In addition to being a riding challenge, the JVC Winter Challenge is also a fundraiser
2025 Fundraiser Goal = $50,000
Palmer Park Mountain Bike Trails and Skills Area (also known as the Pump - Palmer Urban Mountain-Bike Park) - The Janesville Velo Club and Michael's Cycles staff have been working with the City of Janesville and Traction Trailworx (professional trail building) to create a 35-acre mountain bike park with flow and progressive trails in the southern part of Janesville’s Palmer Park. This plan was created as a compromise after banning bikes from other popular off-road trails in the northern part of the park and contains professionally built MTB/BMX type trails that are fun for beginners, encourage riders to improve, accommodate riders with more advanced skills, and are also safely away from the unleashed dog space in the northern part of the park. The project’s total cost will be about $250,000, but only about $50,000 is needed to complete the project.
 | Paul Murphy (left) - former JVC President, Winter Challenge participant, former Challenge winner, and JVC's leading fundraiser and Curt Sauser (right) - 2024 JVC President show the club's commitment to the Palmer Park project  |
Palmer Park Mountain Bike Trails and Skills Area Project Total Cost = $250,000
East Loop - funded ($50,000) and completed in 2023
Jump line #1 - funded ($25,000) and completed in 2023
Jump line #2 - funded ($30,000) and completed in 2023
Pump Track - funded ($45,000) and completed in 2024
West Loop - funded ($45,000) and completed in 2024
Skills Area - FUNDING NEEDED = $40,000
Signage / Infrastructure - PARTIALLY FUNDED = $15,000
Note: The JVC, the Rock Trail Coalition, Michael’s Cycles, and the City of Janesville contributed to the cost of the project’s design and plan ($5,000).
Help us raise funds by encouraging your friends & family to make pledges on the number of days or miles you ride during the 2-month challenge period.
Not up to the challenge of winter riding or soliciting pledges but want to support our cause? Please consider donating. The JVC is a 501c3 non-profit organization that consists of cyclists and advocates for bicycling. Club funds are used to improve cycling opportunities in southern Wisconsin and to support bicycling-related advocacy efforts.
Donations will be done through the Janesville Velo Club app website
The Janesville Velo Club supports People for Bikes, the League of American Bicyclists, USA Cycling, and the International Mountain Bike Association (on the national level), the Wisconsin Bicycle Federation, and the Wisconsin High School Cycling League (on the state level), the Rock Trail Coalition, and the Janesville Youth Mountain Biking Club (on the local level), and also sponsors local cycling events and races in our community. Club members volunteer at local cycling events and in local parks, arrange and organize weekly group rides, and advocate for cycling and cyclists.
Some other specific local projects funded with the help of the Janesville Velo Club include:
