VeloProject.com

Here is a brief recap of the VeloProject.com meeting held on Monday night 4/28/08 at 7:00 at the High Point Regional Hospital Fitness Center. The meeting was open and informative with multiple topics being discussed. An estimated 25 or 30 people were in attendance.

There was a long discussion concerning the webpage. A change has already been instituted on the webpage based on input provided at the VeloProject.com meeting. Direct access to the “ride” page was added to improve quick access to ride information. It was pointed out that many VeloProject.com members do not seem to be accessing the “forum” page to receive last minute ride updates or to add comments. The forum page could become a very useful ride reference tool if club members would begin using the page with some regularity. It was suggested that a “forum use education session” might be helpful. It was mentioned that communications within the club seem to be splintered and, as a result, rides and events are often not communicated throughout the club as they should be.

There was some concern voiced that VeloProject.com may not be including all bike shops in the area. It was clearly stated that “everyone is welcome”. VeloProject.com is open to all people that have an interest in bicycling. Invitations to be a part of VeloProject.com have been extended to all local bike shops and opportunities to become involved are available.

There was some discussion concerning old information remaining on the blog for long periods of time. It was suggested that club members should be encouraged to begin using the webpage blog to share information about the club, rides, upcoming events, etc. As new information is added, the outdated blog entries on the page would be purged out.

Saturday VeloProject.com regularly scheduled rides was discussed. Lack of club rider attendance was voiced a concern by several people. Some club members didn’t understand why all club members were not supporting the Saturday club rides scheduled out of Denton and Danbury. Several VeloProject.com members shared that the distance to the ride start points, coupled with increasing transportation costs did not make the Saturday ride format an attractive event. It was mentioned that local rides scheduled on Saturday that appealed to diverse riding abilities was a comfortable alternative to the existing VeloProject.com Saturday ride format. It was also mentioned that the majority of riders from High Point’s Spinergy were involved in supporting charity rides in the area and therefore, attending a VeloProject.com ride on Saturday was not a high priority. The Tuesday and Thursday ride schedule for riders in the High Point and surrounding area has not changed. It was mentioned that it would be nice to attract a more diverse group of riders to the Sunday High Point YMCA 2:00 PM ride. It was suggested that the rider classifications of “A, B, C” be dropped and simply show a ride speed range. A Sunday ride that appeals to a wide range of rider abilities seemed to be of interest to many at the meeting. It was agreed that the Sunday ride might better be viewed as a “recovery ride” from Saturday’s longer rides.

Greenway Meeting/Bike Path meeting support was discussed. The last planning meeting, held in High Point, was attended by about 12 Spinergy riders. It was pointed out that planning Greenways, Bike Paths, and Bike Lanes is exactly the type of community involvement that VeloProject.com should be looking for. There will be another Greenway Planning Meeting scheduled and VeloProject.com will be notified via the VeloProject.com website so that VeloProject.com will be given the opportunity to show-up in force.

There was some discussion about conducting bi-monthly VeloProject.com bike club meetings that would focus on continued dialog as well as provide an opportunity for presentation of bike related programs and other topics of interest for bike riders. When the next meeting is scheduled, the VeloProject.com will be notified via the VeloProject.com website.