1. Steven Wens shared news that the “Cross of the North” cyclocross race is looking for a new venue. It’s an established, three-day event with race directors, sponsors and five previous races hosted annually on the second weekend in October. Past races have taken place in Loveland and Fort Collins. Wens proposed bringing this idea forward to the staff at the Fairgrounds/ Special Events Complex and Stanley Park. Coalition members were enthusiastic about the idea and a meeting between those mentioned above will be arranged soon.

2. Stefano Tomaselo – Owner of Via Bicycle Cafe introduced himself and explained his store located at 1751 N Lake Avenue (across from Rambo’s Liquor) had a soft opening this summer. He will offer coffee and food as well as sell bikes. Visit www.viabicycles.com

3. Alicia (Mittelman) Rochambeau spoke behalf of two School District employees who would like the Coalition’s support to advocate for an improved street crossing across HWY 7 and Graves Avenue. This will involve letter writing/ emails and potential meetings and petitions to the Colorado Department of Transportation and Town of Estes Park. Coalition please support when the time comes!

3. Bill Ruth explained the value of voting YES on ballot issues 4C and 4D which will provide funding for the Estes Valley Community Center, a facility for everyone. Specifically, cyclists in the Coalition can gather for meetings or book a room to host training and/or nutrition classes in the winter months. Information at www.evrpd.com/current-projects/community-recreation-center

4. Josh Cramer gave an update on the Estes Park High School Mountain Bike Team’s success this season. The team of six may be small in number but is mighty on the trail. The racers earned their place in this weekend’s state race, a competition in Eagle, CO. All are welcome to cheer them on and enjoy free camping nearby. Cramer encouraged Coalition members to join the kids next season for mountain bike rides and training. Cramer and Coach Glenn Case could use some more adults to help facilitate rides and gifts, either monetary or donations of energy drinks and snacks are appreciated.

5. Thad Eggen had good news to share about expanding mountain bike trails at the YMCA of the Rockies. He wants the folks at the Y to know that the Coalition is in full support and willing to volunteer at a moment’s notice. Nice!

6. Mike Lewelling asked the EPCC to prepare for nominating and voting in board members. We thank Greg Sampson who lead the charge for the last year and a half! Sampson’s work commitments are taking up much of his energy and he announced he welcomes new leadership. Stay tuned for an outline on the board responsibilities and proposed means for an election.

7. For those in the crowd who ride tricycles – keep on Rocky[ing] with your bad self!

1. Belle Morris updated the group on the Transportation Advisory Board

   1. A study has been initiated on improving Dry Gulch

   2. a bike lane was requested

   3. a sidewalk has been proposed

   4. proposed increase to width of road

   5. proposed tunnel under Highway 34

   6. please send any comments, supporting or encouraging letters to Belle Morris at bellesmorris@hotmail.com

2. Jason Bertolachi from IMBA came up to answer some questions about EPCC becoming an IMBA chapter. We will be voting next meeting, June 17th, on whether or not to become an IMBA chapter. Please read the pros and cons below:

Pros-

• An easy way to achieve 501c3 status without $1000 dollars in legal fees and around a hundred hours of volunteer time, which brings lots of benefits including the ability to accept tax-deductible donations

• Membership drive; IMBA will handle the annual membership renewal

• Business tools such as: membership statistics, connections with government agencies, fundraising ideas and initiatives, industry connections, know how: trail building, bike friendly communities, guidance and counsel with difficult political situations, mailing list

• Ability to maintain our mission and vision (we are a unitarian church of cyclist: roadies, mountain bikes, fat tires and tag-a-longs accepted)

• Contacts to help us obtain Liability Insurance.

• Access to Bike Park Designers (Needed for our Stanley Park project.)

• Allows us to be more effective and efficient with our outreach and communication to our members

• Will give us some more credibility, clout and help us to be more official

Cons-

• image- International Mountain Biking Association

• membership cost $30 + $20 donation (average donation)

• Membership revenues split 60% to IMBA, 40% to EPCC

• Requires that our Club obtain Liability Insurance at an approximate cost of $500/yr.

• Initial application fee of $500 for EPCC

• EPCC will have to file tax information each year

3. Rick Life talked about the Courage Classic- “The Courage Classic Bicycle Tour is a fully supported, three-day bicycle event that provides everything you need along the way.

