It’s a new year (a little late) for the Dryside Velodrome Project and we’re trying to decide where to go next. What matters the most about the velodrome is who would use it and who wants it. So until we figure out who wants it and what they are willing to do to help, in the words of one of the main drivers behind the project
“the velodrome is tangible but very much in limbo and needs a solid community push to go forward. We need to try to rally the community. If the community doesn’t want it, then it essentially comes to a halt”
So that’s where we stand right now, we want to find out what the people in the community think and how to move forward. Look for more information in local papers and on this site and let us know what you think by contacting drysidevelo@gmail.com
Thanks very much to www.ridetheblackline.com for the above graphic. Sometimes it’s hard to get help and it seems like it’s just too big of a dream to make happen, so it really made my day to open my email and see that they had made a graphic and sent it too me for no reason other than they love the sport and want to help. It seems like a little thing but it means a lot. Pepsi lets the votes accumulate for two days before they update the rankings, so tomorrow we’ll get the first idea of where we stand an it will be updated every half hour after that. So keep voting! Also check out the new video on the “About the people” page, and find out who we are!
Our entry into the Pepsi Refresh project has been approved and voting has started! We are in the running for a $50k grant to build the track and develop the racing and youth programs. Everybody can vote once a day every day for the entire month of December. Help us out by voting every day and telling everybody you know to do the same. Social media will help us out immensely. Cover twitter, Facebook, blogs, everything you can think of with new of the Dryside Velodrome Project and we may have a chance at this thing.
The past month has been somewhat eventful for the Dryside Velodrome, in ways both good and bad. Luckily most of the setbacks have been fairly minor and the progress has been considerable, enough so that we are finally ready to host our first event! (The premier Dryside Velodrome Work day and Full moon party – October 23rd!) But we’ll start from the beginning. Many of you have noticed (and commented in one way or another) that the amazing video that the previous post links to has been removed from youtube. This video was originally meant as a supplement to the Dryside application to the Pepsi Refresh Project. Much of the driving force behind the Dryside project is coming from collegiate cyclists who race for Fort Lewis, got involved with the sport through the Fort Lewis College cycling team, and have done a considerable amount of track racing in the FLC team kits. This lead to the original video containing many images of Fort Lewis/FLC cycling team property, logos, team kits, etc. Almost as quickly as the video was posted it was seen by interested parties at the college and red tape started to fly. Needless to say it became obvious that it would be far easier to remove the video and remove all aspects of the project as completely as possible from Fort Lewis College and the cycling team instead of trying to jump through so many hoops for very little gain. There are no hard feelings with the college or FLC cycling, that’s just the way the bureaucratic cookie crumbles. As usual this setback proved to be an opportunity through which we were able to create an even better video and further define our identity as a whole community based project as opposed to one with only strong ties to Fort Lewis College or the FLC cycling team.
The second minor setback we encountered was also related to our submission to the Refresh Project. This is an amazing program that is funding hundreds of deserving and diverse projects around the country and is gaining fame every day. Knowing this our hardworking volunteer/Pepsi submission coordinator/video editor had our submission complete and ready several days before the submission deadline so that voting could begin Oct. 1st. She was in the middle of a long stretch of traveling to races (collegiate immediately followed by the Elite national track championships) and the constant changing of time zones may have gotten very slightly the best of her and she submitted our application only 35 minutes after the submission site was opened and it had already filled up (1000 entries in 35 minutes!) So hopefully everybody was ready to vote and will still be when we successfully submit our application to the project on November 1st. You will be able to vote here.
Now for the biggest success of the past month (and maybe since the project started). All the people involved in the project are happy to announce the we are finally ready to host our first public event at the actual real-life Dryside Velodrome! Dozens (hundreds?) of hours have been spent with earth moving equipment and angle jigs and tape measures getting the velodrome completely dialed in – symetrical, exact length, exact and proper angles, smooth transition to a flat wide apron, the whole works.
