Velo Girls announces charity partnership with Trips for Kids

Velo Girls is excited to announce a new partnership with Trips for Kids in 2010.

For more than 20 years, Trips For Kids^® (TFK^®) Marin has been providing lessons in self-confidence, environmental awareness, and healthy habits to disadvantaged youth through the simple act of having fun on mountain bikes. Trips For Kids started in Marin and has grown into an international organization with more than 60 chapters operating in the United States, Canada, and Israel.

Trips For Kids Marin serves at-risk youth throughout the San Francisco Bay area, working with over 200 local organizations. The core offering of mountain bike rides is supplemented by the Earn-A-Bike programs and the Re-Cyclery bicycle thrift shop.

Velo Girls has been partnering with Trips for Kids on their annual Girls Day in the Dirt since 2004. Check out the awesome photos from the 2009 event here:

Girls Day in the Dirt 2009 Photos

For 2010 we've decided to step our support up a notch. In 2010 Velo Girls will:

• provide volunteers + program for four Girls Days in the Dirt.
• provide fundraising support utilizing the Plus 3 Network.
• organize a donation drive for bikes + gear to be donated to the TFK Re-Cyclery program.
• donate $1 of each Velo Girls membership to Trips for Kids.
• actively promote the goodness that is Trips for Kids!

secure your place in Velo Girls history!

the Velo Girls 2010 club jersey design contest is now open and we're accepting submissions of fun + fabulous designs. get out your crayons, colored pencils, watercolors, or do it all high-tech with Illustrator -- but just do it!


here are the 2010 design contest details:

http://www.velogirls.com/VGjerseydesign2010VOTE.php

contest deadline is December 15th, 2009 and voting will commence on January 1st, 2010.

I think I'll buy a lottery ticket now!

I'm always singing the virtues of the pre-ride bike check. There's a good reason for this -- you could avoid disaster. Yesterday, I barely avoided it (and I hadn't checked my bike). I hope my experience will provide a good reminder for everyone.

Gnat and I went out to play cyclocross today. I've rolled around on my cross bike exactly once prior this season. We headed over to the bay and rolled up and down a bunch of steep, loose, off-camber drops. We rode down to The Shells and jumped the jumps over and over again. All told, about 2 hours of rolling around.



Everytime I stood on the bike, I heard a strange little clunky noise, but just thought it was creaking under effort after such a long retirement. Riding home on the road, I stood on a short steep hill and noticed that my bike felt "loose" under my weight and effort. Since it's a break-away bike, I looked at the joints (all tight). Again, standing, I felt like the bike was going to fall apart under me.

I got home and checked the bike (should have done this before the ride). The QR on the rear wheel was closed, but almost completely loose. I'm sure that when I threw my cross tires on the wheels, I probably just put them back on while the bike was on the stand and didn't tighten down the QR.

I was very lucky today. This could've been an expensive disaster. I could've broken off the rear derailleur. I could've lost the wheel altogether while we were jumping. The chain could've locked up and launched me from the bike.

Moral of the story, check your bike. Check your QRs to make sure that they're closed and tight. Check your bolts occasionally to make sure they're tight. Check your tires. Check your saddle rails. Take a few minutes before or after each ride to check the machine that you trust with your safety.

I'm feeling pretty lucky -- maybe I'll go out and buy a lottery ticket now.

to chick or to be chicked

I thought this was a great little article about strong women cyclists, especially since it highlights some of my favorite women mountain bikers:

"What does a girl have to do if she wants marriage proposals, arm wrestling contests, shock and awe accolades, and (sadly) trail blocking and really strange behavior? Simple: Pass a guy on the trail or in a race.

If you’re the dude and we pass you, you just got chicked…and I chicked a few guys while racing on a co-ed duo team with my race partner, Mario Correa this summer at the inaugural Breck Epic. I had some pretty colorful comments and antics and figured there had to be something to this. So, I asked a few VERY fast women about what happens when when they take the lead in a ride or a race, and I asked some men what is was like to ride co-ed when their partner passes a guy."

Clickety-click the linkety-link to read the rest of the article: BikeRumor.com

Jan Medina Real Estate to sponsor Girls Got Skills!

I've had the good fortune to meet many fabulous women since founding Velo Girls in 2002. One of those women is Jan Medina.

I've been trying to remember when I first met Jan. She's been a part of the Velo Girls family for as long as I can remember, participating in rides, clinics, and events for many years. She's a Lifetime Velo Girls Member and has been sponsoring the Team Velo Girls almost since it's inception.

A handful of years ago, Jan hired me to coach her for a cross-country bicycle ride -- yup, that's all the way across the US. During our first coaching consultation, I admit feeling envious of her upcoming journey and thinking just how incredible it would be to ride across the US.

During that coaching session, Jan asked me about sponsoring Velo Girls and a check arrived in the mail a day or two later. And through the ups + downs of the real estate industry, Jan has always found a way to support the programs we provide for women.

Jan has been instrumental in recruiting women to Velo Girls and to our many clinics -- she's one of our biggest cheerleaders. In addition to her trans-continental tour, she's completed the AIDS LifeCycle (from San Francisco to Los Angeles) and recruited friends and family members to participate in that ride with her. And through the ups + downs on the bike, she's always kept Velo Girls close to her heart.

