By Fran Smith, RABA Public Relations Director
The first quarter of 2017 has been a busy one for RABA. Via posts like this and a corresponding regular newsletter column we will be keeping the membership and others informed and up-to-date on all things in the public eye.
A Well Deserved Award for a Special Person
March was another month of good news when it became official that long-time RABA member and Past-President Champe Burnley received the Advocate of the Year Award from the League of American Bicyclists (http://www.bikeleague.org). This is a national award from a 100-year-old cycling association. Champe is also the current 2017 President of the Virginia Bicycling Federation (http://www.vabike.org). Kudos to Champe and what an honor to have a RABA member/leader acknowledged for this hard work.
The BANFF Film Festival World Tour
If you’ve never attended, the BANFF Film Festival, this year’s event that was held March 9-11 offered an impressive evening of adventure film. RABA had a table at this event to promote our annual HOVA Ride as well as news about the organization. There were a number of RABA members handling other vendors as well since the spirit of outdoor activities was a highlight of this event. For someone who has never attended this film festival, I can assure you this is something not to miss. The hostess for the evening had actually joined us from the BANFF area and added a wonderful “Canadian Style” humor to the discussions for each clip. An array of films ranging from 5-30 minutes rolled across the screen with vivid images, videos and stories to delight anyone who loves the great outdoors. For this avid photographer, the work was beyond impressive and a treat to travel to many distant lands of these outdoor adventurers. The auditorium was packed and I can now appreciate why — what a bargain for a low cost ticket to such a stellar event. Don’t miss this next year!!
Richmond Cycling Corps (RCC) Groundforce It Snowflake Ride
On Sunday, March 12, The 12th Annual RCC Cycling Corps GroundForce It Snowflake started at Richmond Bicycle Studio. True to the 2017 wonky weather forecasts, this was an event that rolled out with very chilly conditions but thankfully no snow.
According to RABA President Andrew Mann, there were over 20 RABA members entered into this ride and a number helping with the event. Thanks also to the positive encouragement of RABA member Beth Norton to have The Martin Agency in Richmond, VA choose RCC as their passion project for this year. Their good works are noted on the fabulous snowflake poster used for the event. The success of this event resulted in a $500.00-matched donation from RABA to RCC. Nice work to all who were able to participate!
As a wrap for this quarter, we are also happy to report that RABA has joined forces with two local organizations, the MS Ride – WV and VA and Sportsbackers Bike RVA (https://www.sportsbackers.org), in efforts to collaborate on joint opportunities promoting cycling in metro RVA. Thanks to Casey Kasko, Development Specialist for Bike MS and Sam Cox, RABA member, the MS Ride folks are promoting several upcoming ride opportunities that we will jointly sponsor from March through May, 2017.
The annual MS Ride, “Bike MS: Colonial Crossroads” rolls out in June (this year 6/3-6/4) and brings together hundreds of cyclists riding to support efforts for research for Multiple Sclerosis. The ride start/stop location for the ride will be in Williamsburg and RABA will join others at the “Team Village” to promote our message. Registration for this two-day event can be found at, http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?fr_id=28847&pg=informational&sid=13239 .
We know that there are 2 RABA teams entered in this race – one with Gary Thabet and another with Deanna Weiler’s Deanna’s Bananas group. Plan to join some of the forthcoming training rides for this event noted below:
MS BRING A FRIEND RIDES
3/25 – Four Mile Creed start/finish
4/22 – Four Mile Creek start/ finish
5/6- RABA Partnership Ride
5/13- Varina High School start/finish
5/20-5/27 – Capital Ale House training ride
Conversations with our friends at Bike Walk RVA are also underway to strengthen our messaging around shared events across the year and especially during the “National Bike Month” of May. Bike Walk RVA has sponsored several academies in Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and are kicking off a new Hanover academy this spring. Stay tuned for more updates!