LAKE ERIE CYCLE FEST TO
SHOWCASE ERIE REGION
BIKEABILITY
The Erie Sports Commission announced
Lake Erie Cycle Fest, a four-day event
highlighting the Erie region’s bikeability, which
will debut Thursday, Aug. 10, through Sunday,
Aug. 13. The event will include EmergyCare’s
annual Tour de West County, a long-standing
summer bike tour already popular in the region,
on Saturday, August 12. Proceeds from the
weekend-long event will benefit EmergyCare,
WQLN, and the YMCA of Greater Erie.
The event will kick off on Thursday,
August 10, with a fun “slow roll ride” around
Downtown Erie, presented by Bike Erie and
Erie Arts and Culture. Plenty of surprises will
be in store for cyclists as they pass by cultural
icons for selfie opportunities, where riders will
be encouraged to post photos to social media
using #ErieCycleFest. The ride will conclude
with live music at an Erie Downtown Block
Party in Perry Square.
Friday, Aug. 11, will feature the weekend’s
first big ride, with the YMCA’s Jelly Jar Ride.
The event will start and finish in Harborcreek,
with 25- and 50-mile loops offered to
participants, showcasing Erie’s scenic vineyards,
fruit farm region, and lakeshore in North East.
A picnic will follow the non-competitive ride.
The YMCA’s portion of the proceeds from
Lake Erie Cycle Fest will directly benefit the Y’s
Food + Fun Bus, a mobile meals site for kids in
need.
EmergyCare’s Tour de West County, Erie
County’s premier bicycle tour, will provide four
scenic ride routes on Saturday, Aug. 12. This
non-competitive event will feature a 12-, 25-,
50-, and a new 100-mile loop that highlight
western Erie County’s rolling farmland, narrow
lanes, and old-growth forest. Rides for this
event will begin and end at YMCA’s Camp
Sherwin, which offers plenty of amenities for
the whole family, including a pond for fishing,
swimming pool, splash pad, hiking trails,
basketball courts, and access to the beach.
The weekend will wrap up on Sunday, Aug.
13, with an Alley Cat Bike Race, a scavenger
hunt themed ride, which is quickly becoming
one of the fastest-growing themes for
adventure bike rides in the country. The event
will begin at Frontier Park, where cyclists
will be given the race’s first stop location. At
that location, the race’s remaining nine stop
locations will be revealed, and cyclists will be
tasked to determine the best way to connect
them. The total length of the ride will be
between 10 and 15 miles. Prizes from New
Belgium Brewing will be given at the end of
the ride.
For more information, including ride times
and registration information, visit www.
eriecyclefest.org.
RACE OF CHAMPIONS
ROC 250 WEEKEND TO
BE HELD AT LAKE ERIE
SPEEDWAY FOR THE
FIRST TIME SEPTEMBER
28-30
The Erie Sports Commission has
announced that Presque Isle Downs and
Casino will serve as the title sponsor for the
67th Annual Race of Champions when it
makes its debut at Lake Erie Speedway Sept.
28 through Sept. 30. The three-day event is
the final event of the Race of Champions’
2017 asphalt racing calendar. The event is
the second-longest consecutive-running auto
racing event in North America, second only
to the Indianapolis 500.
This marks the return of the event to
Pennsylvania after a 25-year absence. That
1991 event was held on the ¾-mile Pocono
Raceway, and it had previously been run at
the legendary Langhorne Speedway, where
the very first Race of Champions event was
held in 1951. Since then, the race has been
hosted 35 times in Pennsylvania between
Langhorne and Pocono. Event organizers
anticipate 100 top racing teams from New
York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to take
part in the event.
“The Race of Champions Weekend is going
to be an exciting addition to Erie’s sports
calendar, and we couldn’t be happier to play
a part in its success,” said Jeff Favre, Vice
President and General Manager of Presque
Isle Downs and Casino.
Race of Champions is a sanctioning body
presenting modified and stock car racing
on asphalt and dirt surfaces throughout
the northeast, with events in New York,
Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
“We are thrilled to announce Presque Isle
Downs and Casino as the title sponsor of
our premier event, the Race of Champions
250 Weekend,” said Joe Skotnicki, Race of
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