Great food and drink will fuel your ride through various route options including over Vail Pass, Hoosier Pass, and through Breckenridge. Help ensure that the children in our communities and their families will never be turned away from the help they might need in the case of sexual or physical abuse.” http://www.childrenscoloradofoundation.org/courage-classic

Rick Life and Walt Hester are excited to do this with some other folks this year, if you are interested in joining them contact Rick at rlife@estes.org

4. Erica Goad reported that there will be a public process associated with the Estes Valley Recreation and Parks District comprehensive trails master planning effort.  Public input will be gathered this summer and fall and with the master plan reaching completion in Spring 2016. Stay tuned for information regarding public input.

5. EPCC discussed trail and road rides. Now that that it is warming-up, post any group rides you may have planned on fb, or have a fellow EPCC member post for you.

6. Alicia Mittleman shared some details about Bike to Work/Bike to Play week.

• She informed us that Zach Zehr and the Estes Park Mountain Shop will be offering a bike maintenance workshop at the Mountain Shop on June 17th at 5:30.

• The official Bike to Work Day morning events will be June 24th from 6 AM to 9 AM at the Visitor Center.  Please attend!!

More information to follow via fb and email!

1)   Thad Eggen started with a trivia quiz about Shimano. Mike Lewelling received accolades for answering 3 out of the 6 questions correctly and was awarded a six pack of tasty Michelob Ultra (beer of champions…(?)) Mike was slightly thrilled. Of note: Shimano possesses 50% of the market share in bicycle components & Shimano established itself on the market by reversing the industry trend of presenting innovations only at the top tier of the product- Shimano presented innovations on the bottom tiers as well.

2)   Greg Sampson presented on the nascent Athletic Coalition’s second meeting. The purpose of the Athletic Coalition is to promote Estes Park as an athletic/adventure destination. The A.C. is generating ideas such as: 501c3 status, developing a web site for all outdoor organizations to announce their activities and organizing other events to attract outdoor adventure travelers to town. Many members of EPCC were in attendance, Greg Sampson has volunteered to be the EPCC liason.

3)   Alicia Mittleman talked about initiating planning for Bike to Work/Bike to Play 2015. The town would really like EPCC to take full control of the event next year- so this year is a training wheels ride for EPCC! Date for Bike to Work Day is: Wednesday June 24^th, 6 AM-9AM at the Estes Park Visitor Center. Alicia has done a great job of listing the process for this fun celebration of Bicycles. The initial meeting has been held, we look forward to hearing from Alicia regarding the next planning meetings and the help needed for Bike to Work/Bike to Play.

Mark Kougl mentioned that plans are underway for Bike to Work/Bike to Play week in the Park.

Ideas that were brought up included: disseminating information to Families for Estes, committing to a car free week, having more mechanics on hand, publicizing the event in Spanish and participating in Bike to School day (Tuesday May 5^th)

4)   Todd Plumber presented on the proposed Bike Park (phase 1 of the Recreation District’s master plan for Stanley Park) All meetings regarding the Bike Park have been positive. The current issues with the bike park are: money, design choices (man made materials or all dirt), School District approval and professional design.

5)   Glenn Case updated EPCC about the pursuit of a 501c3. Rebecca Earhardt and Jill Lancaster have assisted Glenn with the process. Becoming a non-profit will be helpful for EPCC so that we can organize funds and donations for projects like the Bike Park. Ideas were shared regarding pairing with similar organizations to use their 501c3 status and talking with other bike clubs to see if/how they became non-profits. Using a lawyer to help us file was highly recommended- cost at $500.

6)   Ride waivers were brought up by Greg Sampson. (sorry about using the passive voice their- you got to break the mold sometimes, right?) We can’t just rely on bike shorts to protect our backsides in our culture. Once again, the idea of checking with other established organizations was presented.

7)   Post-meeting idea: organizing a “slow-spokes” ride group for those of us who aren’t Steve Wens- aka “Mr. Speed”. As with any ride- Please post on fb when, where, who and what anticipated level of ride! Let’s hope we all can get out there soon and spin those tires!

