Our friends at The Rotary Club of Santa Rosa are hard at work dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s for this year’s edition of the Giro Bello. We hope you will join us in supporting their efforts towards Polio eradication.

You can read the Giro Bello’s latest newsletter to learn more about what will await you at this year’s event, and we look forward to seeing you out there on July 6th!

>> Register for the Giro Bello
>> Donate to the cause supported by the Giro Bello
>> Sign-up for the Giro Bello Newsletter so you always have the latest and greatest information
>> Lean more about The Rotary Club of Santa Rosa

Do you mountain bike, trail run or hike in Annadel State Park?

Are you free the morning of June 15th?

If you answered yes to the above, here is an opportunity of a life time!!! OK, maybe not a lifetime, but certainly for June 2013.

Red Peloton will be sponsoring the Sonoma Trails Council’s “3rd Saturday Annadel Work Day” on Saturday, June 15th. If you enjoy the trails, please join us for a morning of trail work to give back to the park. No previous experience required.

Please contact us with whether you are
A) definitely in or
B) a strong maybe

We would just like to give the trails council an idea of how many to expect. This is open to friends and family as well. Really…when it comes to volunteering like this, the more the merrier!

We hope to see you out on the trails on June 15th.

Red Peloton is thrilled to be a part of this year’s edition of the Giro Bello – an event that is fast becoming a staple in the Sonoma County cycling scene. Besides offering riders three amazing routes that weave their way through our beloved Sonoma County wine country, this year’s event actually benefits the Rotary’s Polio Plus eradication program and local charitable projects.

Still not sure what the Rotary Club or the Giro Bello are all about? Read below to learn more and then come join us for the fun!

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Many folks ask, what is Rotary? We’ve all seen the blue and gold gear logo on the “Welcome” sign to thousands of towns. Or maybe you notice a “Rotary Meets here” announcement in a hotel or restaurant in your travels. But for many, Rotary and what it does is a mystery. So, allow us to demystify!

Rotary is the largest non-political, non-religious charity on the planet counting over 1.2 million members around the world! Even though the size and scope of Rotary is massive, it is truly a local organization.

Every Club is run locally and autonomously from Rotary International. Our Santa Rosa Rotary Club began serving Santa Rosa in 1921. For years, it was the largest Rotary Club north of San Francisco. Over time, we’ve spun off or helped start numerous other Clubs around the county of Sonoma.

Today, we count over 120 members. People you know; folks who are part of the leadership fabric of the city of Santa Rosa. Business owners, non-profit executives, professionals and retired, civic-minded folks make up your average Rotary Club. We have 30 year olds, we have 90 year olds, and every age in between. We have men and women. We have Americans and foreign-born individuals, too. We are one of the most active, giving group of folks in this town. We just don’t toot our own horn very well!

Our Club spends 100% of the funds raised in events like the Giro Bello on a number of local and international projects. Last year, we helped raise funds for a baseball club in Uganda! We also helped their village obtain clean water and medical supplies. We gave to YWCA Women’s Shelter, SAY, Kid’s Scoop Foundation, Sonoma County Vet Connect, National Alliance for Mental Health, Anova Center, Roseland University Prep, The Humane Society, The Living Room and so many more! We sponsored 15 college scholarships last year. And yes, Rotary continues to lead the crusade to eliminate polio worldwide. We’re almost there!

So, thank you for considering riding in the Giro Bello. Our Members truly appreciate the support of Red Peloton! As you can tell, your registration money will be well spent. By taking part in this incredible ride, you’ll not only be enjoying a wonderful day, but helping to better the world while you’re at it!

1…2…3…testing…

I am sure many of you are wondering if this mic…errr…website is still “on” so to speak. Well indeed it is. We apologize for the radio silence – not quite sure where the end of last year and the start of this year went – but we are dusting off the cobwebs and getting back to business. Over the next few days we will be playing catching up and getting you all up to speed on all things Red Peloton. In the meantime we leave you with this…

Although hinted towards, we never full acknowledge the awesome results that the team earned on the road and dirt last year. We want to take one more proper moment to thank everyone for their efforts and to provide you with the full race results for 2012.

