Though autumn is in full bloom, I am not referring to the foliage of the trees transitioning to fall colors. No, I am talking about the familiar green of our Team Louisville’s uniforms, which are about to be retired after several seasons of service. They will soon be replaced with a completely new, classic design of blue and orange, which prominently features the BikeClicks/Team Louisville logos, and the logos of several new sponsors.
This marks the final and most visible phase of a process that began over a year ago, when Steven and Suzanne Webster began designing a web site for the US Grand Prix of Cyclocross. While working with this organization, they realized that there were a number of local cycling organizations, each running their own web sites and individual forums and that there was no easy way to share communication or information among the other groups or with other cyclist in general. Having solved similar problems for the RV sales industry, Steven and Suzanne began developing BikeClicks.com., an internet site which they envisioned as a gateway to all resources of the cycling community. BikeClicks began signing up groups like KyMBA, USGP, and soon added Texas Roadhouse, Team Louisville, Master’s Nationals and others to its site. As the project began to grow, the Websters (who are members of both Team Louisville’s racing team and LBC) also realized the potential for spreading the word about their new website while helping Team Louisville raise donations for its racing program.
By becoming the title sponsor for Team Louisville, the racing team would be able to offer a new and dynamic way to both attract and acknowledge the businesses that support LBC’s racing program. No longer would we be limited to only featuring our sponsor’s logos on our uniforms or on banners at events. They could now be available, along with information and links, 24/7 on a website that is visited by thousands of viewers a month.
After making this proposal to the members of Team Louisville’s steering committee, details were worked out, and a new funding proposal was written outlining three levels of sponsorship: Gold, Silver and Bronze. During the past few months, several key team members including Darrell Edward, Steven Webster, Scott Kuiper, and Keith Aubrey began submitting this proposal to prospective sponsors. I am pleased to report that we received a great response from many of the companies we talked to. At this time we have secured two Gold level sponsors: Kindred Healthcare and Clarksville Schwinn. There are four Silver sponsors: Apex Physical Therapy, Heine Brother’s Coffee, Louisville Orthopedic, and Bluegrass Brewing Company. At the Bronze level we have Nantz and Kraft Florists, Patterson Painting, Greenleaf Management and our own Louisville Bicycle Club.
This means, with the help of BikeClicks and the support of these companies, we will nearly quadruple our annual operating budget. As exciting as this is, we still have opportunities to add another sponsor or two at each level!
Thanks to this arrangement, Team Louisville will not only be able to continue it’s mission as the area’s largest developmental racing team by introducing talented cyclist to racing and giving them the opportunity to train with experienced racers. Now, we will also have the means to support a squad of 10-12 higher-level racers. This will allow our team to retain some of the talented racers that have come though ranks while racing with Team Louisville, rather than losing them to other, better-funded local teams.
The new season looks very promising! Cyclocross is already underway, with several UCI level events on the OVCX calendar, including the return of the US Grand Prix of Cyclocross. Masters Nationals promises to return next summer and, best of all, the new BikeClicks/ Team Louisville will be more competitive than ever!
I want to congratulate all the members of our team who have trained long hours and raced well and volunteered at events over the past seasons, and especially those who helped guide our team to this point. You are the heart of Team Louisville.
I also want to thank and welcome our team sponsors, both old and new. BikeClicks/Team Louisville will continue to work hard, representing you to the best of our abilities in competitions and the community.
Finally, I would like to invite all the members of the Louisville Bicycle Club to come out to the local races and cheer for your new, blue team!
With the changing of the seasons and the start of the winter training season for the BikeClicks.com/Team Louisville Bicycle Racing Team comes a new look for the team. The familiar "Team Green" jerseys and shorts will be retired this season and replaced with a new, bold look designed by our very own Rick Hinze that represents the new team, our new sponsors and let's the cycling community know that