Swiftwick

December 30, 2009


Ride for Reading gets new facility, bike hub may be next

By Juanita Cousins
THE TENNESSEAN


Swiftwick CEO Mark Cleveland and Mathew Portell, founder of Ride for Reading, stand in front of the new headquarters for Ride for Reading.

A Brentwood-based company has donated the use of a West Nashville building to a nonprofit that delivers free books to Nashville public school students on bikes, placing the organization in the center of the planned bike lane expansion.

http://www.swiftwick.com/">Swiftwick International building at 5105 Alabama Ave. will be a book storage facility and bicycle hub for group rides for Ride for Reading.

The relocation moves http://rideforreading.org/">Ride for Reading from a 5-by-10-foot storage shed in founder Mathew Portell’s yard to a 3,800 sqaure foot facility, he said.

“They’ve got major publishers and families all across Middle Tennessee giving books, and they have so many books and no place for them or to sort and it makes it tough,” said Swiftwick CEO Mark Cleveland. “This is the kind of space they need, and I am glad I am able to provide it.”

Portell said the building is in the perfect location for a Ride for Reading headquarters because the http://www.nashville.gov/mayor/bpac/">Nashville Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee has proposed a bike lane to run down Charlotte Pike up to 51st Avenue.

This would provide a safer route for fleets of volunteer cyclists to deliver donated books to children, he said.

“Now we will have volunteer opportunity to increase the number of books we can take and what we distribute,” said Portell, also English Language Development coach for Metro schools.

Portell founded Ride for Reading in 2008, after the then English Language Learner teacher discovered 20 percent of the 700 students at his elementary school didn’t have age-appropriate books at home.

“I involved the cycling community and the common community for the greater good of building literacy,” said Portell, a 32-year-old Inglewood resident.

Since then, he and his crew have delivered more than 12,000 books to Metro Nashville Public Schools students.

The Alabama Avenue facility will be a hub for cyclists to organize group rides and to deliver books. Portell plans to divide the building into rooms and separate books by age and reading level so that students and teachers who visit can easily find books that suit their reading levels.

As Ride for Reading’s operations continue to grow, Portell said he hopes to add a summer reading program, lounges for students to come and read and bike safety courses.

Cleveland said the building, an $500,000 investment property intended to become a manufacturing plant for his athletic sock and apparel company, is better fit for the reading program because it will allow volunteers to deliver books safely to more Nashville students.

They have put a new roof on the building that used to be a roofer’s union, added an energy-efficient insulation and removed paneling separating rooms. Now they’re are looking for volunteers to help with a work party Jan. 9 to put up sheet rock and lights so that the building is ready for use.

Cleveland passed the keys to Portell in December, solidifying a relationship that began over a bonfire.

The cyclists met at an endurance mountain biking race and talked over their visions for mountain biking in middle Tennessee and personal goals around a campfire.

“You just watch someone’s vision come to life and have responsibility to help out,” Cleveland said.

Swiftwick is also creating socks through its Custom Socks for a Cause program to generate processes for Ride for Reading. The socks have logo on the ankle and a blue band that says, ”Ride for Reading.’’ They are available for order now and will be in Middle Tennessee cycling shops in mid-January.

Additional Facts
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Ride for Reading is located at the corner of Charlotte Avenue and Alabama Avenue. To help at the House Party Work Day contact Mathew Portell at info@rideforreading.org or 378-READ.

Received lots of great updates on Swiftwick's ladies.

Katie Compton, taking 1st and Alison Dunlap taking 4th after her comeback at the U.S. Cyclocross Nationals in Bend, Oregon. Now on to Belgium for the World Cups. Stay tuned for Roubaix and Hoogerheide in January!


Pua has had a great year and thanks everyone for their support. Read below to see all of Pua's great cycling accomplishments from 2004 to date.

Press Release received last night from Marla, an incredible pro XC champion herself.



Berkeley, CA: The LUNA Pro Team has added another 105 pounds of punch to its powerhouse squad, signing of Amy Dombroski, US National U23 Champion in Cyclocross (3x), Cross-Country Mountain Bike, and Road Race. Already a star in no less than three cycling disciplines, Dombroski, aka "Lil' Diesel,” is now perfectly poised to continue her meteoric rise as she steps on board of the starship LUNA Chix Pros this coming New Year's day. Dombroski's breakout 2009 season saw her dicing it up front with Georgia Gould and Katerina Nash on the National Cyclocross circuit, as well as "viciously" sprinting for the win at the Under-23 National Cross country event in Granby, Co.

