BOSTON - (October 30, 2007) The Boston LUNA Chix Cycling Team formally launched its brand new website today at www.bostonlunachixcycling.com. The team invites you to drop by, have a look around, meet the team, join our global community, and start something in your neck of the woods. The website is the team’s newest tool to help achieve its main goal to empower women to get out and ride their bikes. Savvy visitors will appreciate the sophisticated site technologies that the team has implemented in order to create an online community with cyclists’ interests in mind.

“Our team’s mission is to create a welcoming, non-competitive environment for women cyclists of all levels,” said Roz Puleo, captain of the team. “Our website and interactive Forum are key components to that mission. We’ve had women from the LUNA Pro team, novice racers, and non-racers all post to our site so far. To give women a centralized spot to link up for rides with other women, ask questions about gear or training, or talk about races, is what we’ve been striving for.”

Meet the team
What distinguishes the Boston LUNA Chix team (besides a Boston accent so severe it could peel paint off walls) is at once a unified identity as a team created and maintained by individuals. Headed up by Puleo, who holds the national Super D title in the expert category, team members voluntarily flex their own strengths to yield a team marked by innovation, structure, and poise. Meet the team here.

Boston LUNA Chix Women’s Cycling Forum, presented by Wheelworks
Wheelworks, one of the nation’s top 100 retailers according to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, honored the Chix with a Supplemental Marketing Sponsorship for the team to build a Forum section into its site. Intended as a social networking tool, the Forum is the go-to spot to swap information about upcoming races and rides, gear, chit-chat on cycling and fitness, and events. For those of you keen on cooking and eating, the food and nutrition section of the Forum offers favorite recipes and tips from the nutrition specialists among us. Recent posts to the Forum include information on beginner MTB clinics, announcements for regional cyclocross races and local trail maintenance days, a snack recipe that will cause knees to buckle, and questions about bike maintenance and fall/winter fitness. The Forum is ever-evolving and, based on posting trends, new categories will be added on an ongoing basis.

The polished, professional look that the Chix desired for their Forum required specialized software, which would demand a bit more than the existing marketing budget had to offer. The Chix’s Supplemental Marketing Sponsorship proposal faced daunting competition since Wheelworks receives 800-900 sponsorship requests each year.

“Wheelworks is very pleased to support the local Luna Chix gang,” said Clint Paige, president of Wheelworks. “Their commitment to expanding the opportunities for women to get involved with cycling and improve their skills fits perfectly with our desire to see more people on bikes truly enjoying themselves. Their enthusiasm is infectious and the inclusiveness they practice should be a model for many such groups to come.”

The fit with Wheelworks makes perfect sense since it is the local shop for many team members, who already visit either Belmont or Ace Wheelworks on nearly a weekly basis.

Becoming a Forum member doesn’t get any easier than visiting http://www.bostonlunachixcycling.com/Forums/ and clicking on “Register” in the upper left hand corner.

Featured Product
Each member of the team has, on one or more occasions, pried open her wallet and plunked down her hard-earned cash to discover something that she simply couldn’t live without. The Featured Product section on the home page is where each team member gets to wax enthusiastic about a product or service that she has personally tested and found it worth every penny and more. With the exception of LUNA products, for which team members exchange time instead of money, featured products will include Crank Brothers pedals, Louis Garneau Merino wool full zip jersey, Tobasco sauce, Apavita sunscreen, and Helios state-of-the-art socks.

Blob (oops, blog!)
Here’s where the gals get a chance to rant, rave, or otherwise speak their mind on the team blog. The blog has been an active part of the site since May and blog topics range from an awkward flat change in the company of a vodka-swilling roadie to a “group” ride with the defending Olympic gold medalist and national cross-country champs from France, the Czech Republic, and the US. Locate the team’s pulse on the blog here: http://blog.bostonlunachixcycling.com/

The site, which has been in a beta stage since creation, throws open its virtual doors to the cycling community at large. More developments are on the horizon, we’ll let you know. Meanwhile, pay us a visit and tell us what you think, we’d like to know!

Email the Boston LUNA Chix Cycling Team - chix@bostonlunachixcycling.com

About LUNA and the Breast Cancer Fund
Support for the Breast Cancer Fund has been at the core of the LUNA brand since its launch in 1999. The two partner together on a variety of national initiatives including: LUNAFEST, a traveling women’s short film festival, and Team LUNA Chix, a network of women’s community based sports teams. Both programs raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer Fund through local events.

It’s a potent combination: LUNA is the best selling women’s energy bar and Breast Cancer Fund’s top corporate supporter. LUNA’s commitment to women’s issues, nutrition and environmental sustainability made them a perfect fit with the Breast Cancer Fund’s precautionary, prevention-focused, and sustainable approach to protecting human health from toxic chemicals and dangerous, environmental exposures. Breast Cancer Fund’s mission is to identify and eliminate the environmental - and preventable - causes of the disease. To date, LUNA has given over $1.5 Million in support of Breast Cancer Fund, 20% of which has come from LUNA’s community based activism and fundraising efforts.

About Boston’s Team LUNA Chix Cycling Team
Team LUNA Chix is a group of women nationwide who serve as ambassadors for the sports of cycling, running and triathlon. Boston’s Cycling team is a group of eight athletes dedicated to welcoming women of all abilities into the cycling community. The team conducts clinics and events for local women cyclists while also raising awareness for the Breast Cancer Fund. For more information, or to get involved, contact team captain Roz Puleo at chix@bostonlunachixcycling.com

Source: Booher Media Group