Old Kranks Bicycle Club members ride circles around Westlake Lake.
By MAIJA-LIISA NAGARAJAN
L A Times August 19, 1999

Every Wednesday, Hal Dale bicycles around Westlake Lake with his friends in the Old Kranks Bicycle Club.

After the club rides around the lake two or three times, they will have coffee, bagels and conversations at the East Coast Bagel Shop on Westlake Boulevard.

Dale, who is from Malibu, said he joined the club a year ago because of the old saying: there's safety in numbers.

"I'm a coward. I don't like to ride PCH. This is an extremely safe club," he said.

The Old Kranks aren't just any bicycle club. To join, you have to be 50 or older. The club is affiliated with the Goebel Senior Adult Center. Besides being of a certain age, the only requirement for the four-year-old group is a $5 annual fee.

The club meets at 8 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Coco's Restaurant in Westlake Village, for rides along the lake. On weekends, the club takes a 30-mile ride along the coast or from Ventura to Ojai.

Club president Carter McIntyre said the group's popularity is at an all-time high, with about 80 members. Usually, 17 to 20 riders join in on the weekday rides around the lake.

Some members ride only on weekdays, some only on weekends, he said.

"To my knowledge, we are the fastest group at the Goebel Senior Center, McIntyre said.

On Saturday, six members of the group will participate in the Sea Breeze Bike Ride that starts at Ventura Harbor and finishes in Santa Barbara: a 100-mile round trip unless you hitch a ride back.

"It's an all-day affair," said Tom Nussmeier, 63, of Newbury Park. "It'll take eight to 10 hours if you average 10 miles an hour. You get on a bike and enjoy it, or suffer."

Nussmeier and his wife Marie have been with the group for two years. Nussmeier now heads up the Sunday rides and longer weekend trips, such as one from Santa Ana to San Diego in October.

Allen Arnold, 68, will also participate in the Cool Breeze. He travels from Reseda five days a week to ride with the club and says his health has improved tremendously since joining 18 months ago.

"I had two open-heart surgeries and in 1991 the doctors wanted to do a third," Arnold said. "I elected not to have the surgery because I didn't think I would get off the table. I was introduced to cycling and it took off from there.

"It takes a lot of commitment. Six months ago, I took myself off all my heart medication. With riding, my heart got stronger and the blood pressure went down."

Arnold said it wasn't easy in the beginning. The first time he rode with the club, he took one lap around the lake before he started huffing and puffing.

He didn't return for two weeks. After three months, he felt comfortable riding three laps around the lake with the Old Kranks.

"Cycling is a way of life for me. Tom (Nussmeier) and I recently bought bikes that cost more than our first cars," he said.

For more information about the Old Kranks Bicycle Club, call (805) 381-2744 or (818) 341-1562.