Syracuse Bicycle

Randy Hadzor has a lot of fun riding various bikes.  He also has a lot fun running, playing hockey, boxing, lifting weights, swimming, teaching, drawing and designing.  All of these things make life for Randy Hadzor, well, fun.

Randy grew up in Central New York and currently lives in downtown Syracuse.  He ran both cross country and track in high school and college.  He is a self-employed graphic designer and an after school art teacher.  Last year, Randy and one of his best friends from high school started their graphic design business which creates logos, branding and does web design for various business, races, individuals and charity organizations.  “Being self-employed is great because it leaves me a lot of time to ride my bike,” Randy states.  Hadzor also enjoys creating and teaching art.  Three days a week he goes to two local city schools and teaches after school art classes.  “I really enjoy teaching art,” Hadzor says.  “It’s a lot of fun working with kids and teaching something I love.”  Randy also creates his own art that he displays at various art shows around the city of Syracuse.

When Randy isn’t working or teaching, he is playing.  “I really enjoy doing cyclocross races,” he says.  “It’s hard to do, but it’s also a lot of fun.”  Randy competed in several cyclocross races in Central New York this year.  “I also like meeting with the Tuesday night cycling group over the summer,” he states.  “Every week is a race and a really hard effort that I enjoy.”  Randy is always trying to push himself and others around him to work hard and do their best, a lesson that he says he learned from his father.  “My dad is very inspiring, and he’s always encouraging me to work hard for things that I want whether it’s trying to win a race or finish a job,” he explains.  In addition to his cycling activities, Randy also trains for and competes in the annual Syracuse STREND challenge, which is a competition that tests the strengths of the individual in several physical activities.  He also enjoys playing hockey in a winter league and working out at the downtown YMCA.

As is the case with many cyclists in and around Syracuse, Randy enjoys tackling some of the biggest hills in Central New York on his Trek road bike.  “Riding on Route 20 is awesome,” Randy says.  “You get some crazy ups and downs.  I also enjoy riding around downtown on Sundays when the city is empty.  It’s a cool feeling, almost like you own the place.  Other times I like to just go ride for a long time and not worry about how far I’ve gone or where I’m going.”

While Randy has plenty of things to keep him busy outside of work, one activity that gives him particular satisfaction is fixing up old bikes and creating new bikes.  “It’s fun to take parts from old bikes and make new one,” he says.  “Sometimes the parts don’t always fit perfectly together on the bike, but that only makes it more interesting when you start riding it.”

One of Randy’s goals in life is to combine both work and play so that he has fun everyday.  “I like doing fun things.  I enjoy both working and playing.  It makes life some much more interesting.”  Working hard and having fun are words that certainly describe him, and that’s why Syracuse Bicycle loves Randy Hadzor.