Do What You’re Doing Anyway, Change a Life (For Free)
A Note from Fatty About the Superfly 100: Remember I was giving away a Superfly 100? But then I never mentioned who it would be going to?
There’s a story behind that.
The winner of the Superfly is Greg, of Utah — a guy I have never met. Still, I was excited to have the winner be a fellow Utahu (we call ourselves Utahues, although “Utahlooians” is also acceptable). I figured I could meet up with him after he got his bike and we could go for a ride on our matching bikes. Neato.
Except for Greg didn’t answer his email. Not the first time. Not the second time.
In desperation, I did a Google search on Greg’s full name, and found there was a person by that name who is an active tweeter. I went to that Twitter account, found out it’s a guy who loves mountain biking, and asked him to get ahold of me.
The problem is, it was the wrong guy. Yes, an identical name (and not an especially common last name), loves biking…but lives in Australia.
I began to despair.
Then, last Friday, I was out riding with a group of guys and was telling of my frustration. I mentioned the winner’s full name, and one of the riders said, “Wait. That guy’s my brother-in-law.”
Wow. Small world. Or small state, anyway. Except that Utah’s quite big. Oh well, it was just a figure of speech anyway.
So I got Greg’s phone and contact info and — finally — on Saturday, we reached each other. We talked a bunch, I found out that my email had been caught by the Greg’s spam filter (you have no idea how hard it is to tell someone they’ve won a prize via email without it being caught by a spam filter).
So here’s what Greg had to say in an email he sent to me last night, along with an awesome photo of him and his kids.
Wow! I never thought I would actually win one of the bikes. I am thrilled, as I have had bike envy for the Superfly 100 since I first saw it at the Leadville 100 last summer.
Thanks to you and Trek for the opportunity given to all of us and I look forward to many miles of riding knowing that this bike represents a commitment by many to beat this disease called cancer that has or will affect us all.
It sounds very cliche but to me it’s really “not about the bike.” In March of 2006 my wife Sharon was diagnosed with an Anaplastic Astrocytoma (Brain Cancer). This was just three months after the birth of our second son Cody. For the next 20 months our lives were a whirlwind of Hospital, Surgeries, Chemo, Radiation and clinical trials. In November of 2007 cancer took her from us but it never beat her. Our boys Wyatt and Cody were almost two and almost four at the time. Sharon was 31.
While my wife was fighting her battle my mother was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma (Bone Marrow Cancer) and succumbed to her disease late January of 2007. She was 73.
I know that my stories are no different from many of the people who read and have found support through your blog. These are the reasons we contribute what we can. Thanks again to all those who have provided incentives to keep it fun and to Elden for using his talents to keep us focused.
I have included a picture taken today on “Fathers day,” the day after finding out that I had won! The tie and crown were made and accessorized by my boys, now five and seven. Note that the crown says “king for the day.” That pretty much sums it up.
Thanks,
Greg
Greg and I agreed we definitely need to go on a ride once his bike is built.
Do What You’re Doing Anyway, Change a Life (For Free)
You remember how, as a kid (or maybe as an adult), you’d go door-to-door trying to get people to sign up to sponsor you for a walk-a-thon? Or ride-a-thon? Or rock-a-thon?
You know, where you’d get people to sponsor you to the tune of a certain amount per mile or hour, so that the longer / further you went, the more they donated?
Well, consider this.
What if the cause you were doing a ride-a-thon for were really awesome: one that changes lives for poor kids in Africa by giving them bikes. You know, like World Bicycle Relief.
And what if, instead of you having to go door-to-door to find a sponsor, that sponsor was already in place and ready to pay out if you’re willing to do the riding? (Or running. Or a bunch of other sports stuff that maybe turns your crank.) You know, like SRAM.
And what if, instead of you having to do all this riding or running or walking or yoga-ing on a certain day, you raised money for World Bicycle Relief every day, just by doing the ride / run / walk / yoga you were going to do anyway?
That would be kind of awesome, wouldn’t it? Yes, indeed. It would in fact be awesome.
And that’s what we’re going to do. Together. Starting right now.
Meet +3 Network
+3 Network is a social network site that connects sponsors who want to do the right thing with worthwhile causes with people — like us — who like to stay active, and would also like to make our rides count for something. (Learn more about them on their “About” page)
And they’ve been working with me to create a special “Team Fatty” group, where we can track our rides / runs / walks / whatevers. And whenever any of us uploads a workout, SRAM donates money to World Bicycle Relief, the organization that makes a huge impact in Zambian children’s lives by providing them with bicycles — and hence, a way to get to and finish school.
