JVC Winter Challenge

How hard-core are you?  Can you ride your bike outdoors one day in January (a minimum of 5 miles) and one day in February?  How about 5 miles in a day once a week?  What about riding 5 miles every day from January 1st through the end of February?  Others have done it, so what about you?  Think you can ride more than 5 miles in a day?  Go for it!  The challenge is to ride your bicycle outdoors on as many days as you can at least 5 miles a day (more is better) in January and February.  Sound simple?  Well then use the link below, read the rules, submit the form, and accept the Challenge!

Please read and follow the instructions below to register on the Project Njord website for this year's event.

1. Visit the Winter Challenge page on the Project Njord website.
2.  Read about the event, the rules, and waiver by navigating the respective tabs.
3.  Register as a participant by clicking the green Register button.
4. You will need to create an account on the Project Njord site to register for the Winter Challenge.
This allows you to track your donations, add activities, and get placed on the results leaderboard.
5. Check your email for a confirmation link. If you don't see it right away check your junk mail.
6.  Once you have a Project Njord account, you can register for the event by filling out the required information.
7.  You will receive a confirmation email upon registration, and the web site will notify of successful registration.
8.  After you have registered for the event, you can share your personalized donation link from your dashboard.
You can share this link via social media, email, or any other digital communication.
9.  Finally, when January 1st arrives, you can start adding activities as you bike outdoors. These activities allow us to calculate the event leaders and it allows sponsors to make pledges per mile and per day.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Janesville Velo Club.

Help us raise funds by encouraging your friends & family to make pledges on the number of days and/or miles you ride during the 2-month challenge period. Not up to the challenge of winter riding or soliciting pledges but want to support our cause? Use the ‘Donate’ link on the right to make a donation.

2023 Fundraiser Goal = $50,000

Palmer Park Mountain Bike Trails and Skills Area - The Janesville Velo Club is working with the City of Janesville and Traction Trailworx (professional trail building) to create a 35-acre mountain bike park with flow and progressive trails in the southern part of Janesville’s Palmer Park. This plan was created as a compromise after banning bikes from other popular off-road trails in the northern part of the park and will contain professionally built MTB/BMX type trails that will be fun for beginners, encourage riders to improve, accommodate riders with more advanced skills, while also being safely away from the unleashed dog space in the northern part of the park. The JVC has already committed $20,000 from its treasury for this project.

• East Loop - $50,000 Construction will begin in 2023!
• Intermediate Flow Trail - $25,000 Construction will begin in 2023!
• Expert Gravity Trail - $30,000
• West Loop - $45,000
• Skills Area - $40,000
• Pump Track - $45,000
• Signage / Infrastructure - $15,000

Note: The JVC, the Rock Trail Coalition, Michael’s Cycles, and the City of Janesville have already made contributions to the cost of the project’s design and plan ($5,000).

Not up to the challenge of winter riding or soliciting pledges but want to support our cause? Please consider donating. The JVC is a 501c3 non-profit organization that consists of cyclists and advocates for bicycling. Club funds are used to improve cycling opportunities in southern Wisconsin and to support bicycling-related advocacy efforts.

Specific local projects funded with the help of the Janesville Velo Club include:

• Janesville's Paved Trail - The club continues to work with the City of Janesville to improve trail signage and has paid for some of the trail’s signage. The club also maintains a segment of the trail.

• Janesville Area Youth Mountain Bike Club - Provides middle and high school students a safe and fun way to learn the sport of cycling
  • Volunteers - The club provides volunteers to coach and mentor the young riders
  • Funding - The JVC reimburses coaches for some training expenses
  • Bikes - The club provides bikes to riders needing an appropriate bike to be able to participate
    

• Rockport Park Mountain Bike / Singletrack Trail System 
  • MTB Trail - The club has worked with the City of Janesville to develop and maintain the 8+ miles of mountain bike / snowshoe trails within the park
  • Signage - The club donated to the cost of the singletrack signage and provided volunteers for the project
  • Maintenance - The club purchased equipment and provides volunteers to help keep the trails trimmed
    

• Janesville Town Square Gran Prix - A world-class bicycle race supported by the club that takes place in Janesville's downtown and is part of America's largest competitive road-cycling series (Tour of America's Dairyland)
  

Bicycle Maintenance Program - The JVC has helped the following institutions to provide safe, ready-to-ride bikes for their bicycle-riding programs:
Jackson Elementary School
Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired