Former members of Team Florida Cycling will join forces on Saturday to honor a friend and fund a cause.
Last year the UF club lost Paul Corey, one of its original sponsors, who passed away June 24. Corey was heavily involved in the Gainesville cycling community. He owned a bike shop called the Bike Route and sponsored the cycling club through it.
In his memory, former members Ravi Rajcoomar, Justin Gottlieb and Mike Gann organized a silent-auction fundraiser that will take place at Bike Works, 2300 SW 34th St., from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
The trio worked at the Bike Route under Corey while they were UF students in the 90s.
“Paul was a mentor for all of us,” Rajcoomar said. “He taught us a lot of things and always supported the team.”
Half of the proceeds will go to the Gainesville Fisher House Foundation and Team Florida Cycling, said Christian Trucco, a 34-year-old UF sustainable building construction graduate student and president of Team Florida Cycling.
“This is a tremendous help, since the club is growing,” Trucco said. “The number of racers are much more than years past.”
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 1/31/2014 under the headline "Silent auction to support UF cycling"]
