Friday, March 28, 2008

Introducing the Chico Wheelmen Touring Club

The rains are stopping soon, so it's time to do some cyclotouring and bike camping!

In the interest of meeting like-minded people, and fostering a healthy community of Cyclotouring in Chico (which totally doesn't exist right now), I'm starting a new cycling faction, and it may or may not operate under the auspices of Chico Velo.

May I introduce the Chico Wheelmen Touring Club.

Here's how the Chico Wheelmen Touring Club will operate:

1) We don't race. This style of riding is non-competitive in nature; self-sufficiency and camaraderie are paramount.

2) The Chico Wheelmen Touring Club is not a sausage party. Women are welcome, and encouraged. The name is just a fun throwback to the golden days of cycling, when people rode penny farthings (high wheelers), and bicycles that were made for real-world riding. Fat tires and steel frames are ok, and even encouraged. We will ride dirt roads sometimes.

3) The club is 100% unofficial. There are no dues. There are no membership cards. No politics. No drama.

4) The newest person at the meeting is the President of the club for that week, always.

5) We'll meet up for a beer/soda somewhere, every week. Maybe we'll swap stories, have how-tos, or have slideshows, or whatever. Or maybe we won't.

6) No hero worship.

6b) No training plans.

7) We love our official Chico Velo pals, as they fight for cyclist rights in Chico. We'll probably ride in all the Chico Velo events, in addition to our own unsanctioned, unsupported weekend excursions.

8) We'll do local tours and bike camping trips. We'll also strive to go elsewhere to do some bike camping as well. Maybe the Sierras, maybe Shasta, maybe wine country, maybe the coast. Maybe all of the above.

9) If we get a dozen cyclotourists that are interested, maybe I'll design a run of wool jerseys, marking the inception of the CWTC. :-)

The mailing list, and the Google Group is here:
http://groups.google.com/group/chicowheelmen/

If you're remotely interested in cyclotouring and bike camping, I think this will be fun. I look forward to seeing you on the new list.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you have to have a zealot/dogmatic pipeline to all things Rivendell?

i.e. can I join and ride on my Trek Madone in full Lance team kit?

-Me

Gino Zahnd said...

Anonymous Coward: I think you may be misusing the term dogmatic. I presented nothing as if it were fact. I simply presented a certain viewpoint which is counter to 99% of the cyclists in Chico, California.

If you'd like to ride on your Madone and Lance team kit, you're more than welcome to join. We wouldn't judge your bike. But since we're camping and touring dirt roads, be sure that you can bring all your own camping gear, ride dirt roads, and be self-sufficient. Those elements are the focus, as opposed to team cars and support crews.

A Trek Madone is good for that kind of riding, right? If so, you're in, dude!

Gino Zahnd said...

Anonymous Coward, one more thing. I'm just curious why you'd react so negatively toward a cyclotouring group? There are plenty of race-centric groups in Chico.

Scott Clark said...

Sounds like a great idea, Gino. Although I'm way across the country, it'd be fun to hear how this goes, and read any trip reports.

--scott

Anonymous said...

Gino-

I am neither or hardly "Anonymous" or "Coward"... all you needed to do was click on my referring link "Me".

Oh, by the way...

my reply was smartass and kidding.

Lighten up.

-Me

Gino Zahnd said...

Ah, so it actually was you. :-)

Hard to tell on the wild and wooly internets... and really, would it surprise you if someone reacted that way?

Anonymous said...

The Cyclotourist part or the Rivendell part?

...

No

&

No.

But then again, everything surprises me these days, 'cept the ^%#$@*&&^%$@#!#! weather here in the Arctic Circle.

-Me