A route along this year's Tour de Guelph will now pay homage to two local biking legends.
The 50-kilometre road route, running June 25, will be named The George and Regina Vettor Memorial Route, in honour of George and Regina Vettor and their dedication to bike helmet safety awareness and the family's commitment to the Tour de Guelph.
George was a competitive cyclist, and the founder of a bicycle business, George Vettor Cycle, in 1969.
He teamed up with Guelph police to begin the youth helmet program, where kids are given a ticket for an ice cream treat and a chance to win a new bike if spotted wearing a helmet.
His business now operates as Vettor Small Engine & Bicycle, and owned by George and Regina's son Gino, along with his wife Barb. It continues to give a bike away to a boy and girl every year.
"My father was a hard worker and was very passionate of his work," Gino Vettor, George and Regina's son, said in a news release. "He gained a lot of knowledge in war times on how to repair things when times were hard. He was still working every day even at 77. He taught us to have a hardy work ethic and take pride in what we do."
While George passed away in 2013 – a year before the Tour de Guelph began – his legacy runs deep within the event.
The first 50 kilometre ride in 2014 was dedicated to his memory, and his wife Regina donated a bike for the first two years of the event, before she passed away in 2015. That tradition continues through Gino and his sister Louisa.
But the family is going up a gear for the 10th anniversary of George's passing.
Gino and Louisa will give away a one-of-a-kind custom built bike for the youth top fundraising prize
"The bike consists of an alloy frame, alloy BBC suspension fork with lockout, 24-speed Shimano Altus drive train, 26” double wall alloy wheels and front disc brakes," Vettor Small Engine & Bicycle said in a news release.
"There is no other bike built exactly as this one, and it is labelled with the G. Vettor name and it is called the G. Vettor Victory Tribute."
The company added only 10 tributes will be built this year, and each will be assembled with different components to make each of them unique.
