By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR – It was a gorgeous day for a bike ride. At least that’s what about 300 riders thought Sunday morning as they pedaled along the boardwalk and Downbeach streets.
The Margate and Ventnor business associations held the 13th annual Le Tour de Downbeach, starting at the gazebo on Newport Avenue in Ventnor. Volunteers from Ventnor and Margate were on hand to register riders, give out bottles of water, and distribute T-shirts.
The 14-mile family friendly bike ride was not a race, rather, it was a tour of Absecon Island, ending in the Marina District in Margate.
For some, it was their first ride, but for others, the annual tour has become a summer tradition.
For Argentinian Ricardo Krukowski of Ventnor, it was his second time riding in Le Tour.
“We did it last year and loved it, so we decided to make it a family and friends’ event,” Krukowski said.
He was there with several family members and friends ranging from age 19 to 72.
“We have the full spectrum,” he said.
It was a first experience for his friend George Keummerle of Brigantine.
“This is amazing. It’s only my first time, but it will be a forever event for me,” he said.
Krukowski said he was celebrating his grandson’s entry into the military.
Andrew Hood, 19, said he would be entering the U.S. Army on July 12.
“I will be going to Missouri for boot camp and then I will be stationed in Germany with the Military Police for two years. After that I will have two years stateside,” he said.
Krukowski’s granddaughter Alexis, 21, was also on the ride. She is in town to visit after finishing her education at University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
AAAA Bike Shop owner Mike Wiesen, who was one of the original organizers of the tour, which began as Le Tour de Ventnor in 2008, brought a photo of his friend Sri Pravinbhai Khatiwa, who passed away on May 4, 2021.
“He was a huge fan of the ride all the years we did it,” Wiesen said. “He raised a lot of money for it. He was a fine gentleman from India, but I always called him St. Peter because he was so kind. I brough the photo to honor him. He liked to ride so much.”
According to Margate Business Association Executive Director Anna Maria Blescia, there were nearly 300 riders participating in the event, all wearing bright yellow T-shirts. They all wound up in the parking lot at Tomatoe’s Restaurant where they enjoyed a barbeque with free water ice from Margate Dairy Bar & Burger.
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