ROANOKE, Va. (January 14, 2010) – The Roanoke Regional Partnership today launched RoanokeOutside.com – the most comprehensive and interactive resource to learn about and explore the Roanoke, Virginia region’s outdoors. As a result of this launch this blog will no longer be maintained. Please visit the new site for all your outdoor needs.

The new site (www.RoanokeOutside.com) — the first of its kind dedicated to the Roanoke, Virginia region — was developed with hundreds of suggestions from area residents who shared their favorite hiking and biking trails, fishing holes, camping spots, kid activities, gear shops, as well as features they wanted to see on the site. Others employed GPS-equipped phones to map out trails and wrote descriptions of outdoor activities.

RoanokeOutside.com covers the greater Roanoke, Virginia area that stretches from Douthat State Park to Smith Mountain Lake between the James River and New River. The site includes an event calendar, suggested itineraries, list of guides, gear rentals, maps, photos, videos, message boards, blogs, gear reviews, cabin rentals, classifieds, and other features to help make getting outside easy, educational and sustainable.

“With the help of outdoor enthusiasts from throughout our region, we have dedicated more than a year to develop the leading source of information about all things outside to properly leverage the Roanoke, Virginia region’s greatest asset – the outdoors,” said Beth Doughty, executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership. “Making the outdoors an important part of our region’s narrative and economy starts with a dynamic Web site that catalogues our natural resources and makes it easier for people all over the world to learn about and enjoy what we have to offer.”

Much like RoanokeOutside.com was developed with the help of the region’s residents, the site will continue to be a conduit of connectivity using interactive blogs, discussion groups and social media outreach using Twitter and Facebook.

“The Roanoke, Virginia region is one of the best spots anywhere for outdoor recreation, and RoanokeOutside.com tells that story in a way we’ve never been able to do before,” said Pete Eshelman, director of outdoor branding for the Roanoke Regional Partnership. “It provides an interactive platform to continue to share tips and connect with people passionate about the outdoors or those simply wanting to take the first steps toward getting outside for fun and exercise.”

Businesses, colleges urged to link to RoanokeOutside.com

To help spread the word about the site and increase global exposure, the Roanoke Regional Partnership is asking businesses, colleges and other organizations in the region to add a link to www.RoanokeOutside.com from their home pages.

“Our new site is an ideal way to show young professionals that the Roanoke, Virginia region is an ideal place to start and build their careers,” Eshelman says. “Having a comprehensive site like ours makes it easy for young professionals to research the region as a place they want to live.”

RoanokeOutside.com also is a great way for employers to showcase the region’s assets to employees, potential recruits and other web visitors. “A link to RoanokeOutside.com shows that a company, college or other organization cares about the outdoors and its impact on economic development in the region,” Eshelman says.

ABOUT THE ROANOKE REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP

The Roanoke Regional Partnership was founded in 1983 as a regional economic development organization for the greater Roanoke area that includes Alleghany, Botetourt, Franklin, and Roanoke counties plus the cities of Roanoke and Salem and the town of Vinton.  Its program of work includes image building, asset development, and business recruitment.  The Partnership has been involved in business locations and expansions that have created more than 13,600 jobs and $1.3 billion in investment in real estate and equipment.  To learn more, please visit www.Roanoke.org.

NRVBA Applies for Bikes Belong Grant

The NRVBA has applied for a $10,000 Facility Grant from the Bikes Belong Coalition.  If awarded, the grant will be used to leverage Blacksburg Town Council and Town staff support the construction of the 2-mile Central Downtown Loop connecting commercial, university and residential areas. Once completed, the loop will serve as the centerpiece to a town-wide system of routes.  With the construction of the loop, our goal is to increase ridership in Blacksburg by 25%.

The NRVBA would like to thank Keith Moore, Town Corridor Committee Chair, and Adele Schirmer, Director of Engineering and GIS for the Town of Blacksburg for their assistance in preparing the application.  The NRVBA would also like to thank the following businesses and organizations for their support of the application:  Eastcoasters (a Bikes Belong member), Hokie Spokes, Bike Barn, YMCA at VT, Downtown Merchants of Blacksburg, Sustainable Blacksburg, Blacksburg Corridor Committee, New River Valley Planning District Commission.  (http://www.nrvbike.com/archives/265)

Beth Lohman
NRVBA President

Weekly Bike Rides (road & mtn.) in the Roanoke Region

Courtesty of Dan Casey (Roanoke Times)

A few weeks ago we launched a Temporary version of RoanokeOutside.com which includes a beta version of an outdoor-events calendar. The goal is for this calendar to be a clearinghouse for all outdoor events going on in the Roanoke and NRV Valleys (anyone can submit an event).  I was simply amazed at the amount of weekly bicycle rides that exist. The folks at the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club, Roanoke Cycling Organization, and East Coasters bike shop should be commended (if I left anyone off that list please let me know)!

The great thing about these organizations and weekly rides is that EVERYONE IS WELCOME! These people just want to see more people out there riding! We are blessed with amazing roads for riding and trails for mountain biking – Get Outside and RIDE!

Here are the weekly rides I know of (please let me know if any are missing or you see any discrepancies):