I love the idea of that: making a difference in a person’s life with a bike.
And just in case you’re getting the “sounds too good to be true” klaxons going off in your head (I did when I first talked with them about this), let me be really clear:
You don’t pay anything. You don’t give up a credit card number. You just keep track of your exercise, and SRAM rewards you for your awesomeness by making a donation to World Bicycle Relief.
Pretty cool.
Hey, how about I walk you through how you sign up?
How to Get Signed Up
Here’s an extremely exciting piece of trivia from my past: I started my career as a technical writer. Mostly, I wrote macro programming documentation and tutorials for WordPerfect.
And now I’m going to use all that skill and experience in writing clear and friendly steps by guiding you through signing up with +3 Network and joining the Team Fatty group.
It’ll be awesome. Ish.
- Get started by heading to the +3 Network Signup page, and entering your name, email and password info. Then click the “Choose Your Cause and Sponsor” button.
- For your cause, choose World Bicycle Relief, Funded by SRAM.
- Click Done. (It’s toward the top-right of the page)
- Check the email account you entered when registering, and click the link provided, to finish getting you registered.
Join Team Fatty
Once you’re registered, you need to join Team Fatty, so you can help us rule the world and impress everyone with our might and power and stuff.
- Go to the +3 Network home page and sign in with the username and password you entered earlier.
- Click the Groups tab in the big orange toolbar. Don’t be freaked out that this takes you to a page saying “We couldn’t find any groups matching your search.”
- In the “Find Groups” input field, type team fatty and click Go.
- Scroll down to Team Fatty and click the Join Group button.
Start Recording / Uploading Your Workouts
Once you’ve signed up, it’s pretty easy to start recording your rides / runs / other stuff. Here’s what you do.
- Go to the +3 Network home page and sign in with the username and password you entered earlier. Find the “Did you make it count today” box in the top-right area of the page.
- If you’ve got a Garmin GPS (supported devices listed on the +3 Network FAQ page), like the Garmin Edge 500 I love) that you’ve been recording your rides on, make sure you’ve got it plugged into a USB port, then click the “Upload GPS Activity” button.
If you aren’t using a GPS, click the “Hand Enter Activity” button.
- If you’re using a GPS, you’ll need to select the device. If it isn’t auto-detected, you may need to download the Garmin Communicator Plugin first.
- Once you’ve selected your GPS, you should see a list of activities recorded. You just need to specify what kind of sport you were doing (road biking, mountain biking, running, etc.), and give it a name, then click Upload Activity.
If you’re hand-entering an activity, set the sport, activity name, date, start time, total time, and distance (if distance applies). Note: You don’t earn as much for hand-entered activities as you do for GPS activities, because hand-entered activities are easier to fudge. - Repeat step 4 for as many activities as you’ve done since you last uploaded stuff.
I generally upload stuff once every week or so — you don’t have to do it the same day you did the activity, unless that’s your way.
Then, check it out: you’ve just earned a buncha money for World Bicycle Relief. Here’s some stuff The Hammer uploaded this morning, for example:
“Kudos,” by the way, is sort of the currency of +3 Networks. You earn different rates of “kudos” for different activities (a mile of mountain biking earns you more kudos than a mile of road biking, for example. A mile of running earns you still more.) And then the sponsor donates a certain amount of money per “kudo” earned. SRAM is a generous sponsor, paying out $0.015 per kudo earned.
Which means that your basic training ride or run is likely to earn a dollar or more for World Bicycle Relief. Your big events earn even more. The Hammer’s RAGNAR experience last weekend, for example, earned about 8.52 for World Bicycle Relief. Her part in the Rockwell Relay earned $8.56.
By themselves, those may not seem like huge numbers. But I’d like you to keep the following in mind:
- You’re not by yourself. You’re one member of Team Fatty. And while none of us, alone, make a big difference, we’ve shown over and over that together we make a huge impact.
- You’re doing the exercise anyway. Remember, this program is gravy. You’re doing the workouts anyway. It doesn’t cost you anything to upload and get credit for the work you’re doing.
And frankly, I’ve started getting excited about this, because the goals I can set are really practical. One bike for a kid in Zambia costs $120. I figure that, with +3 Network’s program, I can earn that much every other month.
