2 Main Local Bicycling Clubs Unite

By LIBBY CUDMORE • allotsego.com

Edition of Thursday-Friday, Dec. 25-26, 2014

Marc Kingsley, owner of the Inn at Cooperstown, knows that bicycling with a group is even more fun than taking to the trails alone. “Steven Smith and I got involved with cycling on his Paceline Sports team,” he said. “And we saw we were sharing a lot of the same riders as the Central New York Cyclist Club.”

The team started in 2005, formed to compete in regional races, including starting Brewery Ommegang’s Drops To Hops in 2011. CNYC was formed by Peter Martin in 2000 and hosts the Check Your Legs and Butternut Valley races.

And now, the two clubs will merge. “We’ll add the Paceline elite team as a racing component, as well as to help mentor newer racers about training and race etiquette,” he said. “Having people around who’ve done it before is a big help.”

“The club really attracts younger riders,” said Smith. “We would love to see more junior riders get into the sport, so the club can really be a feeder system to the team.”

The merger is a local piece of the rise in cycling throughout the country. “It started with Lance Armstrong, and even though he’s not everyone’s favorite person right now, it really opened people’s eyes to cycling,” said Kingsley. “It’s good, low-impact exercise, and it’s so much fun.”

Earlier this year, Otsego County added Bike Otsego, a 75-mile round-trip bike ride from Oneonta to Cooperstown, to its roster of rides. “There’s so many great trails and places to ride,” he said. “It’s becoming more accessible to riders. People aren’t so scared to get on the road.”

Kingsley’s own Bike Clubhouse at the Inn has made it a hot spot for cyclists from outside the area. “We get a lot of tour groups, and we had four couples come in for Drops to Hops,” he said. “We’re very bike-friendly.”

In the spring, Kingsley is hoping the club will host non-competitive group rides. “Part of merging the clubs is we want more group outreach,” he said. “We want to get people of all skill levels involved.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he added. “There’s lots of exciting things coming down.”