Please help Renee win a trip

Our very own Red Hawk Renee DeBruin has been selected as a finalist in Wigwam Mills "Wig-L-Wam Dance Your Socks Off" dance competition.

Here's Renee's request: "My video with my nephew Xzavion dancing at last year's WORS Sheboygan race is one of the top 5 finalists to WIN a trip for 2 anywhere within the Continental US. Please go to the WIGWAM MILLS INC. facebook page, like it and then scroll to find my video and "like" it. I am finalist #2. Watch me get my groove on with X and please tell everyone to like my video as well! The one with the most votes by May 25th is the winner! Please help me out! =]"

Do it now, please!

Can you help? Volunteers needed for new MTB trail

The Ripon College Red Hawks cycling team will be hosting two trail work days Saturday, April 30 and Saturday, May 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers are sought to assist in the creation of two miles of singletrack mountain bike trails in the College's Ceresco Prairie Conservancy.

All volunteers will be entered into a prize raffle featuring a new 2011 Trek 6000 mountain bike.

Last August, Ripon College was the recipient of a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh Project grant to construct the mountain bike trails in Ripon. The grant is being used to rent necessary equipment and retain the International Mountain Bicycling Association's Trail Solutions team to assist in the trail design and construction.

IMBA's Jill Van Winkle was on campus in November to identify and mark the trail corridor. Stephen Mullins, a trail specialist with IMBA, will be on campus beginning Monday, April 25. Mullins will be the chief architect of the trail building project which is expected to take three weeks to complete.

The more volunteers we can involve in the project, the sooner the project will be complete and the sooner people can begin to enjoy this new resource. Wisconsin's unpredictable spring weather could potentially cause delays to the project, and the three-week time line is tight even under the best of conditions. Therefore, we are counting on the greater Ripon community and mountain bikers from around the region to step up and assist in the creation of this new recreational opportunity. This isn't intended to be Ripon College's mountain bike trail. This is intended to be a resource for everyone to enjoy.

In an effort to increase participation and reward volunteers for their service, we are organizing a prize raffle. Each volunteer will receive an entry into the raffle for each hour of service they contribute. Bob Kirkland, chair of Ripon College's Board of Trustees, has donated a new 2011 Trek 6000 mountain bike as the grand prize. Saris Racks has donated a Bones 3 car rack and CycleOps Power has donated a Magneto trainer. GU Energy and DeFeet have also donated prizes for the raffle. Winners will be drawn during a grand trail opening celebration slated to take place later this summer.

In addition to the two Saturday work days, volunteer opportunities will be available throughout the project. For more information, contact Ric Damm at 920-748-8322 or dammr@ripon.edu.

Trail Solutions is IMBA's professional fee-based trail consulting program. Trail services range from trail planning, design and construction to trail management, education and volunteer teamwork. IMBA excels at careful and diligent planning and collaboration to create trail systems that provide high-quality experiences for diverse visitors, minimize environmental impact and user conflict and require less maintenance over time.�

Work to begin on Pepsi Refresh Project trail

This Sunday we will raise our first pruner in anger as we begin to clear buckthorn and other vegetation from the trail corridor of our planned singletrack trail on campus.

Team members and other volunteers are set to descend on the Ceresco Prairie Conservancy April 10 to begin the brush clearing. The work will prepare the way for the IMBA Trail Solutions team to begin trail construction as soon as April 25.

In an effort to encourage participation and to reward the hard work of our volunteers, we will offer a variety of prizes to be awarded via a raffle. A generous Ripon donor and cycling advocate has offered a brand new Trek 6000 mountain bike as the top prize. Our team sponsors are also coming through for us. Saris Cycle Racks has donated a Bone 3 car rack and CycleOps Power has donated a Magneto trainer. GU Energy and DeFeet are also chipping in with some swag to reward volunteers. Each volunteer will get a ticket in the raffle for each hour they volunteer to the project. Names will be drawn this fall as part of a grand trail opening celebration.

