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Phil Van Valkenberg
Van Valkenberg
Bicycling Tourism Specialist
Favorite Trail Genius Maps:
Fat Tire Tour of Milwaukee
Cam Rock Trail System
Levis Trow Mound
Chequamegon 40
Green Bay Titletown Bike Tour
Phil Van Valkenberg has contributed to the success of bicycling tourism in the State of Wisconsin for 40 years. He has specialized in events, publications, tourism consulting, mapping, photography and marketing. Over that period he produced eight privately published books on bicycling in Wisconsin and the Midwest and seven editions of the Wisconsin Biking Guide for the Department of Tourism.
His philosophy is in concordance with Wisconsin's environmental ethics pioneers, John Muir and Aldo Leopold, who believed that unmatchable benefits were to be found with personal time spent in nature. Over the years thanks to Van Valkenberg's efforts many thousands of bicyclists have enjoyed these experiences and contributed to the economic prosperity of Wisconsin.
A University of Wisconsin Madison study released in 2010 titled "Valuing Bicycling's Economic and Health Impacts in Wisconsin" shows that more than $535 million is annually attributed to the state's economy by bicyclists from other states. Importantly, it projects that increasing non‐resident bicycling by 20% has the potential to increase economic activity by more than $107 million dollars annually and create 1,528 full‐time equivalent jobs and should be a great incentive to invest in improvements and marketing to make the product more attractive.
Van Valkenberg's career goal is to continue to advance the personal and economic benefits of cycling tourism through planning, marketing and technological innovation. He believes that cycling tourism in Wisconsin is far from reaching its potential and that positive action is essential to ensure continued growth.
Bicycling Tourism Time Line for Philip Van Valkenberg
1973 Organized the first bicycle race around the Capitol Square with the Two Tyred Wheelmen cycling club.
Organized "Dane County Bicycle Day" which introduced hundreds of bicyclists to rural cycling and resulted in improvements in rural roadway shoulders for cycling by the Dane County Highway Department.
1974 "Wisconsin Bike Trips, Twenty Tours for Young and Old" by Phil Van Valkenberg published by Wisconsin Trails Press.
Served as the Bicycle Transportation Committee representative on the City of Madison Transportation Committee.
1975 "Bicycle Escape Routes, A Touring Guide to Wisconsin" featuring over 1,000 miles of recommended routes by Philip Van Valkenberg and Doug Shidell published by Wisconsin Trails Press.
As Chairman of the Madison Bicycle Transportation Committee, presented the first "Long Range Bikeway Program, A Summary Report of Proposed Policies & Facility Plans" to the City Council.
1978 Sales Director and Events Coordinator at Telemark Resort, a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired 4-Star 200-room resort in Cable, Wisconsin, through 1980.
1979 Designed the course for the Grand View Firehouse 50, a citizen's cycling road race, which continues to this day with over 1,000 annual participants.
1980 "More Wisconsin Bike Trips" featuring 20 new one-day tours by Philip Van Valkenberg published by Wisconsin Trails Press.
1981 Bicycle Project Coordinator for the Wisconsin Division of Tourism.
Designed a computer program to evaluate the suitability of Wisconsin roadways for shared bicycle and motor vehicle use and researched 10,000 miles of rural bicycle routes.
1982 "Wisconsin Bicycle Escape Guide" produced by Philip Van Valkenberg for the Division of Tourism which distributed 32,000 free copies. Routes connected all State Parks, major population centers and all communities with colleges.
1983 Special Events Coordinator at Telemark Resort, Cable, Wisconsin.
Organized the Tour de Radisson bicycle multi-day road race and the American Classic multi-sport event which won the "Best New Event" award from "Ultra Sports Magazine."
Organized the first Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, a 40-mile mountain bike race which, prospers to this day with annual entry limited to 3,000 riders and has become a fall tourism high light for the area.
1984 Events Director at Wintergreen Resort, Spring Green, Wisconsin. Managed a multi-sport facility and organized cross country ski and bicycle events.
Bicycling columnist for Silent Sports Magazine, Waupaca, Wisconsin through 1994.
1985 "Best Wisconsin Bike Trips, 30 One-Day On and Off Road Routes" by Philip Van Valkenberg published by Wisconsin Trails Press.
Sales Director at Olympia Village Resort in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
Organized the first Fat Tire Tour of Milwaukee, an urban bicycling cultural tour of the state's largest city, which continues to attract hundreds of visitors to this day.