For 2010, Amy is slated to follow much of the U.S. National Cross Country series, select world caliber events, and the Cyclocross Nationals. Also look for "Lil' Diesel" sporting her new LUNA Sport digs at some popular classic events like the Breck Epic and Iceman Cometh.

Amy was born and raised on alpine skis in the boonies of Vermont, eating a lot of beef jerkey, maple syrup, and Phish food. She currently lives in Boulder, CO (another place overrun by hippies). Dombroski fittingly has a lightning bolt tattoo'd to her wrist, and there is a bagel hanging in her garage since the building was built in 1989. She candidly claims it is her good luck bagel and there is no mold on it.

These facts, whether real or made up, are just further confirmation that Amy will make a great fit with the LUNA Pro Team.

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Marla Streb

Twice in less than 7 days, Swiftwick has graced the interweb on cycling's two most popular sites: Velonews.com and Cyclingnews.com.

Yesterday, Katie Compton mentioned Swiftwick Merino Fours as an integral part of her kit.

“They keep your feet warm when they’re wet because they are wool,” says Compton. “It’s a good, even compression around the ankle. They’re great when it’s cold and you’re running with mountain bike shoes, which don’t provide much padding.”



To read more on Compton's Dresses for Success article, click below.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/12/cyclocross/compton-dresses-for-success-when-the-temps-fall_101891#disqus_thread

Last week, Cyclingnews.com followed someone around that you may know at their Arizona training camp. Thank you Velo Images for providing us great photos of our Swiftwick Armwarmers....and that other racer:-)

A teammate passed this along. Bet you've never had a conversation like this before....

Read the press release below why Milliegoat is Vblogging. It's for a great cause.



For Immediate Release

Contact: Jon Graff, Principal - Revolution 360 Marketing (858) 775.4170 jon@rev-360.com

Junior Cyclist extraordinaire Millie Tanner of JetCycling on a 90-day challenge to bring national awareness to the sport of Women's Cycling.

Denver, CO - November 25, 2009 - Junior cyclist Millie Tanner of Southern California-based Team JETCycling is no stranger to hard work and athletic commitment. Millie has recently completed her third season of competitive road cycling with an outstanding level of achievement! So when the opportunity arose for the 12-year-old athlete to commit herself to a different sort of challenge, she immediately saddled up.

Millie rides and races with Team JETCycling, a junior development group based in Irvine, CA. The team's mission is to develop junior level racers in the areas of Road Racing, Time Trialing, as well as Criteriums. JETCycling offers its riders three separate avenues for development - Collegiate Development, USA National Team Development, and Professional team exposure.

In Millie's three years with the team, she has racked some amazing statistics, including two California state championships (2008 Road Race, 2008 Time Trlal), 2009 California/Nevada regional championship, and very strong finishes in the 2009 National Championships (3th in Time Trial, 5th in Road Race, and 7th in the Criterium). Additionally, Millie was featured in the January/February 2009 Kids Sports Illustrated.

Recently, Millie embarked on a 90 day challenge to not only bring awareness to the sport of Women's Cycling, but also to raise support for the John Wayne Cancer Foundation in Newport Beach, CA. Since it's founding in 1985, the John Wayne Cancer Foundation has supported awareness programs, education programs and support groups, and is aligned with like-minded groups and non-profits that advance the fight against cancer. The JWCF has also been committed to groundbreaking cancer research and education at the John Wayne Cancer Institute (JWCI).

Millie was one of many athletes that have become involved with Team Duke, an athletic fundraising program like no other. As a competitive cyclist, Millie ties all of her efforts on the bike into a donation support program benefiting Team Duke and the JWCF. Additionally, Millie has committed to 90 days of athlete blogging supporting her individual sponsors, Team Duke, and the JWCF. It is her hope that these actions will raise funds and awareness to the two things she is most passionate about - Women's Cycling and Team Duke.


About Revolution 360 Marketing - Denver and San Diego-based Revolution 360 Marketing is a brand activation and marketing company specializing in the sports, athletics and cycling industries. Representing the needs of individual athletes, teams and sports organizations, Revolution Marketing - or Rev360, focuses on strategic relationship marketing and brand touch point activation. See www.rev-360.com on the web.

About 4Cycling / Team JetCycling - Irvine CA based 4Cycling is a non-profit charity program tailored for junior developmental cyclists. With the ultimate goal of raising visibility and awareness around the sport, 4Cycling operates Team JetCycling, one of the premier Junior Cycling teams in the United States. See www.jetcycling.net on the web.