New Vail Velo Website!

Hi there,

Today we are sending out an email to nearly 3000 people about the relaunch of vailvelo.com. About 8 years ago I was frustrated that our passion and strength as a cycling community did not have a place for all our attributes. Why was Fruita becoming so popular? Why was there a hiker's guide but not bike maps? Why couldn't the shops have a better way to get the word out from Eagle to Vail? How could we better organize and advocate for shoulders along Highway 6 or trail access with the Bureau of Land Management? And, how is anyone going to keep track of everything in one place?

I had discovered that the rich history of our cycling community had created Vail Velo Cycling Club in 1989. So four years ago SOS Outreach created a website for Vailvelo with the hopes that our County's passion for cycling could show how we have more to be proud of than communities like Moab, Fruita, Team Evergreen and Durango. We hoped that the shops could have a chamber of commerce that helped market the cycling opportunities in one place so they could prosper.

VailVelo.com as of today now provides in-depth information on more than two-dozen of the most popular trails in Eagle County, including elevation profiles, satellite and terrain views of trails, difficulty levels and user ratings. The maps were developed with the help of Leislie Kehmeier who is a GIS consultant and creating mapping for the International Mountain Biking Associaition. We are working on adding Google Earth and allowing you to add and correct trails. No place on Earth has this comprehensive of online social network of trail information. Leislie confirms that this is the a first.

Vailvelo.com will only be as good as you the, the most talented, brilliant, and beautiful people in the community, create content by becoming a member and add your own opinions, pictures and videos of trails, as well as keeping others informed on current riding conditions. We spent approxiamately $4,000, nearly the cost of a bike, to revamp the maps to Google Map, create a social network site and manage the site.

"All bikes rise with the trail," someone smarter than me once said, so please help by putting up some information about events, make a groups about your team, list your favorite fitness clubs spin classes, blog about how mad you are about the shoulders needing repair.

The organization continues to promote the Colorado-Eagle River Ride, which benefits SOS Outreach, a youth development charity. The final day for early registration ($90) is Friday, June 26. Riders may register the day of the race for $130. The race begins at Beaver Creek on July 25.Visit http://www.vailvelo.com . This website belongs to you (a political theory called Cyclism) and sponsored by Vail Summit Orthopaedics. Please forward this email to your friends.

Riders Ready!

Arn Menconi