1986 Director of Worldwide Nordic USA, a domestic and foreign tour company in Hartland, Wisconsin through 1989.
1987 Managed incoming cross country ski groups from seven European countries. Organized trips to nine European and Asian cross country ski marathons and a bicycling trip to the Tour de France for Worldwide Nordic.
1988 Organized bicycling trips to Tour de France, canal boat/bicycle touring in the Netherlands, and hut-to-hut cross country ski touring in Norway for Worldwide Nordic.
1989 Minnesota Editor for Silent Sports Magazine through 1994 researching and writing articles on cycling and other self-propelled sports in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Revised "Best Wisconsin Bike Trips" by Philip Van Valkenberg published by Wisconsin Trails Press.
1991 Produced "Guidelines for Shared Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Use on Rural Roadways" for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, which continues to be used to this day.
1992 Presented research on the development and production of the Wisconsin Bicycle Map at the worldwide Velo Mondiale conference in Montreal, Canada.
1994 "The Best Bike Rides in the Midwest" by Phil Van Valkenberg published by Globe-Pequot Press, Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Forty four on-road routes were mapped and described in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
1995 "The Mountain Biker's Guide to the Great Lakes States" by Phil Van Valkenberg and Jack McHugh published by Menasha Ridge Press, Birmingham, Alabama. Sixty eight trails were featured in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
1996 Produced the first edition of the "Wisconsin Biking Guide" for the Department of Tourism which distributed 60,000 free copies. Three distinct categories of bicycling interest were identified through focus groups, on-road loops, mountain bike trails and rail-trails.
1997 Edited "Cycling Hawaii" by Jeff Baldwin for Motorbooks International, Osceola, Wisconsin.
1998 "Mountain Bike Wisconsin" by Phil Van Valkenberg published by Menasha Ridge Press, Birmingham, Alabama. Edited "Cycling Along the Waterways of France" by Tony Roberts for Motorbooks International, Osceola, Wisconsin.
Produced the second edition of the "Wisconsin Biking Guide" for the Department of Tourism which distributed 70,000 free copies.
1999 Special Events and Marketing Director at Telemark Resort, Cable, Wisconsin through 2003. Created a marketing campaign based on active outdoor adventure and produced summer and winter guides.
2000 Produced the third edition of the "Wisconsin Biking Guide" for the Department of Tourism, which distributed 90,000 free copies.
"Winter Trails Wisconsin" The Best Cross Country Ski & Snowshoe Trails" by Phil Van Valkenberg published by Globe-Pequot Press, Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
2001 "The Official Rails-To-Trails Conservency Guidebook for Wisconsin" by Phil Van Valkenberg published by Globe-Pequot Press, Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Twenty one "Top Rail-Trails" were mapped and described and thirty three others were inventoried.
2002 Produced the fourth edition of the "Wisconsin Biking Guide" for the Department of Tourism which distributed 120,000 free copies.
2003 Marketing and Events Director for the Schwann Center, a new 140-room resort and conference center, set along the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, in Minong, Wisconsin through 2004. Designed promotional materials and web site content.
2004 Produced the fifth edition of the "Wisconsin Biking Guide" for the Department of Tourism which distributed 100,000 free copies. Organized a group tour to the Tour de France.
2005 Organized a group tour to the Ghent-Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix and Amstel Gold professional bicycle races.
2006 Produced the sixth edition of the "Wisconsin Biking Guide" for the Department of Tourism which distributed 100,000 free copies.
Organized a group tour to the Ghent-Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix professional bicycle races. Marketing Director for Bicycle Doctor Nordic Ski Shop in Dousman, Wisconsin to present.
2007 Organized a group tour to the Ghent-Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix professional bicycle races.
2008 Produced the seventh edition of the "Wisconsin Biking Guide" for the Department of Tourism which distributed 100,000 free copies.
Organized a group tour to the Ghent-Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix professional bicycle races.
2009 Organized the first annual Steel Is Real Milwaukee bicycle ride celebrating steel-frame bikes.
2010 Designed the course and organized community support for the "Unnamed Epic" a new ultra-distance mountain bike race in southwest Wisconsin for Team Sports, Inc, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
2012 Currently partnering with Trail Genius to plan and market a comprehensive cycling tourism concept that will take advantage of the latest internet and smart phone navigational technology.
New Maps
Snow Crown Series Shelltrack 2019
Hartman Creek Single Track
Brockway Mountain Challenge 2019
Bike Across Bago 2019
Youngs Snow Bike Trails
Copper Harbor Trails Fest 09/04/2020
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