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Newsletters
Between John Campopiano and David Steffen, 10 issues of the Modesto Roadmen Newsletter have been recovered. David contributed 3 and John 8, with one in common which they both had. The first issue we have describes itself as the third issue, many months have no newsletter, and there is a big gap at the end between November 1967 and April 1969, all pointing to the conclusion that we do not have all the newsletters that were published.
- The October, 1966 Newsletter was six pages long, unlike all others that
were a page long.
- Page 1, where we find out that Fred Brockman has just replaced Dave Steffen as president of the Modesto Roadmen, a bunch of members are listed by name, a request for "girl" members is made, and a new feature, a comic comparison between racers and tourists is introduced.
- Page 2 on which three races, the Tour Del Mar, Folsom City, and Tour de Graceada, are reviewed.
- Page 3 describes the first Mountain Loop.
- Page 4 has a (humorous? factually inaccurate?) history of Modesto Roadmen Jerseys.
- Page 5 continues articles from previous pages, and has an ad for our favorite local bike shop, Bob's Cyclery.
- Page 6 continues the review of the Folsom City Bike Race and has an article on nutrition.
- The January, 1967 Newsletter announced that the Modesto Roadmen would no longer be affiliated with Downey High School (was this truth or humor?), contains a list of events for January, a great deal of humor, and introduces the pseudonym of "Batman" for Fred Brockman (president) and notes his authorship of this newsletter.
- An announcement for a ride held January 26, 1967.
- The March, 1967 Newsletter announces the arrival of the "new" jerseys, dating this event. It contains a calendar of events.
- The April, 1967 Newsletter begins by apologizing for its lateness. Does this mean there was no February Newsletter? It contains a calendar of events for the month, dating these events for posterity. It was written by Fred Brockman.
- The May, 1967 Newsletter contains mostly humor but does include a calendar of events. It was written by Fred Brockman.
- The June, 1967 Newsletter announces the upcoming election for Modesto Roadmen officers, with some humorous discussion of various candidates. It contains a calendar of events, along with the now expected humor.
- The July, 1967 Newsletter is of unknown authorship, being signed with an unidentified alias. It contains a calendar of events and some general discussion of the "state of the club."
- The October, 1967 Newsletter contains the usual humor and a calendar of events and is authored by a Tolkien fan, perhaps Roger Farschon?
- The November, 1967 Newsletter lacks the usual calendar, appears to be authored by the same person as the October Newsletter, and contains some announcements.
- A Special Newsletter for the 1998 Tour de Graceada. This may have gone out to other clubs as well. It gives information about the race that potential riders might need.
- The March, 1969 Newsletter is almost spooky! What happened to 1968? It lacks a year, having as its date the lone word "April", but does have a list of events, one of which is Easter, and by determining what year Easter fell on that day, the year of 1969 was determined. The author is listed as KAT.
1968 ABL of A Schedule
- ABL of A or ABL stand for the Amateur Bicycle League of America, the organization that ran amateur bicycle racing in the United States from 1920 through 1975. The current organization serving in this role is USA Cycling.