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Thirsty mountain bikers were glad to see the VVCC volunteers who staffed the Sedona MTB Festival's beer token booth this past weekend. Almost 4,000 beer tokens were sold during the Festivals three days. Over $6,000 was raised for the Western Gateway Trail System during the Festival!

Right next to the Festival beer booth, the VVCC's This Bell Rocks tent

 

sold SWAG such as commemorative bells, VVCC shirts, and Ride-for-Five Drive Raffle tickets.

Ron Rusk and Tim Bergman serve thirsty mountain bikers

Rebecca Ellis and Jeri Merritt ring those bells

VVCC President, Mary Glinsky closing a sale while VVCC members Roger Sneed and Kaitlyn Propps look on

Mikey Berlly, Lars Romig, Joel Bowers and Roger Sneed brave the cold on Sunday

A huge thank you to the below volunteers who made the VVCC's presence at the Sedona MTB Festival a success.

Marty Glinsky, Roger Sneed, Doug Copp, Mikey Berlly, Craig Bierly, John Ellis, Rebecca Ellis, John Ellis Jr., Jeri Merritt, Douglas Pierce, Pam Milavec, Al Milavec, Marlene Macek, Pat Roberts, Tim Bergman, Ron Rusk, Grant Munkwitz, Lori Munkwitz, Charles Blake, Mikeala Ray, Dan Blaettler, Louise Brinton, Kaitlyn Propp, Lars Romig, Mike Wise and Joel Bowers.

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The Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition “VVCC” is pleased to announce it will once again be the “BeerTender” at the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival. This three-day festival held March 2nd – 4th, is attended by thousands of mountain bikers from across the United States looking to Shred the Red. The Festival offers a Main Expo with 85 exhibitors, Bike Demos, Ride Shuttles, Beer Garden offering four distinct micro-breweries’ brews, and six different bands performing throughout the weekend at the Posse Grounds Park Pavilion.

In addition to being the Festival’s BeerTender, the VVCC will be staffing a booth located right next door to where the VVCC will be selling beer tokens to thirsty mountain bikers. At the VVCC booth, the VVCC will be offering This Bell Rocks unique bike bells featuring an image of Bell Rock and the caption: Sedona 2018 to raise funds for the Western Gateway Trail System construction slated to being in Fall 2018. The Western Gateway Trail System is envisioned as a stacked loop trail system of at least 15 trails (beginner (2), intermediate (10) and advanced (3)) consisting of loops, connectors and incredible vistas located on Coconino National Forest land in the West Sedona area. 

The VVCC’s Ride for Five Membership/Fundraising Drive launches March 1st and runs through May 31st with special giveaways valued at over $9,500 to be awarded on June 8th. All 200+ VVCC Members as of March 1st automatically receive one free entry to the June 8th award drawing. New and renewing members during the drive also will receive free drawing entries. 

For those VVCC members wanting to increase their odds of winning, additional giveaway entries are available for sale at www.westerngatewaytrails.org and www.verdevalleybikesforkids.org with entry proceeds benefiting the Western Gateway Trail System and the VVCC’s Bikes-for-Kids program respectively. 

VVCC members who volunteer to assist VVCC led activities at any of the following events will receive one entry for all Ride-for-Five Drive giveaways for each volunteer shift: Sedona MTB Festival (March 1-4); VVCC Spring Picnic (March 31st); Cottonwood Elementary School Bike Rodeo (April 6th); and West Sedona Elementary School Bike Rodeo (May 4th).

Additionally, drawing entries are also available for online purchase at the Sedona MTB Festival and at the following Verde Valley bike shops: Absolute Bikes, Bike & Bean, Over the Edge, Trail Sports, Trail Zen, and Verde Valley Bike Company. Proceeds from these bike shop sales will benefit the Western Gateway Trail System.

Here’s a list of the giveaways to be awarded on June 8th.

• Choice of Stumpjumper Comp Carbon Mountain or Tarmac SL5 Expert Dura Ace Road Bike
• Carbon 41w 27.5” Whiskey Wheel Set with SRAM 900 Hubs through QBP's Custom Wheelhouse Division
• Complete Rockford-Fosgate 600W Car Audio System consisting of Prime 600W Full Range Class-D 4-Channel Amplifier, Punch 6.5” 2-Way Full Range Speaker (2), Punch P300-10 Single 10” Subwoofer, and RFX8K Install Kit
• Trek 8.2 Dual Sport Hybrid Bicycle
• Hewlett Packard 250 Notebook PC with Intel Core i5 7200U/2.5 GHz, Win 10 Pro 64-bit, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB HDD, DVD-Writer, 15.6" 1366 x 768 (HD) and HD Graphics 620
• Kali Interceptor Cycling Helmet (4)
• Camelbak Hydration Pack (2)

The Ride for Five Drive official rules can be downloaded here.

Thank you for your support and good luck!

