2018 HANDBOOK Contents

Contents................................................................................................................................... 1 Volunteer Coaches...................................................................................................................1 Introduction...............................................................................................................................2 Philosophy................................................................................................................................2 Preparation...............................................................................................................................2 Training Schedule.................................................................................................................... 3 Equipment needs..................................................................................................................... 3 First Year Cyclists Requirements............................................................................................. 4 Second Year+ Cyclists Requirements......................................................................................4 Cyclist provided additional equipment:.................................................................................... 5 Schedule/Checklist Summary.................................................................................................. 6 Discipline.................................................................................................................................. 7

Volunteer Coaches Werner Noesner (307) 272-1323 Pam Noesner (307) 272-3909 Mike Denning (307) 272-7469 Greg Eckley (307) 899-0679 Sonya Graves (307) 899-2345 Charlie Davis (307) 921-9846 email: [email protected] This document can be found at http://www.pcyouthcycling.org

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Introduction This handbook is required reading for all program participants and their parents and attempts to address general expectations and requirements of the Park County Youth Cycling program. All cyclists and parents are encouraged to contact the coaches with any further questions regarding this program. It is key to understand that each year we only have a small number of bicycles and a limited number of coaches. The primary reason for this is safety. We can only safely manage 5-6 new cyclists on the road at one time with our limited resources. The program will close to new cyclists on the second Friday in April of each year. This will allow us to procure bicycles and equipment as needed for the new cyclists and be ready for cycling June 1st. If you wish to join the program after it is closed, you can apply after January 1st for the following summer. Philosophy Road cycling requires a high degree of self-motivation and concentration. The sport offers a vast array of opportunities and one 'gains' from it directly proportional to one’s level of commitment. Road cycling can be dangerous. Besides the obvious danger of riding in traffic, road cyclists also face other dangers while cycling like hard pavement, pot holes, road debris, distracted drivers and wildlife. Safety will be our highest priority. If a cyclist is seen to endanger him or herself or others, you may be asked to stop riding with this group. Safety is our highest priority and can not be compromised. You are expected to wear a helmet whenever you are on any bicycle. With this program, participants will have the opportunity to: 1. Learn that cycling is composed of cycling skills, endurance/strength and nutrition/hydration. 2. Learn to set and complete goals. 3. Practice a healthy lifestyle including diet, nutrition, physical conditioning, rest and recovery. 4. Develop technical cycling skills. This includes learning road bicycle operations, bicycle maintenance and riding safely in traffic. 5. Gain proficiency in a lifetime sport, sharable with family and friends. Preparation You are expected to come fully prepared to all practices with “required” items. You must bring warm clothing, shoes, helmet, water, and special nutrition needs to all practices. We typically provide Hammer bars, gels, electrolytes and recovery drinks. Weather conditions can frequently influence our options creating a need to be flexible where and when we ride. If you check your email/txts daily it will help to stay advised of practice plans. This document can be found at http://www.pcyouthcycling.org

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If you cannot make a practice or will be late, call your coach and let him or her know you will not make today's session. Attendance is taken at every session. You are expected to have eaten a well balanced breakfast before coming to the cycling sessions. This can not be emphasized enough. All to often we have seen riders fall way behind because they do not have the nutritional reserves that the other riders have. This places a strain on our coaching resources because now we need a coach to trail behind with the slower cyclist. Training Schedule The training schedule will consist of three cycling sessions each week These sessions will typically occur early in the morning to avoid the heat of the day. Most start at 7-8 AM and will be done around 10-11 AM. Each week we will gradually increase the mileage ridden. In the past we have settled on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday rides for the 1st year cyclist's sessions. 1st year cyclists will ride together and the experienced cyclists and those racing will have separate sessions. Everyone will ride together on the Thursday rides. Week day rides for the experienced cyclists and racers will be determined prior to the summer. The plan will be to introduce new riders with initial sessions to build cycling skills with intent to introduce longer distances over time. The goal is to build safe road cycling skills as we build stamina for longer distances each week. 2 of the weekday sessions are typically devoted to skill building and one session is devoted to longer distances. A detailed daily calendar for all cycling sessions can be found at: www.pcyouthcyclig.org Attendance and punctuality - be on time and attend practice sessions – it’s a requirement. Excused absences are sometimes necessary. Any excused absences or late arrivals will be decided as such by the coaching staff which includes medical needs, school conflicts, family holidays, etc. You can not miss more than 6 practices sessions, the first year. No sessions in June are to be missed. Second year and beyond cyclists have a good base established and can be more flexible in their attendance. 2Nd year cyclists only have to attend 75% of the long distance practices but are encouraged to attend weekday sessions as well. If you can not commit to these attendance requirements then this program is not for you. Equipment needs Cycling is most dependent on having an adequate road bicycle plus other ancillary items to make cycling effective and safe. This program will loan all first year, accepted cyclists with a properly sized and safe road bicycle. This bicycle is a valuable investment and each cyclist is expected to maintain this bike in the best condition possible. So far we have been able to provide road bikes that offer Shimano components of race quality. We strive to keep the bicycles all similar so everyone can be familiar with its workings and maintenance. This year the program will provide the bicycle, pedals, bottle cages, bike computer This document can be found at http://www.pcyouthcycling.org

