Cycling club helps riders get into gear

Pen Velo (velo is French for "bike") is not for wimps. These cyclists mean business. The club focuses on the competitive aspect of road biking. Their group rides are more for training than leisure. They compete in several races throughout the year. The club does offer a recreational contingency, which focuses on training for century rides -- that's 100 miles, hardly a joy ride.

The club, which was founded in 1974 as an elite road racing club, now has over 100 members -- making it one of the larger bike clubs in the Bay Area. Due to their intense training and dedication, several national and international champions have come out of the club. In addition, the Northern California/Nevada Cycling Association ranked Pen Velo sixth as the "Best All Around Team" in 2002.

Don't worry, you don't need to be a Lance Armstrong wanna-be to join the club. All ages and ability levels are welcome. The club is broken up into categories based on experience. If you're new to the sport of road racing, you'll be placed with other newbies. This prevents people from being discouraged about not being able to keep up with the more advanced riders. There is also a junior team for younger members.

Pen Velo secretary Erik Salander, a former runner, joined the club in 2001 looking for an alternative competitive sport.

"I always wanted to remain competitive -- and I can do that with this bike club," Salander said. "Cycling is easier on the body and legs than being a marathoner."

Membership costs $35 annually and includes some coaching, organized rides, group e-mail lists, club meeting minutes, race notes, skills clinics on an as-need basis, an annual awards banquet and training schedule critiques. Members are required to buy a team jersey for around $60.

Coaching is a key element to becoming a successful athlete and the club's current head coach/athletic director, Clark Natwick, has quite a resume. He's a former pro mountain and road biker and currently a USA Cycling certified coach and certified personal trainer. Having been involved in the industry for many years, he's very passionate about the sport.

"I enjoy the technical aspects of cycling -- the bike, the velocity," Natwick said. "And I enjoy meeting friendly, good people."

Although the club has an extremely experienced coaching staff that will lead the team, individual coaching is not normally provided. For an additional fee, private lessons are available. Rather, the club nurtures a mentoring environment where more experienced members help educate newcomers.

The best way to learn about cycling (or improve your skills), is to do it, which is why Pen Velo organizes two to four group rides per week. Currently, the club meets on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 8:00 a.m. at Canada Road near the State Route 92 off-ramp in San Mateo. Starting in the spring, there will also be Tuesday and Thursday evening rides. The average length of the rides is about 30 miles.

"We usually try to cater the group rides towards upcoming races we're preparing for," said Natwick.

If a race has hills, he explains they'll concentrate on a hill workout. If it's a distance race, they'll put in more miles.

Like most athletic clubs, Pen Velo has a strong focus on the safety of its club members. During rides, cyclists are required to wear helmets, point out objects along the way and be vocal about turning and slowing.

In addition to competing in races, Pen Velo also sponsors two races annually: The Burlingame Criteria, held June 29, and the San Bruno Hill Climb, held Jan. 1 -- this is a doozy -- it's less than four miles long, but has a vertical climb of nearly 1,200 feet.

For more information about these races or about joining the Peninsula Velo Cycling Club, visit their Web site at http://www.cyclepath.com/penvelo.<