Winners Announced, More Prizes Coming, More Reasons to Join Team Fatty
Before I get going with the prize-announcing, I’d like to take a second and say “Thanks” to some companies. Because the reality is, the economy’s tough right now that makes it easy to say “no” when people ask you to give.
But Shimano hasn’t said “no.” Shimano has said “yes,” and has provided an incredible amount of support and product as I try to find great incentives for all of you as you work to raise money in the fight against cancer.
And Intense Cycles hasn’t said “no,” either. They ponied up a frame for a top-of-the-line bike.
And Twin Six — an alternative cycling apparel company so good at seeming big and professional — hasn’t said “no” all year. They’ve been with me in more LiveStrong fundraisers than I can count, and they — pretty much every time — always give more than I ask them to.
These are all good companies, making good things, filled with good people. Thank them by supporting them, OK?
The Grand Prize Intense Spider 2 Winner
The winner of the Intense Spider 2, complete with his choice of the new 2011 Shimano XTR group, is Jim F:
Here’s what Jim had to say about himself when he learned he won this bike:
WOW, that’s awesome! My old mountain actually just started falling apart, this is perfect.
I am a 25 year old engineer working in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I started out riding mountain bikes on a local trail around a reservoir. Then I bought a used Giant OCR2 from craigslist to ride on the road. I think I will have to travel to some better trails to fully appreciate the Spider 2.
I donated in honor of my aunt who died from bone cancer a few years ago. It started out as breast cancer, then went onto remission for a year, then came back more aggressively as bone cancer. Thanks for all you do in the fight against cancer, I think it will/is making a difference.
Now, of course, the hard work begins for Jim. What color of frame should he go with: Raw, white, or green?
And should he set the bike up with the Race version of Shimano’s new XTR group, or Trail?
Kinda fun to have to make those decisions. I’m sure that Jim will appreciate any suggestions you care to give him.
Congrats, Jim!
First Prize: Twin Six Shopping Spree
My good friends at Twin Six were good enough to make this contest extra-spicy by donating two $250 shopping sprees, which will make it possible for the winners to genuinely ride in style.
The first winner of this spree is Tommy F, who used psychic powers to somehow be aware that a genuinely useful message — i.e., he had won a $250 shopping spree from Twin Six — had been routed to his junk mail folder.
Which brings up something I’ve really been struggling with: do you have any idea how difficult it is to craft a “Congratulations, you’ve won a prize” email that doesn’t contain enough language to send it to junk mail folders?
It’s not easy. And evidently, I’m not succeeding (at least in this case) anyway.
Says Tommy:
I had to dig your message out of the [Junk E-Mail] folder in my Outlook. What does it know anyway? That may turn out to be my favorite folder from now on.
I’m becoming a big fan of Twin Six and I have ordered my third Team Fatty jersey in the last preorder.
I had a blast in Philly with Team Fatty. I told Philly Jen that since you couldn’t make it, she had a lot of pressure on her to make sure I had a good time and she delivered.
Hoping I can get to Austin!
The second person to win was none other than Noodle, the person we’ve all come to know and love not just for her incredible 100 Miles of Nowhere video, but for the fact that she’s been riding her bike across America to raise money with Team Fatty for the fight against cancer.
Here’s what Noodle had to say about winning:
Your email came in at exactly the same time as one telling me I’d reached my LIVESTRONG fundraising goal for Team Fatty. Shopping sprees are great, but that is better. Now I have to set my goal higher since I still have one month left on the road on my ride across America and I’d hate to waste this momentum.
It’s been very tough so far, what with the recovering from the broken wrist shizzle and not riding my bike for 9 weeks and then jumping in straight at the Appalachians. They are no joke. Also, not sure if you saw but my bike is tweeting as it goes. All for Team Fatty. :) http://yesiamprecious.comHope you are well, and congrats on not crashing at Leadville this year.
A little aside here: this is the first time, in all the contests I’ve run, that somebody I’ve “met” before has won something. (I put “met” in quotes because I’ve actually never met Noodle in person or talked with her on the phone or anything; I’ve just seen her video, read her blog, and think she’s triple-awesome.)
Congrats, Tommy and Noodle!
Second Prize: LiveStrong Jersey Signed by Lance, Levi, Bob Roll…and Me
The second prize in this contest is a LiveStrong jersey that’s been signed by three cycling celebrities: Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, and Bob Roll.
Check it out:
The winner of this jersey is Jen W, and she had this to say:
I hate to be needy, but I neeed one more thing. No jersey full of cycling bigshots signatures would be complete without your signature.
Sorry you couldn’t make Philly. It was a great time.
