How do I join?

So, how do you join the Wasatch Wheelmen?  This is so easy a caveman could do it. 
    There are no scheduled weekly rides.  All of our rides are organized by our members.  Go to our club page on Strava.  All you do is post when and where you are riding and other members of the club post if they would like to join you.  Nothing fancy.  This club is simply a place for you to find someone to ride with. We don't have a scheduled time for weekly rides.  Ride when it fits into your schedule.  We do post a few of the major events on our calendar, but most of our rides are set up by our members.
   To be a member in good standing all you are required to do is to plan, organize, and carry out one group ride each year.  It could be as simple as an early spring ride on the Legacy Parkway trail or as complicated as a multi-day ride across the state.  
    No meetings, no fund raisers, no dues, no hassles, no forms to fill out.  Just go out and ride.  That's it.  

Man of Stihl Ride - Sept 27th

http://www.manofstihl.org/home.html

Man of STIHL is a charitable 62-mile (100km) metric century ride, with an optional 30-mile route, organized by Croft Sales and Service in Bountiful, Utah. With a great love and concern for the community, Croft Sales and Service organized Man of STIHL to bring the community together and to support the Davis Education Foundation. Those who participate in Man of STIHL are able to heed the innate hero within them as they ride for a worthy cause.

USA Cycling Masters - Volunteer

Clairesse here from GOAL Foundation. Hope all is well! We have USA Cycling Masters Sept 3-7. This is a super fun event. We need a lot more volunteers. If you know anyone who might be interested in helping out, can you please pass along this email. I listed a link below of the available shifts. A shirt, cycling hat, pin and lunch will be given to each volunteer.

Sign up here: 

http://goalfoundation.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?start_over&id=6127

Ride for the Kids

RC Willey Syracuse

is excited to announce a multi-community charity bicycle ride benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation!

Date: August 16, 2014

Place: RC Willey (Syracuse Location)

Time: 7:00 am registration/Check in, 8:00 am ride begins

Ride: 45 mile round trip ride to the Fielding Garr Ranch located on Antelope Island.
Registration Fee: $25 per person or $35 per couple. (All proceeds to be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.)

Ride Information:
Riders will be treated to a free breakfast provided by Chick Fil A. Drinks and snacks will be provided by Pepsi-Cola. 

Lunch will be provided by RC Willey at the end of the ride.

Contact Information
Julia Tucker (801)-660-9822
syracusetag@gmail.com

Tour of Utah

If you are not watching the Tour of Utah, you should be.

This site provides incredible coverage and commentary.  There are just three days left.  Watch it.

http://tourtracker.tourofutah.com/

Strava

We are posting our group rides over on Strava.

It is a great place to track your miles.  Please join the club page.

http://www.strava.com/clubs/12787

Wildflower Outdoor Rides

Please see the e-mail below about another opportunity:

My name is Elise Jensen and I'm part of the Wildflower Outdoor organization, a local company excited about promoting women's cycling.  Our goal is to increase the number of women riders on the roads, and on the trails.  We offer two fantastic women-only cycling events (explained below), as well as classes and clinics on everything from safety to bike maintenance. We also organize group rides and provide other helpful information, such as training tips, via social media forums.  

For road cyclists we offer the Wildflower Pedalfest.  This is the third year of this fully supported ride through beautiful Morgan County. The Pedalfest offers four course options; 20, 35, 50 and 75. Something for every level - beginner, intermediate or someone wanting to really push themselves. There are a few women-only events out there but we have tried to set ours apart with a few fun touches. One feature of our 75 mile route is the Wildflower Hill-climb, a timed challenge from East Canyon Resort to the top of Big Mountain.  Every woman who participates in the challenge receives a special gift, and this year we will award cash prizes to category winners!  There is also a charitable aspect to the all our events and this year the Pedalfest will be supporting and raising money for The Bicycle Collective, a wonderful charity that helps low-income children and families. Nothing makes you feel quite as good as giving to those in need. Probably the best part of this event, and my personal favorite, is the celebration after the ride. We have a huge party under a big white tent where the women can relax at decorated tables enjoying a delicious catered lunch with a yogurt and desert bar, while they listen to a live band and participate in an awesome raffle. It's a perfect end to a fantastic day of women's cycling. We are very proud of this event and are looking forward to increasing our participants from 1100 last year, to hopefully more than 1500 this year.  

