FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Thomas Dimitroff's passion for cycling is no great secret. The Atlanta Falcons general manager has invited members of the community to join him on past Bike to Work Days and become a major advocate for the activity.
On Monday, Dimitroff will put that advocacy to action at the YMCA Youth and Teen Development Center on Memorial Drive in Atlanta. Joining with Future Wheels and the YMCA, Dimitroff and the Falcons will spend the day building bicycles alongside approximately 25 children, who will then take home the bikes they construct.
This event is certainly one near and dear to Dimitroff, who's in his 10th year as GM and helped take the team to the Super Bowl in his second season working with coach Dan Quinn. Dimitroff recently joined Sport Science’s John Brenkus on “The Brink of Midnight Podcast” and briefly explained his passion for cycling.
"I'm involved with a group called People for Bikes, which is not just bike riders -- it's not just that -- it's about bicycle advocacy," Dimitroff told Brenkus. "When we start talking about Play 60; we start talking about obesity; we start talking about health, I think it's all linked back to being healthy, it's linked back to cancers, it's linked back to a lot of different things. I believe in that a lot. I believe in the fitness element.
"Interestingly enough, my first few years I was always told when you are contributing and being philanthropic, you better find something that you are very passionate about. I'm very passionate about child health and children's hospitals and such. But I wanted to see if I could do it from a little bit of a different approach, and bicycling, I feel, can do that. We're at the brink of starting something new, so to speak. We're talking about is something new that we can do for the underprivileged kids within Atlanta and provide bikes. I know that happens in different places around the world, but I feel very strongly about that."
In addition to building bikes with the children, Dimitroff will personally provide helmets and bicycle locks for each of them.
Dimitroff and the Future Wheels staff will be introduced at the event at 10 a.m. on Monday morning with the building scheduled to begin around 10:35 a.m. An optional bike ride will take place after lunch at 12:30 p.m. ET and the event will conclude at 1 p.m. ET.