That’s six bikes a year. Not bad at all.
And if 100 of us do this — not exactly a crazy dream, I don’t think — I bet we can raise enough to buy 500 bikes a year.
That’s a lot of bikes, and a lot of awesomeness, at exactly no cost to you.
So. Get started. Join up with Team Fatty. Let’s track our rides and runs and stuff, and make those rides do some good.
PS: You can check out who’s joined Team Fatty on +3 Network, as well as how much we’ve raised, by going to http://www.plus3network.com/group/Team-Fatty.
PPS: If you don’t have a Garmin GPS, but you do have an iPhone, you can use the free +3 Network iPhone app to track your workouts and then upload them directly, which is pretty cool, too! I’ve only experimented with this app once, but it worked fine. iPhone-ers, give it a try and let me know what you think.
Comment by Nick P | 06.20.2011 | 12:16 pm
This is awesome. Signing up now and will commence downloading miles this evening.
Comment by 3d brian | 06.20.2011 | 12:19 pm
Question: So I’ve got a Garmin Forerunner 405 watch that automatically transfers the data to my computer into Garmin Connect. Is there any way to transfer the data from my Garmin Connect account to this site? (The activities get deleted from my watch when they get transferred to Garmin Connect.)
You may want to mention that just signing up donates $.75
Comment by Dave | 06.20.2011 | 12:31 pm
Aswesome idea!! I’m signed up.
Comment by Slowstdy | 06.20.2011 | 1:01 pm
Mega awesome, I’m in, will sign up when I get home, will also buy a Garmin 500′ been looking for an excuse to get one for a while.
Comment by Charlie | 06.20.2011 | 1:10 pm
When signing up, as mentioned before, don’t forget to click on the sign-up bonus for 50 Kudos. I didn’t and can’t seem to get them back.
Comment by gregc | 06.20.2011 | 1:16 pm
This is fantastic- thanks for brokering such an excellent opportunity to do good for so many by doing what we already love!
I love it whenever all the pieces fit nicely together like this! – FC
Comment by Jeff | 06.20.2011 | 1:30 pm
This is brilliant! +3 Network basically does the worst part of fundraising for you. Awesome!
My thoughts exactly! – FC
Comment by Sharon | 06.20.2011 | 1:32 pm
Very cool! This I can do!
Comment by chtrich | 06.20.2011 | 2:04 pm
Sweet Butter!
and congrats to Greg.
Comment by Clydesteve | 06.20.2011 | 2:06 pm
Fatty – I was already on +3. But i was signed up to benefit a Breast Cancer Fund. I joined Team Fatty, but I cannot tell whether the money moved is going to World bicycle Relief now.
Your money stays with the Breast Cancer fund, which is absolutely cool. Thanks for joining Team Fatty, regardless of ANY cause you choose to support! – FC
Comment by Dan O | 06.20.2011 | 2:09 pm
Greg,
As a 46 yr old survivor of Multiple Myelome, you are right, it’s not about the bike. The bike is a nice bonus though! Congrats on winning it.
Comment by Patrick #4091 | 06.20.2011 | 2:14 pm
I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that there probably isn’t a more deserving winner than Greg. Good work Fatty.
I totally agree. Once I learned his story, I was incredibly pleased he won the bike. That said, there are SO MANY good people donating, I think you could pretty much choose a Team Fatty person at random, hear their story and be amazed. I’m truly lucky to have such an amazing readership. – FC
Comment by nh_joe | 06.20.2011 | 2:24 pm
This is great! I’ll be joining tonight. Question: say you regularly ride a trainer, but use a magnet sensor with your Garmin that records distance, but the GPS goes nowhere. Will those count?
That’s a fantastic question, but I don’t know the answer. Could you give it a try and find out, then post the answer here? – FC
Comment by PaulH | 06.20.2011 | 2:44 pm
Just signed up and I’m team member 80, so we’re almost there!
Comment by HeidiR | 06.20.2011 | 2:48 pm
Signed up – what an awesome idea! I have an iPhone, and downloaded the app, so I’ll give feedback on it after I try it. I love being part of Team Fatty!
And I love having you being part of Team Fatty. Group hug! – FC
Comment by Christina | 06.20.2011 | 3:00 pm
Greg’s story brought me to tears. What an awesome person to win the bike!
Signed up! Here’s hoping I can grab the data this evening. I haven’t downloaded in awhile and it will be rather fulfilling to see my mileage turned into money.
