Cycling Club Rides Beyond Valley’s Edge

Early on Saturday and Sunday mornings, while many are still asleep, dozens of bicyclists don helmets and padded shorts and pedal to the edges of the Valley and beyond.

The cyclists belong to the San Fernando Valley Bicycle Club, a recreational organization that celebrated its 15th anniversary at its monthly meeting yesterday. After being started by a handful of friends in 1978, the club grew to a peak of 750 members in the late 1980s. While membership has declined in recent years to about 600, a core group of about two dozen long-distance riders sets the pace for the rest of the club with trips like this year’s 1,125-mile trek from Seattle to the Canadian Rockies, planned for mid-September.

Maria Fribourg, 51, the club’s president and one of the long-distance riders, started biking about five years ago after a knee injury stopped her from running. She said that notwithstanding the appearance of the riders, who are usually clad in bicycle gear from head to toe, the club is recreational and members often cluster in small groups so they can talk while they pedal.

Aside from enduring occasional curses from motorists unwilling to share the road, the bikers worst nightmare can come in different forms: a snarling unleashed dog, uneven railroad tracks and Grand Canyon-sized potholes.

“Most people are nice and go around us,” Fribourg said. “The drivers that yell are on their way to work and jealous that we are out riding.”

About 100 weekend riders, mostly middle-age professionals who hail from all corners of the Valley, meet at Cal State Northridge at 7:45 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday throughout the year to participate in 25-, 50- and 75-mile rides to places such as Santa Monica, Simi Valley and Westlake, and back to CSUN.

The long-distance riders, who log about 200 miles a week, often bike on weekdays in addition to the weekend rides.

Bob Winning, 58, a club member who has been cycling in the Valley for nearly 30 years, wrote a book titled “Short Bike Rides In and Around Los Angeles” that was published in the spring. According to Winning, scenic views, nice weather, and decent roads make Los Angeles County nearly ideal for biking.

Cyclists interested in joining the club should call Fribourg at (818) 347-4560.