December 7/02 10:43 am - Gears 24 Hr Spin, Samplonius to New Team, IMBA Big Auction, Sierra Club Donates to Trail Fund

Posted by Editoress on 12/7/02
 

4th Annual Gears 24 Hour Spin
Courtesy Gears Racing

Gears Bike Shop in Mississauga is once again planning a Gears 24 Hour Spin. This 4th annual spin for Breast Cancer, during which they have raised just shy of $1 million. The registration and pledge forms will be available on Gears website by December 11, 2002.

The event will be held on Saturday February 22, starting at 2pm, for 24 hours, at The Hershey Centre, in Mississauga.

For those of you who would be interested in a Sponsorship opportunity, Sponsorship pamphlets are available to be mailed out, immediately. Simply ivk@idirect.ca e-mail with a request and it will be sent straightaway. There are still opportunities for major Sponsors.

Organizer Ira Kargel is looking for volunteers, as usual, so please let him know if you, your friends, spouses or kids would be interested!!

The major goal of this event is to raise substantial funds, to build a Women's Breast Centre at the Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga/Etobicoke. A very worthwhile cause!!!


TDS to Sponsor Women's Cycling Team
Courtesy Karl Heidgen, Peloton Sports Management

TDS Telecom enters the cycling circuit with the sponsorship of a new, national-level women's cycling team. TDS made this decision in efforts to support the interests of more of its communities nationwide, as well as to promote its high-speed Internet access in area markets.

Team TDS will compete throughout the United States and Canada, while focusing on the National Racing Circuit (NRC) schedule. Starting in March, the team will race at Sequoia, Solano, Redlands, Roswell, Athens, Housatonic, First Union, Nature Valley, Fitchburg Longsjo, Wendy's, Superweek, The International, and the Pro Cycling Tour. The full schedule will be posted in February.

"We're excited about this opportunity to get more of our TDS communities, around the nation, involved in this caliber of an event-and about getting our name out in front of customers through a competitive, professional team," said DeAnne Boegli, Manager, Communications and Branding. "The team will promote our high-speed Internet products, such as DSL and ISDN, and augment local publicity efforts."

Peloton Sports Management of Elburn, Ill. will manage the team, which will consist of six riders. They include:

• Ann Samplonius - Montreal, Canada
• Emily Gloeckner - Denver, Co.
• Rebecca Loney - Madison, Wis.
• Shawn Heidgen - Elburn, Ill.
• Joan Wilson - Ramona, Calif.

When asked about her position on the TDS team, Canadian rider Anne Samplonius responded "I'm really excited about racing next season since TDS Telecom has stepped in to provide a new and fresh face in professional women's cycling in the USA. I believe with the highly motivated and energetic riders on our roster that we will be a force to deal with this coming season. I think it's going to be an exciting year for women's cycling in America again and I can't wait!" Team Manager Karl Heidgen added "There are a lot of talented riders out there but I believe we can compete and win against the best teams in North America." More details will be released in the next few weeks regarding additional team sponsors, riders, and where to look for more information.

TDS Telecom, a growing national company, brings high quality, locally based telecommunications services to 900 rural and suburban communities across the U.S. Headquartered in Madison, Wis., the company, along with its subsidiaries TDS Metrocom and USLink, services 900,000 access line equivalents. TDS Telecom can be accessed through the Internet at www.tdstelecom.com.

TDS Telecom is part of the Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (AMEX: TDS) family of companies. TDS is a diversified telecommunications corporation founded in 1969. Through its strategic business units, U.S. Cellular (AMEX: USM) and TDS Telecom, TDS operates primarily by providing wireless and local telephone service. The company currently employs approximately 10,300 people and serves 4.8 million customers in 35 states.

IMBA's Big Auction

Here's your chance to get a great deal on some sweet stuff and help IMBA's mountain biking advocacy efforts, too. Up for bidding are complete bikes from Santa Cruz and Giant, a Santa Cruz Juliana frame, a RockShox SID SL, a sleek Yeti road frame, Mavic
Crossmax wheels and some cool mountain bike artwork. Visit IMBA's eBay auction page to make your bid. http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/imba-auctions


Sierra Club Donates $2,500 to Lewis & Clark Bicycle Trail
Steve Snyders, Sublime Public Relations

Missoula, Montana - The Sierra Club has donated $2,500 to the Adventure Cycling Association's Lewis & Clark Bicycle Trail. The donation was made to Section 6 of the just released eight-section bicycle route. Section 6 maps the route through the Bitterroot Mountains from Missoula, MT to Clarkston, WA. The donation was made as part of the Sierra Club's Lewis and Clark Wildlands Campaign to celebrate, protect and restore wild places and wildlife in the lands explored by Lewis and Clark.

"Lewis and Clark paddled, packed and poled their way across the unknown vastness of the American West. They explored and documented the wonders of their environment, by sponsoring this map, Sierra Club urges a new generation of explorers to pedal through the wild lands of Montana and Idaho and experience places they will love and places they will want to protect,‰ said Jennifer Ferenstein, Sierra Club President and a resident of Missoula, Montana.

The Lewis & Clark Bicycle Trail was born of a desire to offer bicyclists a way to celebrate the upcoming bicentennial anniversary of the Corps of Discovery's historic journey. This new route covers a total of 4,618 miles. The first seven of the eight map sections cover the 3,215 miles from Hartford, IL to Astoria, OR. The eighth map section retraces William Clark's 1806 eastbound route along the Yellowstone River from Three Forks, MT to Williston, ND. The maps are available for $11 per section, $8 for Adventure Cycling members, at www.adventurecycling.org