Fall Challenge Road Race: The Memorial Lap dedicated to victims of the 911 tragedy.
A look back at the year shows the Freewheelers were a busy and successful group during 2001. It all started with the generous support of our sponsors. We were fortunate this year to work with some great companies—Thanks to our Sponsors!
NorthCoastColor Technologies (lead sponsor for 2001)
French Coffee House (new in 2001)
Skyway Drive-in Restaurants (2nd year of significant support)
Joanne Fabrics (a steady supporter)
Munroe Falls Dentistry (Thank you, Mike Evan!)
Tejon Builders (Brad’s 2nd year of support)
Rudy Project Sunglasses (2nd year of merchandise support)
Eddy’s Bike Shop (provided access to Vittoria, Gu, and Trek)
The Club made a concerted effort to "give back" to the community this year. We had success with a number of events.
National Park Service Cycling Rodeo: Freewheelers provided safety instruction, sprint demonstrations, cycling displays, and other support to NPS for their rodeo held at the Boston Store in the CVNP. This was an opportunity for Club members to promote our sport and help children learn the basics of cycling and safety. About 20 members gave their Saturday to help this worthy cause.
Youth Outdoors Bike Repair Program: Fifteen Freewheelers spent a Friday evening deep in the woods of the Metro Parks to fix bikes. We provided parts, labor, and the mechanical skill to repair and rebuild 30 bicycles for this Metro Parks organization. Youth Outdoors uses the bikes in programs to introduce urban children to outdoors activities.
911 Fundraiser/Memorial Race: Raised $1,344 for the FDNY. (See race below.)
Loaner Program: A new program, Freewheelers made bikes available to introduce new individuals to the thrills of cycling.
Training Rides: In addition to offering good times and good training to our members, our open invitation to the public to join us on training rides was well received and many new faces participated in the weekly events.
The Freewheelers furthered their reputation as northeast Ohio’s most active sponsor of bicycle racing, conducting six major and 14 local race events.
Race at the Lakes: This tremendously successful four-race series is the annual kick off of the racing season for the Ohio/Western Pennsylvania region.
The Club thanks the many members who helped with the series, especially Rick Schwarz who runs RATL, and Joanne Liolios who faithfully sits through the (sometimes unpleasant) weather to handle registration.
Ohio State USCF State Road Race Championship: As co-sponsor with CVV, we helped bring the state’s premier cycling event to the area this year. The USCF state championship was held in the CVNP in June. Many members helped with the work, we especially want to thank Cathy Bedell.
TOP Series: This season-long series of fifteen "grass-root" Club races provides a great opportunity for local, low-key races for all members to enjoy. They are also a great training ground for the novice racer to learn the sport. This year we added two new events—a Two-Man Time Trial and a Sprint competition. TOP participation was back to nearly the levels of five years ago.
All the credit for the success of the program goes to Tom Collier. He planned the events, set-up the courses, lined-up marshals, and worked every event while the rest of us enjoyed the race! See the list of TOP award winners by clicking here.
Freewheeler Fall Challenge: Scheduled for September 23rd, this race became a fundraiser and memorial to the victims of the 911 tragedy. Racers donated money and the Club made a significant contribution. A total of $1,344 was raised for the FDNY. Everyone who participated in the five-mile parade lap in memory of the victims was touched by the experience. The photo below shows the racers on the parade lap.
Denis Osowski and George Liolios were responsible for making the race a fundraiser/ memorial and Tom Collier did a huge amount of work to organize and run the race—thanks guys!
Points Program & Uniform Reimbursement: We tried a new program this year. The objective was to 1) Provide support to racers. And, 2) have a season-long "competition" for Club members to be rewarded for both the quantity and quality of their races. Seven Cat 2/3 racers got their entire uniform reimbursed. Three other members received jersey reimbursement.
The Club thanks George Liolios who designed the points system and broke a lot of pencils trying to keep track of all the results! The program was definitely a success and we’ve learned a few things to make it even better next year.
Our 60+ members were active in racing, promoting, and nurturing bike racing and safe cycling throughout the year. We helped boost the awareness, acceptance, and safety of our sport. We made great progress in furthering our goal of being a "Developmental Bicycle Racing Club." Club members were also active, successful race participants. We entered over 200 races, we tallied thirteen first place finishes and placed in the top ten 96 times.
We look forward to even more success in 2002!
Fall Challenge Road Race: The Memorial Lap dedicated to victims of the 911 tragedy.