Clyde Alpert has three reasons he regularly rides his bicycle: recreation, fitness and social connections.
Now 50, the gay Chicagoan is president of the Windy City Cycling Club ( WCCC ) , Chicago's bicycle outlet for the LGBT community.
"I originally joined WCCC in 1998 to meet guys in a social environment healthier than a bar," said Alpert, who vividly recalls the smoke clouds that lingered in bars. "I quickly found a group of individuals that came from many different walks of life and brought a wealth of different interests into mine. I've made lifelong friends through the club. I also use cycling a great deal for stress release, enjoying an endorphin high, in addition to overall fitness.
"A good friend and past WCCC president, Jefferson Rogers [ said it best ] : 'My best reason for riding [ is ] I experience the surroundings wherever I go in a different, more intimate way than any other form of travel. I love seeing new places from the seat of my bike.'"
Alpert is an IT consultant who owns his own business ( BrishNEW Inc. ) providing consulting services for small and medium businesses/organizations with technology needs. He graduated from Homewood-Flossmoor High School in 1977 and the University of Michigan in 1980.
Alpert has been living in Chicago since 1982, and been cycling for the past 15 years.
"Windy City Cycling is a club for those with every level of cycling interest: from the person who wants to spend a few hours on a bicycle now and then, to those who live and breathe cycling," Alpert said. "The majority of members are recreational riders, meaning they ride at a moderate pace with lots of breaks to enjoy the urban and/or natural surroundings. We also have fitness and training rides for those more athletically-inspired. Although some competitive cyclists join us, we are not a racing team. And of course, as a GLTB club, we spend a good deal of time socializinga meal, a few drinks, an overnight stay at a gay bed & breakfast, a multiday trip to Saugatuck or parties surrounding members' life celebrations."
The WCCC's 2009 season was,"a great building year," Alpert said. "After a fairly quiet 2008, our former energetic membership director planned many rides, enlarged our membership, and inspired many of us to make cycling a bigger part of our life. With growth, the club mission and purpose can be challenged and this year's board and membership is more energetic than ever.
"I want to see every member's cycling goals realized in 2010. That may sound unachievable, but, in reality, our club is designed to give members the ability to plan their own rides, let others know what they're doing, and find friends to join them. Our calendar currently includes many types of rides, such as recreational/social, training/fitness, multiday rides, as well as events ( bike workshop/clinic, new member orientation, lakefront picnic, kayak/canoe outing, etc. ) . With the recent warm weather, members created impromptu rides not originally on the calendar, and other members joined them. No one should have to cycle alone."
There are about 100 active WCCC members, mostly from within the city limits. They range in age from the early-20s to the mid-60s.
All members are either LGBT or gay-friendly, Alpert said, and about 75 percent of the contingent is male.
"WCCC is affiliated with the League of American Bicyclists nationally and with Active Transportation Alliance ( ATA ) locally," Alpert said. "Although WCCC is not a political organization, ATA lobbies for cyclists' rights, resulting in more bike lanes, more bike racks, and more ordinances that support cycling in Chicago. WCCC will be sharing the Gay Pride Parade entry with ATA, and will be volunteering to help with Bike The Drive, ATA's largest annual cycling event."
During the winter, WCCC holds non-cycling events, such as ice skating, an evening of Cabaret, a bike swap or a coffee-shop gathering.
"I think the friendliness of the club is really one of our strong points, and the reason I originally got involved," Alpert said. "There is nothing like getting to know people on a long ride down Chicago's beautiful lakefront or North Branch Trail, two of my favorites."
But what if someone does not own a bicycle?
Well, on May 2, the WCCC has a bike clinic at Turin Bicycle in Evanston.
"If anyone needs to purchase a bicycle in today's market, we can create a segment for just thatno obligation, no commitment," Alpert said.
WCCC is clearly intertwined with in the LGBT community, often socializing with other LGBT sporting groups, such as the Frontrunners/Frontwalkers and the Chicago Smelts, and during the winter, they had spinning classes with the Chicago Razors and Tri-Women.
"We support Team Chicago, Gay Games, and [ the World ] Outgames," Alpert said. "We are an independent club, not part of a larger umbrella organization, incorporated in Illinois as a non-profit organization.
"This year, several members from New York's 'Fast and Fabulous' LGBT cycling club are joining us in our annual ride from New Buffalo to Saugatuck in August.
Many WCCC members cycled from Minneapolis to Chicago in the AIDS Rides from 1996 to 2002. Some have done the ACT Ride in Wisconsin, now in its eighth year. Many cyclists have been involved in the Ride for AIDS from 2002 to the present. Ride for AIDS Chicago is a two-day, 190-mile bicycle ride produced by Test Positive Aware Network to raise funds for HIV/AIDS services in the Chicago area.
See www.windycitycyclingclub.com .