History of Our Club
The SLBC began in 2005 as an outgrowth of the Village Bicycle Club. That existing northern club did not want to confront the continuing growth of The Villages and its impact on the club they enjoyed, and it requested that members from the new, southern parts of The Villages form their own club.
A meeting of 7 southern members was held and a new southern group began riding under the name Sumter Landing Bicycle Club. It was headed by “reluctant president” Larney Cross for 1 or 2 years.
The presidential succession that followed, less reluctantly, includes:
Growth since the club's inception has over 700 members, outstripping The Village Bicycle Club and the Florida Panthers Tandem Club members.
SLBC’s primary focus is an environment where Villagers and visitors can cycle safely on multi-modal paths and lanes and share the area roadways. Additionally the club shares its cycling expertise with Villages Recreation, local, county and state law enforcement agencies, county planning boards, the League of American Bicyclists, the Florida Bicycle Association and Villages clubs and organizations
SLBC safety issues involve properly sharing the roadways, gates, club safety updates as well as coordination with law enforcement and public officials about rules of the road, Florida laws, specific issues related to The Villages transportation system, roundabouts and multi-modal path issues.
The Club’s outreach extends broadly. It educates the general public - as well as its members - through its website, annual bicycle expo, website, newspaper articles, and radio spots. It has a representative on the Lake Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Community Advisory Committee. It also has several members on the Bicycle Friendly Advocacy Committee (BFAC), which represents the interests of Villages cyclists, and obtained the Silver and Gold Bicycle Friendly Community awards for The Villages from the League of American Bicyclists.
Several SLBC members have become League Certified Instructors of the League of American Bicyclists, a very large number for a community our size:
List of LCIs
As the club has grown, we have been able to expand our following community charity to include:
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Adopt a Highway road cleaning for CR472/Rainey Trail
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Wildwood Girl Scout Camp bicycle maintenance
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Sumter County Sheriff’s Christmas Bicycle collection, which gathers, cleans, tests, and repairs bikes for needy kids and adults (now in its 13th year, with hundreds of bikes processed)
Charity rides that the Club has supported:
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| SLBC JERSEYS |
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| ** Thanks to members Dave Lawrence and Lori Gillis for the photos ** |
| SLBC T-Shirts |
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| ** Thanks to members Dave Lawrence and Lori Gillis for the photos ** |