I'm excited to announce that for 2010, Jan will be the title sponsor of our Girls Got Skills clinics. Jan has participated in these clinics twice since 2003 (yup, they're that good) and brought many women cyclists with her over the years. It's only fitting that we put her name on a program that has been so instrumental in her cycling career.

Thank you, Jan, for your continued support of Velo Girls!

crossin' under the stars this Saturday!

awesome photo of Jenny Feix courtesy of Lauren Haughey

hey everybody! Velo Girls would like to invite you to come out to Saturday's local cyclocross race @ Sierra Point (just south of San Francisco) to cheer on the girls in pink! we've got women racing in the Women's C race at 2:15pm as well as in the Women's A/B/35+ race at 6:00pm. that's right -- NIGHT RACING. this is the only night-time cyclocross race in the area and it's a great event to spectate. bring the whole family, stop by the Velo Girls/KENDA tent to say "hey" and don't forget to bring your cowbell!

you'll find details here: http://www.pilarcitos.com/2009Cross.htm

Join Velo Girls at the Turning Wheels for Kids Big Bike Build!

I think this is one of my favorite holiday traditions. Turning Wheels for Kids is a great organization. Each year they build thousands of brand spanking new children's bikes and donate them to youth in Silicon Valley. In order to do this, they receive donations throughout the year from corporations and individuals to purchase the bikes and then, in just one day, hundreds of volunteers come together to assemble the bikes. It's a super-fun day and folks from all over Northern CA donate their time to assemble the bikes -- folks from companies, bike clubs, bike shops, professional sports teams, and other civic organizations.



Velo Girls (and our male counterparts, the Velo Boys) will once again be volunteering to assemble bikes. The Big Bike Build will take place on Saturday, December 12th at the San Jose Convention Center (time tba but probably 8:00am - 1:00pm)

You don't need to be a bike mechanic to build a children's bike -- many of the bikes are single speed with coaster brakes -- even I can do that!

We are very limited in the number of volunteers who can participate in the event, so if you're interested, RSVP to Lorri@velogirls.com

TWFK is also looking for volunteers to help un-load all the bikes from the trucks on Friday, December 11th @ 6:00pm. If you can help with this part of the project, just send me an email -- Lorri@velogirls.com



And last but not least, let's help raise funds for TWFK this year! Last year was the inaugural year for the BIKE BUCK CUP trophy, awarded to the team who raises the most funds for TWFK. Almaden Cycle and Touring Club (ACTC) captured the trophy last year and Jim Schallau, the team leader of this group, has thrown the gauntlet! In the registration form Jim says, “ACTC expects to again take home the Bike Buck Cup!” Let's see if we can give ACTC a run for their money! Go ahead, click the paypal button and help put some kids on bikes:

Velo Girls + Trips for Kids = Girls Day in the Dirt!

Velo Girls is once again partnering with Trips for Kids to present a Girls Day in the Dirt -- this Saturday, November 7th at Tennessee Valley. Trips for Kids is a super-cool organization that provides outdoor experiences for kids who might not otherwise get out into nature. For Girls Day in the Dirt, 30 young girls will get to experience mountain biking (many for the first time ever) in a beautiful natural setting -- complete with picnic lunch on the beach.

We could still use a few female volunteers to help provide the girls with a fun day! The riding is super-easy -- mostly flat fire roads -- and the pace is pretty mellow. In addition to the ride, we teach the girls some fundamental bike skills by playing some fun on-the-bike games with them.

All you need is a smile, a bike (mountain, cyclocross or hybrid) and the desire to get a little dirty with some cool girls!

If you'd like to volunteer, please email me at Lorri@velogirls.com

get your up + down on with Velo Girls!

Just added (by popular demand), Bike Skills 201 -- climbing + descending -- November 21st. This is a co-ed clinic and will be our last climbing + descending clinic until March 2010.

Registration is here:

https://old.sportsbaseonline.com/Item.aspx?id=3028

Would you like to optimize your climbing efficiency? Not sure when to sit or when to stand? Need to perfect your position and gearing?

WE CAN HELP!

Do you cave into your inner chicken whenever the road pitches down? Do all your riding buddies have to wait and wait and wait for you at the bottom of a descent? Not sure how to pick your line? Scared of your drops?

WE CAN HELP!

Over 800 men and women have participated in our 2009 Bike Skills clinics. All your friends are doing it. They now know the secrets to speed on the ups and on the downs. Don't be left behind this winter!

WE CAN HELP!

Velo Girls 2010 Membership Kick-Off Party!

2010 Velo Girls membership is live! Register on-line here:



We've got a super-cute membership gift for the first 100 members who sign up for 2010, so register today!

To kick-off 2010, we're having a fun + fabulous membership kick-off party on Wednesday, November 11th @ the Presidio Sports Basement from 6:00 - 8:00pm. Come meet Team Velo Girls, learn about our new partnership with the Plus 3 Network, and be the first to know about all the exciting events we've got planned for 2010.

Sports Basement is providing Velo Girls members with yummy eats + beer + wine! And, after the party, there's a party in the aisles with a special members-only shopping discount!

RSVP by Monday, November 9th to Lorri@velogirls.com