According to Rotarian Beth Brunner, the original idea for the project came from Rotarian Krista Frei and her husband, Sam, who are avid bike riders. She wrote in an email to the Lake Placid News, that the couple noticed that despite Lake Placid being a bicycle-friendly town, there were no racks at which people who bike to town can leave their bikes.

So Krista brought the idea to a Rotary meeting and a service committee was formed.

The additional funding came from fundraising events, such as the Dam Duck Race. Almost a year later, through much hard work, the bike racks were installed, Brunner wrote. Four of the bike racks are traditional and one is a circular rack, and all are installed at Main Street locations extending from the North Elba Town Hall to the One Main Street Park. The circular one is near the municipal parking lot across from the post office, pictured above.

The mission statement of the Rotary Club is “Service Above Self,” and the local chapter schedules many events throughout the year, including the popular Trivia Nights. The club also helps support local initiatives such as providing funds to support community projects including the Thomas Shipman Youth Center, the Ecumenical Food Pantry, the Lake Placid Beautification Fund, High Peaks Hospice, the Rotary Kate Smith Scholarship and 4H Camp Overlook among others. The group has also added picnic tables and playground equipment to the Rotary Park on Dow Street and McKinley Street Park.

The Lake Placid Rotary meets at 7:20 a.m. every Thursday at Howard Johnson’s Restaurant in Lake Placid.

Jamie Rogers and Steve Detwiler served as the committee co-chairs while Krista Frei and Randy Quayle served as committee members, and Gene Gengel submitted a grant application to Rotary International District 7040 that was approved.