overnight Touring, has agreed to be nominated as President.

Dave Ruppert
FLCC President

Meeting Agenda (It’s pasted below; if you want to print a copy, download the PDF version: AGENDA)

FLCC 2012 Annual Meeting
Sunday, March 11, 2012, Social hour: 5:00?6:00 pm, business meeting: 6:00?8:30 pm
Kelly’s Dockside Café, Taughannock Blvd across from Island Fitness.

Agenda

? Report from the Treasurer
? Election of Officers Nominations

o President: Steve Powell
o Treasurer: Mary Ann Huntley
o Secretary: Wayne Gottlieb
o VP for Touring: Andrejs Ozolins
o VP for Overnight Touring: Rena Scroggins
o VPs for Family Touring: Holly and Paul Monkman
o VPs for Racing: Dave Heck
o VP for Mountain Biking: Don Fitterer and Brenda Smith
o VP for Cyclo?cross Racing: LiLynn Graves
o VP for Publicity:
o Coach: LiLynn Graves
o Members?at?large:

? Saturday Tours: Should we have Saturday tours with weekly leaders and sweeps and a
no?drop policy? If so, should we create a VP for Saturday tours? The VP’s primary
responsibility would be to find a leader and sweep for each Saturday. The VP would not
be required to ride every Saturday.

? Picnic: Should we have an Annual Picnic? If so, should we create a VP for Social
Activities whose primary responsibility is to organize the picnics?

? Board of Directors: Consider creating a Board of Directors for the club, with regular
meetings, to help guide the club, and increase interaction between officers, and provide
a path to “cross?train” officers and move officers between the different positions every
few years. Vote to create a Board of Directors for the club consisting of all club officers.

? Advocacy Committee: Discuss the need for creating an Advocacy Committee to help
promote safer cycling and bike touring in our community and region. Vote to create an
Advocacy Committee, then election to fill the position of committee chair. Need to
determine how other members of the committee are appointed. Appointed by
President? Appointed by Committee Chair?

? Webmaster: Discuss the need to create the position of Webmaster and create a path to
have multiple people develop these skills. Vote to create the new position of
Webmaster, then election to fill the position.

? Race Committee: Discuss the need to create a Race Committee, probably chaired by
the VP for Racing. The committee would provide a way to help develop several people
with the skills necessary to help run the Hollenbeck’s race and other race activities, so
that these responsibilities do not fall on one person, year after year. Vote to create the
new Race Committee, then election to fill the position of committee chair.

? 3 Year Elected Positions: Discuss the possibility of making all elected positions good for
3 years duration, rather than the current 1 year. Determine if all positions will be up for
election in a given year, or if they would be staggered. (Staggered may make more
sense, since otherwise there would not be a need for an annual meeting in the “off
years”). Discuss how having a 3 year term would provide a motivation to help groom
future officers. Discussion and possible vote to adopt a 3 year term for elected
positions. (we need to come up with a way to phase this in, in a practical way)

? Members?at?large: Originally, there were three members?at?large. This was increased
to five so that there were more Club officers to help organize activities. This then we
have added VPs for Overnight Touring, Publicity, Cyclo?cross, and Family Cycling, and we
may add two more VPs. In light of these additions to the Club officers, should we
reduce the number of members?at?large back to three?

? Traffic Skills Cycling Course: Discuss the possibility of having the club organize and
sponsor a traffic skills/safe cycling class, with an on?road component, similar to what has
been offered by Lois Chaplin at Cornell in past years (but will not be offered this year
due to her retirement from Cornell). Steve and Andrejs volunteered to help coordinate
the safe cycling class, probably for April/May. Vote to support a traffic skills/safe cycling
class and to provide some seed money to help get it started. No more than $250.

? Club Dues: Discuss whether to eliminate the current exemption for club officers to be
exempt from paying club dues.

? Touring Report: Andrejs Ozolins
? Overnight tours for the 2012 season: Steve Powell and/or Rena Scroggins
? Family Cycling Report: Holly and Paul Monkman
? Mountain biking for 2012 season: Don Fitterer and/or Brenda Smith
? Hollenbeck Race: Dave Heck

? Other business

Memorial Day 2012 Getaway

Andrejs — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:48:41 +0000

Registration is now open

Everything is ready now to start signing up for the Memorial Day Weekend Getaway. This year we are taking reservation payments on line via a Paypal interface. In addition, you will be putting your names on specific beds via a google-docs spreadsheet. Go to Memorial Day 2012 and claim your spot.

(This year I’m asking for full payment rather than just a deposit. The deposit process became a hassle in the past and, since the full amount is due well before the event anyway, I figure we might just as well get it out of the way. If it’s a problem for anyone, just let me know, please.)

In response to multiple requests, this year’s FLCC Memorial Day Weekend Getaway will again be in Ottawa, centered at the famous Jail hostel in the center of that beautiful city. We have 30 beds reserved with a hefty deposit – so I hope you’ll commit as soon as possible.