1. Trivia Started the night: Of note- The Tour de France is one of the most famous bicycle races in the world. Established in 1903, it is considered to be the biggest test of endurance out of all sports. & Dutch cyclist Fred Rompelberg pedaled in the slipstream of a dragster at 167.044 mph (that’s 268,831 km/h for Steve Wens and Stefaan), a record that still stands. While no clear winner stood-out, Max Cramer, Heidi Tryon and Tom McGrath all garnered a point more than the rest of us.
2. Greg Sampson, el prez, spoke about ideas for following meetings; training, diet, goals and trip slide shows. Please feel free to share the cool things that you are doing on your bike with us in the following meetings!
3. Belle Morris updated us on TAC. Currently 8 options have been created for the traffic issues facing Estes Park. CDOT wants the town to narrow down the options to 2 with a projected ground breaking of 2017 after studies and community input are completed and collected.
4. Thad Eggen updated the group on the proposed Hermit Park multi-user trail. {If you have not done so, please take a moment to sign the letter requesting that Larimer County moves forward with the construction of this trail. Letter is located on our website.} In summary-Larimer County Open Space has essentially designed a great multi-user single track trail, yet has stalled in its development. Encouragement by us, and other bike clubs will help move this trail to a higher priority position.
5. Joel Estes trail- Mark Theiss proposed a trail idea involving the BLM land around the area of where Fish Creek Road and Highway 34 intersect. If this trail where allowed to connect to Hermit Park, and this would involve permission from land owners and the BLM, we could have a trail from Estes Park to Pole Hill and Hermit Park. A great idea that will take some planning and discussing, but a trail most of us hadn’t thought of until now.
6. Bike Park, proposed- The most exciting thing that night was the news that the bike park has been green lighted by the Recreation District. Thanks to the volunteer efforts of Todd Plummer, a perimeter trail around Stanley park has been proposed to be added to the bike park. Greg Farmer feels strongly that a GoCO grant, help from various groups in town such as Families for Estes and the Rotary would help make this dream a reality. Currently Kristen Hill and Stacy Ferree are working with Sarah Pita to put together a grant application. Randy Biddle has written a more detailed summary of the current status of the proposed bike park. If you did not receive a letter from him, please send Thad Eggen an email at thadeggen@gmail.com and he will forward it to you. Thank-you(s) to Randy Biddle for his efforts in developing a plan and location for the bike park, Todd Plummer for envisioning a bigger trail system, Greg Farmer for helping EPCC move the trail and park forward, Kristen Hill, Stacy Ferree and Sarah Pita who are all working on a GoCO grant and with the other organizations in town.
7. Josh Cramer regaled us with his story of participating in a Festive 500 challenge. A festive 500 is a challenge to ride 500 kilometers (that’s 310 miles for everyone except Steve and Stefaan;) between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day. Everyone laughed as Josh described riding Zach Zerh’s fat tire mountain bike- “its a two wheeled monster truck that wouldn’t let me ride faster than 8 mph; so I went back to my cross bike, in the snow, to do 16 mph” and being cajoled by his wife to get out and ride more, in the night at sub freezing temps around the lake. Josh’s biggest break-through came when he read about OR’s meteor mittens and promptly purchased a pair at the Mountain Shop. Empowered by the wonderful feeling of warm hands, Josh finished his festive 500 by riding 34 miles on New Years Day. Thanks Josh!

1. Bike Park News: Gregg Farmer from the Estes Park Recreation District attended the meeting to talk about the proposed bike park. A meeting was held on 11.24 in town room 202 to discuss the master plan. Currently American Ramp Company will be contracted to design and build the bike park. Plans are expected to be completed by January and GoCO grant applications to fund the project are expected to be completed by February. Proposed site is to be the Southeast Corner of Stanley Park. Gregg Farmer pointed out that Randy Biddle’s aerial maps of the area and site recommendations helped the Recreation District with their planning. Thanks Gregg Farmer for attending and saying some kind words about EPCC!

2. Adopt A Trail – Middle Crosier- Joe Pyle shared that Mark Theiss registered EPCC to be the custodians of a section of the Crosier Mountain trail from the gravel pit near the Retreat of Glen Haven to the top of Crosier Mountain. Thanks to this adoption some EPCC members will have the opportunity to attend a trail building and maintenance seminar this Spring. This will also help EPCC garner some “street cred”…er..trail cred with the surrounding National Forest Agencies. Well-done Mark Theiss!

