2018 was a good year here in Markleeville and I hope you all can say the same about your year. As I cast my mind back (RIP Paul Sherwen) to try and recall the year’s milestones I have to admit some of the details are a bit sketchy. Nonetheless, a massive thank you for your support and I herewith recap the year as best I can with the hope that it gives you a sense of pride in what we’ve all accomplished in a relatively short time.
Advocacy
Two days of spreading the gospel of cycling as I like to call it: One at the Deathride this past summer (when we officially launched C.A.C.!!!) and the other was at the Magical Markleeville Christmas Faire (MMCF).
At the first, our Club Mother, January Riddle, and I, spent some time talking with many riders, some first timers. I think we helped some of the neophytes better understand what was coming. Most importantly, we talked to many members of the community about what we cyclists do (on and off the bike) and why we do it.
At the second, during the MMCF, I brought in a bike and some winter gear so our neighbors could see what we ride and what we wear. I had many great conversations, including some with community leaders, and we also socialized our first advocacy piece, our Etiquettes and Statutes handout!
Community Service
As you may recall, we adopted the 3-mile stretch of Highway 89 from Camp Markleeville to Turtle Rock Park and it irks us something fierce when we see litter on “our highway.” We’ve been known to pull over to grab a lone piece of junk just to keep it pristine. We did two Adopt-a-Highway litter pick up days – both during the 2nd half of the year. Bags of garbage and detritus removed and lots of thumbs up from passers by received…
Merch
Many of you have already purchased your kits, vests or tees and it’s much appreciated! We’ve also gotten some cool decals made and this coming summer, we’ll have some cinch bags (aka sackbacks, sackpacks, whatever you want to call ’em) available for our bag drop at the Deathride. Right now I’m working on an online catalog integration with Square and once that’s done (taking way longer than I had hoped) all California Alps Cycling merch will be available online. If something interests you in the meantime, email me at mschwartz@californiaalpscycling.bike and we’ll figure out how to get it to you. Members get at least 5% off so why not join our merry band of troublemakers too? Click here to learn more.
Some windblockability,eh? 
Bibs. Yup, bibs.
Members and miles
We now have sixteen (16) members and collectively we’ve ridden over 40,000 miles this year! That’s a lot of time on the bike and it’s a conservative number (I don’t have stats for all of us). Congratulations to all for a successful and crash free (serious crashes, at least) year.
Weather and Air
Our weather station went live this year, as did our AQI. Check out our Weather and Air Conditions page for some data that matta. It’s cold here today, by the way so I took the easy way out and Zwifted. Brrrr here, jungle there. Cool app., that Zwift.
2019 Goals and Wishes
Goals for California Alps Cycling this year include getting our catalog on line, hosting with aplomb (cool word, aplomb…) the bag drop at the Deathride, doubling our membership (spread the word, will ya?), sponsoring or participating in four (4) advocacy related events and having four (4) Adopt-a-Highway clean-up days. I’d also like to get our social media channels up and running and have a some group rides going too. Ambitous perhaps but as I like to say “You’ve got to have BHAGS (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals)!
Wishing all of you a safe and ass-kicking year on the bike (and any other endeavors in which you are planning on participating).
Happy New Year riders! Now, Let’s Kick Some Passes Asses!
