Introducing ICCC-St. Louis

This blog is an introduction to the International Christian Cycling Club- St. Louis. Wow that sounds impressive. Actually the impressive part is we have Christ in the center of our name. ICCC-STL has been in existence since 1996 and we usually have about 40 active members. We love Jesus and we love cycling, and we want these two loves of our lives, like all the loves of our lives, to be in harmony. That's what the club is about- having members' cycling be an expression of their faith, and providing a place where we can gain strength on the bike and in our faith.

One club, a part of a larger body
Just as Paul the Apostle taught us that each member of the church is part of a larger body, our local club, or "spoke" is part of a larger body also, the International Chrisitan Cycling Club. You can find out more about the parent club at www.christiancycling.com. Go there to learn about our beliefs, goals, and how to join.

Demographics
Who are we, locally? Our members range from little children (family memberships are available) to members in their 60's. I expect we'll have members in their 70's as we age and stay active. We have members who ride April through October for fun when the weather is fine, and members who ride and train year-round and race competitively on the road, on mountain bikes, on the track, and in cyclocross. Our members local members are found from Columbia, Missouri to central Illinois, with a concentration in the St. Louis metro area.

Rides
Most folks inquiring about our club want to know about our rides. Riding together is the best way to get to know about a cycling club and see how it fits. But in many ways we are a unique cycling club, because we are not centered geographically like some clubs, or focused on one type of riding, like a racing club, or a charity ride club, or a fun-ride club. We don't host "our ride" the way some bicycle shop-based clubs do. It's difficult to have a "club ride" when some members are 5, 20, or 60 years old, prefer road, mountain biking trails, or the track, vary immensely in the pace at which they ride comfortably, and are spread out geographically. But wait a minute- we do ride together! Generally small groups of 2-10 members get together with other friends as well and ride, week in and week out. Not a week goes by without some members riding together in rain, snow, blistering heat or perfect weather. One goal of this blog is to give the interested public access to our rides and activities, and contacts. Although blogspot isn't designed to work that way, we'll make it work. Here are some of the rides we do:

Spinning- our members lead at least 10 spinning classes a week

Road racing training rides- our members train year-round for road racing and there will be groups riding from the "east side" and "west county" most weekends throughout the year.

Mountain bike rides- our members are usually on the mountain bike at local trails sometime every week.

Road racing- We race at local criteriums and road races from Froze Toes in February or late March through gateway Cup on Labor day. And we host the largest, one-day road race in the midwest- Hillsboro-Roubaix- every spring.

Mountain bike racing- We race mountain bikes locally and across the country, helping to serve racers at the annual fall "Burnin at the Bluff" race at Council Bluff, and have participated in many 24 hour endurance races in Moab, Utah and other epic sites. We host a mountain bike race every year.

Cyclocross is a strange fall to early winter discipline we embracem and it's a full-on party atmosphere here in the St. Louis area. We usually have 4-8 racers in the local "Bubba" cyclocross series, and plenty of cowbell-ringing supporters. Our club hosts the local cyclocross training sessions in Forest Park each fall on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and we put on a cross race each year we can jam one into the calendar.

Charity rides like the MS-150 are well-attended by our members as well, and we have team training rides from west county that prepare our riders for that event.

Prayer groups and Bible studies: Our members host prayer groups and Bible studies. We've seen real spiritual and outreach growth since we started a weekly prayer conference call for 4 of us about 3 or 4 years ago.

This is a quick overview of who we are and what we do. There will be more to come, with times, places, and contacts, so you can get in touch with riders in your area or who ride in your "style", and start spending time on and off the bike with us!