NEO Cycle Offers Lots Of Biking Fun For All Kinds (And Ages) Of Riders In Cleveland

CLEVELAND, OH — Bikes. Bikes. And more bikes. That’s what you’ll see around Cleveland and the nearby suburbs this weekend as several hundred cyclists converge on the city for the annual NEO Cycle festival. The event is for all bikers -- mountain bikers, road bikers, cyclocross bikers, urban bikers, BMX riders, casual neighborhood bikers, even kids on bikes -- centered at Edgewater Park.

“It’s really for anyone who enjoys time on a bike,” said Rob Thompson, the general manager of Spin Bike Shop in Lakewood and a promoter and organizer of the weekend-long festival. Heck, it’s even for people who just like to hang out with bikers, Thompson added. It’s a free festival -- the largest urban cycling festival in the nation -- with bands and entertainment all weekend long, and plenty of food and drinks.

New this year is “Cranks on Banks,” a sort of bicycling scramble event on Saturday. The race tests riders’ skills, including balance and fitness, in a series of eight stages with names like “Twisty Trees,” “Super Sandy Skinny” and “The Amphitheater of Pain.”

“It’s like mini-golf on bikes,” Thompson said. Also new this year is the Major League Triathlon, an event targeted for professional triathletes on Saturday. While most NEO Cycle participants can’t actually partake in the event, it will be spectator friendly.

Also on the schedule for this year’s NEO Cycle are track races at the Cleveland velodrome in Slavic Village on Friday evening, the XC Mountain Bike race in the Bedford Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks on Saturday, and the popular MCPc Fundo, which features rides of 10 miles, 31 miles and 62 miles.

This year's Fundo routes wind their way through several Cleveland neighborhoods and parts of the Cleveland Metroparks, said , said Jacob VanSickle, executive director of Bike Cleveland, which is hosting the Fundo.

The popular 7-mile Night Ride on Saturday evening, which starts at NEO Cycle Hub at Edgewater Park, and takes riders of all levels along the Cleveland Shoreway. The ride is for bikers of all ages and skill levels, and participants are encouraged to light up their bikes. (And, yes, there will be many bikes that resemble Christmas trees on two wheels. Bring your camera.)

While the NEO Cycle Hub at Edgewater is free and open to all, the events require participants to register. Online registration for events closes at noon on Thursday. A complete schedule of events is also available online.

Images courtesy of Bike Cleveland