Who We Are

WELCOME! And thank you for visiting the Petaluma Cycling Club website. We are a non-profit, inclusive, recreational cycling club of approximately 170 members with Petaluma community cycling roots dating back to the 1890's (keep reading for more on our history). We offer our members an opportunity to join with other like-minded "roadies" from a wide-range of ages, abilities and backgrounds to experience the challenge and beauty of cycling in Sonoma and Marin counties. In addition, the Club is actively involved in supporting the broader cycling community in Sonoma County, as well as local cycling-related plans and programs. 

If you are already a PCC member, use this site to learn about and register for our upcoming events; find a new or different local route through our “Popular Rides”, "SMART Routes" (using the local rail transit system) and “Ride with GPS” libraries; link up with other members for rides at your pace and on your schedule through our "Ride Connect" link; and touch base with members through the “Members’ Forum”. 

If you are not yet a PCC member and happen to be looking to ride in Petaluma, you too can check out our ride libraries for suggestions and discover why this area is one of the finest cycling areas in the world. And when you’re done with your ride, come on back and become a PCC member.

History of the Petaluma Cycling Club – Established: 1895

Petaluma has had an on-going love affair with the bicycle ever since it became a popular mode of transportation in the 1890s. Early cyclists in Petaluma enjoyed all the same benefits that we value today: a community of friends, healthy activity and extended outings in our beautiful countryside.

Petalumans, like A.H. Overman, were early adapters of this new technology. Overman was the manufacturer of the then popular Victor Bicycle, and many trade publications referred to him as the “Czar of bicycle makers.” The local press reported frequently on “scorchers”, the name given to bicycle speed-demons. 

Sonoma County riders soon organized into clubs known as ‘Wheelmen”. The earliest of these clubs were the “Healdsburg Wheelmen”, Santa Rosa’s “Empire Wheelmen” and the “PETALUMA WHEELMEN”. 

An article from an 1895 edition of the Petaluma Courier newspaper lauds the success of the Petaluma Wheelmen’s 4th of July championship bicycle races, and describes the club's plans for a banked quarter-mile track to be built adjacent to the Petaluma street railway. Another Courier newspaper account from February, 1896 describes a Wheelmen club ride up to Santa Rosa: 

“The entire day was one continued series of pileups, smashups, blowups, and upsets, but nobody was injured and nothing was ‘broke’ but bikes ... Wheelmen Clarence Ackerman was the fastest rider, returning from Santa Rosa to Petaluma in a breathtaking 64 minutes.” 

Re-established: 1995

Fast forward to January 1995, when Rick Moeller, Dave Trumbo, Mike Borse, Michael Troy and Jim Janakes officially re-established the Petaluma Wheelmen as a local cycling club. PWCC continued to grow and thrive in succeeding years, staying true to its mission to "create opportunities for cyclists of all levels to meet, make friends, ride and explore together in a safe and supportive environment."

Re-named: 2024

Coming out of the COVID pandemic, our members overwhelming decided that the Club needed to change its name in keeping with our mission to create a supportive environment that is inclusive of all cyclists. As such, "Wheelmen" was dropped from the name and we officially became the "Petaluma Cycling Club". Even with the name change, one thing remains in common with those Wheelmen (and Wheelwomen) from more than a century ago: our main goal is to provide a cycling community for all those who share a passion for exploring the world on two wheels.  

Photos: Sonoma County Library Digital Archives