I don’t think I ever downloaded my data before! I’m pretty amazed at how many rides my GPS still stored. (stuff from all the way back in the beginning of ‘10). I think you’ll find a lot’s still there. – FC
Comment by Robin | 06.20.2011 | 3:02 pm
Clydesteve: You have to email “change” at plus3network.com to change your cause. I just did that myself!
But bear in mind I’m totally fine with you keeping whatever cause you had already chosen. I’m just happy to see this kind of tool available, whatever the cause. – FC
Comment by skippi | 06.20.2011 | 3:03 pm
Seems to me that the Bike arrived with the right Guy !
Congrats to Greg for his approach to the Superfly competition ,refreshing to see someone enter without expectations .
No Garmin or I phone but still knocking up many 100 miles to nowhere days in prep for TDF starting next week .
Driver needed for moving support vehicle on TDF , enthusiasm rather than curves needed !
Comment by Michele | 06.20.2011 | 3:11 pm
Congrats, Greg! I’ve never been so happy about not winning a bike — you definitely sound like the perfect recipient. :)
Comment by Nick | 06.20.2011 | 3:30 pm
I’m in. Unless someone at Gramin wants to send me a 500, i guess i’ll give the iphone app a show.
Comment by Steve | 06.20.2011 | 3:37 pm
Can’t wait to sign up this evening.
Comment by Michael in TN | 06.20.2011 | 4:17 pm
So happy Greg won the bike. Congrats, Greg!
Just signed up – I’m on vacation so I’ll start uploading miles when I get home!
Comment by LesleyG | 06.20.2011 | 4:42 pm
Done! I’ve always resisted logging all my activity on other sites because… why? And who has the time? But this is a huge WHY, and I will make the time. Thanks!
Also, so happy for Greg and his new bike!
Comment by Dave T | 06.20.2011 | 4:44 pm
I love the work World Bicycle Relief is doing and have supported them for a couple of years now. This is a totally cool new way to help thanks for bring it to our attention. Since my son and I ride together on our tandem trike I will sign him and double our miles!
Comment by Bragger | 06.20.2011 | 4:54 pm
Here’s a question of ethics…. Okay, ethic. I only have one.
I’ve been tracking my biking miles for four years. How far back can I/should I go? Or should I only start with tomorrow’s ride?
I think Jeff’s reply is spot-on. I’ve entered miles that I did back in February because they were on my GPS. If the system lets you report them, they’re good. Like Jeff says, you did the miles. The fact that you did them a while back isn’t important (to me anyway). Take credit for the work you’ve done! – FC
Comment by Jeff Dieffenbach | 06.20.2011 | 5:06 pm
@Bragger, not an ethics Q at all unless you didn’t do the miles. Pick an older ride and see if it will let you enter it. If so, then they approve.
Comment by Nurse Betsy | 06.20.2011 | 5:12 pm
Just signed up, 126 on the team! Now I will get to riding. What a wonderful Idea!!!!
Comment by Carl | 06.20.2011 | 6:07 pm
I am going to sign up now. I just dumped all the saved rides in my 500, but I’m going to see if I still have rides in my 705 that I haven’t used in awhile. Great idea and so glad Greg won the bike.
Comment by Eric | 06.20.2011 | 6:33 pm
I don’t have an iPhone or Garmin but I do have a GPS tracking app on my blackberry. Can I use the information from that app to upload or will they still count as a manual upload?
I don’t know. Give it a try and see! – FC
Comment by Christina | 06.20.2011 | 6:34 pm
Update: It found the stuff from 2010! And, I’m so happy to see 100MON was worth $6. Bolder Boulder- $2.87. This is so awesome!
Yeah, hopefully everyone will record their 100 Miles of Nowhere miles here. In this case, double dipping = awesome. – FC
Comment by nh_joe | 06.20.2011 | 6:57 pm
Fatty – uploaded the trainer rides and it counts those miles the same as out on the road!
Excellent. I love it whens stuff works. – FC
Comment by DeathB4Dismount | 06.20.2011 | 7:04 pm
Wow, I initially almost skipped reading this post because the “technical writing” made my head hurt just skimming it… but this is definitely cool. Already uploading workouts to Garmin & Strave, what’s one more, especially since it will do some good.
Lets get some!
Comment by Penina | 06.20.2011 | 7:18 pm
DONE! Already up 100 Kudos between signing up and today’s physical therapy session.