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and tube seat bag with tubes. This program requires a minimum two year commitment, first year cyclists have a more stringent commitment. Second year and beyond have fewer requirements but must still give back to the program. If a cyclist chooses to and wishes to dedicate more time to this sport, touring and competition options are available. All cyclists are encouraged to ride with the group as long as they can. If for some reason a cyclists decides that this program is not for them they can stop at anytime and return the bicycle. If you decide to continue and ride thru High School you will be given a bicycle to keep. First Year Cyclists Requirements 1. You must be at least going into or in the 8th grade or above up to the

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11th grade. You must be able to pass a shifting test with your left & right hands. This test will be conducted on a stationary bicycle. You must complete 75% of all training sessions. If you miss a session, it can be made up by completing the missed session on your own. Do not miss more than 6 sessions in the summer. You must ride in one or more of the charity rides such as the CONGA or the Ride to the Future. You must do one or more of these rides for two years. Upon completion of the second year, you may claim a bicycle. Parents are not encouraged to ride during the week day sessions. Coaches have enough to do to keep the first year cyclists safe. Parents are welcome on every Saturday ride as we typically have more resources available. Each cyclist will be expected to maintain the bicycle in the best condition possible. This is necessary for your safety. Flat tires are inevitable. Each cyclist will need to pay a tube fee at the beginning of the summer to cover the costs of tubes and CO2 cartridges. Washing, lubricating and general bicycle maintenance will be taught to each participant. Also it is imperative that you keep the bike secure at all times when not being used. Each cyclist is expected to join USA Cycling. This a cost of $35 for the year and doing so will allow us to purchase additional medical insurance for each cyclist. Talk to one of the coaches to get more details. You can signup at www.usacycling.org Second Year+ Cyclists Requirements

1. After the first year cycling, you must attend at least 75% of the Thursday

rides each summer. This is 6 rides. You can miss 3 Thursday rides. Week day rides are optional for 2nd year cyclists, but we encourage you to ride as often as possible. 2. You must complete at least one charity fund raising cycling ride held each summer in Park County, either the CONGA or the Coast to the Future This document can be found at http://www.pcyouthcycling.org

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ride. 3. You must provide instruction and help to first year cyclists and help with fundraisers. 4. Each cyclist is expected to join USA Cycling. This a cost of $35 for the year and doing so will allow us to purchase additional medical insurance for each cyclist. Talk to one of the coaches to get more details. Sign up at www.usacycling.org If a cyclist has an adequate road bicycle ( 700C x 18-28mm tires, and SIS indexed shifters) and necessary ancillary equipment they are welcome to participate in this program, if we have adequate coaching resources. Due to the nature of road cycling, mountain bikes or BMX bikes are not adequate and cannot be substituted in this program. The initial bicycles will be sized such that the bicycle should be adequate for at least a couple years. Growth is inevitable, so we will try our best to supply larger bicycles as cyclists out grow their current bikes. To qualify for a bigger bike the cyclist must continue to ride and to give back to the program. 1.

