September 25, 2009 – After 12 wonderful years Fly Gurlz will be closing it’s doors! Please visit the official website for more information. Below is a letter from Michelle Ward who founded Fly Gurlz and ran and managed the team since the beginning. We join the cycling community in thanking Michelle and all of the riders, other sponsors, supporters and fans for making Fly Gurlz such a successful and vibrant part of the cycling scene in Ontario.

To the Fly Gurlz community at large, sponsors and friends,
September 24, 2009

Thank-you so much for a wonderful 2009 mountain biking season. Whether you touched the program through the camps, club, team or relay I hope that you enjoyed the experience and had a blast riding with the Gurlz!

Fly Gurlz has been in operation for 12 fantastic years and it has been a pleasure to have grown this organization from the seedling of an idea into Canada’s largest women’s cycling community. I am a better and stronger woman for this experience and I will always be a Fly Gurl. This program has reshaped the very fabric of who I am.

The time has come for me to close the door on this exciting chapter of my life, making 2009 the last year that Fly Gurlz will be operating in Canada. I need to refocus my energies towards some new projects and more importantly, my family.

It has been a thrill to watch my initial dream come to life within each one of you. As the program grew so did our personal ambitions and I know that many of you accomplished things you never thought you could. These triumphs whether big or small, created positive ripple effects that were felt in our everyday lives when we were not on the bike. As I have said many times in the past, Fly Gurlz was always about much more than mountain biking, cycling offered all of us an arena for change!

Our club leaders, race team members, ambassadors and camp leaders have been the foundation of our success. For 12 years these women shared their joy and love for the sport with so many participants and I am touched and honored to have worked with all of them.

Our sponsors have been so supportive and without them, the project would not have thrived for 12 years. Mutually beneficial relationships have been the cornerstone of our partnerships and we are grateful to have worked with so many fantastic companies.

I believe the legacy of Fly Gurlz are the many lifelong friendships that have been made. They extend throughout the community and into our everyday lives and this gift runs deep and is very meaningful. In the end, what is most important is the love that we carry in our hearts for our families and friends. I am certain that out of the Fly Gurlz legacy new and exciting dreams will emerge. It will be exciting to watch as new women’s cycling organizations begin from where this dream has left off!

Thank-you, everyone, from the bottom of this gurl’s heart.

I will cherish these years and remember them with fondness, gratitude and joy!

Much love (and michie hugs) to all,
Michelle