2021 VCM Board of Director Election Results

As expected, it was a landslide win for the Velo Club Monterey Board of Directors slate.  Congratulations to President, Chris Swainson; Vice-President, Tom Rolander; Treasurer, Jack McKenna; Secretary, Keely Clifford; Director-at-Large, Suzanne Kroeze; and new Director-at-Large, Patrick Tregenza – who have all been elected to the board for 2021.

Also, by way of introduction if you don’t know Patrick, here is a short bio. He is clearly an example of local boy makes good!

Oh Salinas. It’s given us Steinbeck, salad, Kiddie Kapers, and, well, Patrick Tregenza. A second-generation Monterey County native, he ventured westward towards the Peninsula in 1978, only to find that it’s pretty much like Salinas except the land runs out. He decided to stay anyway, though he never forgot his roots, and so, to this day, he is able to identify nearly any vegetable field at 60 miles per hour. In between rides, Patrick operates a commercial food photography studio in downtown Monterey. His participation in Velo Club Monterey has inspired Patrick to increasingly feel that oftentimes two wheels are better than four, and that is why his garage currently houses 22 wheels, though only twelve are considered “his.”

Also, just a heads up, be on the lookout next week for another email with information on renewing your Velo Club membership for 2021.

Have a great Holiday Season and let’s hope for a 2021 where we can spend more time riding together.

VCM 2020 Holiday Party and Cycling Celebration

Sorry this event has been cancelled. Fall Century rides still on though so keep riding!

2020 Velo Club Monterey Holiday Party
and Cycling Celebration

While we can’t be together in person this year, your Velo Club Elves have put together a special Cycling Celebration this holiday. We’ve got two ways for you to join in the fun this year. Here’s how…

STEP ONE… Ride one of two Fall Century Rides between
Saturday Dec 5th and Saturday Dec 12th

It really is as simple as it sounds – keeping within YOUR COMFORT ZONE and remaining compliant with the Monterey County COVID guidelines – complete a century ride between 6am Saturday Dec 5th and 2pm Saturday Dec 12th.

The ride can be anywhere you choose, and you can make up the century in as few or as many stages as you like. As long as the total distance is 100 miles (Traditional) or 100km (Metric).

STEP TWO… Send us your ride details for a chance to earn prizes at the Holiday Party:

  • Record your ride stages
  • Take some p­hotographs
  • Count your flats
  • Have an adventure . . .

Why? . . . because there will be prizes for:

  • Total distance
  • Longest single ride
  • Total elevation
  • Fastest century
  • Best Photo
  • Most Flats
  • Best story

Make sure you submit your ride details before 4pm Saturday, Dec. 12th so that we are ready to award those prizes and give space at the party for one or two stories you may like to share!

Details to include with your Century Ride submission:

  • Century Choice (Traditional or Metric)
  • Number of Stages­
  • Total distance
  • Total elevation
  • Total time
  • Number of flats
  • Between 1 and 3 Photos
  • . . . and of course, your NAME

Submit your ride details via email to: veloclub@vcmonterey.org

STEP THREE: Attend the VCM ZOOM Celebration Party (even if you didn’t do a Century ride) – Saturday December 12th, starting at 6:30pm.

Join the Party Saturday evening using the following ZOOM link:

  • https://zoom.us/j/99507589379
  • Please arrive at the Party at 6:30pm – arriving late will mean you will miss out!
  • Before the Party, make sure you DOWNLOAD THE LATEST VERSION OF ZOOM TO YOUR DEVICE.
  • Join the party by clicking the ZOOM link at 6:30pm on Dec 12th
  • Do not join the ZOOM party using ZOOM through a Browser – Joining ZOOM using a Browser will not allow you to participate in some of the events we have planned.

NOTE: YOU DON’T NEED TO RIDE IN THE FALL CENTURY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ZOOM CELEBRATION PARTY.

Need help with ZOOM?

Join Chris Swainson for a ZOOM Workshop between 6pm and 8pm on Wednesday December 9th using this ZOOM link:

PARTY ITINERARY – IMAGINE A DINNER PARTY

  • STARTS 6:30pm – login using ZOOM and get comfortable.
    DON’T BE LATE
  • Fun Activities . . . wait and see
  • The Main Event
    • Club Announcements
    • Prize Awards
  • Following the Main Event, we will create ZOOM Rooms for you to end the evening in – just like a regular House Party!

PARTY FOOD

We’ve arranged some special Holiday Party menus for Velo Club Members for that evening. Make a night of it by ordering and collecting your Party food at one of our participating restaurants.

 Aabha Indian Cuisine – Barnyard in Carmel

Power Lunch Box for Velo Club December 12 – $17.95 (before tax) Includes: Choice of two curries, Salad, Rice, and Butter naan.  Place your order BY WEDNESDAY DEC 9, and tell Aabha when you will pick up your order on Saturday Dec 12.

Bistro Moulin – Wave St. near Aquarium

Three course Holiday Prix Fixe Menu for Velo Club December 12 – $50 (before tax)  Place your order BY December 9 – You may also ask for wine pairing suggestions when ordering.

Il Vecchio –110 Central Ave., Pacific Grove 

Take Out – Special Dinners – Fixed Price – $19.50 Includes entrée choice and ‘insalata mista’ – artisan greens with marinated vegetables.

