Susan Tolle remembers the helplessness like it was yesterday.

In 2016, the Statesville resident’s grown daughter attempted suicide three times, and every desperate search for help seemed to come up empty. What she didn’t know then was that wheels would soon start turning in Mooresville, leading her from private heartbreak into the very heart of a powerful movement for suicide awareness.

Now in its third year, Mooresville’s annual Fondo — a long-distance cycling event that attracts riders of all levels — is known for its scenic routes, hospitality and bustling downtown finish line. But its story began in a much quieter place: a mother searching for help during her daughter’s crisis, a cyclist with a dream and a local Rotary club looking for a cause.

Together, they turned heartbreak into healing and built a tradition that rides for something far greater than miles.

A shared struggle

Before the Fondo took shape, Mooresville residents Jeff and Lisa Cernuto were already carrying loss — a close couple-friend’s son and one of Jeff’s business partners had died by suicide.

At the same time, Jeff was pouring energy into his passion for cycling. He had just finished the Lake Norman Fondo, which rolled out of downtown Davidson and through quiet back roads, and he thought: Why not here? “Mooresville has a great downtown, great country roads and the perfect venue,” he recollected.

About a month later, then-Mayor Miles Atkins stopped by Jeff’s office with a list of events planned for the town’s 150th anniversary. He asked if the Cernutos wanted to sponsor one.

Jeff politely declined. Instead of sponsoring an existing event, he wanted to start a new one: a Fondo for Mooresville.

Lisa, who owns Mooresville Realty, agreed to step up as title sponsor. Jeff pulled together a small committee of cycling friends, including Alec Natt, a member of the Top of the Lake Rotary Club.

And Rotary, as it happened, was looking for a new fundraiser.

“It just came together perfectly,” Jeff said.

But the event still needed a purpose.

“A close friend’s son died by suicide, as well as one of my partners,” Jeff said. “It all happened in a short span of time. What better way to bring that to light than by making it the theme of the Fondo?”

Finding a purpose

The Cernutos decided the Fondo would stand for suicide awareness. Then fate stepped in and landed them at a cocktail party with Susan Tolle. “In those early years, nobody talked about suicide — it was very taboo, a huge stigma,” Tolle said. “When I needed help, my daughter was in crisis, and I couldn’t find much out there.”

Talk quickly turned to suicide awareness, and, as it’s said, the rest was history.

The first ride

By 2022, planning turned into reality. The inaugural Mooresville Fondo rolled out of Downtown Mooresville, with cyclists filling Main and Broad streets before heading into the rolling country roads Jeff had once imagined.

It wasn’t just about the ride. Rotary volunteers lined the course, sponsors filled Downtown and Tolle was there, handing out brochures and talking with families about suicide prevention. For her, it was the moment when private heartbreak fully met public purpose.

“That first year, we didn’t know what to expect,” Jeff said. “But the support was incredible. We had riders from across the region, and the community really rallied around it.”

For Tolle, the experience was personal: “I just kept thinking, if one life is saved because of this, then it’s worth every bit of it.”

The cycling community

For local cyclist Mark Clark, who has been riding for decades and helps lead Mooresville-area cyclists, the Fondo is about more than just the miles. “The cycling community is an amazing group of people brought together by this shared interest,” he said. “When you’re riding, you have conversations you wouldn’t otherwise have. It brings people together.”

Clark has ridden all over the country, from multi-day trips in the Northeast to organized events across the Carolinas. Few, he said, compare to the Mooresville Fondo.

“I’ve been riding bikes for 50 years and road bikes actively for 15,” he said. “I’ve not seen a ride better organized than the Mooresville Fondo — and that was in its first year. It usually takes events several years to reach that level.”

The Fondo also offers a chance to give back, he said. “Top of the Lake Rotary supports all kinds of community service and events,” Clark said. “A lot of us ride, at least in part, because the money supports those causes. It’s a little we can do to give back.”