A new chapter for TCF!!!

3-13-13: Tonight, during the board meeting of the Inland Empire Bicycle Alliance (IEBA), they voted to bring in Team CycleFit (TCF) as a fitness program under their non-profit status! After 15+ years of being a very informal, unprotected club, a new chapter has begun for TCF.

On the surface, it might seem that nothing will have changed much, at least for now. But here are some of the benefits to TCF being under the auspices of a non-profit org like IEBA:

BENEFITS
+Insurance coverage on TCF/IEBA rides. Fortunately, we've never had a problem, but as we grow and venture out to different ride location and events, all TCF/IEBA members will be fully covered!

+Discounts on IEBA events and at purchases at IEBA business partners.

+More internal and logistic support from IEBA officers and members. Hopefully this means more scheduled rides and ride leaders and it doesn't have to depend on just me and my schedule.

+Opportunities to participate in other bicycling-related events such as Redlands Bicycle BBQ, safety and skills programs, Safe Routes to School, etc.

+Being part of a 501-3(c) non-profit, we will be able to receive tax-deductible donations and actually have a budget for various expenses (instead of depending on the Bank of Medina! :-)


IEBA's MISSION
Part of IEBA's mission statement says, "The Inland Empire Biking Alliance was formed to unify the cycling community to have a stronger voice in promoting bicycling for transportation and recreation.  The IEBA works to make cycling safe, easier and most of all, FUN for the whole family." TCF was started to help beginners, newbies, anyone get started in the wonderful world of bicycling, so it's a perfect and symbiotic fit.

I'm not going anywhere...
Finally, while I'll still be very much involved with TCF in promoting, evangelizing and recruiting new bicyclists (especially kids), this relationship will allow TCF to grow and help more people get into bicycling.

JOIN IEBA as a MEMBER!!!
Whether you've been riding with TCF since the very beginning, or whether you have just joined us via Facebook or MeetUp.com, I encourage to formally join IEBA as a member (the least expensive category is only $15/year!) so you can enjoy the benefits listed above. To learn more about the IEBA, click HERE to go to their website. (Of course, group rides are open to ANYONE, whether they are an IEBA member or not. All are welcome to ride with us still! It's just that IF something were to happen while on an organized TCF ride, *only* members would be fully covered. Non-members would be on their own liability and insurance-wise.)

Special thanks to IEBA Executive Director, Mark Friis, for making this all possible!

Looking for a "new" bike?

2-21-13: Often, when new cyclists come and join us on a ride, they realize that their bike from their glory days has passed. I had one lady actually crash right in front of me, her bike was so old! (Fortunately, she was ok...and is now riding a new hybrid bicycle, thanks to CycleryUSA in Redlands).

If you're looking for a "new" bike, here are several options:

1. Search online like Craig's list, ebay, etc. Challenge: You can get great deals, but you have to know what you're doing.

2. Go to CylceryUSA, speak to the GM Jon, and mention TeamCycleFit, which will get you a nice discount. We've had a number of our riders do that. They also donated some helmets to us in case someone showed up without one so I have loaner helmets.

3. If you're looking for a "certified pre-owned" bicycle but you don't have the time or the skills to search for one on Craig's list yourself, the best place to go is the BicycleBBQ, with is run by the Inland Empire Bicycle Alliance.

Hopefully, one of these sources will get you on a new (or new to you!) bicycle so that you can have a safe, fun, time riding with us!

After 10 years...a jersey?!?

2-20-13: One of my New Year's resolutions for this year was to make a Team CycleFit jersey. Some have asked about it, and it would be nice to have a "presence" when we went on organized rides, events, etc. I'm doing my first century in Oct. so I wanted to wear our colors!


Found a company on Facebook that can make any quantity of jerseys so decided to try them out and see what they could come up with. We have the logo, so I uploaded that to them and here's what they came up with:

What do you think of the design? My daughter, Summer, helped to pick it out and she said it would be good on both men and women. ;-) 

If we were to order 10-49 jerseys, it would cost $69. If we can get some businesses to sponsor us so we could put their logos on jersey, then that would lower the cost of the jersey.

This is the "Fondo" model, which they said was a "looser" fit than the traditional cycling jersey (skin tight). Of course, I would try and get some samples of different sizes so that people could see what size would work best for them.

Soooooo....worst case scenario we don't get any sponsors and we would have to pay the full $69/jersey, I want to take a survey and see if there's even enough interest in making one. I'm also going to check with some other sources and see if we can make it cheaper.

In summary, please e-mail me at teamcyclefit@gmail.com and let me know the following:
1. Do you like the design?
2. If we had to pay $69, would you order one?
3. If not, what's the most you would pay?