Now, for an Android app that can upload to +3… Sigh….
Comment by Carl | 06.20.2011 | 7:44 pm
Found lots of old rides on the 605 I don’t use. Half hour or so of clicking and I have added $161 to World Bike Relief… how cool!
That’s more than enough for a bike right there! Way to go! – FC
Comment by HeidiR | 06.20.2011 | 8:01 pm
Update on the iPhone app… it tracks everything! Time, mileage, average speed, climbs, map – should have started using an app like it long ago. The only thing I couldn’t figure out is if you can continue recording after pausing. It just started a new activity after I paused it – anyone else using it know if you can add? (I paused it for the time I was in the bike shop… :)
Comment by Mark J. | 06.20.2011 | 8:11 pm
Congratulations Greg. Enjoy the bike. You certainly deserve the smiles it brings you. Good looking boys you got there. You should be very proud. The fact that they are smiling is a testament to your abilities as a father.
Comment by Michelle | 06.20.2011 | 9:06 pm
@Penina, the site does state “We are also working on additional Phone/GPS applications for Android phones, and more are in the pipeline.” Hurry! My Garmin only works for runs, would love to be able to have Android app to track rides.
Also, activities to track include CHORES and VOLUNTEER time. So cool! Thanks Fatty
Comment by Weiland | 06.20.2011 | 9:40 pm
Signed up but I go through the upload it says it’s processing my tracks gets to 100% but noda. I don’t get the ride maps like your screenshot. I’ll have to email them, I tried on Firefox 3.6.17 and Safari 5.5 on a Mac.
Comment by Jo | 06.20.2011 | 9:42 pm
I know Greg! It’s cool that he won the bike!!
Comment by davidh-marin,ca | 06.20.2011 | 10:47 pm
Fatty- Is there no limit to your awesome powers and creativity? And your “random winner” program clearly has a sentient chip in there somewhere.(is that something you designed in your spare time?) I know from my LIVESTRONG RAGBRAI ride that there are many faces and many stories. I can only express my thanks for the sacrifice you have made to give us all a place to do what we can, together.
Lastly- “…Mostly, I wrote macro programming documentation and tutorials for WordPerfect.” proves what a wonderful person Susan was to go on the second date.
Comment by Squirrelhead | 06.20.2011 | 10:49 pm
I am all signed up and I have downloaded the Iphone app to test out. Great way to support a great cause!
PS: I can’t wait for LIVESTRONG Davis! I am scrambling around for donations and a place to rent a bike but it will come together. How did this event show up so fast?
Comment by marishka | 06.20.2011 | 10:53 pm
All signed up, and forwarded the post to my FaceBook account. What a great idea!
Comment by davidh-marin,ca | 06.20.2011 | 11:03 pm
BTW (Wife number 1 says that’s shorthand.) Does SRAM realize (realise- for our over the pond mates) what they have gotten themselves into? There’s 80 Fatties riding next month on one day! 80×100m x $.015 $120.00. ONE DAY!!! I fear the price of SRAM Red will be going up unexpecctantly. But that’s ok with me for a cause like this.
Comment by davidh-marin,ca | 06.20.2011 | 11:18 pm
@Squirrelhead
I have a 60cm Cannondale Synapse Aluminum 2007? 105/Ultegra setup, available if that would fit you. I run about 1.473 Fatty’s (230lbs) and this bike served me well on several centuries. Let me know if I can help.
Comment by Weiland | 06.20.2011 | 11:34 pm
Ok, it took awhile for it to process my uploads, they need to have some type of indication that the site is still processing the uploads. It took about an hour or so for the activities to show up and my 705 only has this months rides on it, I clean it off each month.
Anyway from my 590 miles I’ve ridden this month so far has garnered $34.60 for World Bicycle Relief!
Comment by AK_Chick | 06.20.2011 | 11:36 pm
Awesomesauce! I’m signed up and ready to enter my info! I use Strava and Greenlight to track rides for different reasons (Strava uses the gps in my iPhone so use it for running and riding and eventually, hiking – Greenlight for the ride to work challenge in Anchorage as my company has a team). This will be fun!
Comment by Graham | 06.21.2011 | 2:40 am
I’ve signed up. Member 217 for Team Fatty.
Comment by Yvann | 06.21.2011 | 2:43 am
I’m signed up – the counter was on 200 and something when I joined, so *whisper it softly* does that mean 1000 bikes a year are possible?