The hostel has assigned us a number of rooms on different levels so we’ll have some individual choice as to whether our room has bars or doors. For cells, we have two 4-bed and one 6-bed. For rooms, we have two 4-bed and one 8-bed. The cost is the same for all, $96/person/weekend. I’ll ask people going on this trip to choose their rooms.

What do we do in Ottawa? It’s a good sized city, Canada’s capital, and filled with things to do. As cyclists, we’ll be interested in the more-than-100 miles of bicycle paths all around the city and along the Ottawa River, the Rideau River (both sides) and Rideau Canal. In addition, across the Ottawa River, in Gatineau, Quebec, there are more bike paths along the rivers as well as into the interior of the vast Gatineau park. On sunday morning, cars are excluded from the park and cyclists can take the roads. Aside from bike paths, of course, there is a variety of road riding to do in the vicinity of the city. Usually the participants in these weekends form groups with similar interests and riding styles and choose rides from this wealth of options. The Gatineau Park ride is the usual fare for Sunday morning.

In case the weather is terrible, or some other reason makes cycling look unappealing or impossible, the city offers lots of other things to do. There are boat rides on the Rideau Canal as well as the Ottawa River. There are world-class exhibits in the National Gallery of Art. Just across the bridge is the Museum of Civilization, an extraordinary building whose architecture alone is worth the trip and that has exhibits on archaeological and ethnographic themes. A steam-powered train will take you from Ottawa to Wakefield, about 20 miles up the Gatineau River, where you can sight-see and visit a cafe before taking the train back. The Byward Market area is a part of the city that is crowded with restaurants, street vendors, galleries and other attractions for strolling and shopping. The tourism office near the Parliament buildings has information and brochures on these hundreds of other attractions.

Touring season under way

Andrejs — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:16:47 +0000

Shooting the breeze before the meeting

The start of the 2012 bicycle touring season has been officially declared — at the FLCC Touring Group meeting tonight. Held at the West Side venue of Kelly’s Dockside Cafe, the meeting drew about 30 participants from the region including Syracuse, Binghamton, and Elmira. The gathering began with people just connecting and reconnecting with other bike touring enthusiasts. Kelly’s staff (special mention to our server, Kacey) had prepared a great array of appetizers, finger food, and snacks and several attendees also ordered dinner.

Steve Powell describing upcoming tours

Steve Powell, the club’s VP for overnight touring kicked off the more formal part of the evening by presenting a review of what has become one of our most popular events — the Young People’s Tour. Steve gave a summary of last year’s trip and presented his proposal for the 2012 edition — a trip along the Erie Canal from west of Rochester to Lockport and back. The trip is scheduled for June 23-24, 2012.

Steve also gave a sketch of a tour that he is personally involved with as a leader in the Adventure Cycling Association’s tour schedule this year: the Finger Lakes Loop, scheduled for July 1-10. This is a tour that ACA is promoting as its first self-supported offering in our region. It’s a big deal because we’ve never had the reach of such a large organization in promoting bike touring here.It’s not a club trip, of course, but it’s a trip that club members might want to be aware of and, perhaps, do parts of on shorter weekend trips.

The next portion of the meeting was devoted to brief slide shows of tours people have taken in the past year. We got to glimpse FLCC rides around Ottawa, independent trips in Scottland, organized tours of the DC and Philadelfphia area, a tour circling Lake Champlain, and a loop around southern Florida. (I’ve forgotten some; sorry)

When the presentations were over, people continued to discuss trips and plans for a while before breaking up. It was a wonderful reunion and re-acquaintance of many friends. If even a small part of the resolutions taken tonight are fulfilled, it’s going to be a great bike touring season in the Finger Lakes!

There a

Annual Bike Touring Meeting

Andrejs — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:29:21 +0000

Sunday, January 22, 5:00 pm
Kellly’s Dockside Cafe (319 Old Taughannock Blvd.)

Join us for a winter celebration of bicycle touring. We’ll reminisce about past trips, plan new trips, and share info and inspiration – over some good food and drink in our new venue this year, upstairs at Kelly’s Dockside on the island.

We’ll set up a projector and screen so that we can have a few slide presentations (keep them short so we can have more people’s trips represented) and we’ll also roll out some of the plans that are coming together for the 2012 touring season.

Whether you’re an experienced cycle tourist or just ride around the block, come share and/or extend your knowledge. If you have trip suggestions or requests, bring them to the meeting — the season is still being planned and many things are still possible!

And, click on the Facebook “Like” button at the top to let your touring (or touring-interested) friends know about the meeting.

We’d like to know who/how many are coming and who’s going to present: RSVP

Getting to Kelly’s: From NY 13, take NY 89 north (that’s Buffalo St), across the railroad tracks and across the first bridge over water. Follow 89 by taking a right on Old Taughannock Blvd. Kelly’s is just a little ways from the corner on your right. It’s across the road from Island Fitness, the big building with all the glass. If you don’t see parking in the street right there, go a bit further and take a right just before the big bridge. There is a large parking area for public use there.

Cycle-CNY IMBA Chapter Announcement

Brenda Smith — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:32:56 +0000

Cycle-CNY.com has been an information hub for mountain bikers in the Southern Tier of NY since 2005. Its existence has led to many friendships, many rides, and many trails. It has forged partnerships with NYS land managers and with the largest mountain bike advocacy group in the world, the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA).

Mountain bike riders are a diverse bunch, crossing all social, ethnic, and generational gaps. Brenda Smith, Steve Gelb, and I believe the time is ripe to introduce our community to mountain biking as a viable activity for sheer enjoyment, as a vehicle to long-term health, and as a conduit to better understand the fragile environment we cohabitate with other living things.

In mid-March 2012 Cycle-CNY will officially become the first IMBA Chapter in New York. If you haven’t read the forum chatter go here for that discussion, or go to IMBA.com for more information on their Chapter program. With our new IMBA partnership Cycle-CNY will become a non-profit incorporation, establish a revenue stream and have club insurance, positioning us to grow our impact on mountain biking in the Southern Tier of NY.

Communities that embrace the many virtues of mountain biking invariably benefit from that sponsorship. Brenda, Steve, and I reach out to you today in our initial attempt to recruit Cycle-CNY leaders. Cycle-CNY will be governed by a board-of-directors and have four elected officer roles. There are many more roles to fill and events to plan. There will be much hard work but also much fun in the journey.

Each person has to have a passion in life that transcends their everyday concerns. Few endeavors are of greater interest to Brenda, Steve, and I than the maintenance and expansion of mountain biking trails and activities in the Southern Tier. We are very enthusiastic at the prospect of closely working with others that share this passion.

Transforming positive emotions into concrete accomplishments is always the challenge. Few things are as gratifying as seeing a good idea come to fruition. When it is an idea shared by people you like and respect, a positive outcome is even more rewarding. We look forward to exchanging ideas with you and the other leaders recruited in this endeavor.

If you’re interested in serving Cycle-CNY in any capacity we’ll add you to our club leadership e-mail list. Please simply show your support by e-mailing Nate Hunter at natehunter@frontiernet.net. We’re interested in knowing what role you’d like to take and what activities you would specifically like to be involved with. Many thanks for your time and support!

Happy holidays!

Nathan Hunter

Brenda Smith

Steve Gelb

BHV/FLCC The Brick

Andy Goodell — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:26:29 +0000

Written by Bill Fischer:

5 intrepid but slightly chilly cyclists departed Elmira to endure the hills of Bradford County Pennsylvania Sunday morning. Paul and Wanda were kind enough to accompany yours truly as well as Stuart Wolsh and Daniella Floss from Ithaca. This yielded a pretty girl to balding man ratio of 2/3. I believe this may be the highest pretty girl to balding man ratio in the history of officially sanctioned BHV or FLCC events.

After finding the store in Columbia Crossroads closed, we continued pushing a steady 15 mph headwind all the way to the Southern terminus of the route in Leroy Pa. The store in Leroy was also closed but they have recently graced the citizenry of Leroy with an outdoor Pepsi machine. After scrounging through seat bags and pockets, we were finally able to come up with a couple 1 dollar bills which yielded Paul a 150 calorie Pepsi. This must have accounted for the blistering pace set by the tandem over the “rollers” of Southside Road.

After turning North, we endured the steep hills of Grange and Franklindale roads and then, with a tailwind, blasted down from the mountaintops to our traditional stop in Burlington, Pa. The Brick appeared as unfriendly as anticipated with some new signage welcoming bikers, hunters and drillers. After a brief caucus we decided that the bikers they were welcoming probably had 1,000 cc engines, none of us could shoot straight and any discussion of “drilling” would end badly. Eventually we cowardly decided to take refuge in the Dandy Mini-mart across the street. After several data inputs on their “automated” computer terminals (apparently this is easier than saying “hey, give me a 6″ roast beef sub”), we were all gorging on wraps, subs and breakfast sandwiches to recover some energy for the ensuing climb up Chapel Rd. Actually four of us gorged, Dani had a banana and a granola bar.

Eventually the last hill was ascended and Our Lady of Perpetual Help church came into view. We flew back down to Bentley Creek. Unfortunately that Pepsi from Leroy was still fueling the tandem and Stuart and I were holding on to the Paul and Wanda express with all the energy we had left. The tandem eventually showed us some mercy and pulled off the front at Maple Avenue. Unfortunately Dani (who was just starting to warm up) came to the front and we were left panting and trying to stick to her wheel the rest of the way back home.