{"id":504,"date":"2016-06-09T13:42:48","date_gmt":"2016-06-09T18:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chicagovelodrome.com\/?p=504"},"modified":"2016-07-21T20:30:13","modified_gmt":"2016-07-22T01:30:13","slug":"velodrome-updates-for-immediate-distribution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chicagovelodrome.com\/?p=504","title":{"rendered":"Velodrome Updates for Immediate Distribution"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
UPDATE: $350 pledged as of 1:30pm today; $1900 to go.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
UPDATE: $450 pledged & donated as of 2:30pm today; $1800 to go.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
UPDATE: $825 pledged & donated as of 3:30pm today; $1425 to go.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
UPDATE: $1150 pledged & donated as of 5:00pm today; $1100 to go.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
UPDATE: $1610 pledged & donated as of 7:00pm today; $640 to go.<\/strong><\/del><\/span><\/div>\n
**<\/span>\u00a0Deadline Met & Open Gate Saturday<\/a>\u00a0**<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I love my adopted home: Chicago. \u00a0I can\u2019t say I like everything about this location and the world knows we have our local problems, but opportunities and teamwork found in the midwest are unique and various communities here often work together to realize a better future.<\/div>\n
If your time is limited, please skip to the final few sentences below…<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
Cyclists here have been enjoying expanding amenities- lots of bike lanes, the 606\/Bloomingdale Trail, more press about bicycle use, a strong local advocacy group, lots of organized public rides\u2026 \u00a0For the \u201csporting cyclist\u201d- inner-city teams have been growing, there are more opportunities to race, the Ed Rudolph Velodrome in Northbrook is one of the best in the country, the Chi-Cross Cup is awesome on many levels, the Garden has gotten big and we have the Big Marsh MTB park opening soon.<\/div>\n
These things aren\u2019t easy to achieve and shouldn\u2019t be taken for granted. \u00a0We almost lost the Northbrook Velodrome 14 years ago when the costs\/benefit of completely repaving it was on the table. \u00a0The Cross Cup wouldn\u2019t have been possible without local racers negotiating with the Park District; years before the Parks had closed down racing because of \u201cparking in the grass\u201d. \u00a0The Garden would have been re-developed a few years ago if it weren\u2019t for dirt riders and jumpers taking a stand. \u00a0Big Marsh didn\u2019t come out of nowhere either. \u00a0Somewhat related- see what the Kenosha Velodrome is going through right now.<\/div>\n
My point is that we\u2019re always fighting a struggle to improve our situation here at home and that\u2019s how it needs to be, to insure future local benefits for ourselves, our families, our friends and those millions of people we don\u2019t know but who still matter for our society\u2019s fabric.<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
Politics is in the news a lot recently but let\u2019s not fool ourselves- the government can’t help with all of society\u2019s problems and we do have a lot of power to make things happen in our city. \u00a0Settling for the \u201csafe bets\u201d will only get us so far and we have in front of us the opportunity to make or break the velodrome in South Chicago.<\/div>\n
Velodrome racing is a small sport with about 100 (my guess) active, licensed racers (beginner to the top) living inside the city of Chicago. \u00a0One thing to keep in mind- trying to draw volunteers and funds from the pool of existing track racers is asking a lot, especially considering they\u2019re already supporting one facility 35 miles from SCV.<\/div>\n
If it\u2019s a small sport, why should the public support it? \u00a0And hasn\u2019t the South Side already had a chance to embrace it (built in 2011) and they passed on it? \u00a0We should be careful not to reinforce cyclical, self-fulfilling \u201cbackward movement\u201d. \u00a0An \u201codd\u201d, small sport takes longer to establish in a new geographical place and there are no established best practices for \u201cgetting your community to embrace velodromes\u201d. \u00a0However- once the facility takes hold, it\u2019s not unreasonable to imagine the racing community growing exponentially and with more demand- adding more facilities to the city and suburbs down the road.<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
Some say that the velodrome isn\u2019t working now because of aspects of it\u2019s beginnings. \u00a0That\u2019s not a valid stance when considering a reasonable approach to humanity and time. \u00a0Let me be clear- all of us can find faults when scrutinizing others, especially if it\u2019s regarding things in the past and the other perspective isn\u2019t represented fairly. \u00a0We have the power to work toward the objectives we hold important for our city\u2019s future and we shouldn\u2019t expect anything less of ourselves.<\/div>\n