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Cyclist provided additional equipment: Helmet – a good quality bicycle helmet is an absolute must. No helmet, no riding. This means if you forget your helmet you will not be able to ride with us until you get one. Available from Absaroka Bicycles or Sierra Trading Post. You are also expected to wear a helmet at all times when riding any bicycle. Road Cycling shoes - These shoes must fit properly. Shoes that are too big are not safe so make sure they fit properly. These are NOT mountain biking shoes. Road cycling shoes have 3 hole configuration on the soles so that the road pedal clips can be mounted. Sierra Trading post is a good source for shoes as is Performance Bike or Bike Nashbar. Absaroka Bicycles also sometimes carries cycling shoes. Cycling specific jersey preferably fluorescent yellow, Cycling specific jacket preferably fluorescent green, Cycling specific shorts, cycling socks and cycling gloves. Some of items are available at Sierra Trading Post. Hammer Nutrition has inexpensive cycling clothing for youth as well as adults and we get a team discount. We also have lots of clothing that others have outgrown so see Coach Werner or Coach Pam. Sunglasses Nutrition for each ride, energy bars, gels, Peanut Butter sandwich, etc. Hammer Gel from Montana is an excellent company that offers numerous nutritional items for cyclists. This cycling program is sponsored by Hammer Nutrition and we will have available to all participants Hammer Gels, bars, and other nutrition options. We receive a team discount on all Hammer products so see Coach Werner or Coach Pam for a price list if you need something more than what we have on hand.

This document can be found at http://www.pcyouthcycling.org

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6. Duffel Bag/back pack to carry all the ancillary items to each riding session and some dry clothes for when we finish for the day. It is imperative that each cyclist come to each riding session with all their gear. Early morning rides can be cold so they will need all their gear and clothing available to choose from. 7. Each cyclist must join USA Cycling. This a cost of $35 for the year and doing so will allow us to purchase additional medical insurance for each cyclist. Talk to one of the coaches to get more details. The estimated cost of these ancillary items is $100-$200, depending on what kind of bargains you can find. You may have some of these items already(duffel bag, sunglasses, etc) The other items are cycling specific and can be sourced commercially. Talk to any of the coaches, previous year riders or other road cyclists if you need help. We have a surplus of equipment, shoes and clothing so check with the coaches first. Here is an example from previous years for items from Absaroka Bicycles. Each cyclist will be responsible for these items, typically paid when you assemble your bicycle. Check with current year cyclists as well, sometimes they have personal gear they have outgrown. Example costs are: Helmet $30, shoes $75, Tube, Tire and shoe clip Fee $25, USA License -$35 ---total $165. Schedule/Checklist Summary

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First Year Cyclists - Schedule Date Due Description Jan- April Commit to program, mail in waiver and rider Info sheet Mid April Get measured for proper bike fit. Order bikes if new one is needed. 1st Fri in April Program is closed for this season. Mid May Pay $25 tube/clip fee. Make checks payable to PCYC Early May Get shoes, jersey, shorts, etc. Early May Assemble bike at bike shop ( if you are getting a new bike) End of May First bike session for 1st year cyclists End of May Work with coaches on personalized goals and plans for cycling June-August Ride 3 times per week – 75% minimum attendance July-Sept Ride a 30-60 mile charity event.

This document can be found at http://www.pcyouthcycling.org

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Date Due Early April Early April Weekend in early May Mid May May May End of May June-July June -September Early August

Second Year+ Cyclist Checklist - Schedule Description Sign current waiver and fill out Rider Info Sheet Update measurements for proper bike fit, order new frame if needed Cycling Camp ( 2 days of cycling, nutrition education and fun ! (this is dependent on weather and coaching staff availability) Pay $25 tube/clip fee. Make checks payable to: PCYC Upgrade bike frame or bike if necessary First official summer group ride Work with coaches on personalized goals and plans for cycling Ride at least once a week with the team and other cyclists Ride at least one of the charity rides each summer. Participate in fund raisers. For those that qualify, an optional multi-day bike tour will be offered in 2017.

Discipline Unfortunately, we have had situations in the past where some young cyclist's have regularly ignored certain rules and guidelines. This sport requires us to be exposed to very dangerous conditions and thus we can not accept any compromises when it comes to personal or group safety. PCYC strives for all participants to set a good example to the other members of PCYC and the community as well. So if you routinely violate anything to do with safety, you will be placed on probation with PCYC. Once you are on probation you may continue to ride with the group. However if you violate the safety rule one more time, you will be suspended from the PCYC program. This means you return the bicycle and you are no longer allowed to ride with us. An example of this is: You wear a helmet when you ride with the PCYC group but when you are on your own, riding say your mountain bike, you do not wear a helmet. After 3 warnings you will be on probation and on the 4th violation you are suspended. You may re-apply to the program in the following season assuming you have corrected your bad behavior. Disciplinary actions may also be taken for other reasons, such as continued bad attitude, disrespectful behavior, etc.

This document can be found at http://www.pcyouthcycling.org

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