For those who mountain bike, the Wildflower Trailfest event is the only mountain bike event in Utah that is for women only. This one-of-a-kind event is held at the majestic Snowbasin Ski Resort in Hunstville. The resort opens their mountain bike trails just to our participants for an all ladies day in the dirt! This event offers options for riders of every age and skill level.  Participants can sign up for the group clinic, or our individual or 2 person race options. Each option will include a Beginner, Sport and Expert category. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top racers in each age division, along with a custom Scott James jewelry charm. The after party will be a fun summer treat, complete with a live band. The charitable aspect for this event supports the Utah High School Mountain Biking Association. We are very excited to be able to offer this organization not only a charitable donation, but to give away a few individual scholarships as well. This fantastic mountain bike event is in it's second year and growing quickly.

We would love for the women members of your club, or the wives, girlfriends, moms, sisters, daughters, nieces of every club member to join us at our Wildflower events. There is something for every skill level, age and ability.  Attached to this email is promotional flyer with a $10 off registration coupon code for you to distribute to your members. Please let us know if there is anything Wildflower Outdoor can do to help your club's efforts in getting more women on bikes. We have a great passion for cycling, so much so that we created a company around our love of the sport and are so anxious to pass along that enthusiasm to other women.  

We are also looking for opportunities to partner with select clubs that have rides or events already in place that might meet the needs of our Wildflower Outdoor community, working to increase women ridership. If this is something you might be interested in, please feel free to contact me and I would be happy to answer any questions.  If you would like more information on our organization or events, please visit any of our websites; www.wildfloweroutdoor.com, www.wildflowerpedalfest.com or www.wildflowertrailfest.com 

Thank you for you help and happy riding!

Elise Jensen

elise.wildflower@gmail.com 

Rockwell Relay Announcement

I just received this e-mail about the Rockwell Relay: 

I am with the Rockwell Relay: Moab to St. George race.  We'd like to extend an invitation to your club to join us for this year’s fifth edition of the Rockwell Relay. My team and I at the Rockwell Relay know about working hard to take care of cyclists and helping them have a great experience on the bike. In fact we have been fortunate to earn many great reviews from our riders and our tremendous growth is largely due to word of mouth. 

If you are not yet familiar with our event, please visit www.rockwellrelay.com to learn more or see what our riders say about us here https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151485819683131.  Fat Cyclist has blogged much about us, http://www.fatcyclist.com/2011/06/13/moab-to-st-george-rockwell-relay-part-i.

We'd like to make fans of you and your club and make things a little lighter on your pocket book at the same time. To that end, we would like to offer you 3 individual entries to be used by current members. (These entries may not be combined and are good for one free entry per 4 man team.)

If that sounds good to you please email me and I will send you a discount code. If you have questions please let me know. 

Again thank you for helping our sport grow. May you always have a tailwind! 

Thanks,
Gianni Cuadra
801-809-0086

Cycling Deaths: What can we learn?

I mourn with the friends and family of Bryan Byrge and John Coons.  They were killed recently during their morning commute.  Here is the story on KSL.   I also feel sorrow for the driver of the truck.  This is a tragic accident and my heart goes out to all those involved.

If we learn nothing from the past, then we are destined to repeat it.  It is unfortunate that two cyclists had to die to remind me to do these things:

• Be visible: Wear reflective material during low light.  Wear high visibility clothing during the day.  Add a flashing tail light and a LED head light to your bike if you plan to ride before sun-up or after sun-down. 
• Ride like you are invisible:  Some cyclists think this means ride like they are invincible.  It is not the same.  Always assume the driver can't see you.  I assume that every driver falls on a scale that has the two extremes of "I don't care if I kill you" and "I want to kill you".  If you assume that every driver wants you dead, then it changes how your ride.  Now I'm not suggesting you ride paranoid, just cautiously.   
• Be predictable:  Over communicate to drivers by giving distinct and visible hand signals.  Be polite, but ride with confidence and predictability.   Obey the traffic laws.
• Avoid complacency:  The longer you ride, the easier it is to get complacent.  Stay sharp.  Pay attention.  Use all of your senses.  

