Why Pedal is moving to Estabrook Rec?

What do the first and sixth year of Pedal for Prizes have in common?  We’ll get to that answer in just a moment.

Many people have asked us why we’re moving this year’s Old Brooklyn Pedal for Prizes to Estabrook Recreation Center, especially considering that all five previous Pedal events started and ended at Loew Park.

We love Loew Park.  It’s one of our favorite places in Old Brooklyn and Cleveland.  It has made a fantastic backdrop for Pedal for Prizes over the last five years.

However, for our sixth annual event, we’re moving the start/finish to Estabrook Recreation Center, 4125 Fulton Road.  There’s a big reason for that: Like the very first Pedal for Prizes, we will be hosting the event without any grant money to help us pay for expenses.

Neighborhood Connections, a program of the Cleveland Foundation offering grants to grassroots groups for neighborhood projects, has been a huge supporter.  The organization provided small grants to us the last four years, which allowed us to really professionalize and grow the event.  We sincerely appreciate the generosity.

However, all good things must come to an end.  We unfortunately were not selected for a new grant in 2014, primarily because the demand for limited funds keeps increasing.  Also, it’s time for some other group of committed individuals to have the opportunity to pursue a project that benefits a Cleveland neighborhood.  We knew this day would come, and we’ve been preparing to the best of our ability.

As such, we need to reduce our expenses.  One of the ways we thought we could do so was by relocating the event to Estabrook Rec.  The tent, tables, porta-potties, and related expenses consumed 20-25% of our budget.  Estabrook is also weather-proof (which will be great if the weather this year is anything like last year).  We’ll tell you about more stuff going on at Estabrook in the coming weeks.  Thanks to the City of Cleveland, use of the facility is free to us.

We are committed to hosting a spectacular event this year.  We promise that you won’t even notice the difference.

We’d like to acknowledge Dollar Bank for its very generous contribution to Pedal for Prizes.  Dollar Bank is the first-ever corporate sponsor of Pedal for Prizes.

Lastly, Pedal for Prizes is a free event and will likely be free as long as we can host it.  However, your donations help us sustain the event into the future, regardless of how much or little you contribute.  So if you enjoy the event, leave us a tip we can save for next year.  Participate in the 50/50 raffle.  Or buy a t-shirt if we have them for sale.

Thank you for your support. Ride on!