Fred A. Birchmore circled the globe by bicycle in 1935 at age 25. The entire trip, through Europe, Asia and the United States covered 40,000 miles. He wore out seven sets of tires.

Grand Valley State University’s Cycling Club has not made its way around the world just yet, but its members have covered quite a bit of ground locally.

The GVSU Cycling Club participates in all types of cycling, including road racing, mountain biking, XC racing, free riding, downhill and general training. As a member of the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference, the group attends race weekends in the fall and spring.

Prior racing experience is not necessary to join the club.

Besides racing, the group also goes on free rides.

“We quite often go on easy rides as time permits during the school year,” said Corey Kuks, the Cycling Club’s financial officer. “We can be found in the surrounding area of the Allendale Campus as it offers safer routes out toward Marne, Coopersville and out toward Grand Haven.”

Kuks is a transfer student to GVSU from Grand Rapids Community College. He said he got involved with the club because it was next to impossible for him to find anyone to ride with in the 18-25 age group.

“It also enabled me to meet new people with a common interest when I transferred from GRCC, making the transition 100 times easier,” Kuks added.

The group currently has 29 members registered on STUEY, but there are about 15 members who actively participate in races and the occasional group rides.

Though no prior experience is required, there still are steps interested students must follow to join the club.

Club members must be enrolled as a full-time student at GVSU to be eligible to race, but any GVSU student or faculty may be a member.

Kuks suggests that any students interested in joining log onto STUEY and apply to be part of the club during the summer.

“As the fall semester approaches, next year we will announce an informational meeting within the first three weeks of class,” he said. “At that point we ask for dues, which were $100 this past year and got you a GVSU Cycling jersey. The rest of the money will go to help the race team as most of the race weekends are a long drive requiring a place to stay.”

The STUEY site can be found by searching the Cycling Club on the GVSU Web site. The club’s Web site is http://groups.google.com/group/gvsu-cycling-club. The Google site serves as a forum for members to contact the entire group and organize a ride.

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