Thank you to everyone who participated and volunteered to make the 4th Annual Montana Women’s Tour a success. Within days we will be writing checks to our charities: YWCA’s Gateway House, the Ronald McDonald House, and ZooMontana.
We were blessed with sunshine and mild temperatures this year. 
In all, 155 of you came to ride either the 40-, 22-, or 15 mile routes. We were able to keep our traditional routes despite the flurry of construction activity taking place all over Billings this year.
We were also thrilled with our new design on the ever fashionable black “T” this year.
Thank you to our exclusive sponsor The Spoke Shop and owner Jim Downs. Besides a monetary donation, Jim was put to work at the 22-mile water/food stop. He and Chris Cook handed out refreshments, pumped up tires, among other things. They were among the many volunteers who worked at our aid stations, rode as host/safety guides, mechanics, etc.
Safety was the main theme of our tour this year. To help ensure the safety of our riders, we had 4-motorcycle riders from the Blue Knights (volunteer) law enforcement and 2 marked Yellowstone County Sheriff’s deputy cars on the road. We also had helmets available for sale at a killer price or if someone couldn’t afford them we gave them away!
There were also nearly two dozen kids (age 10-and-under) who participated in our free kid’s ride in the zoo’s parking lot). Each child received a Montana Velo Bella T-shirt and water bottle, as well as a goodie bag.
Of course there was food! With apologies to one wise guy, we too are an eating club with a cycling disorder.
The 4th Annual Montana Velo Bella Women’s Tour is scheduled Sept 13, 2009 in Billings, MT. Our start and finish is ZooMontana.
Come join women of all abilities on this fun ride.
This is a fully supported, non-competitive event. Chose from 3 distances. Proceeds from this event support ZooMontana, the YWCA’s Gateway House, Ronald McDonald House, and we buy helmets for anyone who needs one.
Ride flyer
Registration form – to download and mail-in
Register on-line
Join us for a fun, fun day. Your family can enjoy ZooMontana for free while you ride. Bring your bike. Support some great organizations serving the Billings area.
We have on-site & on-course mechanics
Some of our fabulous VB kids!
We offer a kids’ ride (boys and girls under age 10) with prizes for all kids. Registration for the kids’ ride is free. All participants will receive a goodie bag for their efforts. Helmets are required. Questions?
This year we’re dedicating the ride to the late teammate of one of Montana Velo Bella’s co-founders, Michelle Collins. On Sept 13, 2009 a memorial is being dedicated to Paula Higgins, a former national cycling champion and a current co-holder of a national time trial record. She was killed July 17, 2006 by a speeding motorist who ran a stop light. Her death was senseless and tragic. Please join us in honoring Paula’s life and her advocacy of safe cycling by obeying the rules of the road.
To learn more about the Paula Higgins Memorial…
Velo Bella is all about having fun on your bike. That means coming home from a bike ride to ride again another day. Yup, we’re talking safety on our roads.
A HUGE thank you to Tina Whitfield and Ed Whitfield for putting on 2 (!) safety talks. This includes rules of the road and how to take care of minor mechanical issues – flats – while out on the ride.
If you missed Tina’s awesome power point presentation or you just want to review her safety tips you’ve come to the right place ’cause we’ve got it on our website.
Also, THANK YOU to The Spoke Shop in Billings, MT for continuing to be strong supporters of Montana Velo Bella. Now get out there on your bike, be safe, and have fun!
Montana’s Velo Bellas had a strong showing at Big Sky State Games. Congratulations!
Reneé Coppock took Gold in the Women’s 25-mile cycling event, the TT individually & tandem, and her age group at the 5K run. Reneé was also a volunteer for numerous events.
Tina Whitfield took Gold in the Women’s expert mountain bike event and volunteered for both the road race and time trial cycling events.
Jennifer Drinkwalter won the Bronze in her age group at the 5K road race and was a commissioner for the Time Trial and Triathlon events.
Jackie Yamanaka was commissioner for the Road Race cycling events and helped Jennifer with the Time Trial.
Pam Harder took the Gold in her age group in Triathlon and the Gold in tandem Time Trial with Reneé Coppock.
Montana Bellas showing some flair
Welcome to the Montana Chapter of Velo Bella.
Velo Bella is a non-profit, grassroots, multidiscipline cycling team based out of Watsonville, CA. But we’re popping up in spots all over the country.
Montana Bellas racing at Bohart Bash
The Velo Bella mission is to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle through cycling and laughter. We inspire women to get out and ride a bike, race a bike, and to eventually grow the pool of talent and have a lot of fun along the way. While the core Velo Bella Team is a committed group of female racers, membership includes female cyclists interested in completing their first race, century, or even group ride. Questions?
The Montana Chapter is a 501(c)3 organization.
President: Jackie Yamanaka
Vice President: Reneé Coppock
Secretary: Tina Whitfield
Treasurer: Michelle Collins