3. 501c3 (non-profit) application- in order for us to collect money, establish a bank account and other fiscally responsible things we need to become a registered non-profit. Greg Sampson shared that Glenn Case, vice-president of the mountain bike “branch” of EPCC is heading the non-profit application/status team. We are in search of volunteers who have experience with these matters, or are moved by the biking spirit to help us. Please contact Glenn Case to help.

4. Bike Friendly Application results- Alicia Mittleman presented the results of the Bike Friendly Community Application. Estes Park received an honorable mention from the League of American Bicyclist. On our report card, community outreach was a big positive as well as the bike path around the lake. Additionally EPCC was given details on how to advance from Honorable mention to Bronze status. EPCC plans on sharing the detailed results, expected to be received in January, with the Town and other agencies in order to help promote bicycle access improvements in our area. Well done Alicia Mittleman and everyone else who helped with this application! Alicia also shared that Josh Cramer proposed the idea of filling out the Bike Friendly application- thank-you Josh for bringing this to EPCC!

5. Transportation Advisory Committee- Belle Morris informed us of some changes in leadership with the TAC committee (to be changed to the TAB= Transportation Advisory Board) Concerns and areas of focus for this…group… are: how to manage traffic on high volume days (such as RMNP’s free days, Scottish Fest, etc.), commencing the environmental Impact study for proposed changes to Estes’ transportation routes, coordinating CDOT funds with and equal Federal contribution and trying to meet a 2016 deadline for these changes and their funding. Kari Pyle recommended that we create a petition for the creation of safe biking lanes to be included in the proposed changes. Mark Kougl and Josh Cramer advised that we create a Google doc to be disseminated to EP residents to sign.

6. Upcoming volunteer opportunities- Greg Sampson mentioned that we will be seeking volunteers for the upcoming or current projects: Bike Park, 501c3, the TAC meetings and petition. Stay tuned for announcements with details about how you can help!

2. Message from President Greg– Thad relayed some thoughts on keeping EPCC fun and the focus on having a good time on two wheels from Greg Sampson. Thus the next items…

3. BD/Christmas party – It’s hard to believe that EPCC is a year old next month. Many last night were commenting about how wonderful it is to have met new friends, gone on organized rides with new folks and to have accomplished so much in a year. To celebrate we will have a Birthday/Christmas party on December 17th at the Twin Owls Steakhouse at 6PM. Bring something fort the potluck and a bicycle themed Dirty Santa gift. Please note Alicia Mittleman that Dirty Santa is a type of gift exchange and not something…else…

4. Sunday Fall River Road Ride – YO! Fall River Road is opened, and well re-built! Good job RMNP! It will close after the 31st. Now is the time to ride it and enjoy the incredible autumn we are having this year. Post when and where to meet on our facebook group page if you are planning to ride it this weekend! Have a great ride!

5. Halloween – likewise if you are planning on riding into town for Halloween post something on facebook so we can say “HI” and have someone fun to ride with! (Many of us with families are planning on riding to Kind Coffee and assailing the town from there. Some rumors have been spread about going directly to Laura’s via bike to beat the crowd for one of their incredible caramel apples.

6. 3 feet rule video –  Alicia Mittleman informed us that significant progress has been made on the making of a 30 second infomercial on the 3 feet passing space between motorist and cyclist. Alicia shared that – “Public Information Officer Kate Rusch has agreed to review the script, SRGT Rick Life has agreed to be in an interview, and best of all, Nick Molle from Channel 8 agreed to run a 30 second commercial/Public Service Announcement 10 times a day in the summer for FREE.” Nice job Alicia!

7. Bike friendly application – Alicia also shared that we will know the results of our bicycle friendly application mid-November. Additionally she has contacted the League of American Bicyclists (the group we submitted a bicycle friendly application to) about hosting a League Cyclists Instructor Seminar here in Estes!

8. 34 and 7 – Mark Kougl wanted us to know that there is a meeting at EP town hall Thursday night at 6 PM to discuss 34 & 7 reconstruction and Mark K. Plans are to have CDOT spec’ed highways (= more biker friendly highways) finished by December of 2017. Attend and wear your EPCC t-shirts!