Red Peloton 2012 Race Results

So with somewhat delayed but still immense gratitude for what everyone did, we now focus on continuing to move ever forward and enjoying what 2013 has to offer!

The details are finalized to the point where we have dotted all our i’s and crossed all our t’s. So with that said….

Red Peloton & friends are proud to present the 4th Annual Holiday Toy & Food Ride!

When – Sunday, December 16th at 3:00 pm
Where – Starting at NorCal Bike Sport
What – Come join us for our annual Holiday charity event. Perfect for the whole family!

We ask that each of you, drop off you donation of either unwrapped toys and/or non perishable food items at NorCal Bike Sport or Echelon Cycle and Multisport between now and Dec 16th. After that the fun really begins as we would love for you to ride over and join us with your backpacks, panniers, trailers, and jersey pockets ready to pack and ride to deliver it all. We will then ride over to Redwood Gospel Mission to drop off the food and then Fire Station 1 in downtown Santa Rosa to drop off the toys to benefit their Toys for Kids program.And we mean it when we say that friends and family are welcome!

Please remember that we need donations AND riders to deliver them in order for this to be another successful event! So we ask that you please spread the word and help us get food and toys donated to either NorCal Bike Sport or Echelon Cycle and Multisport by December 16th. And if for any reason you cannot join us but still want to donate, please do not hesitate to drop us a line!

We look forward to seeing you and your families very soon!

As has become Red Peloton’s annual tradition this time of year, the team will be spearheading another Holiday Food and Toy Drive. So…

Mark your calendars for Sunday, December 16th as the day we will deliver all the goods by bike! Yes you read that right…by BIKE. These particular Holiday helpers like to travel by two wheels instead of sleighs or reindeer.

The final details are still being hammered out, but you can still start stocking up on canned goods and toys in preparation. We look forward to seeing you there!

>> Have the kiddos that day? No problem! This is a family friendly affair and we’d love to have them join us!

>> Can’t make it on Dec 16th but still want to participate? Drop us a line and we’ll work something out with you.

This past weekend Red Peloton held its annual end of season BBQ. It’s the one time at the end of each race and event season where all members of the team get together to enjoy each other’s company, reminisce on some great adventures, and celebrate the team’s successes of the year. Before getting into the results and recognitions for this year, we first need to thank…

- Neil for generously and graciously hosting us once again
- Terri for her mad organizational skills
- Michelle for taking on such a large part of feeding 70+ hungry cyclists
- The rest of the organizing committee for putting on one fun event for adults and kids alike

So without further ado, below are the Red Peloton team members who were recognized for their accomplishments and efforts in 2012. Congratulations to you all!

Category Upgrades
Men’s Category 4: Brian Davis, Patrick Krueger
Men’s Category 2: Eric Cinnamon, Nick McGowan
Men’s Category 1: Craig Fellers, Josh Rennie
Women’s Category 3: Kelli Badillo, Jen Kruger, Lauren Rignel

Team Awards
MVP – male: Eric Cinnamon
MVP – female: Jen Kruger
Most Improved – male: Nick Kersmarki
Most Improved – female: Kelli Badillo
Team Spirit – male: Shaun Ralston
Team Spirit – female: Stephanie Buckner
Sponsor of the Year: Sutter Health – Shaun Ralston
Transcending Performance – Race: Craig Fellers – Chico Stage Race
Transcending Performance – Event: Garth Powell – 3x Terrible Two attempt
Volunteer of the Year: Scotty Roberts & Shane Barnes (as selected by team Captains and BOD)

2012 Red Peloton Team Award Recipients

Thank you again to everyone who helped pull together such a fun event, to all the team members who came to celebrate a successful 2012, and to all of our Sponsors and supporters who made this season all possible. And thanks to our own Keith Flood of Furnace Creek 508 fame and the master behind Keith C. Flood Photography for some great pics from the BBQ!

Want to relive the fun? Well you can find all the pics here: RP 2012 BBQ & Awards

On October 5th, Red Peloton once again participated in the annual Cat Walk for a Cure event put on by team sponsor Sutter Health. We take pride in supporting such a wonderful cause and excitedly look forward to even more antics in 2013!

Below is a message from Sutter regarding our participation and the overall success of the event.

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Sutter Health would like to thank to Red Peloton for their valuable annual contribution to Catwalk for a Cure. In addition to directly raising funds for breast cancer, the Red Peloton model crew contributed to a very entertaining fashion show. The audience reaction to local cyclists is overwhelming and the on-stage antics certainly added positive fuel to the fire. With the help of our local community groups, like Red Peloton, this event raised nearly $250,000 in a single day. Proceeds benefit women in Sonoma County who need breast care screening, diagnostic services and treatment support – regardless of their ability to pay – no one is ever turned away from the Sutter Women’s Health Center! Thanks to groups like Red Peloton, Sonoma County has a world class local women’s health center that’s open to all. Each year, nearly 20,000 women come through our doors and receive state-of-the-art medical care. Thanks again, Red Peloton. For more information on the event visit sutterpacific.org/catwalk

Yes, even cyclists know how to strut it in the name of a good cause.

Congratulations to Kurt Pickle, he was inducted into the Furnace Creek 508 Hall of Fame this year! The Furnace Creek 508 Hall of Fame honors those athletes who have shown a long-term commitment to pursuing their personal and athletic goals on the famed and fabled Furnace Creek 508 race course. Inductees into the Hall of Fame have completed a minimum of five Furnace Creek 508 events. Kurt has been part of a 4 man team that has dominated their category at the 508, winning 5 years straight 2007-2011!

For 2012 Kurt’s has paired up with Keith Flood to take on the 2 man category. The 508 consists of 8 stages where each team mate must do either the odd or even stages there is no swapping out riders during a stage. This means that each rider will do 250+ miles with 18,000 feet of climbing for a total race of 508 miles and 36,000 feet of elevation gain. Temps can range from the 40′s to over 100 coupled with strong winds make this especially challenging. Fortunately, Sonoma County provides plenty of training opportunities to combat these challenges.

The race starts in Santa Clarita off I-5 in Southern California. Stage 1 ends in the Mojave Desert in California City. The race makes a rough horseshoe route through Death Valley and eventually ends in Twentynine Palms. Kurt and Keith will have a support crew of 2 in a follow car during the race which starts at 9:30am on Saturday Oct 6th. They hope to finish roughly 33 hours later by early evening on Sunday. There is a live webcast and feed of race updates through out the weekend on the 508 website. Kurt and Keith want to thank the Red Peloton and their sponsors for making this race possible. Also special thanks go to OSMO Nutrition for being our hydration sponsor and Clif for our food sponsor.

The Great Horned Owls: Keith (middle left) and Kurt (middle right) and their support crew

Are you one of the lucky 65,000 Sonoma County households that received the current edition of Pulse? Red Peloton sponsor Sutter Health is the distributor of this publication and the Fall 2012 edition features Red Peloton team member Adrian Tamblin and his family. We know Sutter Health strives to promote healthy living and that is something Red Peloton is proud to stand behind as well.

Congratulations to the Tamblin family for making the cover of such an important publication and many thanks to Sutter Health for their continued support!

You trained, you cursed, you trained some more, and maybe…just maybe…you had dreams of red and white polka dots. It’s alright to admit it because we are as passionate about riding our bikes as you are. In order to avoid any further anxiety or thoughts of doubt about what was undoubtedly an amazing personal performance, here are the results you have all been waiting for…

>> Overall Results

>> Women’s Results by Age Group

>> Men’s Results by Age Group

Many thanks to all of you who chose to participate in our small, humble KOM/QOM challenge. We hope you enjoyed this little bit of friendly competition as much as we did. Even if you didn’t participate in the challenge, we hope our cheers of encouragement and occasional “fan run along” as you crested the ridge helped make that ride up the first Geyser climb a little more memorable.

That’s right folks, you came, you rode, and you conquered the KOM/QOM challenge, and you have every right to revel in your accomplishments! We look forward to repeating the experience with you all again next year.

Have you been trying to hit our website but run into problems? Have you tried to send us an email but it bounced back? Well…we apologize profusely for these inconveniences. We are in the middle of updating our website which means there may be some intermittent issues with the site and our email servers. We appreciate your patience and promise that it will all be back to normal soon.

Thanks!

The Red Peloton Web Crew