I think it is!
I wonder if SRAM has a ceiling amount they’ll donate. If we hit that (theoretical) ceiling, I’ll bet we can get the +3 guys to batch-change us over to a new thing.
Gotta love the power of a lotta people, each doing a little bit! – FC
Comment by skippy | 06.21.2011 | 3:23 am
in as 218 so now i have to find a way to add miles from:
Etoile Bessage
5 climbs on Mt Ventoux
Tour of Med
Tirrena -Adriatico
Giro del Trentino
Tour de Romandie
Giro d’Italia
Dauphine Libere
Tour de Suisse
plus the training rides & 100 mon outings !
Any suggestions as i don’t use bike computer or Garmin ?
I’d say you’ll need to estimate the distances you rode and manually enter. Luckily, there’s pretty good publicly-available data on those routes. – FC
Comment by cece | 06.21.2011 | 3:52 am
I agree, Greg is the perfect person to win that
bike! I am happy for him. Love this fundraiser. I am on vacation now and will sign up as soon as I am able!I love love love World Bicycle Relief and think it is a fantastic cause!
Cece
Comment by Doug (Way upstate NY) | 06.21.2011 | 4:50 am
Signed up. Had all my track from this year on it. $24 for the month of June :) Would love to earn a bike for someone else with my riding.
Can’t wait to upload my Davis ride…..
With 228 people on board, I really think it’s possible that we’re going to raise enough to buy a couple bikes every single day. And you’re right, it’s extremely cool to have something you love doing anyway wind up helping others. – FC
Comment by Jenn | 06.21.2011 | 6:05 am
@Carl…am I to understand that you have 3 different Garmins – a 500, 605, and 705? At least one of those has got to be suffering serious neglect. I will agree not to report you to social services if you want to go ahead and send one of ‘em my way. ;o)
Signed up and just earned my first 62 kudos with a nice but very windy 31 mile road ride. Cool that you can post the activity to your FB page – I’m trying to motivate some of my FB friends to join, too.
Comment by Heather S | 06.21.2011 | 6:18 am
When I uploaded activities from my GPS, it only went back 2 weeks… anyone know why/how to get more of the history on there?
Comment by Colorado Mama | 06.21.2011 | 6:43 am
The winner of the bike is truly a winner — just look at those boys he is raising.
Some of your older fans may not do so much exercising but we can certainly pass on this great sign up idea to those who do.
BTW, “Hammer” is not so good a name as “The Runner” for a beautiful, charming, giving, fun woman who has made you happier than I could imagine. (I can write such personal comments here because you assured me that you are writing especially for me and the others are just invited to read my mail. Thanks, Son, for being you.
Comment by Maggi | 06.21.2011 | 7:03 am
Wow, this is so cool! I’m signed up for +3 and will update my rides when I get home tonight.
And congrats to Greg on winning an awesome bike! What an incredible story — it would have been hard to find someone more deserving of a sweet prize than Greg.
Comment by Tes | 06.21.2011 | 7:18 am
Great plan! Signing up now!
Comment by Kent | 06.21.2011 | 7:27 am
Congrats Greg!
Thank You Sram for your donations on our behalf. Helping to bring more bikes in the world by riding my own is really cool.
I have no GPS but I have been loggong miles on Bikejournal. I am uploading as fast as I can.
Comment by RandoBoy | 06.21.2011 | 7:29 am
Dang, Fatty. I didn’t realize how long I’d been reading your stuff. I was writing WP macros back in the DOS 5.1 and first Windows version. As the tool geek for a big tech pubs department back then, I got very into it. In fact, if you were willing to go far enough, you could just about build your own business process automation tool out of those macros.
I’ll sign up today. Since I’m a randonneur that has ridden over 10,000 miles every year for the past three years, this could yield a bike or two.
Comment by RedNBlondies | 06.21.2011 | 8:56 am
I signed up earlier today and am on my way to do my first workout to log in the system. I wish I could use a Garmin or other devise, but given that I’m 3000 some odd miles away from home in a rather austere environment, I have to hand enter everything. I’m telling all my friends about the website so they can all workout for the charity of their choice. That should add up since the gym here is always busy!
Comment by roan | 06.21.2011 | 9:19 am
Just signed up #260, Team is picking up steam ! See ya in Davis, hope y’all can make it to the Hall of Fame on Friday evening.