Daily Peloton features interview with Coach Damm

Imelda March, a Chicagoland member of Team Kenda, interviewed Coach Ric Damm recently and the results have been posted on DailyPeloton.com as part of its continuing "Ride and Learn" series. The series highlights varsity cycling programs throughout the country.

Ripon footage included in new Pepsi promo

Thanks to the work of videographer Brett Fallentine at GOOD Projects LLC, this footage of the Red Hawks cycling team, shot at Nordic Mountain on a cold and snowy day last November, has been included in Pepsi's new Refresh Communities promotion. The video is included on the Refresh Project blog and will hopefully find its way into the new refresheverything.com.

We'd like to thank Rick Schmitz at Nordic Mountain for all of his support, as well as Ripon College alumnna Liza LeClaire, chief operating officer at Wheel & Sprocket, for accommodating the shoot at the Hales Corners shop.

We hope to begin clearing brush from the flagged trail corridor soon in anticipation of construction by the IMBA Trail Solutions team slated to begin April 25.

Sign Up Now for Wisconsin Bike Summit

Register now for the Wisconsin Bike Summit on April 19. Attending the Summit is not only inspiring, educational and fun, but now more than ever you are needed to stand in support of Wisconsin bicycling. The Summit is the most important bicycling event of the year!

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin welcome Wisconsin Secretary of Tourism Stephanie Klett and Copenhagen's bicycle guru Andreas Røhl as our key note speakers.

Secretary Klett will kick-start our Summit with an opening session on the exciting bicycling opportunities in Wisconsin. Prior to leading Wisconsin Tourism, Secretary Klett traveled over 1,000,000 miles throughout Wisconsin promoting our state's special places through Discover Wisconsin.

Andreas has led Copenhagen's bicycle program, making this city famous for being the world’s best bicycling community. An amazing 40 percent of people who work or study in Copenhagen make their commutes by bike, and among folks who also live in Copenhagen, the rate is even higher – about 55 percent. This is a huge change from the 1970s, when the percentage of Copenhagen residents who used the bicycle as everyday transportation was in the single digits – not unlike many Wisconsin communities today.

The Summit will include the following inspiring and social activities for every type of bicycle leader:

• Workshops led by experts across the state covering topics from mountain biking to bike-friendly businesses
  
• Organized bike rides highlighting Madison's innovative bicycle facilities
• A pre-event Happy Hour and post-event celebratory social
  
• Meetings with your legislators to educate and inform our political leaders on the importance of bicycling in Wisconsin
  

Bicycling in Wisconsin can't move forward without you! Whether you are a bicycle business owner, a bike club leader or a bike commuter, you are critical to making Wisconsin an even better place to be on a bike.

Save $10 when you register for the Summit by April 11. REGISTER NOW.

Planning to spend the night in Madison? Bike Summit attendees are eligible for a reduced room rate at the Madison Concourse Hotel ($69 single/$79 double). To receive this rate, reserve your room via phone, (608) 257-6000, and ask for the Wisconsin Bike Summit discount. Rooms are going fast — reserve yours by April 8 to guarantee your spot.

President takes 'plunge' with Red Hawks

Ripon President David Joyce, an avid mountain biker, joined members of the cycling team Friday, Feb. 18, as they plunged into the frigid waters of Lake Winnebago as part of the Special Olympics of Wisconsin Polar Plunge event in Oshkosh.

The team's efforts raised more than $1,700 to support the state's Special Olympcis efforts to provide funding for nearly 10,000 athletes with cognitive disabilities. Joyce agreed to participate as part of the "Toss Your Boss" event.

Joyce, along with Ripon cyclists Andy Ayers, Jeremy Brouwer, Andy Fehrenbach, Benjamin Jones, Paul Meuer and Head Coach Ric Damm, jumped into a hole cut in the ice at Millers Bay near Menominee Park in Oshkosh. And it was COLD!!

Thank you to everyone who supported our efforts, and a special thanks to President Joyce for being such a good sport.