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Athlete Spotlight
Do you know someone that has just finished a great race? Someone that has made selfless contributions to our communities? Or someone that has just pure heart and passion for the sports? How about someone that has been through death and back, overcome life difficulties and still participate in the sports give it 150%? Great accomplishments and perseverance deserve to be recognized. E-mail the webmaster and nominate them to be on Athlete Spotlight and let the world get to know them as well. Each month, we will feature a local runner, swimmer, cyclist or triathlete on our Athlete Spotlight. If they are selected, they will be invited by our webmaster for a one-on-one interview. It will be all about them!! Nominations are coming in fast!!!
Athlete Spotlight on:
Seminole Heights Bicycle Club (SHBC)
Get Active Tampa sat down with a group of cycling enthusiasts, the club’s organizers Alan Snel, Mike Limerick and Steve Swiger, to get the story on how SHBC got started and what makes it such a success so early on in the short history of the club.
GAT: Mike, thank you for the opportunity to sit down with you, Alan and Steve to learn more about the club. So tell me, how did this club get started?
Mike: Well, we had an idea of setting up a bike club that is catered to residents in the Seminole Heights area and we wanted it to be something laid back, casual and family oriented. There are a lot of bike clubs out there that are for road cyclists looking for speed and really not much out there for the leisure riders. We thought we would set up a bike club that would fill that gap.
Alan: Yeah, one January, Mike and I got together and brainstormed ideas. We threw around the idea of a bike club in the community and received great responses. A month later, the club was born and we had over 35 people in our first meeting. We had committees set up that day and with volunteers taking various responsibilities.
Steve: A lot of what we do is on a volunteer basis. Alan has been our liaison with the city and local cycling communities because of his involvement in cycling over the years; Mike actually got the business cards printed and Rick Hickman built the website for our club.
GAT: You guys are really in it to make this work!!
Alan: Yeah, we thought about the alternative which is to have more structure, have a president, a board, charge a membership due, etc. but we wanted something that is more casual and more fun but less politics so we decided to run this on a volunteer basis and so far it has been working really well.
GAT: So what are the requirements to become a club member?
Steve: There’s really no requirement other than you must wear a helmet when you ride with us. There is no dues, no form to fill out. We are based in Seminole Heights but you do not have to be a Seminole Heights resident to join us on our rides.
Mike: That is correct. We even have people coming from Riverview to ride with us.
GAT: What are some of the club rides?
Mike: All our rides are on Saturdays, starting at 8:30am and from Seminole Heights. On the first Saturday of each month, we have a family, kid-friendly 5 mile ride around the neighborhood. Then on the second Saturday of each month, we have an intermediate ride that is about 10 miles. It goes along the Hillsborough River and it’s more of an urban ride that goes to into downtown Tampa, the convention center and back to Seminole Heights. And on the third Saturday of each month, we have a little more fast-paced ride that is about 20 to 22 miles that goes to Davis Island and back to Seminole Heights. So there’s something for everyone.
Steve: There is more information about the rides on our website www.seminoleheightsbicycleclub.com. And you can e-mail us with questions, we do monitor our e-mail regularly.
Alan: We also attend special events to promote our bicycle club. We participated in Earth Day Tampa in April where we were the only bicycle club participated. We also have social events where members get together outside of our regular rides. We had a bike-in movie night not too long ago and 35 people came out. Some of them even hauled the food in trailers behind their bikes!!
Then in July, in celebration of the Tour de France, we contacted Chipotle, which sponsored a team this year in the Tour de France, to see if they would help sponsor our Chipotle ride. They were happy to help us out. One Saturday, 50 of our members rode to the Chipotle restaurant in south Tampa and enjoyed complimentary burritos. It turned out to be a great success.
Mike: Another social event in the works in another movie night on October 18, 9pm. You can check the club’s website for more details.
GAT: What are you hoping this bicycle club will become in the future?
Alan: Well, we really are very happy with how much support we’ve received so far. This has already exceeded our expectation. On our first official club ride, we even had Mayor Pam Iorio join us for the ride. Part of what we do is to bring cycling to people who otherwise won’t want to bike. We also want to bring community awareness to bicycling safety and with the Mayor joining us for the ride; she got to see firsthand the need for bike lanes in the city and education of bicycling safety to cyclists and motorists alike.
Mike: We feel that bicycling is a recreational sport for everyone. However, because of the unknowns of cycling on the roads, many people decided that it is just too dangerous for them to cycle. A lot of us have been participating in road cycling for a long time and are aware of the rules of the road. Part of what we do is leading the rides and educating riders about road cycling techniques, traffic negotiation and other important safety issues. Many families would not have gone bicycling had they not been led on a ride.
GAT: What other events does the club participate in?
Alan: Well, although it is not an official club event, I am very involved in the Bicycle Bash event that is being held in St. Petersburg in October. It is basically an event that is all about bicycles. There will be demos, vendors, swap meet and more. It has attracted cyclists of all abilities including road cyclists, fat-tire, hybrid, fixed gear… it is just like a flea market for cycling enthusiasts. This year the event is even more special since it is being held in conjunction with the St. Pete Bike Club’s Share the Road Ride. The event is also held ahead of the Florida Bicycle Association’s annual meeting in St. Pete as well. Steve has built a very nice website for the event with all the details on it, so go check it out.
GAT: Well, I have to say that you are all doing amazing things for the cycling community and bringing cycling to people in all walks of life. Good luck with everything.
Mike, Alan & Steve: Thanks.
Alan: We actually have 2 adult helmets to give away free. For those that do not have a helmet and wish to ride with us, they can contact me.
GAT: Great, thanks for your time.
The Seminole Bicycle Club (SHBC) is an informal bicycle club based in the Seminole Heights area of Tampa, FL. SHBC regularly plans 3 different ride types: Kid-Friendly Family Rides; Longer, slow-paced rides on local Seminole Heights streets; and faster 15 to 30 mile rides which begin and end in Seminole Heights. They also hold an occasional special bicycle event that celebrates the Seminole Heights community. No fees or membership, just folks having fun.
On a personal note: when I first contacted Mike Limerick for an interview, I honestly did not think how the SHBC would be any different from many other local bike clubs… aggressive riders, all out pace and often riding with racers. Upon talking to them, I realize that the SHBC fills an important gap in the cycling community by bringing the joy of cycling to average folks that have never been catered to. I would have been happy just speaking to Mike about the club, but the club’s other organizers voluntarily showed up for the interview. After talking to them, I realized why this club is so successful.