Our Legacy - Niagara Freewheelers

Legacy Tree

Do you know what makes a really great cycling club? Really great people! On September 13, 2024 Freewheelers gathered at Harold Black Park to honour those members who have gone ‘above and beyond’ in their service to the Club .

A plaque situated next to a stately Honey Locust Tree 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.

Honorees

Bill Stewart (Founder) ~ Virginia Stewart (Founder) ~ Tom Bailey ~ Liz Barber ~ Frank Barnsley ~ Walter Berg ~ Jere Brown ~ Laura Bruce ~ Ann Davies ~ Peter Davies ~ Rita Dillon ~ Paul Dillon ~ Phil Dodd ~ Pat Dunphy ~ Linda Emslie ~ Bill Emslie ~ Dave Featherstone ~ Ken Forgeron ~ Rod Forrester ~ Chris Frere ~ Ron Goff ~ John Helm ~ Jane Hughes ~ Dave Hunt ~ Mark Kawabe ~ Marian Landry ~ Claudette Losier ~ Ron Matsushita ~ Mike Menicanin ~ Dennis Munn ~ George Nicholson ~ Paul Pattison ~ Frank Pravitz ~ Lynda Purpura ~ Janet Rivers ~ Bob Romanuk ~ Betty Saari ~ Drew Semple ~ Susan Sparrow ~ Richard Sparrow ~ Eveline Stout ~ John Swart ~ Hans Taal ~ Suzette Taylor ~ Evan Taylor ~ Linda Thomas ~ Annette Urlocker ~ Peter Warwick ~ Sylvia Wheeler

PHOTO CREDIT: My Niagara Online/My Pelham

Remembering…

Bill passed away Thursday, October 25, 2012 at home with family and friends. Bill and Virginia Stewart founded the Freewheelers.

Former Freewheeler, Tom Bailey passed away on Saturday, March 17, 2018. Tom was the major driving force behind the development of many of our club’s ride maps and cue sheets.

Jane Hughes was born in British Columbia and Pat Dunphy was from England. Jane spent most of her childhood in Mississauga and then lived in the Niagara region from her early 20’s. Both were avid cyclists and living in St. Catharines when they met. Together they became involved in the local cycling community, joined the Freewheelers, and had great dreams for the future of cycling in Niagara.

Frank Barnsley passed away on February 6, 2025. He was our role model, mentor, and good friend. He joined the Freewheelers in 1996 following bypass surgery and quickly made cycling with the Freewheelers one of his passions.

Suzette joined the Freewheelers in 1994 and for years was a longtime, active, involved member of the Club. In the early years she held the position of Communications Director and later as Publicity Director produced many amazing, creative newsletters. She was always ready to share her artistic talents. She was previously honoured as an Outstanding Freewheeler at the Legacy Tree dedication at Harold Black Park in Fonthill on September 13, 2024.

Use this link to embed the Niagara Freewheelers ride schedule into your Google Calendar or Apple Calendar.

Our Rides

Our rides are for every level of interest and ability. There is no better way to experience Niagara’s natural beauty than on a bicycle!
Each ride has a designated start time and location, rating (speed to expect), distance, terrain, and is led by an experienced Tour Leader.
For any given ride, the Tour Leader may make last minute changes in the route due to road problems, weather conditions, riders’ requests, etc. Therefore, the cue sheet/map you download may not always match the actual route taken on the ride.
Rides designated as ‘group’ rides do not have a cue sheet/map. The Tour Leader determines the route. If there is no Tour Leader, anyone present can volunteer to be the Tour Leader, and the ‘group’ can decide on the route.
In order for a ride to proceed as an official Freewheelers ride, there must be a designated Tour Leader (either the Tour Leader named in the Ride Schedule or a member who volunteers to be the Tour Leader) AND a Ride Liability Release Form must be signed by all riders; otherwise, the ride is designated as an unofficial ride.

More Ride Info & Links Cue Sheets & Maps Sort Rides Tour Start Codes List

RWGPS routes, cue sheets/maps used in the Ride Schedule may not be up-to-date or reflect current road conditions. If you choose to use them, it is recommended that you research current road conditions of the route to ensure that they are still viable. Users of these RWGPS routes, cues sheets/maps bear full responsibility for their own safety.

To record rides or download routes for turn-by-turn navigation to a smartphone with the RWGPS app, you currently need to subscribe to RWGPS and join our Niagara Freewheelers RWGPS Club Account at a minimum. You can also download RWGPS routes and load them to a compatible GPS enabled bike computer (e.g. Garmin, Wahoo, etc.) for turn-by-turn navigation by joining our RWGPS account.