Junior North Iowa Spin Meeting Set:

by John Johnson

To: Parents, Coaches & young athletes

The North Iowa Spin Cycling Team, a part of the North Iowa Touring Club, is excited to announce the formation of the Junior Spin Cycling Team.

Junior North Iowa Spin Meeting:
Saturday October 20^th at 3:00 p.m.
Mason City Public Library in the Learning Center

The purpose of the Junior Spin is to introduce interested youths, ages 10 – 19, to the sport of competitive cycling. This is open to any young athlete regardless of where they live or current level of cycling skill. All that is required to participate is a desire to learn about bike racing, a bike of ANY type and a helmet. We will be tapping into the experience and expertise of NI Spin and NI Touring Club members to mentor and coach this group. We will conduct group rides broken out by skill level, along with information sessions before each ride. We will focus on rider safety, how to ride in groups, race preparation & tactics, equipment, bike maintenance, nutrition for the endurance athlete and many other topics.

Group training rides are set to begin next spring as soon as weather will allow us to ride outside comfortably. We are planning to have two group rides each week, on Tuesday evenings and Saturdays. During the winter months the NI Touring Club sponsors indoor spinning classes three times each week. All Junior Spin participants will be able to attend spin classes free of charge. This is a super way to get in shape during the months we are not able to ride outdoors.

Our ultimate goal is to have the Junior Spin members participate in bike races individually and as a team. There are many opportunities in close proximity to participate in road races, time trial races, mountain bike races, and Triathlons for the adventurous types.

Cycling is a great cross-over sport for cross country runners and swimmers. Many professional cyclists got their start on a cross country course or in a swimming pool. Clear Lake native and professional cyclist Tom Zirble was a cross country runner for the Lions. Lance Armstrong started as a swimmer, moved to triathlon and then finally focused on cycling. The time in the pool at an early age eventually lead to 7 Tour de France victories!

There will be an informational meeting held on Saturday October 20th, at 3:00 at the Mason City Library in the Learning Center room. We are looking forward to seeing you there.

If you should have any question please feel free to contact any of the following individuals.

John Johnson 641-380-0166 johnjohnson116@mchsi.com

Matt Curtis 641-423-2851 waynes@netconx.net

Tim Putnam 641-422-4192 putnatim@niacc.edu