Description
Legacy Project
Know what makes a great cycling club? Really great people! And in that large group, there are many who are simply outstanding.
In 1991 Bill and Virginia Stewart, seeking fellow cyclists, invited others to join them for a ride and so the Niagara Freewheelers came into being. The Club’s 30th anniversary occurred during COVID. It is milestones like this that provided an opportunity for us to reflect back on how we got here and thus we began our Legacy Project to honour outstanding members from 1991 to the present.
In the last 33 years, the Freewheelers have been fortunate to have had members who have gone far beyond the expected. They have given generously of their time, their expertise, and their energies. They have built the Club from small beginnings to the vibrant organization we enjoy today. Some concentrated on building the club…forming an executive, creating a constitution and by-laws and later incorporating. They dedicated themselves to decision making and finding solutions that benefit all. Many served for multiple years, taking on various assignments and projects, starting up new Club ventures or adding to the ones already in place, and being the kind of people who were there helping to set up a party and staying until the last dustpan was put away.
Others have taken a political role….urging municipalities to add bike lanes, improve bike safety, and to consider the needs of cyclists in all their decisions. A Freewheeler member was the driving force behind the creation of the Greater Niagara Circle Route, an absolute jewel that we are so privileged to have in our backyard.
Each one of these people has elevated the status of the Freewheelers from ‘just a bike club’ to a recognized, valued, and contributing member of the Niagara Region.
In honour of the Founders and these outstanding members we are dedicating a tree in Harold Black Park, where rides have started since the formation of the Club. You can see in the picture a beautiful Honey Locust with a bench just beneath it and a few metres away is a bicycle repair stand.
The dedication plaque reads:
This tree is dedicated to the outstanding members of the Niagara Freewheelers Bicycle Touring Club in recognition of their time and talents spent in service to the Club and to the advancement of recreational cycling in the Niagara Region.
Coming soon to the website: under Our Legacy tab (sub tab of The Club) – a list of members’ names who have been honoured as outstanding members.
Adopt-a-Road
The Freewheelers joined the Adopt-a-Road program and as a Club, we provided twenty years of caring for three kilometres of Lakeshore Road and Newark Park in Niagara-on-the-Lake. It was managed by Peter and Ann Davies with help from other members who would come out three times a year to do the major pickups. Our new Adopt-a-Road location at Harold Black Park will be much more convenient as rides from the park take place two or three times a week. There will be times when we will stay after a ride and ensure that the park and Haist Street remain pristine. Pat Paolone and Susan Sparrow have kindly offered to oversee this venture and we appreciate their generosity.
Join us for the Tree Dedication and we will also show you where the Freewheeler Adopt-a-Road sign has been placed on Haist Street. If you can’t ride, join us for the dedication.
Start Time: 9 am
Ride Start Time: ‘C’ Group Ride follows the Tree Dedication
Start Location: Harold Black Park, 953 Haist Street, Fonthill
