The fastest moving rainbow on Owasco Lake will appear Sunday.
“It's a very colorful event,” said Owasco Flyers Bike Race co-director Jack Kirch. “Most everyone wears a brightly colored jersey, different color shorts and helmets.”
For more than 20 years, cyclists have come out for the 36-mile race to the finish line. Through the event's history, the course has changed three times, but this year's course has been the same for the past seven years.
Starting at Emerson Park, cyclists will travel around Owasco Lake to Moravia and finish on Swartout Road, which will be closed between 11:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.
Besides the finish-line road, the rest of the route will be open, but drivers shouldn't expect to travel at their normal speeds.
“Traffic heading south on West Lake Road will probably want to take an alternate route,” Kirch said, as passing a line of cyclists can become difficult in a race the size of this.
While entries are typically received from throughout the state and Pennsylvania, this year there are already entries from North Carolina and likely elsewhere, as
250 entries are expected by race day.
“It's quite an event,” Kirch said.
All skill levels are encouraged to come out for the scenic ride. The race starts as a mass at 10 a.m., but anyone who is uncomfortable riding in a group can start at the back.
The winner is expected to finish the course in about an hour and a half, while the whole race will likely end within two hours, give or take, he said.
The fastest pedaler can expect to go home with a cash prize, and about 20 percent of all competitors on Sunday will win some type of award. “All you have to do is sweat for 36 miles,” Kirch said.
The makings of the race each year is not only an effort of the organizing committee, but the community as a whole.
It will take about 50 volunteers to orchestrate the event making sure times are kept, refreshments are distributed and mechanical bike problems are taken care of.
The state police and sheriff's department also give their time
for the event and local retailers
like Wegmans supplies refreshments, and Nash's Art and
Framing donated the frames for the prizes.
Other sponsors making the event possible are AAI, AGT, DIC, Owens Illinois, Mike Cuddy from Smith Barney, Max Studios Displays, Gould's Pumps, Michaels and Smolak Trial Lawyers, Mike Morino Flight Instruction, D.W. Diesel, Geneva Bicycle Center, the YMCA and Tangidne Corp.
“This town is just a great place,” Kirch said. “We get a lot of support.”
The proceeds from the race, however, will go toward sending disadvantaged youth to YMCA summer camps.
So go ride for a cause.
Staff writer Laura Boyce can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 236 or at laura.boyce@lee.net
For more than 20 years, cyclists have come out for the 36-mile race to the finish line. Through the event's history, the course has changed three times, but this year's course has been the same for the past seven years.
Starting at Emerson Park, cyclists will travel around Owasco Lake to Moravia and finish on Swartout Road, which will be closed between 11:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.
Besides the finish-line road, the rest of the route will be open, but drivers shouldn't expect to travel at their normal speeds.
“Traffic heading south on West Lake Road will probably want to take an alternate route,” Kirch said, as passing a line of cyclists can become difficult in a race the size of this.
While entries are typically received from throughout the state and Pennsylvania, this year there are already entries from North Carolina and likely elsewhere, as
250 entries are expected by race day.
“It's quite an event,” Kirch said.
All skill levels are encouraged to come out for the scenic ride. The race starts as a mass at 10 a.m., but anyone who is uncomfortable riding in a group can start at the back.
The winner is expected to finish the course in about an hour and a half, while the whole race will likely end within two hours, give or take, he said.
The fastest pedaler can expect to go home with a cash prize, and about 20 percent of all competitors on Sunday will win some type of award. “All you have to do is sweat for 36 miles,” Kirch said.
The makings of the race each year is not only an effort of the organizing committee, but the community as a whole.
It will take about 50 volunteers to orchestrate the event making sure times are kept, refreshments are distributed and mechanical bike problems are taken care of.
The state police and sheriff's department also give their time
for the event and local retailers
like Wegmans supplies refreshments, and Nash's Art and
Framing donated the frames for the prizes.
Other sponsors making the event possible are AAI, AGT, DIC, Owens Illinois, Mike Cuddy from Smith Barney, Max Studios Displays, Gould's Pumps, Michaels and Smolak Trial Lawyers, Mike Morino Flight Instruction, D.W. Diesel, Geneva Bicycle Center, the YMCA and Tangidne Corp.
“This town is just a great place,” Kirch said. “We get a lot of support.”
The proceeds from the race, however, will go toward sending disadvantaged youth to YMCA summer camps.
So go ride for a cause.
Staff writer Laura Boyce can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 236 or at laura.boyce@lee.net
