The Summit is free of charge (advance registration requested) and provides information for communities, businesses, and universities from the League of American Bicyclists on its programs of guidance and professional assistance in becoming bicycle friendly.   

The bottom line - if you like bikes then you need to come!

Don't leave your child behind at the start line of America's Toughest Road Marathon - the National College Blue Ridge Marathon.

via Christina Nuckols of the Roanoke Times... 

Everyone who lives in and loves Roanoke has a slightly different vision for what the city should look like 10 or 20 years from now. But most of us could agree on a few brilliant ideas if we got together and talked.

That's the goal of envisionroanoke.com. The website was created in October during the CityWorks (X)po conference by Neil Takemoto, a Washington, D.C. entrepreneur and leader in crowdsource development. Don't be intimidated by the jargon. Crowdsource development is a term for using social networking to encourage large-scale collaboration on community projects. People who might not be willing or able to attend a government planning meeting can share their opinions on websites that borrow elements from Facebook and other social media.  

Envisionroanoke.com allows anyone to pitch ideas, vote on other people's suggestions and discuss the pros and cons of different proposals.  

"It's a way to give people a trigger to participate," said Brent Cochran, director of the (X)po conference."

There are several outdoor ideas listed including a whitewater park on the Roanoke River, a bike park, climbing wall, velodrome, and zip line canopy tours.  Help push a few of these over the 50 "likes" mark. Any idea that receives 50+ "likes" by February 29 will be presented at the weekly TED Talk forum with a focus on how the community can work together to implement the idea, possibly followed by crowdfunding.