The initial reason this track was built was as a hold-over until a $45M multi-use facility could be backed and this was following Chicago\u2019s failed bid for the 2016 Olympics (which would have brought a similar velodrome). \u00a0The Chicago Velo Campus fundraising didn\u2019t have the momentum to reach their goals and they pulled out late 2014. \u00a0CVC\u2019s objective wasn\u2019t to run and maintain a small velodrome so it\u2019s reasonable that they\u2019re not involved anymore. \u00a0Though the small velodrome was originally intended to be replaced- CVC\u2019s absence meant the track was going to be removed and that\u2019s when SCVA formed (now IRS 501c3) with the intention to save the track and make it publicly accessible. \u00a0Getting the track here- no one risked more than Emanuele Bianchi (no relation to the bike co.) who made a lot of sacrifices and redirected much of his personal time to the velodrome\u2019s needs. \u00a0He gave Chicago a big gift with the velodrome\u2019s presence; I can\u2019t thank him enough. Others have brought temporary velodromes to the city (John Vandevelde most recently) but it\u2019s been generations since we\u2019ve had one (in the city) that\u2019s made a big impact.<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
This isn\u2019t an opportunity that presents itself often. \u00a0And with inner city velodromes currently being a \u201cone or none\u201d situation- the choice should be clear: the South Chicago Velodrome should be saved.<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
This local effort is facing a \u201cpoint of no return\u201d before this week is over. \u00a0Most of us agree that saving a public bicycle facility on Chicago\u2019s South Side can benefit numerous communities in this great city. \u00a0Having one less velodrome in the city isn\u2019t something anyone is working toward but there\u2019s one immediate hump that needs to be crossed in order to carry on after Friday June 10- we\u2019re about $2250 short of the insurance installment (scheduled cancellation Saturday).<\/div>\n
Assuming the insurance is covered by Friday night- surface repairs will commence next week and the track should be fully rideable in a few days. \u00a0This is the final insurance payment before the land lease gets re-negotiated, during which we hope to secure a more reasonable insurance requirement.<\/div>\n
Some new people are getting involved in the effort, some overhead costs will hopefully be reduced soon and things are almost set to start riding.<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
Please donate today, share news of this need and consider volunteering soon.<\/div>\n
The fastest and most efficient way to donate is through QuickPay from Chase Bank- addressed to \u201cfundraising@chicagovelodrome.com\u201d, followed by Paypal payments to \u201cfundraising@chicagovelodrome.com\u201d (~3% overhead and 1-3 days) and at gofundme.com\/SoChgoVelodrome (~8% overhead and next day deposit). \u00a0Checks and cash can be sent to South Chicago Velodrome Association, 1310 N. Clybourn Ave., Chicago, IL \u00a060610 and local pick ups can be arranged. \u00a0Payments toward this insurance payment must be made by end of business day Friday June 10.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Thanks for reading and contributing to the collective effort.<\/div>\n
There is more to expand upon with today’s post including my low involvement the last few months and SCVA’s need to have more people in leadership positions. \u00a0For now- let’s do what we can to encourage positive change.<\/div>\n
-Marcus<\/div>\n
reach me any time- 872-588-7282 (Luv-SCVA)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATE: $350 pledged as of 1:30pm today; $1900 to go. UPDATE: $450 pledged & donated as of 2:30pm today; $1800 to go. UPDATE: $825 pledged & donated as of 3:30pm today; $1425 to go. UPDATE: $1150 pledged & donated as of 5:00pm today; $1100 to go. UPDATE: $1610 pledged & donated as of 7:00pm today; $640 to go. **\u00a0Deadline Met […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagovelodrome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagovelodrome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagovelodrome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagovelodrome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagovelodrome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=504"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/chicagovelodrome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":602,"href":"https:\/\/chicagovelodrome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504\/revisions\/602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagovelodrome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagovelodrome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagovelodrome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}