I am also — especially after reading Philly Jen’s incredible 2-part story (part 1 here, part 2 here) — really bummed I couldn’t make it to Philly for the LiveStrong Challenge. And to be honest, I felt kind of weird about signing a jersey that’s been signed by actual cycling champions, seeing as I am what is known, in technical cycling terms, as a “goofball.”
But OK:
Ugh, I still don’t feel good about that.
Still, congratulations, Jen!
We Are Not Done Yet
With three LiveStrong Challenges and two dream bike giveaways behind us, you’d think that we’d be close to the end of the year, cancer-fighting wise.
Well, we’re not. In fact, the biggest event and the biggest bike giveaway are still ahead of us.
I’m not going to tell you what the next bike will be (yet), but I will tell you that you will be excited about it. I’ll go a step further and say that I’m excited about it, in spite of the fact that — as administrator of the contest — people would probably take a dim view of me if I won it.
And the Austin LiveStrong Challenge — AKA Ride for the Roses — is the biggest event of the year. It’s the one that started it all, and it is huge.
So you’ve got a couple reasons to join Team Fatty Austin right now: because you might win a bike — remember, all the money you raise in your own LiveStrong Challenge account gets counted toward each bike giveaway — and because you’ll be helping in the fight against cancer.
And I think that by now it’s pretty obvious (based on the Seattle, San Jose, and Philly accounts from the Team Fatty Co-Captains) that Team Fatty is a pretty great group of folks to spend a weekend with, so if you can make it to Austin, we can pretty much guarantee you a great time.
So, why don’t you join Team Fatty right this second? And help us as we continue our fight against cancer. It’s fun, it’s important, and — who knows? — maybe you’ll win a dream bike.
Comment by Ashley | 08.31.2010 | 11:32 am
Congrats guys! Couldn’t have picked better people if you’d actually picked (the whole random thing).
Noodle is up to $4k and Tommy raised (I believe) $8k for the Philly challenge…oh and Tommy, thanks for the safety pins :)
Comment by Paul Guyot | 08.31.2010 | 11:51 am
FC,
Do I just donate at your Livestrong “Fundraising Headquarters” page, or does it need to be an Austin-specific page?
Comment by AngieG | 08.31.2010 | 11:51 am
OMG!! Congrats to all of you that won such awesome Fatty prizes. The rest of us will remain jealous of your wonderful luck.
Keep it up Noodle- We are all behind you!!!!
Comment by Tommy F | 08.31.2010 | 11:52 am
Thanks Fatty!
Next time your prize message should read:
I am contacting you about a debt…Please reply immediately with your acknowledgment so I may submit payment to you. This message is an attempt to deliver on a promise from me to you. Any information obtained…
Keeper of the safety pins – Philly,
Tommy
Comment by buckythedonkey | 08.31.2010 | 12:15 pm
Yay Noodle! I had no idea she’d started her crossing again after her crash. Brilliant news! http://nodirectionknown.com
Comment by Cyclin' Missy | 08.31.2010 | 12:19 pm
I’d want a Fatty signature on my jersey, too! I have to admit, I’m seriously jealous of the winners. But even more, I’m amazed and thankful for what everyone on Team Fatty is doing to fight cancer. In the end, I’d give up my bikes forever if that would save a life from cancer.
Go Team Fatty!
Comment by Joel P. | 08.31.2010 | 1:35 pm
Congrats to all the winners. And Tommy F. why did I have to use my own safety pins?
Joel P.
Comment by Erik | 08.31.2010 | 1:38 pm
I never win anything, but what the hell. I’m still a proud member of Team Fatty Austin.
To up the ante for anyone who donates to my LIVESTRONG account (just click the link on my name), I will ride 1 mile for every dollar contributed.
ALLEZ FATTIES!
Comment by GJ Jackie | 08.31.2010 | 1:48 pm
If anyone deserves new Twin 6 gear, it’s Noodle. After a month of riding over 1,700 miles, I’m sure she needs a fresh kit. Allez, Noodle!
Comment by Pedalpink | 08.31.2010 | 2:55 pm
Super excited about the winners. How many contests do you enter where you never even hear who won? As a proud member of Team Fatty, I not only get to hear WHO won but I frequently “KNOW” them. Congratulations fellow Philly members Tommy and Jen W! Congratulations Noodle (I sent you a donation when you had the bad luck fall – glad you are completing your adventure). And hope to see Jim F (how about doing Iceman on that awesome Intense Spyder?) on the trails.
Comment by AmdrewDeweu | 08.31.2010 | 7:20 pm
Awesome stuff. Being from Fort Wayne, IN, I’ll have to keep my eye open for the guy on the new Intense bike on the local trails. We only have one good trail, so spotting it shouldn’t be too hard.
Thanks for leveraging us all for good.
