Winter party is our favorite way to celebrate the previous season, share accomplishments and get excited for the coming year of fun on two wheels! This year's party was no exception! Held at Sakari Sushi, Velorosa's favorite place to eat delicious sushi as well as a long-time team sponsor.
We kicked the evening off with beer and cocktails during which new and returning team members had the opportunity to socialize, renew team memberships and submit the yearly waiver for participation. If you were unable to attend you can complete your membership renewal and waiver here on our new website, just click "Join Us" to get started.
All who attended were greeted by the Velorosa board and received custom Velorosa phone wallets, our new sponsor discount card and our own team brand of chapstick. We will continue to distribute the sponsor discount cards, chapstick and phone wallets at upcoming events so everyone will get the opportunity to have one. The sponsor cards feature a list of discounts available to team members provided by our generous sponsors. We hope everyone keeps them in mind when looking for goods or services! The chapstick is SPF 30 and if you've ever gotten sunburned lips on a bike ride you know that's a VERY good thing!
Following the social hour team members were invited to dig into a delicious selection of sushi, and Asian cuisine while the Velorosa board presented information recapping 2019 and sharing plans for 2020. All of our committee chairs were recognized and thanked for their efforts to help organize events and activities throughout the year and were gifted with a bottle of Jasper Winery wine. Throughout the evening we also drew for various door prizes which included water bottles, koozies, arm & leg warmers, t-shirts, and gift certificates. Finally, the party closed out with a fantastic slide show created by Karolyn Jones-Zeller featuring photographs of various team members at rides, events, races and representing Velorosa throughout 2019.
For those unable to attend, below is a recap of some of the talking points and information that was shared as well as the slide show we invite you to enjoy!
Our Mission Statement: We exist to encourage, nurture, teach, and challenge women to get more involved in the cycling community.
Our team doesn’t have strict requirements for membership. You don’t have to be an elite athlete or do a certain number of races to be a part of it. Our mission is to get more women on bikes in whatever form that takes... recreational, fitness, competitive.
Thank you 2019 Sponsors - Sakari/Jason Simpson, Des Moines Financial/Mike Moller, Tshirt Graphix/Jen Veak, The Cumming Tap/Bob Moral, Jasper Winery, Orlondos, El Bait Shoppe, Cascade Trainers, Iowa Distilling Company (because Velorosa Loves us some Prairie Fire!), Pigott Office Furniture, Firetrucker Brewery/Dan H., Beth Montpas Life Coach, Body in Motion Therapeutic Massage/Stephanie Cornish, Bastion Capital Group/Leo Skeffington, Yost Wellness Center, Velorosa Cycling Wear/Lisa Carponelli and Kim Hopkins.For 2020 were saying goodbye for now to: El Bait, Cascade, Yost Wellness.
Welcome New Sponsors for 2020- Capt Roys, Empowering Health Tools/Sarah Russell, Red Dragon Herbs & Teas/Mary, Thirsty Pigs Events. Many thanks to these sponsors for #showingup for Velorosa
“Cash for the Caboose” Auction - The "Caboose" sponsor location has been held by our long-time sponsor and friends, Mike & Tammi Moller. We're very grateful to them! It's also been asked by other sponsors if we would consider allowing others the opportunity to "purchase" the location. After much discussion, the Velorosa board decided to entertain how we could do this fairly. From this discussion came the "Cash for the Caboose" auction. Here's how it worked. We invited every 2020 sponsor to participate in a silent auction. Velorosa would then partner with the winning sponsor to select a charitable cause or organization to donate all the proceeds from the auction to. None of the funds will remain with Velorosa. We sincerely believe this action aligns with our mission statement, "to encourage, nurture, teach and challenge women to get more involved in the cycling community around them. Make a difference. Some charitable organizations and groups we discussed were the RRVT, Urban Bike Food Ministry, We Cycle, Dream Team, etc. The auction was held on 1/2/20. The winning bid was from Firetrucker, Dan Heiderscheit. On Jan 15, Dan lost his battle with cancer. We, as a board have decided to proceed with Firtrucker becoming our "Caboose" sponsor and honoring Dan for his support as a sponsor and for his generosity to the cycling, art and craft beer community. Dan's charity was one that was close to his personal cancer journey and we'll be sharing more about how Velorosa plans to honor his request in the coming weeks.
SOCIAL MEDIA - We ask everyone to keep taking photos/selfies when visiting our sponsors and posting on keep posting on Social Media about them! It's one big way we can thank them for their support. Also keep on posting photos from races and events to our public Velorosa Cycling Team page! If youre too shy then send it to Rose, Deanne, Karolyn or Erika, we'd LOVE to share it for you, recognize your accomplishments and celebrate women on bikes! Its nice for the community to see what we are doing. Remeber, use the private page for things only team members need to know about and if you are inclined, please work in #showup theme!
TEAM SIGN UP and WAIVERS for 2020 - We have a newly updated website and a new process for renewing your yearly membership. It's www.velorosacyclingteam.com We will continue to utilze Facebook but we will also be using the webiste ALOT to keep members and the public informed about our events, activities and rides. For those of you who don't "Facebook" it's a new alternative way to stay informed. It even has an app you can download to your phone, super convenient!
2020 Team Kits & Ordering - Kim shared the kit design will remain the same for 2020 with changes being made to sponsors as needed. Kit ordering will be towards the end of January. We will post in the private Facebook group and notify everyone via email (if you're signed up for the new site and have renewed) the details. Please be sure you read the email in full, it has all the answers to your questions but if it doesn't then you can reach out to Kim with your question.
New Team Tent & Volunteer Vests - We have purchased a new team tent, we're sorry to see the pink one go but it was pretty broken down and in rough shape. The new tent includes everything you need for set up including weights and instructions. We have also purchased pink volunteer vests and had Velorosa printed on them. If/When you're volunteering for an event feel free to utilize them. They do come in various sizes. Both the tent and the vests are kept at Beaverdale Bicycles and can be "checked out" there for use. Remember we ask all team members to contribute 4hrs of volunteer service yearly. There are various races, events, trail work opportunities you can sign up for that your time will make a difference. We'll be creating a way to track those hours and share in the future so stay tuned for that information to come!
Upcoming Events for Your Calendar - All events will be posted on our website and Facebook to reference. We hope you'll #showup and have a great time!
Feb 5 6pm Velorosa's Calling Vinyl Bingo @ Capt Roys.
Feb 16 Bike Talk - Road Racing & Time Trials @ Beaverdale Bicycles
Feb 20 Sip & Swap @ Jasper Winery
March 22 Bike Talk - Bike Packing @ Beaverdale Bicycles
April 4th Gents Gravel Race
June (early part of the month) TBD - Veorosa Summer Party
Thanks again to all who were able to attend! You can view the slide show -> HERE <-
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