9. FLAP – Erica Goad- updated us about the FLAP project and plans from the TAC for downtown. The Fish Creek trail will be an 8 foot wide trail consisting of crushed refines south of Scott Avenue. North of Scott Avenue there will be a 10 foot paved trail. FIMA funding largely influenced this development. Many of the EPCC members are excited to grind some gravel and have a trail in place again! TAC- There are three different ideas on the board regarding our town’s main street. Two of the three options offer something better to cyclist and pedestrians, a third option does not. It is extremely important that we attend the TAC meetings, Belle Morris- please continue to keep us posted!, and voice our concerns for a more bicycle friendly Estes Park.

10. Mini grant – Erica Goad has submitted an application for a Safe Routes to School mini-grant of $1,000. As part of the application process, John McGrath and Heidi Tryon visited with Park R-3’s superintendent to discuss bike friendly paths to school. Plans are to send two members to training so that they can lead fun and instructional clinics on bike safety. We will know in December if we have been awarded the grant. Thanks Erica, John and Heidi!

11. Trails in Hermit Park – Thad Eggen contacted Christine Flemming, District Manager of Larimer County Open Space. She is excited to meet and discuss some trail ideas for Hermit park. Thad will post the results of the meeting on fb and the website. Thad is also working on obtaining a map of the forest service land surrounding Estes Park in order to rough draft a Perimeter trail that could be presented to the forest service for input, assistance and hopefully approval.

12. Bike Fun Park – Cherly Sarnwick shared some ideas for the Bike Fun Park. A bike park is in the master plan and ideas have been shared to incorporate some of the new beach-front area of Fish Creek into it. Steven Wens shared that the Bike Park in Eagle, CO is only a half acre in size and draws visitors for competitions from across the state. EPCC hopes to keep the dialogue going on this idea and help bring a park into Estes. Randy Biddle has been in contact with a silent donor who is willing to help with the design of the bike park. Please continue to discuss this wonderful idea with our Park and Recreation board members and employees.

13. Non profit status – Mark Thiess, Alicia Mittleman and Erica Goad all brought up that we need to move forward with establishing EPCC as a non-profit and moving our status with IMBA from chapter member to charter member. Reasons are: higher success with grants, accountability with finances, resources (assistance in trail design, tools for trail building, volunteers) from IMBA and a greater level of respect with other government agencies. EPCC needs a volunteer who has some experience with this process to help. Anyone out there with some non-profit know-how?

Alicia also mentioned that the Bike Friendly Application has been submitted, and that Mayor Bill Pinkham had signed the letter!

2. Outreach and Bike racks: Erica Goad has requested bike rack designs from local artist. By our September meeting we should have some designs to vote on. The town is looking for designs that are inexpensive to build and maintain. Erica, Charley Dickey, Zenda Smith and others have spent a significant amount of time locating current bike racks and recommending additional new sites- Thanks guys!

Regarding the redesigning of Elkhorn and the FLAP grant, we need to e-mail, call, write, send smoke signals to our town trustees and mayor to get Bike lanes put in the re-design! In your communication point out that there is no safe bike access to the library for families, people on bikes slow down and spend more in shopping areas and $ available under the Safe Routes to School (a CDOT funded program that gave 4 million in grants this year).

Erica also brought-up that in November one of the ballot issues will involve renewing a tax that helps funds our open spaces in Larimer County. Please 1) get out and vote & 2) vote in favor of maintaining this tax

3. Our next meetings will be: September 24^th, October 15^th and November 12^th (we are going to take-a-pass on December, it is such a stress-frees month…)

3. We need to make efforts to engage the latino population

Thad Eggen knows a few Mexican guys who mt. bike and road ride- efforts will be made to get them involved in dirt church, group rides and EPCC meetings.

