The weather report was looking rather ominous on Saturday March 29th, 2014. It was to be the day of the 'Build Your Own Bike' pub ride hosted by the Sarasota County Off Road Riders. Cyclists were encouraged to scavenge together old klunkers with spare parts in a rusty soup of ingenuity and labor to build the ultimate pub cruiser for under $100. The angry skies parted ways only minutes before the gathering began. Riders met at the Gazebo in Centennial Park on Venice Island and displayed their patchwork of frankenstein creations. While the weather made for a lower turnout than hoped for, those who did arrive brought the good stuff. The cruisers ranged from those with outlandish geometry to those that were almost painful to observe. There was a bike painted with chalk in which people were encouraged to write their names on the dusty frame. One cruiser was so caked in rust that you needed a tetanus shot just for looking at it. One rode seated straight up reaching...

For many it seemed to be a typical Saturday evening in the City of Venice, the streets were clearing, the sun was setting and the mood was relaxed. Then, out of nowhere, dozens of bicycles buzzed by. Road bikes, Mountain bikes and even a BMX bike casually cruised down the side streets filling the Island with a whole new crowd of smiling faces. Who was this mysterious peloton? They were the second gathering of the SCORR (Sarasota County Off Road Riders) pub ride which included the owners and employees of Real Bikes Venice , Real Bikes Englewood and Bicycles International Venice . Eric Claussen displaying the new bike trail signs SCORR is the group which recently crafted 4 miles worth of Mountain bike trails in the Carlton Reserve park. This particular pub crawl was put together to raise money to pay for the signs that will be posted on those trails. SCORR volunteers, wearing the camouflage shirts, made sure no rider was left behind as 60 cyclists traversed the streets...