Comment by NYCCarlos | 09.1.2010 | 12:05 am
mannnnn… i guess I have to win the next contest :-P
Great to see so many philly winners (and noodle!)… Congrats to all of the winners!
Comment by Matthew in Seattle | 09.1.2010 | 3:32 am
Congrats to Jim F on winning a sweet new ride!
As for colors, my 2 cents worth of recommendation is go with the “raw” color scheme. All four of my bicycles are raw material colored (ranging from brushed Ti, nude carbon to unpainted stainless steel). I have a lot of respect for the professional finishers working in the bicycle industry… but nothing tells a story quite like a bike with a patina of use. White is PRO, and the green screams out “look at me”, but a raw finish bike means business.
Comment by Paul Guyot | 09.1.2010 | 7:05 am
Can any of the other readers here answer the lame question from my earlier comment?
Thanks!
Comment by Erin | 09.1.2010 | 7:06 am
Allez Noodle indeed!
Comment by chicken | 09.1.2010 | 7:44 am
Fatty, Maybe you could make your subject line “From the Desk of Fat Cyclist” and tell contestants to add the words “Fat Cyclist” to their safe list. That might help you avoid the junk filters.
Comment by Neal | 09.1.2010 | 8:14 am
Congrats… now where did Jim get that shirt?
Comment by Erin | 09.1.2010 | 8:54 am
Cancer claims Fignon: http://tinyurl.com/27hhbs4
Comment by Tommy F | 09.1.2010 | 9:54 am
Paul,
Donate here to be ensured you are entered in Fatty’s drawings.
http://austin2010.livestrong.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=330110&lis=1&kntae330110=4EB505215C774EFF8BA792D6A9A008EB&supId=220801643
Comment by Philly Jen | 09.1.2010 | 11:53 am
Congrats to all the winners! Yays!
@Paul Guyot: You’re already entered in all the drawings by virtue of your fundraising for Team Fatty Philly — so get other people to donate, and it helps your odds.
@Neal: That’s a shirt from Woot.com, where they also have designs like Philly Fatty Kirby’s shirt, which totally takes the cake:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bertana/4923520305/in/set-72157624798526660/
Somewhere there is a Venn diagram showing the intersection of bikes, nerds, shirts, and dessert — with Team Fatty smack in the middle.
Comment by Ashley | 09.1.2010 | 1:55 pm
hey look what I found today! Some old issues I’ve had kicking around:
Comment by Ashley | 09.1.2010 | 1:56 pm
damn…image didn’t work…link is here: http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs403.snc4/46635_507476671605_108400085_30164825_1379141_n.jpg
Comment by mike | 09.1.2010 | 8:09 pm
Best Online Shop for Cycling Jerseys at http://www.cycleoutfit.com.
We offer the Best service ,quality and price .Welcome to shop here !!!
Comment by Fat Chick on a Bike | 09.1.2010 | 8:09 pm
Jim F’s T-shirt = perfect gift for a friend
Paging Jim F, where to buy?
Comment by Kathleen@ForgingAhead | 09.1.2010 | 9:24 pm
Awesome things:
Jim F’s t-shirt
Twin Six
Noodle’s journey
And of course the place that brings it all together, FC-Land.
Love it!
Comment by Nancy | 09.1.2010 | 9:35 pm
I have to correct you when you mentioned not ever meeting a contest winner before. You met my husband, Mark (and me), at Matt’s house long before you had your blog. Mark won a trip to Utah several years ago by writing some silly thing about biking up a hill. He had a fabulous time and winning that trip then was particularly timely. I always meant to thank you for choosing his entry so that he could get away for a couple of days and do something fun during a stressful time.
Comment by Doug (WAY upstate NY) | 09.2.2010 | 5:44 am
Congrats to all! Enjoy….
Comment by Chris | 09.2.2010 | 6:11 am
Hi Fatty, sorry to ask you for this but any chance you could leave some inspirational words for someone who is going through the fight at the moment. He writes here, howthelightgetsin.net and seems to be struggling at the moment. Just thought you might be able to help. Most appreciated if you could, thanks Fatty
Comment by Jim F. | 09.2.2010 | 6:31 am
I’m super excited to ride the Spider 2 around Franke Park. The shirt is a Woot shirt and you can buy it here: shirt.woot.com/friends.aspx?k=8168
Comment by chtrich | 09.2.2010 | 8:36 am
Off topic, but relevant to this blog.
Maybe soon Fatty will start the 26.2 miles to nowhere
http://tinyurl.com/hopsmara
Comment by JT | 11.30.2010 | 11:50 pm
Too bad Jim’s up in FW and not down further south here in Brown County, it’s way too flat up there to truly appreciate that sweet MTB. Come down sometime and check out the best singletrack in the state!