CYCLING : San Fernando Valley Bicycle Club Cashes In on Exposure From Olympic Competition

Dave Verhein has ridden thousands of miles with the San Fernando Valley Bicycle Club and watched its membership grow to 700--making it the largest Valley-based recreation cycling club.

“Our membership is very diverse and that’s more true of our club than others,” said Verhein, a Van Nuys resident and club member for 10 years. “We don’t always ride together as a group. Route slips are given out at the start of a ride and then you can go at any pace you want. Our members don’t have the problem of riding with someone who is too fast or too slow.”

Since receiving widespread exposure in the 1984 Summer Olympics, cycling has been on the upswing and recreational cycling is the nation’s third most popular activity among American adults, according to a survey by sporting-goods retailers. The Bicycle Federation of America estimates that20 million adults who bicycle.

For the beginning cyclist, a recreation riding or touring club provides an introduction to the sport. There are a variety of Valley-based clubs for racing, recreation riding or mountain biking:

The San Fernando Valley Bicycle Club has a monthly 10-mile ride for beginners in addition to weekly rides of 20 to 100 miles. The club also offers bicycle tours, time trials and maintenance classes. Cyclists of all ages participate. Helmets are required. The club meets Saturdays and Sundays at 8 a.m. at the Cal State Northridge parking lot at Nordhoff Boulevard and Darby Avenue.

Information: 818-787-2788.

The Youth Cycling Development Program offers lessons for youths ages 10 to 17 in cycle racing and bicycle safety and maintenance at the Encino Velodrome and the Olympic Velodrome at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles started the program April 20 and has scheduled a second eight-week session, which runs through Aug. 8. The last four weeks of lessons started Monday.

Information: 818-881-7441 or 213-516-4000.

The Conejo Valley Cyclists conducts rides for mountain bikers, United States Cycling Federation racers and recreational cyclists. The club meets for recreation rides of 17 miles Wednesdays at 6 p.m. at The Landing in Westlake Village; recreation riders and USCF racers meet Saturday and Sundays at 8 a.m. at the east end of The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks for rides of 27 to 35 miles. Yearly dues range from $10 for students to $25 for USCF racing cyclists.

Information: 818-889-3319.

Europa Bikes in Van Nuys is the weekly meeting place for mountain-biking enthusiasts. Novice riders meet behind the Europa Bikes store at 6409 Van Nuys Blvd. on Thursdays at 7:30 a.m.; the more advanced riders convene Sundays at 8 a.m. Mountain bikes and water bottles are needed.

Information: 818-989-2453.

Velo Calabasas conducts training rides ranging from 30 to 50 miles. Cyclists leave from the front parking lot at Calabasas High on Sundays at a.m.

Information: 818-348-0287.

The Rainbow Sports Bicycle Club, the largest racing club in the Valley at 115 strong, is open to junior and senior-division cyclists. It conducts training rides of from 30 to 80 miles twice weekly and has monthly meetings at Winnetka Park. Yearly membership dues of $20 does not include the club jersey. Club supervisor Jim Miller also conducts rides and tours for novice cyclists.

Information: 818-341-9634.

Topanga Rides is a dirt-road bicycle club that offers training rides, races and bike tours.

Information: 805-527-1991.

The North Hollywood Wheelmen is a racing club that schedules periodic rides and meets monthly.

Information: 818-768-7949.

After racing against the nation’s best cyclists four weeks straight, Derryl Halpern needed a rest.

Halpern qualified for but did not compete in the United States Cycling Federation’s national road racing championships Saturday in Boulder, Colo. Instead, he returned to California to rest up for this week’s start of the 1987 U.S. Olympic Festival in Raleigh, N.C.

“I wasn’t riding well or feeling that well and I didn’t think I had much of a chance of placing in the top 50 so I came home to get ready for the Olympic Festival,” said Halpern.

The Encino teen-ager will compete in a junior division 100-kilometer road race Saturday before racing in a criterion and time trial Sunday and Monday. He hopes to place in the top 10 overall for all three events.

Maureen Manley of Thousand Oaks did compete in the senior women’s division of the USCF national road racing championships Sunday, but does not have an official finishing time. Seventy out of a record field of 122 completed the 53-mile race in Boulder, Colo.