History
by Ed Acosta
Our bike club was organized by Gary Nelson and Dave Gruver in the fall of 1987. Gary and Dave were off-road motorcyclists who decided upon a bike club and advertised in the Redlands Facts for potential members to meet at Shakeys Pizza in Redlands. What emerged that evening was a club called the "Unnamed Bike Club" with about a dozen members who lived locally. Soon Gary decided to merge the club with the city of Redlands recreational department. As such, the club made use of the city treasury and its club members were covered by the city's liability insurance. Two non-cycling representatives of the city were required to attend our club meetings to provide oversight. The club also received a lot of support in the beginning from the local bike dealers including Craig Kundig of "Redlands Schwinn" and Ernie Briese of "Briese Schwinn" in Yuciapa.
Club members voted on a name for the club on December 1987 choosing "Redlands Water Bottle Transit Company" nominated by Ed Acosta. Ed received the grand prize, a Cateye computer from Craig Kundig. Today, when people ask why we chose "Redlands Water Bottle Transit Company" as a name for our club I like to tell them, "Its hard to say!"
Club meetings were held at the Redlands Community Center on Lugonia, but the location was quickly changed to Uncle Howies Pizza to take advantage of their Tuesday night $6.99 family pizza and pitcher of beer special. Soon after, the club found a meeting place at the Joslyn Center which served us for several years until the present A.K.Smiley Library location. The April 1990 meeting provided the very first (and last) Men's Legs Contest judged by the women members. No man was exempt from participating. Categories included 'shaved' and 'hairy'. That same evening our members unanimously adopted "Bike Shorts" as the name for our newsletter, the name supplied by Susan Kovacevich.
Instantly, the beach ride from Yorba Linda down the Santa Ana river trail became a monthly ritual, alternating between Saturday and Sunday to include our Adventist friends. The Studio Café in Balboa was the usual destination where we listened to live jazz and indulged in a very potent blue drink called "Adios Mama." Other ride destinations included Tom's Farms in Glen Ivy (great exotic and imported beers), the Amtrak San Diego century (we could bring beer on board the train), Lake Perris, Oak Glen, Palm Springs and breakfast at "Pasttime Jacks Café" in Lakeview. Club members also participated in popular pay rides such as the "Kangaroo Baggs" Ventura ride, the Ride Around the Bear, the Rosarito to Ensenada ride, and the Solvang Century. Club rides were ranked by level of difficulty rather than grouping riders by their level of ability, which was possible when RWBTC membership was small. While RWBTC remained small for many years, membership has grown substantially in recent years. By 1996 there were 51 individuals and families in the club. In 1997 it had grown to 110, and today's membership stands at about 140 individuals and families.