You can now have V.I.P access to Little Bellas Sunday fun whenever you want. This website is designed to give you all you need to know about our program and more. Please sign up for the RSS Feed if you want Little Bellas news flashes and updates sent directly to your email. Under program information, you can find the nitty gritty on Sunday sessions as well as our upcoming events. Don't know how to get to a local trail network? Look up maps and get directions from your front doorstep under riding locations. Get a behind the scenes look in meet your mentors and find out what your little bellas buddies have been up to off the trails in LB Fun. Get an in depth look at what skill the Little Bellas are working on in tip of the week.
Due to heavy rain and the threat of thunderstorms today, our Ride Across Vermont and potluck BBQ is rescheduled for September 12th. On Sunday, September 12th, we will give out our attendance awards, Summer Ride Challenge awards, and our Little Bellas T-Shirts (which look great this year).
Stay tuned to the websites and your email for updates on Ride Across Vermont and Bring a Friend Day. Thanks for your patience and cooperation with the program and with mother nature.
This year our annual, culminating event, the Ride Across Vermont will be taking place at Sleepy Hollow Ski and Bike Center. We have marked out some great single track loops on some new terrain that the girls will have fun riding. There are also some ‘bonus’ loops which the girls can ride and add more mileage to their tally. As a group, we will ride the mileage of the width of Vermont.
You can get this view of Camel’s Hump if you ride up to Sleepy Hollow’s Butternut Cabin
The ride starts at 2 PM for the Little Bellas. For the parents who want to ride, there is some great single track there. If you are a Fellowship of the Wheel member (you can join by clicking the link), you ride for free at Sleepy Hollow. If not, the trail fee is six dollars. You can pay at the kiosk at the main lodge.
We will fire up the grill and start the potluck around 4-4:30ish in Sleepy Hollow’s beautiful timber framed patio. Please bring a dish (side salad, dessert, appetizer) to share. We will provide stuff to grill, beverages, and plates, utensils, etc. We will be announcing the 2010 Summer Ride Challenge Winner, and we will be handing out Little Bellas attendance awards. There are some great prizes so please be there to get them. It’s going to be a fun afternoon and we hope to see you out there.
Below are directions and a map to Sleepy Hollow: The address is 1805 Sherman Hollow Road, Huntington, Vermont 05462
Our August sessions have started off with a bang. The Little Bellas and mentors were both psyched to be back in action. We began by handing out our new jerseys specially designed by Terry Bicycles. We were all pumped about the pokka dots and the new design.
Today was obstacle day and we brushed off the cobwebs and got back in the groove with an duel obstacle course. My personal favorite stop on the course was the dizzy bat. Girls had to put their forehead on a bat on the ground and spin around in a circle five times as fast as they could. You get pretty dizzy after just five turns. We also included bike limbo, a slalom course, and a log roll.
The girls show off their new Terry Jerseys and a little extra flair courtesy of Angela
This is how mini Gaga got in my head. She showed up with this poster.
To cap off an already eventful day, we had a ‘Lady Gaga Off’. Yes, you read that last sentence correctly. At our last session in June, one of the Little Bellas made a statement that no one is as big of a fan of Lady Gaga as she is. I challenged her and said that we should have a Lady Gaga off next session to set the record straight. I’m not one to back away from a challenge, but when she showed up with make-up, a poster, an outfit, and a wig, I knew I was done. She had prepared the entire month of July, and I had prepared for ten minutes. With the help of my chosen wardrobe artist, I scrambled a decent costume together, and, according to the judges, that was the only thing decent about my performance. I could have sworn Simon Cowell was there as my performance reactions included ‘stick with mountain biking’ and ‘I was shocked and not in a good way’. Obviously I lost but I want to thank Lydia for stepping up my Lady Gaga game. It’s always good to lose to the best even when the best is eight years old wearing a wig that’s bigger than she is.
Mini Gaga (the winner on the right) and her competitor
Just a reminder that the Little Bellas starts up again this Sunday, August 1st at Catamount. Be there at 4 PM sharp for the fun. We’re looking forward to getting the band back together.
There’s rumor of water ballon relays, an obstacle course, and a possible Lady Gaga sing off. Get Ready!
See you this Sunday!
Jojo on the World Cup Podium. (Thank you to Sven Martin for the image)
Our very own Little Bellas mentor, Joanna Petterson, grabbed a second place at the third round of the UCI World Cup four cross circuit. Four cross is an event much like snowboard or skier cross except for on bikes. Four girls race each other around gates, berm corners, and huge jumps to qualify for quarter finals, semi finals, and then, the big show, the finals. Joanna (jojo) did just that in the mud in Leogang, Austria and won a sprint for second place. You can watch a replay of her race here at freecaster.tv Congratulations JoJo on a career best result! Next weekend, she’s competing in the world cup downhill and four cross event in Val di Sol, Italy. You can watch live coverage of all the World Cup mountain bike races and cheer her on at freecaster.tv
The Leogang World Cup women’s podium (jojo second from left) (Sven Martin photography)
We look forward to having JoJo back with the Little Bellas for the August sessions!
The Little Bellas has wrapped up two successful week long day camps. We held one half day cubs camp for 8-10 years old and one full day camp for 11+ years old and up at Catamount Outdoor Family Center in Williston, Vermont.