5. Greg Sampson will be discussing with Frank Lancaster at their next meeting:
   1. Signs that encourage/promote Sharing the Road
   2. Safe bike routes for families to schools, future community center and Library
   3. Bike racks
   4. Flashing lights and cross walk guards
6. Discussion was brought up regarding social rides, trail work and future ideas
   1. There is a pancake feed fundraiser for the Restorative Justice program on September 6^th. EPCC members are planning on meeting at 8 at the Mt. Shop, doing some rides and then eating at 9:30. Cost is $5.
   2. Trail work is being done on the North Fork Trail (Glenhaven retreat area) this weekend. Contact Poudre Wilderness Volunteers for more information.
   3. Creating a trail network that encircles Estes Park (great idea by Zenda Smith). We need to get the land managers of the area: Parks and Recreation Dept., Estes Park Trails Committee, Forest Service, National Park and Hermit Park (County?) together and discuss this idea as well as new trails

RMNP- Mark Kougl and Daniel Basch
EP Marathon – Belle Morris
Town of Estes Park – Frank Lancaster, Kate Rusch, Suzanna Simpson, Lexy Jacboson, Rita Kruelja, Russ Franklin and Tonya Ziegler
Estes Valley Recreation District – Cheryl Sarnwick and Skylar Rorabaugh
EP Medical Center – Kerrie Hill and Karen Nicholson
EPCC – all of us!

2. Safety Promotion and Education (Mark Kougl and Alicia Mittleman)

Start focusing on advocating & trying to avoid conflicts with other drivers. Maybe partner with the police department, make a pamflet. Don’t forget we have to show good behavior on the road and lead by example. Even when that isn’t always easy because the infrastructure can’t handle a lot of people on bicycles yet.

We also have to reach out to schools (taking “bike to school” as an opportunity to reach adults through their children)
EPCC will start a ‘Safety & Education’ committee. This committee will provide a strategic framework in the next couple months so we can set up goals and see what is possible to achieve. Mark K. will be the contact person for this committee

3. Erica became a member of the ‘trails committee’ (part of Parks & Rec) She will keep us informed about the building of new trails and the designation of existing paths as multi-use trails. Because of the flood, a lot of planning and building is postponed to 2015

Erica also had a meeting with Charley, VP of the Stanley. He is very interested in everything we do to make Estes Park a ‘health destination’

4. Bike Racks:

Here is a list of bike racks maintained by the town:

• 1 @ Visitors Center
• 2 @ Confluence Park
• 1 @ Library
• 1 @ Moraine Ave restrooms
• 1 @ Tregent Park
• 3 @ Performance Park
• 1 @ Town Hall

EPCC will try to set up some more bike racks in the future. What the city (public works) needs from us is: location (needs to be close to a business or destination where the functional cyclist will park (1 car spot can host +-14 bicycles)), design (maybe local artists), who will pay for the racks, what the maintenance cost will be.
Funds can come from sponsoring (integrated in the design ?) or a fundraiser. We can also ask Public Works if they have some unused racks available somewhere.

5. John Simmerman from Active Towns attended our meeting.

Active Towns helps groups like the EPCC to create an environment that helps people with creating a healthy behavior. An environment that stimulates walking, cycling instead of taking a car to go from point A to B.
His points of observation were:

• Culture proceeds infrastructure.
• Connect to quality of life, don’t let people see you as just cyclists. Broad the mission, widen scope on healthy lifestyle with cycling as part of that lifestyle. We have the opportunity with the flood recovery and the Medical Health Center.
• Show courtesy in traffic. Thank positive car drivers with a thumbs up for example.
• Stop the mantra that it is dangerous to drive around in Estes Park. Take of your helmets when you go for a stroll in town. For some drivers, a person or family in normal clothes without helmets on bicycles is more positive than an athlete strapped in lycra racing through downtown
• Check in some federal programs that already exist (‘safe routes to school’ for example
• The higher the speed of traffic, the more infrastructure is needed to guide cyclists safe through traffic.
• Reach out to the whole community, try to educate all layers / groups in the community (Hispanics)
• Use the activity asset mapping tool (how well is everything connected, how easy is it for somebody to go from point A to B without using a car)

Here are the two links John Simmerman provided Belle S. Morris earlier.

