 In 1940, Vince Menci's Boy Scout troop stood at the finish line of the very first Tour of Somerville bicycle race. Hometown boy Furman Cougler won the 50 mile race, which was started by his father Fred, Pop Cougler. Vince's passion for cycling started that day, and soon Menci convinced his mom to purchase a $40 racing bike from Cougler's bicycle shop on the installment plan of $1 a week. Vince began training under Pop's guidance and eventually he started racing. Menci raced competitively from 1942 to 1951 and won the New Jersey Men's Senior Division title in 1945. By 1947, Vince was a member of the Somerset Wheelman and helping Pop Cougler raise sponsorships for the Tour of Somerville and learning how to produce cycling events. After being drafted in 1950 and serving in the Korean War, Menci eventually rejoined the Somerville cycling scene. He served as a New Jersey District Representative of the Amateur Bicycle League of America, now part of USA Cycling, and helped oversee races throughout the Garden State. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Menci organized, coordinated, and promoted major cycling events that received national recognition and attracted competitors from throughout the world. These events included the Hills of Somerset County 80-mile road race and the Asbury Park Cycling Classic. One of his biggest contributions to the sport is the 125-mile University of Medicine and Industry of New Jersey Bicycle Race of Health, which began in 1983 and is a three-day stage race that runs the entire length of the state. Vince was well known for driving throughout the state, looking for usable roads and working with local mayors and police to support the race. In 1986, Vince was one of the founding members of the original U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in downtown Somerville and served as the curator of its collection until 2010. Menci helped establish uniform standards for race officials, organized officiating clinics and riding skills rodeos throughout the mid-Atlantic states, and has served as a chairman for both the Garden State Games Cycling events and the New Jersey State Senior Games Cycling Competition. In over seven decades in the sport, he has been a race director and promoter, a cycling fitness and safety consultant, a trainer, a stock bike advocate, and a cycling historian. Vince Menci has worked tirelessly to ensure the overall advancement of the sport of cycling. As a longtime contributor to the sport, he has truly been one of cycling's greatest ambassadors. The former Boy Scout still lives near the finish line of the Tour of Somerville, where it all began.