September 13/05 10:34 am - Tribute to Mike Mulholland

Posted by Editoress on 09/13/05
 

Michael Mulholland passed away in late June if this year. The family sent the following tribute

Michael Mulholland, Cyclops Custom Bicycles
(1939 - 2005)



Mike was born in Bournemouth, England in 1939 where he lived as a youth through WW2. At the age of 9, he came to Canada with his family to Scarborough, ON. His first interest with bicycles was as a teenager and rode all the time to keep in shape. At the age of 18, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force where he became a radar technician. After departing from the Air Force, he worked in the electronics repair industry. He would ride his bike back and forth to work, and during lunch hours.

Mike was a late starter to the cycling racing world. One day while riding by the Scarborough Town Center, he noticed a group of cyclists doing intervals. This was the Scarborough CC. He was invited to tag along with the group, and was able to hold his own against the experienced cyclists. A member of the club suggested that he join the club. This was 1971 and he was 32. Mike became passionate about cycling, winning provincial and national medals including becoming the Canadian National Cyclocross Champion in 1982. Family vacations inevitably turned into attending bicycle races. Mike's passion was infectious and because of this, his children, Mark, Kathleen and Marcel, all raced and attained provincial and national medals.

At age 36, he became a race Commissaire as did his wife Denise. Mike went on to become a Chief Commissaire. He was also a Race Organizer for time trials, track, road and especially Cyclocross. The difficult part for Mike as a Cyclocross organizer was setting up the course through the forest and then trying to find his way out. He was a member of the national coaching committee, during the 1980s where he helped develop the National Level A Coaching course. Mike attained a national Level 3 Coach and a prominent figure of the OCA.

Mike started the Oro Cycling Club in Toronto in 1982. In 1983, he bought Jocelyn Lovell's business, Lovell Bikes, and Cyclops was born. Oro Cycling Club became the Cyclops Cycling Club. He became a world renowned frame builder with his bikes ridden to win medals at World and other international events. His bicycles could be found in Germany, Japan, Australia and across North America. The Cyclops Shop wasn't just a business - it was the place to hang out, talk about racing, and share stories.

The Mulholland house and shop was the "race place" where he and his family would provide spare equipment, uniform repair, massaging, bicycle maintenance, became the restaurant and bunk house. At the races, he would provide the transportation to the races in the Van or Bus, last minute repairs, food for the racers, and then get to his starting line just in time to race himself.

Mike constantly had a camera in his hand taking pictures at races, which he always developed and gave away. He also took many videotapes of the races. Races became a family affair from coaching, to commissaires, to the children being the cheering squad. If a racer crashed, they inevitably ended up at the 'Mulholland' van where Denise fixed them up.

Mike did more than just build bicycles - he lived cycling. He gave endlessly to the sport and its development of young rising athletes. He helped young riders start out by training them, but also providing them with frames or bicycles for the season. Many times, Mike would strip his own bike of good equipment and give it to the young riders he was helping. He would take these racers and their equipment to the races, get them ready, coach them and always provide lots of encouragement. To him, the future of cycling was not the bicycle, but the young cyclist starting out.