Stanislaus bike club ready to roll into 2016

You can’t plunge into the new year at Modesto Reservoir anymore (well, you can, just not with the Mid-Valley Water Ski Club, which ended its 60-year Polar Bear Day tradition in 2015), but the Stanislaus County Bicycle Club has a Jan. 1 event that’s good for your health and somewhat less extreme.

The club expects well over 100 people to take part in its annual New Year’s Day Breakfast Ride on the West Side. Cyclists will pedal from Patterson up Del Puerto Canyon Road to the meeting hall in Frank Raines Park. From the starting point on Rogers Road, that’s about a 34- to 36-mile round-trip ride, said club member Linda Shoup. She noted that a number of riders continue on to the Santa Clara County line or beyond.

Departure time is about 9 a.m. At the Raines Park hall, club volunteers will serve a hot breakfast from 10 a.m. to noon. It’s free to members and $5 to nonmembers, though anyone can join the club that day and get the meal at no cost.

Del Puerto Canyon Road is narrow and winding, with some loose gravel and rock. “If people don’t ride at all, it would be challenging,” Shoup said, “but if you ride, I’d say it’s moderate. There certainly are rollers (ups and downs) on the way up.

“It’s beautiful this time of year. It’s starting to green up.”

Cyclists tend to be a health-minded bunch, so though the ride comes on the heels of New Year’s Eve, “they know it’s coming up so they know not to party too much,” Shoup said. Folks don’t show up with hangovers, or if they do, they hide it well. “They’re pretty good in that regard, focused on getting the year off on the right foot.”

Some years, stretches of the road have been icy, but the ice is easy to see and avoid, Shoup said. She doesn’t expect ice this year; according to the National Weather Service, the low Thursday night will be 34 degrees.

A number of years, she added, riders have arrived in Patterson to find the town socked in, but it gets clear when they start the ride up the hill.

There’s usually not much traffic on Del Puerto Canyon Road on New Year’s Day, Shoup said. Still, safety is the rule of the road. “We recommend a taillight for visibility – we recommend that anytime – and a lot of people use headlights, too.” Riders also should wear helmets, she said, and dress warmly.

Shoup doesn’t recommend the ride for young children, or for parents who want to pull a toddler trailer. “It’s cold, and it’s a considerable ride, mainly for adults and teens,” she said.

The gathering spot is at 15050 Rogers Road, the food-and-fuel complex that includes Jack in the Box and Carl’s Jr. Because parking at Sperry Avenue and Rogers Road is limited, riders are encouraged to carpool.

And if people find the weather isn’t to their liking, or they don’t want to make a round trip, they can drive up to the breakfast, Shoup said. “There’s usually a roaring fire in the clubhouse,” she said, and even riders who are going farther and don’t want breakfast “come in and say hello. It’s a very social and friendly group, and we welcome all riders.”

Annual club membership is $25 individual, $35 family. To learn more about the club, go to stancobike.org.

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Stanislaus bike club ready to roll into 2016."