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Cyclists to Get Rolling at Cedar Hill Event

April 26, 2007

By JOANNA CATTANACH / The Dallas Morning News

CEDAR HILL – Despite initial funding shortfalls, the Rotary Club of Cedar Hill pedaled forward and is ready to host the group’s first-ever bike rally.

Head for the Hills has 21-, 41- and 64-mile courses. All start and end at Cedar Hill High School. Participants can register online early or at 6 a.m. May 12, the day of the event.

It’s a route that riders will enjoy, said committee chair Judy Pluto, a 30-year cyclist who helped plan the routes.

Ms. Pluto said that projected rider totals aren’t concrete but that the group is preparing for 750 to 1,000 riders, more than half of whom are expected to sign up on rally day.

“We will not look like a first-year bike rally,” she said.

That’s not a bad start for an inaugural event, said Philip Watson, former president of the Greater Dallas Bicyclists and organizer of this year’s Lancaster Country Ride.

Mr. Watson, 58 and a serious cyclist since the mid-1970s, said a number of factors could affect attendance.

Heavy storms and tornadoes the night before and blustery cold the day of the Lancaster Country Ride on April 14 led to a meager crowd of slightly more than 200 riders, far fewer than the nearly 1,300 the group had prepared for.

Ms. Pluto said the Cedar Hill race “will go on no matter what the weather is.”

Proximity of the race to a metropolitan area is another factor in participation, Mr. Watson said.

Less than 20 minutes from downtown Dallas, the Cedar Hill rally has been heavily promoted at area cycling events and bike shops and around the cycling circuit.

Ms. Pluto said the group used about $15,000 from the city for advertising and marketing materials.

The club had asked for about $31,000 in support from the city. The city at first agreed to provide $20,000 from the city’s hotel-motel tax funds. But after review, the amount was reduced to $15,302.

“The real issue was their cash flow,” City Council member Wade Emmert said. The agreement between the city and the group called for using the funds to help support marketing efforts in the event’s first year, with the provision that the club seek outside funding.

How much hotel-motel tax money the city will provide to outside groups and organizations depends on how the event will affect tourism, Mr. Emmert said.

“I am very pleased with the way the Rotary Club has organized this event,” he said. “I think the event is going to be self-supporting next year.”

The first 500 registered riders will receive a free T-shirt featuring the artwork of sports artist Bill Hall.

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