History
Mi Duole was established in 1984 and is one of the longest established road cycling clubs in the Intermountain West. Alumni include Marty Jemison (U.S. Postal Service) and Levi Leipheimer (Radio Shack). Many people know us as Barbacoa, which has been and continues to be our main sponsor. But our team name is Mi Duole, which translates from Italian to mean “I ache” or “I’m suffering” and is earned from our history of road racing and weekly, epic, 100+ mile climb-fests. By the way, Mi Duole is correctly pronounced “mee-dwa-lay” even though everyone says “mee-dool-ay.” Let’s everyone start saying “mee-dwal-ay.”
What’s our club like?
Our membership includes road riders with a range of interests and abilities – from those who race very competitively, to those who don’t race as much anymore but enjoy riding fast centuries every weekend, to more recreational riders who have already acquired some fitness and bike handling skills to ride safely in a group. We also have a few mountain bike riders and racers too. Our core group consists of a bunch pretty mellow guys (yes guys — more on women later) in our 30s, 40s and 50s who’ve been riding and racing together for years and who enjoy 100+ mile rides in the mountains with very early departure times on Saturday mornings. Smaller groups join up for mid-week rides, usually in the canyons, and Sunday rides as well. LOTOJA is an annual tradition for many club members and we have a growing presence in some of California’s double centuries and epic mountain stage races, such as the Everest Challenge in the Eastern Sierras. That being said, testosterone-driven, super competitive egomaniacs, or newer cyclists who haven’t yet acquired the bike handling skills to ride safely in a group, or those who don’t yet have the fitness to keep up on long rides with sustained climbing, might not find our club to be a good fit.
The club’s purposes are to
- provide a consistent group of skilled riding partners and camaraderie for long weekend rides and mid-week rides;
- provide opportunities to race and/or participate in organized rides as a team;
- share wisdom and experience to riders of all abilities; and
- train and ride hard together while having a lot of fun.
What about women?
Traditionally women haven’t joined Mi Duole. Not by anyone’s choice or anything. It’s just been that way. Recently, a few women started wearing Mi Duole kits and we’d like to see more women become part of the club.
How to join
Joining Mi Duole is super easy. Dues are $25 annually per person/family and kits are around $50 each for jerseys and shorts. Send an email to miduole@gmail.com and let me know you want in. We order kits twice a year but we have clothing inventory on hand for those who join during the year. Check out our current clothing inventory and prices.
Geno
(Geno Smith – club slave)