WHAT’S NEWS IN WEST COUNTY
LAKE ERIE CYCLE FEST TO
SHOWCASE ERIE REGION
BIKEABILITY
The Erie Sports Commission has
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,
Aug. 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.
6 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE | West County
EmergyCare’s Tour de West County, Erie
County’s premier bicycle tour, will provide
four scenic ride routes on Saturday, August
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 with determining 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.
FLYBOARD NATIONAL
TOUR READY TO MAKE A
SPLASH IN ERIE
Event to Join Annual Erie Poker Run for Region’s
Second “Waterfront Weekend,” June 23-25
The 2017 Flyboard National Tour will
stop in Erie in June, hosting HydroFlight
competitions on Presque Isle Bay Saturday,
June 24, and Sunday, June 25. HydroFlight, a
Pro Watercross event, will add to the already-
popular Erie Poker Run, a go-fast powerboat
event, which will be held in Erie for the third
year beginning Friday, June 23.
Spectator admission to both events is free.
Event directors from Pro Watercross
anticipate that 75 of the world’s best
HydroFlight athletes will take part in the
event. Athletes will perform timed freestyle
routines in qualifying events on Saturday with
finals on Sunday. A Saturday night event will
see competitors wearing suits with LED lights
and lasers.
HydroFlight uses the power of water
to send a rider through the air at extreme
speeds and soaring heights. A hose is installed
into each participant’s personal watercraft
(PWC), making all of the water power that
it would use to move to be re-routed to a
jetpack strapped to the rider’s back or feet. By
controlling the PWC and the amount of force,
the flyer can use the power of the jet stream to
perform intricate stunts and maneuvers.
The Erie Poker Run will accommodate up
to 60 high-powered speed boats, which will
once again be housed at the Wolverine Park
Marina beginning Friday, June 23, through
Sunday, June 25. Performance boating
enthusiasts from across the northeastern
United States and Canada will convene in Erie
before making five stops at establishments on
the shores of Lake Erie to complete a poker
hand.
Boats will arrive in Erie on Friday before
the Poker Run takes off on Saturday morning.
For more information on Waterfront
Weekend, including a schedule and viewing
locations, please visit eriesportscommission.
com/waterfront-weekend.
NCAA SELECTS ERIE TO
HOST 2021 WOMEN’S
FROZEN FOUR
Mercyhurst University to Host NCAA
Women’s Frozen Four Hockey Championships
at Erie Insurance Arena
The NCAA has chosen Erie to host the
2021 Women’s Frozen Four, which will be