Hopefully the deaths of Bryan and John, will help remind the rest of us to ride safely and avoid a future accident.  

Tour de Cure - Promo Code

I just received this e-mail.  I thought some of you might be interested. 
----------------------

I am working with the American Diabetes Association helping with recruitment of riders and fundraising.  I wanted to reach out to your team and invite you to come ride with us in the Tour de Cure on June 14th in Brigham City, UT.

Some new changes to Tour de Cure this year include a new route, and festival area combined with Brigham City Days. The ride will start and finish at the Main St arch, the festival area will also be downtown. Lots of things to do for friends and family while you're out on the ride. The ride is fully supported with rest stops and SAG throughout the route as well as a breakfast and lunch.

Also we are running a registration promo right now. Use this promo code to recruit and register your team members and save them a few bucks. This promo code is valid until March 25th.
Promo Code: TOUR10
This will make the registration fee $5.00.

If you need any help with anything please contact me.

FAST FACTS: 
26 million Americans have diabetes.
79 million Americans have pre-diabetes.
1 in 3 children born today will develop diabetes in their lifetime.
The total annual economic cost of diabetes in America is estimated to be $174 billion.
200,000 people in Utah living with diabetes.
More people die every year from diabetes and complications from diabetes than breast cancer and HIV combined.
It is the most expensive disease to treat and manage.

We are all affected by diabetes either directly or indirectly.

Best Regards,
Patrick Sisk
Office: 801-363-3024 X 7075
Mobile: 801-759-9898

Frank to Fred 2014

We have decided on the date for our Franklin Idaho to Fredonia Arizona ride.

We will begin on Labor Day, Monday September 1st in Franklin Idaho and finish up in Fredonia Arizona on Saturday September 6th.

The details of the ride are on our web site:  Wasatch Wheelmen

Right now we have two people that are definitely going.  If you would like to go, please contact me.

#frank2fred

Salt Lake Century

I just received my annual e-mail from the Salt Lake Century.

Who's going?
--------------------------

Need a diversion from the inversion? Well, 2014 is here, January and New Years are over. It's March, Spring and the Cycle Salt Lake Century 2014 edition are on their way!

This years century will be on Saturday, May 17th. We will be celebrating 28 years of what many consider to be one of Utah's most fun and most anticipated rides of the season.

FYI! We are back at the Utah State Fair Park for the 2014 event. Although wonderful to stage the ride downtown, parking, course marking downtown and the busy traffic dictated the return!

Registration is now open for the Cycle Salt Lake Century. We are offering an early-bird special registration fee of only $45.00! starting now and continuing through March 21st. That is a 20% savings over the regular fee of $55.00. Follow the link below to register for the Cycle Salt Lake Century.

We are also offering a special edition Blackbottoms Jersey for $65.00!

Do you have a Team or a group you ride with regularly? Ask about Team discounts and special rates!

http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=2125731

More information about the Cycle Salt Lake Century, a registration link, downloadable mail-in registration form and Utah Bike Month information is available at:

www.cyclesaltlakecentury.com  

Thanks for your support of the Cycle Salt Lake Century and bicycling in Utah for the past 28 years. 

Belt Drive Folder?

I have 4 bikes in the stable, so I really don't need another one.  However,  I continue to have this fascination with three types of bikes.  Folders, single speeds and belt driven bikes.  Unfortunately, I continue to hit a brick wall when I try to find one like I want.

Let's start off with Bike Friday.   I love what they are doing up there in Oregon.  They make belt drive folding bikes that have great reviews.  My only problem is that they are pricey.  Yes, I know you pay for what you get, but when it is bike #5 it is hard to shell out 2 grand for a bike that is more of a curiosity than transportation. 

Tern makes some nice folding bikes.  However, there is not a belt drive in the bunch.  

Brompton has an almost cult like following, but again, they are not into belt drives.  

So, I have decided to look at the low price folding bike leader, Dahon.  The Mu Uno is showing some promise.  Check out this video.  Not that it is a great bike with great components, but the price is right considering I'll be making significant modifications to the bike.   The other good news is that the frame does not have a chain stay, so there is no issue with getting the belt drive through the frame.   

