FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
09-10-20
Leesburg, Virginia –
One year ago, on September 12, 2019 Loudoun’s oldest independent bicycle shop had a full reset after 31-years. The sudden closing did not come as a shock to the staff but the complete and total rescue of it and the shops storied history did. We have Robert Bagnall to thank for this by saving the staff and giving us Maverick Bikes & Café.
Now re-born as a non-profit and a charity for cycling advocacy we have a new home for the next thirty years to continue our decades old traditions and to create new ones to enrich our cycling community. The shop has produced regional and collegiate champions, national champions and professionally ranked racers. We have helped parents get their kids safely under way on two wheels and we have assisted folks on their quest to live a healthier lifestyle. We have worked closely with the disabled to get them out on the open road and we have supported youth and amateur racing. It has been a journey that the founders Craig and John Dubois can be extremely proud of.
We would like to take a moment to thank our costumers both old and new because without you none of this would have been possible. Please stop in this Saturday and say hello and help us celebrate this wonderful anniversary. Coffee and waffles will be hot in the Café, wine served by Casanel Vineyards from 2:00 to 5:00 and the Tour de France will be on all TVs.
Thank you from the staff at Maverick Bikes and see you out on the road and trails.
Maverick Bikes & Café
Virginia Village Shopping Center
32-C Catoctin Cir S.E.
Leesburg, Va. 20175
703-777-6126
CONTACTS:
Douglas Graham, PR specialist for Maverick Bikes and co-founder of America’s Routes
wgwildlightphotos1@gmail.com
(540) 467-2277
Maverick Bikes Partners With OAR to Give Local Virginians A Second Chance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
08-14-20
Leesburg, Virginia —
Maverick Bikes has recently joined Opportunities, Alternatives and Resources (O.A.R), a local charity dedicated to helping recently released correctional inmates, to give bicycles to those in need. America is all about second chances,” said Robert Bagnall, Founder of Maverick Bikes, “and we love a comeback. I know that if I never had a second chance in life I would not have been in a position to have this shop and help these people put the pieces back together. With OAR, not only can we get them to work or the doctor or the grocery store, we can give them a second shot at life too.”
“It is through the donations of local Virginians in Loudoun County that we can turn bicycles from those who no longer need them to those who desperately do. I am so happy we can do this as part of our continuing mission to get more people riding bikes in Virginia.”
More about Mavericks Bikes & Cafe:
The store and charity work hand in hand to be a perfect complement to each other and mission of an improved environment for cycling in general. Tax-deductible bicycle and cycling accessory donations along with a full retail store front for new and used bicycles, parts and accessories and a high-level service center. With this new model we are able to tap into a much larger body of the cycling community and come together as a whole to find ways for increased cycling advocacy to improve the safety and security for drivers and cyclist alike. Maverick Bikes & Cafe, the voice and advocate for increasing and improving bike lanes, bike safety and bike culture in our local community.
PHOTO CAPTION: UNITED STATES – 08-14-20: Brandon Cosby the director of development for Opportunities, Alternatives and Resources or O.A.R. and Maverick Bikes & Cafe owner Robert Bagnall talk about joining forces to help recently released correctional inmates with transportation. The team at Maverick Bikes fixed up the bikes in the foreground to give to inmates to help them get a second chance. (Photo By Douglas Graham)
CONTACTS:
Douglas Graham, PR specialist for Maverick Bikes and co-founder of America’s Routes
wgwildlightphotos1@gmail.com
(540) 467-2277
Americas’s Routes Gaining Ground
Loudoun’s Rural Roads Win Significant State and National Recognition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 6, 2020
Loudoun County’s 300-year-old rural road network has received significant recognition as a valuable historic asset. On June 18, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR) declared the roads officially eligible for listing on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places, at its quarterly meeting of VDHR’s State Review Board. The usual historic site gaining support from VDHR is a building, a battlefield, a structure or set of structures with a specific role in historic time periods, or the lives of residents. The concept of determining an entire network of hundreds of miles of roads eligible for the high state and national honor was quite novel for the state organization.
There was little precedent in Virginia and around the United States, though in 2002, one section of the old roads, in southwestern Loudoun, was declared a County Historic District by our Board of Supervisors. In May, Preservation Virginia had listed the roads on its “Most Endangered Historic Sites” list for 2020, but this most recent designation by VDHR demonstrates the value the state puts these roads as a “living museum” with three centuries of the county’s history woven into the twists and turns of these humble roads. VDHR’s determination that the road network is eligible for listing on the Virginia and National Registers of Historic Places required clear demonstration of both their historic significance and physical integrity.
Professional preservationist Jane Covington, who has generated many successful applications for State and National Register listings in Loudoun (including most recently the placement of the village of Willisville on the National Register), led the effort on behalf of America’s Routes. Americas Routes is a local group dedicated to celebrating Loudouns rural roads and cultivating their appreciation as an historic asset. (See the website: AmericasRoutes.com.) Covington’s several year’s long work with the VDHR staff was based on careful and extensive research, building a clear case for the network’s historic significance and physical integrity. The document approved by VDHR demonstrated the crucial role the road network had in our migration, agricultural and cultural patterns of life in Loudoun’s three centuries of history. As Covington’s submission indicated, Loudoun’s old roads pre-date America, carved out of the hilly terrain by early settlers who built prosperous agricultural communities. Terrible wars, slavery, and the struggle for freedom, the coming of the automobile, and the modern era of commuters living side by side with farmers, all make the history embedded in the roads the tale of a very American experience.
Further, her research clearly showed that despite generations of grading, repairs and adjustment the routes and alignments of Loudoun’s old roads still authentically capture their long history of supporting the county’s communities and economy. According to Covington, “Loudoun County’s 2019 Comprehensive Plan acknowledges the importance of the county’s historic roads to the character of the rural landscape of western Loudoun.” She notes that the Comprehensive Plan recognizes their importance for recreational use by walkers, bicyclists and equestrians.
Local elected officials have expressed their support for America’s Routes’ effort to highlight the roads’ historic value and garner support for their preservation. “Now, more than ever,” she says, “this unique feature of our county combines our need to celebrate history with our need for useful recreational spaces.” The need for these gravel roads to function as part of a transportation network in the 21st century has highlighted the quandary of how to preserve them as authentic historic assets without succumbing to the demands for high-speed travel. Of the 700 miles of public roads in western Loudoun’s Rural Policy Area, more than one third are unpaved. The roads are under pressure from increasing traffic, but VDOT is experimenting with new materials and techniques to help preserve them and provide safe and reliable transportation. As Covington stated, “this recognition bestowed by VDHR may help ensure their future.”
For further information, contact:
Jane Covington (jane@janecovington.com; 434-960-4678)
Emily Houston (emilyzs@yahoo.com; 571-215-2234)
For additional photos, contact:
Douglas Graham (wgwildlightphotos1@gamil.com; 540-467-2277)
Loudoun Homeless Support Ride February 2020