Ben starts speaking at minute 17

6. New T-shirt colors

We have new colors available in our web shop (http://www.bikeestes.org/shop/)

7. Social Rides

Super Moon Century ride on Aug 10th. Ride from Estes over Trail Ridge to Grand Lake by moonlight, then eat breakfast at Grand Lake at 6am, and ride back to Estes. All weather-permitting of course. (check facebook/forum for updates)

If you have ideas for group rides, use our facebook page, facebook group and/or bikeestes.org forum ( you can also use this link to add an event on our calendar: http://www.bikeestes.org/calendar/community/add )

Next meeting: Wednesday August 20th – Twin Owls Steakhouse

Item #1 Fun activity re-scheduled

Item #2- Bike to work Bike to play

Bike to work

• Alicia Mittleman, Belle Morris and Mark Kougl presented
• Last years attendance was 110, 200 is the goal for this year
• Articles in the paper to be published weekly
• Lynn S. of EPCC will be writing an article
• CDOT information was passed out by Greg Sampson
• Flat repair clinic will be presented by Thad Eggen on BtW day
• A costume party is in the plans, TBA
• Erica and Greg are working on posters

Bike to Play

• There will be a kids ride in the park June 21^st from Moraine Park Discovery center to Fern Lake area/Trailhead ( info: http://www.bikeestes.org/activity/kids-fun-bicycle-ride-2/ )
• June 22^nd Bear Lake Ride (info: http://www.bikeestes.org/activity/bear-lake-road-corridor-ride-2/ )
• June 24^th Moraine to Hollowel Park (info: http://www.bikeestes.org/activity/moraine-park-bicycle-ride-2/ )
• Check full calendar here: http://bikeestes.org/calendar

Ideas and areas of need:

• Bike Mechanics and Bike racks

• Erica Goad shared with us that Jared Polis is on board
• At this point we need to send letters to CDOT
• Pass the letter Erica wrote on to town of Estes Park, other bike clubs, Business owners (Lodging Association, Restaurant Association, and Estes Valley Partners in Commerce) (letter can be found here: http://www.bikeestes.org/2014/05/02/epcc-us36-advocacy-we-need-your-help/ )

Item #4 Passing of the Presidency baton

• Greg Sampson graciously stepped up to the plate and accepted the presidency position
• Greg noted that we have enthusiasm, we are getting some structure & momentum, we have political support & involvement with the town & RMNP and our advocacy is having an impact. He is excited to see where we will go in the future and a great leader for EPCC. Welcome and thank him for his support when you see him.

Item #5 Bike Park presented by Erica Goad

• Needs funding
• Exist in master plan
• Randy Biddle is reaching out to the designers and people responsible for Valmont bike park to explore design and funding ideas

Item #6 H bar G Ranch needs presented by Mark Thiess

• Mark has contacted the owner’s daughter and son
• Volunteer work is a little risky for them
• Todd Plummer mentioned that due to our IMBA we might have insurance coverage for volunteers thus protecting property owners from any liability
• Mark Thiess will present this to the owner and children and see if they would like to move forward with some road and trail work

Item #7 Lyons Gulch Volunteer work presented by Zenda Smith

• Poudre Wilderness Volunteers  is setting up some trail restoration days on May 24^th and 25^th from 9 AM to 4PM
• Please send Thad Eggen your volunteer hours (and names!) so we can keep track of how awesome we are and send those hours to IMBA
• There will be two more dates for trail work in June
• Check out the details at http://www.bikeestes.org/2014/05/17/pwvs-first-restoration-trail-work-days-for-2014/

Item #8 High School Team

• Forrest Service Closure of Crosier Mt is a serious problem
• Closure due to use of parking lot by CDOT for Highway 43 repair
• Forrest service has been very amiable and professional, limited man power and funds has severely restricted their ability to quickly open trails
• Opening the forest service trails is a high priority with EPCC
• Volunteers are needed, requirements are a background check (to be paid for by volunteer)
• Season runs August through mid-October
• High School students have made a movie titled Single Track High possible fundraiser opportunity with a premier…
• Tuesday May 20^th at 11:20 there will be a meet and greet in HS room 303 with High School Team

Item #9 Logo

• Many great ideas were submitted
• A giant brain storming session was held and a design inspired by entries and artwork by Zenda Smith was developed by Stefaan Van Damme (whose technical and graphical expertise amazed everyone)
• Much discussion was held regarding our brand name, website name and “club name”
• Website has been moved to bikeestes.org, this is also our brand name (easy to read and remember, and our motto)
• Estes Park Cycling Coalition will remain our “club name”
• T-shirts are in the works
• A jersey design submitted by the Cramers will be re-visited soon

Next meeting will be Wednesday June 11th