Since 1969 the Maumee Valley Wheelmen has been a strong sports club in the Toledo, Ohio area. The Club is affiliated with both USA Cycling, the national governing body for bicycle racing, and USA Triathlon, the national governing body for triathlon. The members of the MVW have long-term connections with other area sports clubs such as Team Toledo Triathlon, Toledo Road Runners and Toledo Area Bicyclists.
The Wheelmen is a small club of less than 100 members. The age range of the club varies from a few folks in their mid-twenties to a large contingent of members spanning the veteran ranks of forty to sixty. The membership consists mainly of men, but a number of strong-willed and fittingly skilled women are stalwart participants in all the Club’s events.
The MVW revolves around bike racing for much of the year, but the Club the also embodies an equally active social component. The Wheelmen hold USAC sanctioned club races every Tuesday evening from mid-April to mid-September. And every weekend of the year there is the long standing tradition of the Club’s Breakfast Rides, which serve both as hard-paced training rides tempered with breakfast socials.
Club membership is required to race, along with a USAC license, but anyone is welcome to join the weekend Breakfast Rides. Membership dues are $40 per year for an individual and $50 for a family or couple.
CLUB ACTIVITIES
The Racing Season. From April through September the Club schedules races every Tuesday evening. Members compete for points in 3 race categories (A, B, C). Everyone shares in working at the races. Courses for road races and time trials are on country roads; criteriums and track-style races are on an industrial park circuit.
Training Rides. Year around members utilize various informal training rides. These rides are not Club functions, but they serve as great training sessions for many area riders. E-mail us for more information. Many members travel together to USAC road and off-road races, and others travel jointly to local tours (such as the annual Columbus Fall Challenge).
Weekend Rides. Every Saturday, Sunday and most holidays there is the Breakfast Ride. The ride begins at Ft. Meigs in Perrysburg, Ohio and then rides to Grand Rapids for breakfast. Following breakfast the ride splits-up into several smaller groups heading in various directions on rides of differing lengths.
And Club Stuff. We e-mail a weekly newsletter, hold an annual banquet, arrange for a summer picnic, eat dinner after Tuesday night races, and we do other social things as most clubs do. However, we seem to enjoy one another's company more than most such organizations.