Win Prizes, Support New Trails and Get Kids on Bikes

The VVCC’s Ride for Five Membership/Fundraising Drive launches March 1st and runs through May 31st with special giveaways valued at over $9,500 to be awarded on June 8th.  These giveaways include:

• Choice of Stumpjumper Comp Carbon Mountain or Tarmac SL5 Expert Dura Ace Road Bike
• Carbon 41w 27.5” Whiskey Wheel Set with SRAM 900 Hubs
• Complete Rockford-Fosgate 600W Car Audio System
• Trip for (2) on any AZT Expeditions MTB Trip
• Trek 8.2 Dual Sport Hybrid Bicycle
• Hewlett Packard 250 Notebook PC with Intel Core i5 7200U/2.5 GHz processor
• Kali Interceptor Cycling Helmet (4)
• Camelbak Hydration Pack (2)

“The Ride for Five Drive is raising funds to support construction of the Western Gateway Trail System in West Sedona scheduled for Fall 2018 and the VVCC’s Verde Valley Bikes for Kids Program” stated VVCC President Marty Glinsky. “All of the net raffle proceeds will support these two programs as chosen by ticket buyers” added Glinsky. 

“New and renewing members during the drive receive raffle entries and a 23% off coupon for one REI Co-op item good at any REI in the United States and online” said Kevin Adams VVCC Membership Committee Chair. “Getting to 500 members would make the VVCC one of the largest advocacy non-profits in the Verde Valley” added Adams.

Six Verde Valley bicycle shops – Absolute Bikes, Bike & Bean, Over the Edge, Trail Sports, Trail Zen and the Verde Valley Bicycle Company are facilitating Ride for Five Drive raffle ticket sales.

To join the VVCC and/or purchase raffle tickets, please go to www.westerngatewaytrails.org where proceeds support new trails or www.verdevalleybikesforkids.org  where proceeds support getting kids on bikes.

Greg Heil, Singletracks.com Editor in Chief worked with the VVCC to publish an article about the Western Gateway Trail System that's coming to Sedona starting this fall. The article, one of the most popular on Singletracks so far this year with almost 2,900 shares, raised more funds over a weekend for Western Gateway than we normally raise in a month. 

Thanks so much Greg for helping raise funds for the Western Gateway Project.

When Hermosa Tours' Director Matt McFee saw the recent Singletracks article about the Western Gateway Trail System and the VVCC's Ride for Five Drive raffle, he knew he needed to help. So, he reached out over the weekend and offered a a trip for (2) on any AZT Expeditions MTB trip which the VVCC gladly accepted. Now, the Ride for Five Drive raffle has giveaways valued at $9,500! Thank you Matt.

About Hermosa Tours

Hermosa Tours, LLC was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in beautiful Durango, Colorado with a second location in Sedona, AZ. We offer premium, guided mountain bike tours throughout the western United States for all skill levels from families to beginners to even the most advanced riders. In addition, Hermosa Tours now offers self-guided trips on the Colorado Trail, Kokopelli Trail, Durango to Moab, Arizona Trail and many others.

The VVCC is proud to welcome CDW-G as our latest Silver Level Sponsor. CDW-G Vice President of Defense Sales, Ben Bourbon, contributed a Hewlett Packard 250 Notebook PC with Intel Core i5 7200U/2.5 GHz processor to the Ride for Five Drive.

Thank you Ben!

About CDW-G

CDW-G is a wholly owned subsidiary of CDW, a leading multi-brand technology solutions provider to business, government, education and healthcare organizations in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. A Fortune 500 company with multi-national capabilities, CDW was founded in 1984 and employs more than 8,700 coworkers. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2017, the company generated net sales of approximately $15 billion.

Today, Singletracks Magazine published an article about the Western Gateway Trail Project. Click here to read the article.

Part time Sedona residents Steve Flagg and Mary Henrickson are supporting the VVCC's Ride for Five Drive by contributing the Carbon 41w 27.5” Whiskey Wheel Set with SRAM 900 Hubs through QBP's Custom Wheelhouse Division giveaway prize. Thank you Steve and Mary!

Steve and Mary founded QBP in 1981 in a small office in St. Paul, MN. QBP was early to import hard-to-find mountain bike parts from suppliers in Japan, and business took off. As the company grew, so did the number of employees, the ability serve more dealers, and the opportunities to expand product offerings with new, in-house brands. Today, QBP is the industry leader in distribution, and its brands consistently create new categories in cycling.

The VVCC is proud to welcome its newest Gold Level Sponsor, Rockford Fosgate® out of Tempe, AZ. Rockford has generously provided a complete 600W auto sound system for the VVCC' Ride for Five Drive.

A huge thank you to Rockford's Bill Jackson for stepping up to support the VVCC!

About Rockford Fosgate® 

Rockford Fosgate® is POWER. For those who don’t eat, drink and sleep audio, this may seem a little terrifying. Why would someone want thousands of watts of Rockford Fosgate® power in an amplifier that’s bigger than most cars are wide? Because sometimes, too much power is perfect!

Rockford Fosgate® is built for the future. We implement the most state-of-the-art technology in the audio world. Best of all, our entire line of products…amps, subwoofers, speakers, processors, and source units are designed and engineered in Tempe, AZ, USA!

Rockford Fosgate® isn’t just about technology. We’re about creating human experiences in sound. Technology and audio science merge in brilliant design of circuitry and components that enable you to enjoy impactful and passionate music. Just as the artists intended. Jim Fosgate founded Rockford with a passion for music, and he’s still pursuing his dream. Mr. Fosgate won an Emmy® Award for his ingenuity in developing surround sound technology. You could say his entire career has been defined by music and technology.

Rockford Fosgate® Where Music Meets Technology.