FloridaVelo’s honorary member, Jerome “Jerry” Pyfrom, participated at the Ride for Hope in the Bahamas. Jerry’s commitment to make a difference was evident when he came up to Florida to spend a week training and getting ready to participate in this year’s Ride for Hope Bahamas. We are proud of Jerry, and we know his leadership will encourage others to make a difference as he has done!

The Ride for Hope Bahamas was co-founded by Stephen Holowesko and Susan Holowesko Larson.  The seven year old bike-a-thon held each Spring on the island of Eleuthera is the flagship fund raiser for the Bahamas Hope Foundation.  BHF’s goal is to help channel resources to critical programs and initiatives in The Bahamas, which enhance the treatment and care of persons battling cancer and which advance research into the cause and possible cure for cancer.  Without exception, every dollar raised by participants is applied to program support.

The team accomplished 7 Podiums, 12 Top 10.  Saturday’s Road Race : 40+ 2nd Pablo, 3rd Andy & 9th Peter, 50+ 3rd Carlos & 9th John, 60+ 2nd Pascal, P12 6th Ken.  Sunday’s Criterium:  50+ 1st Andy & 2nd Mark, 7th Carlos, 8th John, 60+ 3rd Charlie, P12 7th Ken.

Special thanks to our support group of friends and family who came out and enjoyed a fun weekend with us!

We tested our fitness and found the competition to be stronger than ever.  The team accomplished 4 Wins, 10 Podiums, and 21 Top 10s with impressive results in Saturday’s Circuit:  40+ 1st Mark, 3rd Andy & 7th Pablo, 50+ 1st Andy, 60+ 2nd Pascal & 4th Charlie, P12 7th Ken & 8th Darren; Saturday’s Time Trial: 40s 2nd Chuck, 60+ 1st Pascal, W34 2nd Kathy, P12 2nd Ken, 5th Derek & 10th Roy; Sunday’s Criterium: 40+ 3rd Todd & 5th Chuck, 60+ 2nd Charlie, W34 3rd Kathy, P12 6th Ken, 8th Darren & 10th Derek.

From the first fun ride on Friday late afternoon, it was evident that our group was ready for great times and awesome performances.  We thank the spouses, kids, and friends who traveled with us and made this trip another wonderful memory for the FV family!

Congratulations to Mark Stein for a three-peat Masters 50 overall title, to Andy Mapple for his Masters 40 overall title and his amazing 5:59 TT time, to Ken Vida for being the only non-professional rider in the Top 5 (missing the podium by 1 second) and his superb 5:42 TT time, to Marilyn Cullinane and Kim Vaughn for their 2nd and 3rd stage places in Women 123, and to Cathy Davis for the overall title in Women 4.  And as it is in the FV style and spirit, none of these accomplishments would have been possible without the relentless all out effort from Anthony Vasilas, Jimmy Page, David McEnery, Lucas Wardein, Pablo Santa Cruz, Graham White, and Peter Davis.  Kudos also to Neil Sheppard and Will Willis who joined in the fun and made a difference.

Special mention to Bob Tyler and Bob Steward for their kindness and support!

We cannot wait to return to this great event in 2013 – thanks to Jeff Major and team for producing and hosting an international caliber event!

And of course, thanks to our Sponsors who make our dream and mission possible!

Nice Article and Additional Pictures.

Credit - this picture has been provided by Jeff Major

**  2 Days of Great Bike Racing **
Join us again for one of the best Circuit Races of the season!
** 2 miles of wide open roads/turns in a park like setting **
This event is being held in conjunction with Saturday’s Tampa Downtown Twilight Criterium

***  This event is part of the GET HEALTHY CUP series ***

Every Member Must Volunteer – Please contact Mike Tomlinson for assignments.  Thank you!

EVENT FLYER:  Please download the EVENT FLYER for  and more details.

REGISTRATION:  You may register (1) ONLINE until 11:45pm on Thursday, March 29th, (2) ONSITE at the Tampa Crit on Sat  with no late charges, or (3) ONSITE at the Registration Area with a $10 late charge.

HOTELS: Holiday Inn Express – $99 – 727-577-9100. SpringHill Suites by Marriott – $129 – 727-571-1600.  Fairfield Inn & Suites – $119 – 727-572-4400. Courtyard by Marriott - $119 – 727-572-8484.  Discount Code = FloridaCycling. The Tampa Crit has arrangements with the Howard Johnson in Downtown Tampa (20 minutes drive) for $89.  Please use the following link for additional hotels in the area.  Please keep in mind that it is the St. Pete Grand Prix car race weekend as well, and most properties are filling up quickly and are not offering much of a discount.

DIRECTIONS: The start-finish and registration areas are all located on the parking lot of Scan Design, which is located on the corner of  MCI Drive & 28th Street, Pinellas Park.

PARKING:  The parking area is provided by Halkey-Roberts just across the street from the start-finish and registration areas.

VOLUNTEERS:  Please let us know if you would like to Volunteer for this event.  We would appreciate your effort and time!

Congratulations to Ken, Derek, Darren, David, Joel, Guillermo, Roy, Anthony, Jimmy P, Jimmy W, Chuck, Andy, and Pablo!

Len “coach” Altamura competed int he 70-74 age group and came in 1st in both the 5K and 10K – well done Coach!

Greg Algood competed in the 55 – 59 age group and came in 2nd in the 5K and 3rd in the 10K – well done Greg!

John Tanner, Jim Taylor, and Cathy Kamhi also qualified for the State Championships in 5K & 10K time trials as well as 20K & 40K road race!

Congratulations to everyone who contribute to the success of the team on and off the bikes!

We wish all our members a great Fall season – lift it up and finish on high!

Click the Competition’s Icon for Results & Points: