Tour de Marco Rolls On

Tour de Marco 14 was originally scheduled for February 18, a day when Marco Island received a rare all-day rain. Tour organizers, by staying on top of the weather forecasts, were able to shift gears at the last minute and moved the popular bicycle tour to March 3, where they were rewarded with perfect cycling weather: mild temperatures, cloudy skies, light wind, and temperatures in the low 70s. A crowd of 270 riders enjoyed the 30 and 15-mile courses through Marco with nary a mishap.

“After we had to reschedule due to the wetter weather,” said tour director Jennifer Johnson, "I'm happy to say that today it went off very smoothly. We had 40 riders registered day of the event. It was probably the highest numbers we've ever had.”

YMCA CEO Cindy Love-Abounader was equally enthusiastic about the morning bike ride.

“It was fantastic that we changed the route a little bit this year,” Love-Abounader said, "so we're not crossing over the main intersections. That was huge. And everybody's commenting how nice that was. Safer and more enjoyable. This is a special event because we get to showcase Marco and we have bikers from all over here.”

Tour de Marco is also special because it honors the memory of Chuck Thomas. Several of his family members rode on Sunday.

“To honor someone that we all love and honor,” Love-Abounader said, "three of Chuck Thomas’ daughters and his wife. They have a little small get together afterwards because the daughters fly in for this. I think a great-grandchild flew in when it was supposed to happen two weeks ago. And she was sad she couldn't make it back. They make it a family event, which is nice.”