The girls begin the day with some stretching and yoga
Both camps were a success with girls of all ages mastering the basics of mountain biking and putting those skills to the test on the pump track and at Catamount’s single track. The full day camp braved record high temperatures for the week and got a chance to sample single track ‘off campus’ at Fellowship of the Wheel’s Mud Pond and Sunny Hollow networks. The Cubs camp stuck it through several rain showers. All the girls were troopers facing Vermont’s healthy dose of crazy weather. Both groups were extremely cohesive, eager to learn, and we all had a blast. If you want to get in on the Little Bellas fun, you can try out our program on September 12th, 4-6 PM at Catamount Outdoor Family Center on our ‘Bring A Friend Day’. You can find out more information on our Little Bellas Camps at www.littlebellas.com
One of the campers practices her skills on the pump track
Starting a game of ‘Giants, Wizards, and Elves’. Combine a group game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with a game of tag and you’re playing ‘Giants, Wizards, and Elves’
We escaped the rain and snuck in ‘The Dot Game’. A game where the girls cover their bike in as many dots as possible and then have to name the corresponding bike part
We wrapped up the camp in Little Bellas Style with some homemade ice cream from the ice cream ball. Yum!
Mentors (from left to right) Emily, Lea, and Jenn give out camp awards, t-shirts, posters, and stickers.
The Little Bellas Summer Ride Challenge has begun. The Little Bellas families and mentors record their summer adventures and can tally points under commuting (walking, riding, carpooling), riding (Little Bellas, mentors, and Little Bellas parents), mentor group rides, and outdoor family activities.
The Loewer Family has taken the early lead by a land slide with 21 points. In the mentor category, Joanna Petterson is in the lead at 4 points with Ashley Nichols close behind with 2 points.
Mentors and Little Bellas, I know you are riding, adventuring, and commuting this summer so record your points on the spreadsheet and put yourself in the running for the grand prize, 500 dollars towards a brand new Trek Bike. Remember, points only count if they are tallied on the spread sheet.
Hats off to the Loewer Family for diving into the challenge. Keep up the good work!
Get outside and Play! Win a Trek Bike!
Little Bellas is proud to officially launch our 2010 Summer Ride/Commute Challenge. This is an initiative designed to promote cycling and physical activity in Little Bellas families and mentors. Family members will work together keeping track of and tallying their points. The family to get the most points at the end of the Little Bellas season wins the grand prize, a Trek Bicycle! Tack the Little Bellas Summer Ride Challenge sheet up on the fridge and get outside and play!
Click on this link to get started.
Once you click on this link, you will see each Little Bellas family has their own spreadsheet (found on the tab under your Little Bella’s name). All you need to do is enter the date, the points earned under the appropriate sections, the event description, and the spreadsheet will tally up the points for you. NOTE: DO NOT TOUCH THE FINAL TALLY SECTION OF THE YOUR SPREADSHEET. This is automatically tallied. Want to know how you measure up in the competition? Click on the Total tab. Again, PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE TOTAL spreadsheet. This is automatically tallied.
Need to know what counts and what doesn’t? Look below for competition details.
The Summer Ride/Commute Challenge Guidelines:
-Families will compete as a family unit
- Mentors will compete as a solitary unit
- The Summer Ride Challenge begins Sunday June 27th and ends Saturday, August 21st. I will announce the winner at our annual Ride Across Vermont potluck on Sunday, August 22nd.
- The Grand Prize is 500 dollars towards a Trek Bike!
- Record your commutes and rides on the Little Bellas Summer Ride Challenge sheet on google docs (Link posted on littlebellas.com on Monday, June 28th )
- This challenge is on the honor system. I will be tracking everyone’s progress weekly through google docs and updating the Little Bellas website accordingly
Cycling Guidelines:
- If a “Little Bella” rides for one hour+, she earns one point. There will be no cap on the number of points a Little Bella can earn. It’s limitless.
- If a parent rides for one hour+, he/she earns one point. Points that individual parents can collect is capped at 25 points.
- Family Bonus Points: If the entire family engages in any physical activity for one hour+, the family earns three points. Points that a family can collect is capped at 50 points.
Commute Challenge:
- Commuting means using an alternative and more earth friendly medium of transport, walking, riding, or carpooling, to get from one location to another location. In the case of this challenge:
- If you bike commute 10 miles or more round trip, you earn one point
- If you walk one mile or more round trip, you earn one point
- If you carpool 20 miles or more round trip, you earn one point
- Please calculate the mileage of your trip on google maps. Honor system applies.
Mentor Guidelines:
- If a mentor rides for an hour+, she earns one point. Cycling points a mentor can earn will be capped at 35 points.
- Group Ride Bonus Points: If a mentor goes out on a group ride of three or more people, the mentor earns three points. Group ride bonus points are capped at 50 points.
- The commuting challenge rules remain exactly the same for the mentors
Tonight Terry opens their doors to the Little Bellas. Get a sneak peak at this year’s Little Bellas jerseys, win some great prizes, and, moms, get a one time discount on Terry Apparel. Light refreshments will be served.
The event starts at 5 pm in the Terry Headquarters, 47 Maple Street, Burlington, VT 05401
Be there. It’s gonna be fun.
Mark your calenders. On July 1st, the Little Bellas will have a chance to get a sneak peak at the inner workings of one of our greatest supporters and sponsors, Terry Bicycles. There will be a tour of Terry Headquarters, unveiling of the 2010 Little Bellas Terry jerseys, product giveaways, light refreshments, and a one-time discount to Little Bellas moms on Terry apparel.
The event starts at 5 pm in the Terry Headquarters, 47 Maple Street, Burlington, VT 05401
Get your Little Bellas jerseys, win some great prizes, and purchase some great Terry Apparel. Come seize the opportunity to get to know our sponsor Terry Bicycles and welcome them to Burlington and to the Little Bellas.
by Lea
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