Syracuse cycling club a mix of SU and ESF, new and experienced riders
Courtesy of Syracuse Cycling Club
On training rides, the groups ride as slow as they need to in order to leave no one behind.
Experience doesn’t matter to cycling club president John Paul Donahue.
“Nobody should be turned away from this club,” Donahue said. “We welcome people of all skill levels, and (we) ride at the pace of the slowest member when doing group bikes.”
There are no tryouts or cuts, and the cycling club mixes students between Syracuse and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Of the 12 members currently in the club, Donahue said it’s almost an even split. There are four officers in the club, two from each University.
“It’s really cool that SU allows ESF students to take part in their clubs,” said Donahue, an ESF student. “It definitely creates more opportunities to have friendships with students at SU.”
The club takes part in about six race weekends a year, which senior club member Stephen Nemy called the best part of the club. The team travels to away races together and, before the events, it holds team dinners to talk strategy. At the end of the weekend, the racers eat out and recap the trip.
When biking throughout campus, Nemy knows others don’t necessarily think he’s training for competitive racing.
“I guess people think I’m the Jimmy John’s guy,” Nemy said, “so that’s made me a lot of friends.”
Nemy likes race weekends because he enjoys the four- to- five-hour car rides packed in with teammates. Then, the races start, each member supports one another, Nemy said.
Sierra Jech, a club officer from Wyoming, added she finds it a great way to experience central New York’s landscape. The club allowed her to significantly improve as a cycler, Jech said, which made her more competitive for triathlons she competed in this fall.
Cycling in upstate New York, Donahue said, has helped him de-stress.
“This is a social club more than anything,” Donahue said. “The family environment is what matters most, rather than the cycling.”
The members of the cycling club enjoy what they do, even if it means being mistaken for the Jimmy John’s guy once in awhile.
Published on October 24, 2017 at 12:18 am
Contact Jake: jtbitsim@syr.edu
