Cycling is more than an activity. It is a lifestyle. And it can be any lifestyle you want it to be. I moved to Chico 11 years ago for a new career with my soon to be bride which quickly became my expecting wife. Life was moving fast, too fast for us to spend with existing friends and way too fast to make new ones. The speed of life also kept me out of the gym and off my bike. My bike was my sanctuary where I tuned up my mind and released frustrations. I was not being the Geno I wanted to be.

Dutch hospitality is legendary. I have never met as many kind and helpful people as I did while living in Holland and I still marvel at the generosity I was shown there. While Terry and I had made a long term commitment to Europe, on occasion other Americans, friends and former teammates, came over to visit and try a little racing as well.

Unfortunately when you had a bunch of Americans together in a foreign country they tended to stand out (and usually for all the wrong reasons). Still, it would pique the interest of the cycling enthusiasts in the towns where we raced and after the event they would frequently invite us to their homes for dinner.

Meetings: The next Corsa Club Meeting will be at Woodstocks Pizza on Friday August 7th at 6PM.

Announcements:
Corsa needs bikes and bike parts to build loaners for our future juniors. If you have any old equipment that is still serviceable e-mail me and we will make sure it gets put to good use...

Race Results:
From now on race results will be posted to the Chico Corsa Website in the race team section. (You will need a login and password to post your results)

Of note; Jeff Galland took the bronze medal at the Masters District Criterium Championship last weekend.

Breaking News:
Ian Boswell has been selected to the Junior World's team headed to Moscow and Lindsay Myers is going back to France with the National Team in August before finishing the season with an Italian team. Congratulations to both!

R.A.C.E. Calendar:
Chico Cyclist

NCNCA Road Racing Calendar:
NCNCA Road Calendar

NORBA Calendar:
NORBA Racing
TBF Challenge MTB Races
MTB Calendar - California

Chico Velo Calendar:
Chico Velo Western States Ride Calendar:
Ride Calendar

Rising Stars:
Alex Blease and Mike Jasinski got their Cat 2 upgrades in time to compete in the U23 Road National Championships in Bend, Oregon. Alex finished 40th and Mike finished 44th in a stacked field. We look forward to hearing all the details when they return...

A few weeks ago, a friend made a comment exclaiming his dissatisfaction of having to ride a climb again. He referred to his preparation for the Death Ride as 'work', shaking his head and glancing toward the ground. I sensed his lack of enthusiasm with his riding at this particular moment.

Most of my cycling friends were training or preparing for some type of event. The Shasta Summit Century, Cycle Oregon, our Chico Criterium, the Senior Games... it's an endless list of challenges and events, and personal goals.

I set out this January on a quest to reach my goal of representing the United States at the Junior World Championships in Moscow, Russia. At times it looked like a long shot. Early in the season I ran into several medical issues which delayed my training and overall race form. However, with the support of; my family, coach, team and numerous other people in my life, I saw light at the end of the tunnel. I was constantly reminded that it's a long season and that everyone faces different road blocks throughout the season. So slowly I began to build myself back up and once again was working towards my goal of racing in Moscow.

People who know me only as a rider may not know that until I came to Chico in 2001 I spent over 20 years in the restaurant biz as a cook, chef and owner. I've had a passion for food my whole life, and have had to answer the question "but you're so thin-how can you be a good chef?" more times than I can remember. The trick, of course, is to think of the body as a factory. You put more in than goes out, you gain; less in than out, you lose. And you move around doing just about anything, even non-strenuous activity, and you kick your metabolism into a higher gear, and you burn fuel faster. So why do so many people riding around still have a few (or more?) pounds to lose?