A new bike rack and fixit repair station in front of the Metz Visitors Center at Wildwood Preserve was dedicated October 20 to Ray and Pat Squire, "Toledo's First Couple of Bicycling," as it says on an accompanying plaque. More than three dozen cyclists and friends attended to a gather that morning to pay tribute to Pat and remember her husband, Ray, who passed away in 2016 at age 84.

The recently installed bicycle fixtures were purchased with donations from Maumee Valley Adventurers, Toledo Area Bicyclists, We Are Traffic and the Ohio Bicycle Federation, all groups that Pat and Ray were involved with for more than four decades.

Pat, 81, remains the chair of Maumee Valley Adventurers activities committee, organizing weekly walks and bike rides and other events. She replaced Ray as director of one of the club's four annual bicycle events, the Portage River Bike Tour. And she paints arrows on the roads for other MVA tours as well as Toledo Area Bicyclists' annual Mad Anthony River Rally. She is one of the longest participating members of TAB.

Pat is a commuter cyclists who still pedals to the grocery store and most other places she needs to go. She and Ray have advocated for cycling since the 1980s.

In tribute to Pat and Ray, both Toledo Area Bicyclists and Maumee Valley Adventurers incorporated the morning ceremony into their regular Saturday morning bike rides.

Photos:

Top - Pat Squire speaks at the event held in her honor.

Above Right - Plaque on the new inverted U style bike rack, which also has the Metroparks logo

Above - Keith Webb, president of Maumee Valley Adventurers and founder of We Are Traffic, speaks to fellow cyclists gathered for the event