So the velodrome has finally gotten to the point where earth movers are too much, it needs the gentle loving hands of cycling loving volunteers to come up and fine tune the surface and pound the dirt until it’s as hard as concrete. This is a chance for everyone to see the project and realize how real it is (not just in my imagination and on this website) and help get it closer to being finished and have a good time. So mark your calendars for October 23rd for the Dryside Work Day and Full moon party! Work starts at 10 am, show up any time and stay for as long as you want, we’ll work until it’s finished or until it’s dark and then we’ll start the party. Bring anything you think might be useful (shovels, rakes, hoses, friends, food, drinks, dirt tampers, cash money, or anything else you can think of). Parking is somewhat limited so try to carpool (or for the high energy types, ride your bike out). The address is:
12189 County Road 120 (somewhat near the top intersection of Wildcat canyon)
Directions from Durango
So I hope to see everybody out there, it’ll will be fun, come see the progress for yourself, and as usual spread the word and email us if you have and questions.
PPS – Special thanks to Terry James and company for donating all of the equipment and operators to move hundreds of tons of dirt and make or modest dream happen. Without him and the drivers we would still be out there with shovels.
This pretty much sums up the point of what we’re doing better than I could in writing. Thanks to the original and hardest working volunteer for putting this together.
We’re planning on using this in our application to the Pepsi Refresh Project. We should be up on October 1st, get ready to vote as much as you can.
So it’s been a long time since the last post, way too long, but it has been time well spent. I’ve been travelling a little, first to the Fixed Gear Classic in Blaine, MN (top notch racing, big name racers, young talent, amazing promoters and staff, good prize money, awesome crowds, and so far the best velodrome I’ve ever ridden) then to the Colorado State Track championships (also top notch competition) doing everything I could to spread the word, shoot the breeze, and most importantly get advice on what it will take to not only get a velodrome built, but to develop sustainable and fun racing and training programs in Durango. All the talking with other enthusiasts and emailing back and forth to the ATRA has been very productive and I’ve come away with lot of good ideas. The business side of things has also progressed and we are about to submit the paperwork to apply for 501(c)3 non-profit status and we even have a (mostly empty) bank account. But the it hasn’t all been talk and paperwork either. In the past few days another couple of tons of dirt was pushed around and packed down at Dryside with impressive results. And by impressive I mean we’re almost ready. The track is shaped right, it’s mostly symmetrical, smooth, and even. We may attempt to get a grader out there to skim it, but either way in the next week or two we will be done with machines. And after the machines come the people – people with shovels, rakes, hoses, gloves, beer, baked goods, weed eaters, scooters/motorcycles/ATVs and a volunteer labor spirit. Enough people with tools and we should be should be able to finish the final manicuring and dirt moving in one good day (that will of course end with bonfire in the infield.) After that we need vehicles with big rubber tires to drive around the thing and maybe some occasional water sprayed until it’s packed and smoothed and we can work out the last imperfections. We have no idea how long this will take, we’ll just drive and spray until… until it’s ready for bikes; we’re that close. So get your shovel and your fixed gear ready and get ready to mark your calendar, the Dryside shovel party is coming soon and the date and official announcement should come in the next few days. As usual let us know if there is anyway you think you can help or would like to make a monetary donation (total cost to date for The Dryside Velodrome Project = approximately $56, pretty impressive but at some point we will have to spend some money.) Also please send us an email if you’re just excited about the project and following our progress, that’s really what keeps it going, I don’t like to think that I’m moving tons of dirt so that I can ride around in circles by myself, I’m trying to build the coolest front yard playground in Durango so that my friends will come out and have fun with something new and different. While you’re waiting check out the pictures of the progress on Facebook. They don’t really do just to the scale of the track and how steep the walls are.
Thanks for reading
Turn 3. The weeds are gone now and it's a lot smoother, but the view is still the same.
P.S. – Maybe some hard numbers on the specs of the track will help people realize how real it is and how close we are
Straightaways – 41 meters long x 6 meters wide with approximately 16 degrees bank
Corners – 19 meter radius with approximately 41 degree maximum bank
Total length approximately 200 meters.
Most of the people involved in the project so far believe that the best way to get the Dryside velodrome up and running is with an official non-profit that will have the purpose of raising money for the initial construction and operational costs. Registering a non-profit is a time consuming and costly process in itself, and we would greatly appreciate any help from those with previous experience with non-profits, as well as any cash money donations to pay the bureaucrats. Another option is to obtain official fiscal sponsorship from another non-profit. We’re looking for feedback, knowledgeable or otherwise, on these ideas.
The Dryside Velodrome Project 