Thanks!

Extra ride this Sun!

1-15-13: FYI, Raymond is leading out a ride this Sun. again, at 2:00 PM, so if you missed last Sun. or you want to go again, here's your chance! Same place--back of Hall of Records at the SART. Already booked up so will send warm thoughts...have a great ride!

Great first ride of 2013!!!

1-13-13: Great ride today! It was cool but sunny out there. Had a nice mix of regulars and first-timers.

One of the things I enjoy doing is meeting new and interesting people on our rides. Here is who I met and what I learned today:

Erin, on her maiden voyage on her tag-a-bike

Art, recently retired principal and Loma Linda Loper training for his 1st marathon (LAM)

Sean, who took a round from an AK-47 in the armor in his chest breaking 2 ribs, and walked where Babylon used to be--making the Bible come alive

Carrie, a speech therapist who works at the same rehab center where my dad spent almost a month after his stroke...she was riding her new bike she got last month and just started riding less than a year ago.





You can check out the pictures of today's ride here.

We welcome these new cyclists to Team Cyclefit and look forward to riding with them again soon! And if you like meeting new people, come on out and ride with us next time. ;-)

Cyclery USA hosting 2 events!

1-12-13: Hello all! Cyclery USA is hosting 2 events at the end of this month, both sponsored by Trek. Check them out!

 

Trek Demo Day @ Hulda Crooks Park

On Sunday January 27, 2013 from 9am-2pm we have our Trek Demo Day at Hulda Crooks Park in Loma Linda. This will be a day to take free test rides on several different models of Trek bicycles. We will have music, food and an all around great atmosphere! 

Trek Travel Night

On Thursday Jan. 31, 2013 we will be having a Trek Travel Information Night. This will be a relaxing evening where we will be discussing the amazing vacation opportunities that Trek travel offers over wine and hors d’oeuvres. There will also be a raffle! This event is also free but does require a reservation. People can RSVP at our website or at the following link: HERE-TrekTravel RSVP

News for 2013!!!

Hello cyclists,

I hope you're all doing well and able to get out there and ride in between the rain we've been getting. As we end 2012, I wanted to wish you and your family Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year.

As we come to the end of 2012 and look forward to 2013, I've been evaluating my goals and re-setting my new goals for 2013. One thing I'd like to try and do is create a jersey or t-shirt for Team CycleFit, so that we can have some identity when we're together. I know we're not a "hard-core" cycling club, but I think a sense of identity is nice, especially if we ever do any bicycle events in 2013.

Speaking of which, I've recently registered for my first century, the Riverside Citrus Classic, in October. I've always wanted to do that so will start training for that. I'd love it if anyone would like to join me in this quest, so let me know and we can schedule some training rides in here.
As for our bi-monthly rides on the 2nd and 4th Sundays, I've decided to make a change for 2013. We haven't had that many people showing up for the 8:00 AM rides on the 4th Sundays for a while now. It's also been quite cold so I'm guessing that we don't have people wanting to ride in this cold! So I've cancelled these AM rides on the 4th Sunday.

For those who want to ride in the mornings, I would encourage you to join the Team Possabilities ride on the last Sun. of every month at 8:00 AM. They have a good group of both able-bodied and hand-cyclists riding, complete with people with equipment, food, etc. I've let their leaders know even though their rides are open to anyone. For more info and to see their calendar for the latest updates, go to:

http://www.teampossabilities.org/hand-cycling/

For those wanting to ride in the afternoons : I'm keeping the 2nd Sun. afternoon rides for now (till it gets too hot) so please RSVP for those rides if you plan to join that ride.

Besides these afternoon rides, I'd like to encourage anyone in the group to feel free to set-up an event like some of you did on the Pacific Electric Trail awhile back. I've set up this group so that any member can create an event so feel free to do so.

One of my other cycling goals this year is to start up a Trip4Kids chapter here in the IE. Trip4Kids is a non-profit that helps introduce mountain biking to inner-city and disadvantage kids. It's something I've wanted to do for the last 20 years, and I want to see if 2013 will be the year we get that up and running. That's another reason I'm stepping back a bit from our scheduled rides even though I'll be riding almost 6 days a week. They do mountain bike rides, so if you're interested in riding with us and the kids, let me know!

That's the latest news for Team CycleFit as we close out 2012. I hope to continue to see you guys out there on upcoming rides, and now that we have just one regularly monthy scheduled ride, we can have a greater variety of rides at different locations at random times. (Still want to do a ride to the beach on the bike path, especially since I have to do some longer rides as part of my century training.)

Looking forward to all the various ride events that YOU can come up with and invite us to in 2013!

Riding to your health and fitness!

Ernie