Cycling Tykes Conquer Cleveland with Strider Cup Racing
Families celebrate learning to ride on Youth Cycling Day
Rapid City, S.D. (May 26, 2018) — Hundreds of families watched tiny tykes 6 years old and younger race balance bikes “Fred Flintstone-style” in the Strider Cup race May 26 in Public Square in Downtown Cleveland. Mayor Frank Jackson declared it Youth Cycling Day in honor of the first Strider Cup race ever hosted in Ohio,
Nearly 150 racers from 19 states and Canada showed off their balance and coordination skills by navigating obstacles and riding over ramps set up along the 600-foot plus course. The youngest rider, 20-month old Cole Quinlan, hailed from Sheffield Lake, Ohio. The only performance enhancer in his sippy cup was whole milk.
The event included a free ride and play area with demo bikes and helmets to teach children as young as 3 years old how to pedal a bike. Riders rang the 14x gong after learning to pedal on the Strider 14x, a newly launched model that starts as a balance bike and includes a pedal kit when the child has mastered balancing.
“Zane started riding his Strider over a year ago and started pedaling on the 14x today in just five minutes,” said his father Rob Grabowski, of Metamora, Michigan. He added that the 3-year-old is also riding a PW50 mini-bike without training wheels. “Strider products and these organized races allow kids to experience competition and push the boundaries of what young children can do.”
The Strider Cup, held in venues across the country, is powered by the revolutionary design of Strider Bikes, which enables toddlers and young children to safely enjoy the mobility and independence of two-wheel biking at an earlier age than any prior generation.
All racers were treated to a celebratory podium award ceremony after their main race, where each received a medal, and the top ten finishers took home trophies – some taller than they were. Donovan “D-Money” Cutler from Portland, Michigan, took home the 2-year-old class trophy, Luke “Duke” Liberto traveled from Mount Airy, Maryland, to nab the top spot on the podium for 3-year-old racers, Pasha Ali of Trophy Club, Texas, won the 4-year-old class. Mason Turner, a 5-year-old from Clarkston, Michigan, came in first place in the 14x open class.
During the lunch hour, Strider presented Special Olympics Young Athletes Cleveland with 10 Strider 14x Sport Bikes, designed for children 3 – 7 years old.
Event sponsors Once Upon a Time Toys, Honey Stinger, Go-Go Squeeze and Lasater Grasslands Beef provided additional family activities.
Strider Cup was brought to Cleveland in partnership with Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and marks the second stop along the way for the 2018 U.S. races, with the final Strider Cup race in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 16. The summer of two-wheeled fun culminates July 20–21 in Boulder, Colorado, with the Strider Cup World Championship, an international toddler biking celebration attracting families from across the globe for two days of camaraderie, excitement and racing.
ABOUT STRIDER SPORTS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Strider creates and inspires future generations of riders by giving children as young as six months old the best first-bike experience. Strider Bikes revolutionized the bike’s design to develop a child’s balance first and pairs each balance bike with a proven learn-to-ride process. Children across the globe are starting on a Strider Bike and becoming two-wheeling virtuosos – before they’re out of diapers.
Founded in 2007, in Rapid City, South Dakota, Strider has sold more than 1.9 million bikes and is distributed in more than 75 countries. The company has donated over $1,000,000 in cash & genuine Strider Bikes to charity through its Rider Fund. Visit www.StriderBikes.com, Facebook or Instagram.
About Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
Since 2000, Greater Cleveland Sports Commission (GCSC) is responsible for attracting more than 190 sporting events which provide nearly $570 million in economic activity to Northeast Ohio. GCSC supports the local economy, utilizes sports as a vehicle to forward community agendas and maintains a goal of producing events that are more successful when held in Cleveland than in other cities. For more information, visit clevelandsports.org.
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