65TH ANNIVERSARY CENTURY and HALF-CENTURY RIDES
The year was 1945. World War II ended and eclipsed every news event of the year, except one: The Los Angeles Wheelmen Bicycle Club was re-invented!
Join the Los Angeles Wheelmen in commemorate 65 years of bicycling Los Angeles and Southern California in our Anniversary Century and Half-Century Celebration Rides!
When: Sunday, September 19, starting at 7:30 a.m.
Where: Starting at the Beverly Hills Tennis Center at 325 S. La Cienega Blvd. 90210 -- plenty of free parking.
The ride fee of $30 includes SAG support, two rest stops and a delicious lunch. The Wheelmen will donate $5 for each
rider to the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC), a nonprofit organization working to make our diverse county a safer, better and more bike-able community for riders like YOU!
REGISTER TODAY! On-line registration at
www.active.com
Mail-in registration form and waiver are on the Wheelmen website at www.lawheelmen.org
Don't Miss out and Register early: The Anniversary Century and Half-Century are limited to a total 250 Registered riders. Check this website to see if day-of-ride walk-ups are welcome. Rider fee on September 19: $40.
LA Wheelman is generously donating a portion of the registration fees to LACBC to support advocacy and a more bike-able LA.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
City archives reveal that the original Los Angeles Wheelmen bicycle club was in full force in 1893, a decade after the invention of the bicycle chain. That club's fate is unknown, but the "new" Wheelmen emerged in 1945 to carry on the name and the determination to conquer the city streets on two wheels.
The Anniversary Century and Half-Century reflect that resolve. Both routes take riders east to downtown for a scenic urban cruise, and then head north. Century riders get their first break at Arcadia Park before heading for the hills of Glendale and Griffith Park for lunch. From there, they'll explore the San Fernando Valley, stopping for a break at Reseda Park. The return winds through the Valley, then up and over Sepulveda and back to Beverly Hills. Half-Century riders take the same route, but skip a trip to Santa Anita. They go above and around the Rose Bowl, through Verdugo Park to Griffith
Park with lunch along the way. Then 50-mile riders turn for home, riding across the Longfellow Bridge and onward to Beverly Hills.
Volunteers Needed! If you would like to help at the ride start and finish or the rest stops (or both), please email Kermit Ganier at kimkong@aol.com or Pam Leven at
grandtour@pobox.com