Melville Tavern – Washington St., Monterey near WorkHorse Bicycles 

Melville’s features a broad range of: Appetizers, Salads, Entrees, Burgers & Sandwiches, Pastas and Wood Fired Pizzas available for Take Out!

Click here for more details on all the restaurant menu items.

IMPORTANT STEP:  RSVP!

Please RSVP if you are planning on attending the PARTY by Dec 5th. Treat this as a dinner invite from friends – you would not just ignore it and not let them know if you were coming.  Be sure to tell us how many are attending if there will be more than one person attending from your location.

If we do not get enough RSVPs then we will not go ahead with the Party – it takes a lot of effort to put this on.

RSVP No later than 5pm Sat Dec 5th!

Click here to RSVP via EVITE

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) version – RSVP (B4 DEC 5) to let us know if you intend to join the party + ride a century between 6am Sat Dec 5thand 2pm Sat Dec 12 + record the ride stages + take photos + submit the details before 4pm Sat Dec 12th to veloclub@vcmonterey.org+ join the party at 6:30pm on Dec 12th.

We can’t wait to see your ride details and see you via Zoom on the 12th!

Any questions, email us at veloclub@vcmonterey.org 

Save the Date(s)… VCM Holiday Party & Cycling Celebration

Velo Club Monterey – Save the Date…

VCM 2020 Holiday Party and Cycling Celebration
(while remaining COVID Compliant)

While we can’t hold our Annual Holiday Party in person, this year we’ve put together a special way for you to celebrate the season with fellow VCM members. It’s a full week of Cycling Celebration – commencing Saturday Dec. 5th and ending with the VCM HOLIDAY PARTY – Saturday Dec. 12th.

Ride one of two Fall Century Rides between
Saturday Dec 5th and Saturday Dec 12th

Complete the ride of your choice, in as many or as few stages as you like, record the ride(s) using Strava or similar, take photos & have an adventure.

  • Choose from the Traditional 100 mile Century or the 100km Metric Century
  • Get in the holiday spirit – choose to ride in your favorite Holiday Costume
  • Donate to our chosen charities
  • Take some great photos
  • Remember those funny/memorable moments

Prizes will be awarded at the Holiday Party (best costume, funniest photo, best scenic photo, most feet climbed, fastest time recorded etc.)

Saturday Dec 12th – Join us for a VCM ZOOM Celebration Party

(Nervous about ZOOM? Never used ZOOM before? – don’t worry, we have this covered – more details to follow)  

  • Order & Collect your Party Food at one of our participating (discounted) local restaurants
  • Join the VCM Team Quiz
  • Find out what is happening with the Velo Club – plans for 2021, announcements etc.
  • Century Ride Prize winners
  • Raffle
  • Mingle with your VCM friends in our virtual holiday party rooms
  • Pay your 2021 VCM Dues and collect your FREE 2021 VCM Special Gift

More details to follow – for now, SAVE THE DATE. We hope to see you there!

Follow Velo Club Members on Strava

The current COVID-19 pandemic has severely restricted our ability to host safe local group rides.  As a result most of us are cycling alone or in very small groups.  Our goal is to facilitate your connection with other VCM members.

Many of you may already be using Strava to record your rides. There is a Strava Club exclusively for VCM members. If you are not a Strava member it is free to join at the basic level.  Click here to Join Strava and create your account. As a Strava member, you can visit the Strava VCM Club here:  www.strava.com/clubs/vcmonterey. Just click on the Request to Join button on the Strava VCM Club page and within a day or two we’ll approve your membership in the club.

In an effort to promote connections among our VCM members we have made changes to improve the Strava Club for the VCM.  With this change our Club on Strava requires VCM membership.  It is available to VCM members who have paid their dues. 

The main feature of joining our Strava VCM Club is that you can easily see the rides in a list of “Recent Activity” which other members have made and they can see your rides.  This is a great way to see what rides other members are doing including their routes, distance, elevation and speed.  You should be able to find suitable riding partners!  This is also a way to encourage fellow VCM members by giving them kudos and comments on their rides.

For those of you who are driven by Leaderboards, this change means that VCM Club Leaderboard will only contain VCM members.  Previously as an open Strava Club the VCM Leaderboards were filled by cyclists from all over the world with no connection to our local club.  If you choose to be a Strava Premium paid member you will also have access to Segment Leaderboards for VCM members.  You will only be competing with other VCM members on the Segment Leaderboards.

We invite you to join your fellow Velo Club members on Strava. Visit the Strava VCM Club to get started. If you have any questions or problems with Strava send an email to rides@vcmonterey.org.

VCM Summer Picnic Cancelled

In any other year, right now we’d be deep into the planning stages of the Annual Velo Club Summer Picnic normally held in early August. Unfortunately, nothing is normal this year. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic; the restrictions on large gatherings; and more importantly the Club’s concern for the safety and health of our members, mean that we need to cancel this year’s get together in Carmel Valley, along with the associated group rides that usually happen the same day.

With all the uncertainty on when we can socialize in groups again, planning for the rest of year is nearly impossible. But we look forward to the time, hopefully in the not to distant future, when we’ll be able to get together with you again.

Until then enjoy your riding and stay safe out there.

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