Three years ago I was asked if I would like to buy a Fit One kit and race with Dave Klein and a bunch of his buddies. I said sure. As I stared across a room at the 30 other pioneer members, I wondered to myself, "Why are they here? What do they want?" I found that they all wanted more options for group and training rides. A couple of members wanted to help that cause, but no one wanted to be the organizer. With as many different ideas for the future of this club as there were faces in that room, I recognized they wanted to follow rather than lead. So... I began to paint my vision.

My vision of a united group of cyclists representing Chico in races and centuries has never changed, yet my painting of it has. The colors in some areas of the canvas scream "This is a race team." While other parts of the canvas say it is much more, a dirty brush and blended paints leave my broader vision overlooked. Are you good with color?

Roy Steves continues to lead the Masters B division in the Sacramento CX series. He has a 10 point lead going into the finals and will go for the overall win this Saturday, January 3rd at Sutter's Landing in Sacramento. Let's wish him luck this weekend!

In the Shasta CX series, Chico Corsa continues to rack up podium spots and prizes with each race. Samuel Bransky got his first win ever in the Junior division while Weston Crumm took the Bs in a sprint finish at Anderson Park. There are two more race dates in this series. The next race is January 4th at Turtle Bay and the finals will be at Enterprise Park on January 18th. Here's the link if you want to check it out. Come on up and join us for NorCal CX!

• JANUARY CLUB MEETING: Friday. January 9th @ 6PM at Woodstocks.
• The ProDeal should should happen sometime in January. North Rim is putting together the package for tires, tubes, sunglasses & helmets. To qualify to order from the ProDeal, you must be a licensed racer or current board member. Racing licenses are $60 a year and are available at USA Cycling. Even if you don't plan race to much this year, you will definitely save the cost of the license through the ProDeal.
• The new website is currently being built and will have more interactive features for all members. Those features include a ride calendar, race schedule & results, photos, and much more information regarding the club. Look for it soon.

One of the most enjoyable experiences I had this fall was riding on a team for the 24 Hours of Gold. I haven't done a mountain bike race since the late 80's and I have barely ridden a mountain bike since the early 90's.

I felt pretty rusty out there on my dated equipment but after an hour or so on the bike it all started coming back. Mountain biking is fun and when I finally began to let go of my death grip and start trusting the tires, it got a whole lot easier.

Hi All... Coach Mike here.

Winter is really here. We've dodged the rain so far BUT the fog and cold are here. As you start (hopefully most of you have all ready started) your winter training one of the first thing that you should do is look over your last years training log. What? You don't keep one? Let's take a minute to look at why you should keep a "Training Log or Training Diary."

Ever had a perfect day of riding or more importantly a perfect race... where you felt strong for the whole ride? On the other hand, maybe you bonked one day or you had no snap in your sprint. Or maybe you are at a plateau or suffering from overtraining syndrome?

Working with new riders is a real learning experience. It is one thing to know cycling but another thing entirely to have to try and explain it in unfamiliar terms.

The first time I realized how difficult the process of transferring knowledge would be was when I was asked how one rides 'no handed'. My initial response was, it's easy, you sit up, do your thing, and when you are done you ease back onto the bars... Then I was asked how one 'sits up' and I didn't know how to respond. You just sit up, you let go of the bars and you sit up, you just do it...

A few may have misinterpreted the point of last month's article on teamwork. I was not suggesting that every group ride be conducted like a race where we protect certain riders and chase those with a different jersey for the sake of the team.

The point I was trying to make is that you should be conscious of everything you do from the moment you throw your leg over your bike until the moment you dismount again, including how your every action affects your teammates. You should also have a reason for every effort you make on the bike from both a training and racing perspective and you should be clear on why you are doing what you are, when you are.