Here is a list of modifications I would make:

- Gates carbon center track belt drive.  

- Remove the front brake to give it a nice clean look

- Replace the handlebars with bullhorn bars

- Put on a tan Brooks B-17 saddle with matching bar tape.  

- Eventually upgrade the wheels.  

Next step?  Find some place to buy one.  I may have to go on-line.  Folders are not popular or even existent in Utah.    

Touring: How Far Should I Ride Each Day?

I read a great article the other day over on bicycletouringpro.com

His main point was that the average bicycle tourist should plan to ride about 40 to 60 miles each day.
That statement got me thinking about our Frank to Fred Plan.

Here are the miles we planned to ride.

Day 1 - Franklin ID to Layton - 80 miles
Day 2 - Layton to Lehi - 62 miles
Day 3 - Lehi to Nephi - 52 miles
Day 4 - Nephi to Richfield - 75 miles
Day 5 - Richfield to Panguitch - 80 miles
Day 6 - Panguitch to Fredonia AZ - 75 miles

On five of the six days, we planed to ride more than the recommended maximum.
Day 1 doesn't really count as a touring day, because none of us will have panniers.  In fact, I plan to ride my Cannondale the first day.   We will have someone drive us up to Franklin and we will ride to our homes near Layton.   The next 5 days will be with panniers.  However, I don't plan to load up like the guy in the picture.  We will be buying food along the way and staying in motels.  I think I can get everything I need into two panniers on my Surly LHT.

That being said, those last three days are going to be tough days.  We will need to take his advice and take it easy while we stop and smell the roses.

It looks like the plan is shaping up for us to leave on Labor Day (1 September 2014).
If you are interested, please let me know.  For this inaugural run, we are going to limit the riders to just a few people.

There is no such thing as bad weather . . .

I'm sure you have heard the phrase, "There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing"
The origins of that saying are in question, but some think it originated in Scandinavia.

Regardless of where it originated, it is great advice for those of us who venture out in the winter.

This started out to be a set of tips about winter riding.  However, I have boiled it down to one tip.  Here it is:  If it is below 26 degrees F, stay home.   I don't know what it is about 26 degrees, but below that point, the old adage of wearing loose, light and layered clothing ceases to work.  Below 26 degrees you are forced to start wearing clothing that is more suited for snowmobiling than for cycling.   I did quite a bit of bike commuting last winter and 26 degrees just seemed to be the break point where you had to start packing on more clothing.  

I went out on my Cannondale for a short ride today.  It was a sunny 32 degrees when I left. (Beautiful day)
Here is my list of cold weather clothing:
- Toe covers for my regular cycling shoes
- Heavy wool socks
- Regular weight cycling tights.
- Mock turtleneck long sleeve shirt
- Fleece jacket
- Yellow windbreaker
- Baclava
- Fleece windstopper gloves.

Bottom line, don't let the weather stop you.  Get out and ride.  Remember, It always feels better when you get home to a warm shower.

Single Speed Frame Search

Once you get the single speed bug, it is hard to get rid of it.  If you are a cyclist, you are always thinking about your next bike.  It has to be "better" than your current stable of bikes in some way.  Lighter, faster, newer technology, or how about just simpler?  A few weeks ago I started on a quest to find a bike frame to build my next bike on.   I thought at the time that I would have a number of choices.

My requirements seemed simple enough:
- Steel Frame with touring, street or cyclocross geometry
- Gates carbon belt drive compatible.
- Fork sized to fit cyclocross tires in the mid 30c range.

Now, lest you get confused, I don't want to build up a cyclocross bike.  I just wanted a simple single speed belt driven bike to mess around on and use on my short commute.  I'm thinking a center track belt drive, some puncture proof tires and tubes, bull horn handlebars, and a Brooks saddle.  Nothing fancy, but something unique.

Unfortunately, this is a bit too unique.  Finding a steel frame/fork combo that doesn't break the budget has turned into a treasure hunt.  The quest continues at this point and thanks to Zach at Biker's Edge, we may find one yet.  As soon as we find one I'll post pictures of the build.

By the way, the bike in the picture is by Flying Machines in Australia.  It is the Jules Verne.   So far it is the front runner, IF they will sell me a frame.