Team Spotlight - Peninsula Velo Cycling Club
Meet one of the largest and oldest cycling clubs in America, Peninsula Velo Cycling Club. From road cycling to mountain biking, gravel and track...you name it they ride it. The team supports every cycling interest from national title holders to weekend warriors all with the common goal to have a great ride and push each other in the interest of having a fun and safe time.
Team Name: Peninsula Velo Cycling Club - aka Pen Velo
Number of people on the team: 300
Team Location(s):
San Francisco Bay Area with a few members across the world including Australia and Scotland.
When did the team form?
The team was originally formed in 1974 and continues to be one of the largest and oldest cycling clubs in the area.
The team was formed by a group of racers including Bill Fallis, who to this day is still actively leading the club as a board member. Bill has been instrumental in the continued evolution of the club and racing teams.
What makes your team successful?
Our team works together and learns together. We welcome new members who want to become better athletes, teammates, and share a common interest in the sport of cycling. The Pen Velo Club encourages members to be the best representation of the club, sponsors, and partners, while having a good time.
Advantages of being on the team?
Having a team means you have a friend with you and a trusty wheel to follow. It makes all the difference whether we're out on a training ride or in a race. We may not all be in the same race category, but we all ride as one group sharing a common goal of having a great ride and pushing each other in the interest of having a fun and safe time.
Do you host camps?
We do! Every year in February, the Pen Velo Race Team hosts its annual training camp in Carmel, California.
For 4 days, our coach manages the routes and training program for the athletes who attend the event. Each day includes a lot of steady miles riding as a group.
What does the team do for fun?
We ride! Road, MTB, gravel, track, you name it. Every weekend, we have teammates racing, leading coastal rides, adventures to the mountains, and training at the Hellyer velodrome in San Jose.
What are a few of the team’s top achievements?
The team has a lot of achievements for both men and women at the world, national, and regional levels.
Women's Masters Crit Race
What do the team members like about Zealios?
Sun Barrier is the best sunscreen out there. Plain and simple. The sun block goes on clean, non-greasy, and protects like nothing else.
Our members really enjoy and promote the sunscreen to other athletes as well as family and friends. We all need to protect our skin everyday and Zealios is our go-to product.
Betwixt chamois cream is also a big winner with our team. Betwixt keeps us protected for hours as we're rolling out the miles.
Zealios is the best-in-class skin protection.
Is the team still accepting members?
You can join Pen Velo at any time! Team renewals are at the end of the year with memberships beginning January and ending December. If you're interested, join now to maximize your benefits!
Bonus Question: What is the craziest thing your team does during the year?
Cyclocross is a crazy fun thing many of the members participate in. There are also a few who participate in the increasingly more popular long gravel rides. Going to great lengths to have fun, I suppose. :)
We've also got some members who log some impressively crazy number of miles. Stanley Tsang rode over 17K miles last year and he's not the only one as there are others who pile on the miles. And of course, Halloween Cyclocross in Santa Cruz is always a great time. Who can resist wearing a costume and racing at the same time!
If you’d like to learn more about Peninsula Velo Cycling Club, reach out to:
Name: Eric Rogge
Email Address: etrogge@gmail.com
Website: penvelo.org
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/penvelo/