Hi Everyone,



The email below was written by Whitney Despain (Pro Triathlon Team Manager
and co-San Diego Princess Bella) and provides an excellent accounting of why
it is important to purchase a VB jersey and or shorts/etc.



I forward it merely as an FYI.



Boa Boy



_____

From: VBSanDiego@yahoogroups.com [mailto:VBSanDiego@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of whitney.despain@...
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 8:33 PM
To: VBSanDiego@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [VBSanDiego] FAQs about clothing, being an "official Bella", etc.





Hi again.

There have been LOTS of questions, so I'm going to try to answer as many as
I can in one email:

1. Why do I have to pre-order jerseys, etc.? Can I buy them later on?
Velo Bella is a non-profit organization. There's no store or middle man that
pays for the clothing to get manufactured before selling them to us for
profit. When you order, the price you pay is what the manufacturer charges
for that item. There's not a big mark-up to cover the work it takes to put
together the order. None of us can afford to buy a bunch of extra jerseys to
keep on hand for new comers (although Sabine tries). So when an order opens
up, we make a big deal out of it so everyone who wants something gets it
then.

The good side- you get high end cycling and triathlon clothing cheap
The bad side- it can be a pain in the butt to order/exchange/etc

Sorry. That's just the way it works.

2. Why are there two separate orders (one for cycling, one for tri)?
When we were looking for manufacturers for the 2009/2010 clothing, we liked
Primal Wear for cycling and Squadra for triathlon. We decided to go for the
best of both worlds and do two separate orders. Yes, it's more work. But
well made, well fitting clothing is worth it.

Although there is a sleeveless top on the Primal Wear order that looks tri
top-ish, it's a sleeveless jersey, and not an actual tri top.

3. Do I HAVE to buy a new 2009/2010 jersey/tri top/etc?
If you want to be considered an official Velo Bella racer chick, and be
eligible for the perks and discounts it includes, yes. You must own, and
race in, a current jersey. We don't charge a membership fee. This is how the
structure of our team works. Lots of gals race in jerseys with our sponsors'
logos, our sponsors are happy, they keep supporting us with their
sponsorship, the world continues to turn...

Please note you only need to make sure what you RACE in is current. So if
you're a triathlete, and you buy a tri top to wear while you race, you don't
HAVE to buy a new cycling jersey. The rule of thumb is whatever you race in
should be current. Make sense?

4. Do I need to be an official Velo Bella racer chick to ride, run, swim,
etc. with this group?
Nope. We don't have any official coached Velo Bella workouts. Whatever we
post of this site is just a bunch of gals getting together to train. So
anyone can show up.

That said, why wouldn't you want to be a Velo Bella???? You get to be part
of a fun, supportive team. There are amazing sponsor deals. And we have the
cutest kits ever made. Which you can buy at cost. I don't see a down side.

For more info on what it means to be a Velo Bella, go to:
http://www.velobell <http://www.velobella.org/blog/about/> a.org/blog/about/

I hope that helps!!!

Whitney





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