About

Cycling Enthusiasts!

The WMCR cycling club is a West Michigan based organization that is passionate about promoting health and fitness through the sport of cycling. Our membership enjoys - and promotes - all cycling disciplines with skill and fitness levels ranging from beginners to expert level racers.

The WMCR is recognized by the IRS as a 509(a)2 charitable organization [tax exempt under IRS code 501(c)3] for the purpose of promoting health and fitness through the sport of cycling.

The Board

Rick A. Borns
President and Treasurer
Club member since 2002
In 1990 Rick got his first mountain bike and started racing in 1999. He has participated in many road, gravel and mountain bike tours and races and currently competes in an assortment of gravel road, fat bike and mountain bike races throughout Michigan. He most enjoys long trail rides on the North Country Trail in Northern Michigan and is passionate about promoting the sport to young cyclists. He shares the sport with his son who is now (much) faster than him and is a two-time Michigan Mountain Bike Association Points Series champion and a member of the Andrie Juniors Development team.

Wendy DeWent
Ladies Cycling Director
Wendy has been a member of WMCR since 2009, and the wife of a member for much longer! Her favorite rides include South Marquette Trails and Big M. She and her husband Jim have recently started racing on a tandem mountain bike, which Wendy attests has made her a better rider. She also enjoys back-packing is hoping to start bike-packing this summer. During the school year, Wendy teaches Young Fives at the Tri-City YMCA.

Wendy and her husband Jim with their tandem mountain bike!

Brian Miller
Coyote Organizer/All Around Cool Guy
Brian's been mountain biking since the late 1990s when he realized you cannot eat like a college swimmer post-retirement unless you have another sport to burn calories with. My favorite rides are singletrack adventures in the woods where you might end up lost, or you might find your favorite new trail. Thus far, my favorite rides of all time have been in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, NC but I'm always searching for the next great ride out there. I enjoy showing kids that they can do more than they think, so my other favorite ride is the first time we take middle school novice riders through Sawtooth at Merrell or the Black Loop at Owasippe. They're stronger than they think!

Rob Taylor
Secretary
Rob has been a lifelong endurance athlete as a runner, kayaker, triathlete, and cyclist. He ran track and cross-country in high school and competed in many road races over the years. He was an avid mountain biker when he was younger and competed in triathlons later until he had to have his knees replaced in 2016. Since then he has stuck to cycling year round, on the road, gravel, single track, and fat tire, almost always accompanied by his wife and best friend of 43 years, Priscilla. He loves riding on the open country roads of the Muskegon area, as well as around the streets and alleys of the City of Muskegon and Muskegon Heights. He is a founding member of the Muskegon County Bicycling Coalition which advocates to create the conditions that welcome everyone to cycle for any purpose throughout Muskegon County. He also leads a Muskegon Rotary Health & Wellness Committee pilot program entitled EMBARK which, in conjunction with Muskegon Public Schools, is getting elementary and middle school kids riding bikes with their PE teachers with the goal of the kids riding to and from school with parent escorts when they are back in the classroom.

From left to right Matt Vander Sys, Jim Plichta, Jim DeWent

Jim Dewent
Membership Director
Qualifications: Jim has been cycling for more than 20 years and enjoys many forms of cycling such a tandem riding/racing with his wife Wendy, mountain biking, road cycling and “fat biking” in the winter. Jim competes in the expert class for mountain bike racing.

Rich Budden
Youth Coordinator ( JCS and Coyotes )
Rich is an avid Distance Runner and Long Course Triathlete. He truly enjoys the daily grind of training
for Boston and Kona. His involvement with the Coast Riders began when his son started racing Road
Bikes in 2014. Rich now works as the Coordinator for the Youth programs: our Mountain Biking
Team (The Coyotes) and our Road Racing Team (Junior Cycle Sport). Rich has witness the heights of
cycling as our Road Team wins National Championships Medals but what really impresses him the
most is watching one of our young racers carry their broken bike across the finish line because they
refused to quit (and Rich has seen this refusal to give up multiple times at MTB races, Road races, and
Cyclocross races).

Matt Vander Sys
Vice President/Newsletter and Marketing
Club member since 2014
Matt's favorite rides are any rides that he can take with his wife, family and friends. When he's not biking or participating in anything that includes blood, sweat and beers, he works in maintenance at GE Aviation.

Randy Knapp
Mountain Biking Coordinator
Level 2 IMBA Certified Mountain Bike Instructor
Randy, aka Thor, has been in the West Michigan Coast Riders club since 2003. His most memorable ride was the 5-Day North Country Trail Epic from M20 to Mackinaw City. Randy is married with two kids, three step kids and four step-grand kids. He is a quality engineer for GE-Aviation in Norton Shores and in his down time he enjoys trail building and health sciences.

Ray McLeod
Board member and Group Ride Coordinator
Ray has been on the board since 2018. He also heads-up the Muskegon County Bicycling Coalition, as well as leading Roll On Muskegon, the Fetch Cycling Group, and the Unruly Cycling Group. Recognizing that cycling enthusiasts will find their way, his efforts are focused on encouraging recreational riders, and working with communities to make their streets more safe for Bicyclists to commute and perform errands by bicycle.

Jim Plichta
Off-Road Riding & Racing Director
Qualifications: Jim is a veteran endurance athlete that is very competitive, but also enjoys cycling with his entire family plus other WMCR club members and their families. Jim competes at the expert level in mountain bike and gravel road races and – most recently – TWICE qualified for and successfully competed in one of the most challenging mountain bike races in the world; the Leadville 100 (in Colorado).