CYCLE FOLSOM part 2

Second part of my interview with Steve Ward of Cycle Folsom. Once again he was engaging and passionate. Not to mention the dude can lay down the hammer. Mix that with what he does for the cycling community, Steve Ward (far left) is priceless to our area. Here is the conclusion to the interview:

TC: One of the dos and don’ts of organizing group rides is don’t do the same ride every week. Your rides have a lot of variety. Was that a conscious effort on your part?

SW: Absolutely! It’s a planned variety. We have an annual theme for the way we go about the rides. In the fall we taper down and go easy. Through the winter we do the long flat base miles. In the spring throw in the rolling hills and as the season comes in and we want to get on form we add the bigger longer climbs. We have a huge data base of rides and it is expanding all the time. We find that people don’t like going down the same track all the time.

TC: You designed the course for Folsom’s Gold Rush Century. What was your thought process when you designed that course?

SW: It was a collaboration of a lot of people. It started with the city of Folsom wanting a classic ride that would stand the test of time for their Cyclebration event. They wanted a ride that would be challenging and show off the history of the area with a signature climb. We mapped out some potential rides and went out to ride them. We took into consideration the roads, the pavement, the shoulders, traffic, spacing for rest stops all that sort of thing. We threw a couple of rides away and eventually came up with what is the Gold Rush Century. It is a 102 mile ride with 9200’ feet of climbing. The signature climb is Prospector’s grade. It was a lot of fun to do. It’s a hard ride, but it’s challenging and rewarding (he gave a lot of other people credit for helping design the ride specifically Scott McKinney, Curtis Taylor).

TC: You started racing this year with Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada. Congratulations on your third place finish at Bariani Road Race. What are your racing goals?

SW: Thanks, the more I race the more I’m convinced that the number one goal is to finish each race on my wheels and not on the pavement. At first it was just to finish with the pack. Now I want to finish on the podium. Otherwise, my goals are to move up to Category 4, which I will do after the Wente Road Race next month. Then I’ll be the low man in the next bigger pond and hope to do the domestique work and to learn from more experienced teammates the finer points of racing strategies and team work.

TC: You have other members that contribute to the website and lead the group rides. How many members do you have and what does one need to do to join?

SW: We have approximately eighty members, in as much as they can be considered members. CF is a no dues, no meetings, no obligations riding club. Essentially, being a “member” of Cycle Folsom means getting on our mailing list which anyone can do by sending an email to me and requesting that they be added to the list.steve@cyclefolsom.com We put on two different levels of rides each weekend and, as you mentioned, provide ride leaders to show the way. And we have a great team of ride leaders that I would like to acknowledge: Performance Group:Ozero Lee (he goes simply by OZ – pronounced: Oh-Zee), Gary Kurtz, Phil Blay. Peloton Group: David Drahmann, Stan Schultz. I have a full refund policy if for any reason someone doesn’t like the ride, they get a refund on no membership dues (he said that laughing and we here at TC can’t imagine not liking CF’s rides).

TC: What are your goals for Cycle Folsom?
SW: In addition to our mainstays of hosting rides and providing a rides database, CF has become a distribution node within the cycling community. We forward communications relevant to cyclists from agencies, city’s, authorities, businesses, associations, other clubs and an endless stream of other entities. These communications may be related to events, road or trail closures, fund raisers, etc. Often, volunteers are found though our network to support advocacy groups, the building of bridges and trails, support for regional events such as the California International Marathon; the list goes on. Our specific goals for CF are to continue to provide quality, enjoyable rides for all levels of cyclists, from beginner to competitive racer. In this area, we are working with a local bike shop in Folsom to host a weekly ride for new cyclists. It will be a slow paced, no-drop ride around Lake Natoma with many stops to rest, drink water and ask questions; all within the relative safety of a group. A ride leader would be on hand to help with any minor mechanical difficulties that may arise so that beginners can ride with confidence that they won’t get stranded.