Comment by LauraS | 06.21.2011 | 9:41 am
Congrats to Greg! What a deserving winner. Love the fundraiser – just signed up. Will upload from the Garmin tonight.
Comment by davidh-marin,ca | 06.21.2011 | 9:42 am
@Comment by Colorado Mama | 06.21.2011 | 6:43 am
Clearly we understand from where Elden’s writing and sense of humor spring.
Comment by centurion | 06.21.2011 | 9:50 am
So this means I have a valid excuse to ride more? sweet.
Comment by Bryan (not that one) | 06.21.2011 | 10:01 am
Signed up. I hope they make a Windows Phone 7 app so I can GPS track instead of manually entering.
Comment by Doug (Way upstate NY) | 06.21.2011 | 10:02 am
Hey I’m on the leader board for +3 SRAM. Only 1700 Kudos behind you Fatty. When do you find time to fit work into your biking? :D
Comment by Jill P | 06.21.2011 | 10:21 am
This is great! I’m signing up now. This is a perfect way to get me moving on all those days when I might be tempted to skip a workout. I love the thought of helping to buy bikes for others and changing lives in such a great way. Thanks Fatty!
And congratulations to Greg – your story and photo made me cry. I’m so glad you won!
Comment by MattC | 06.21.2011 | 10:23 am
Just back from vacation…way to go Greg! I would say you are an amazing ambassador of ‘Fattiness’…and I’m proud to be on the team with you! Enjoy that sweet sweet ride! (insert massive amount of pure jealous envy here!)
And hey FATTY! Very cool on the new mission! Just joined, you can call me #271. I don’t have a Garmin, or an iphone either…just my trusty Polar 720i (and a 710, and a 725) and recently got a used ibike Pro…I will email them and see if they might consider updating their upload feature to accept either of these profiles…I could give them a TON of kudos! (haven’t had a chance to peruse the site, maybe they do accept them and I just haven’t seen it yet…anybody know anything about this by chance?)
Wow…LS Davis is SO near…we’re gonna have some FUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNN!
Comment by davidh-marin,ca | 06.21.2011 | 10:42 am
Fatty, Fatties, & Friends are coming to town let’s turn up the HEAT! After a very cold spring we have returned to standard operating temperatures:
Davis weather outlook 101 today dropping to 89 degrees by Friday.
Comment by Mike@Squirrelhead | 06.21.2011 | 10:44 am
@davidh-marin,ca That would be awesome if I could use your Cannondale Synapse for the bike ride. Shoot me an email so we can work out the details. Thank you!!
squirrelhead@gmail.com
Comment by Raph | 06.21.2011 | 11:01 am
Awesome idea, now let’s just convince Johan Bruyneel to register his team Radioshack riders. That would add some mileage…
Comment by Jeremy | 06.21.2011 | 11:42 am
Garmin with sensor works for distance-based and without GPS or sensor works for tracking cardio workouts. Kind of cool and I’m glad this can help.
Comment by Evelin B | 06.21.2011 | 11:43 am
Thanks for this awesome idea. All signed up and downloaded last weeks rides!!!!! Fantastic!!!!
Comment by Pedalpink | 06.21.2011 | 12:27 pm
I signed up and uploaded most of my rides since Feb. Wow – I’m #3 now right behind Fatty on the Leader Board!
I would like to caution people about GPS tracking when you start/end rides from your home. Making your rides public can allow people to pinpoint where you live. So be safe, on your bike and on the internet. Read and understand privacy issues. You may want to keep some GPS routes private.
Comment by John J | 06.21.2011 | 12:35 pm
so, what happens if I have a tracking device, but it is supported by google maps, NOT Garmin GPS? I cant upload anything but Garmin data… I only get 1/2 credit? kinda dont like that! should I just double my actual distance to make up for the 50% reduction?
Comment by Liz | 06.21.2011 | 2:10 pm
Okay, I’m #301. I just manually entered my stats. I am impressed with the wide range of great causes this service is supporting!
Congrats to Greg — I am sure you will enjoy the bike. Hope you and Elden post a report of your first ride together on matching bikes.
Comment by Onomastic | 06.21.2011 | 2:25 pm
Fatty:
I have Garmin GPS data on Garmin Connect (but not on my Garmin device, which I purge almost daily) back to April 2006. Hundreds of rides and many thousands of miles. Ain’t no way I’m going to enter that manually one ride at a time, but if there was a way to zap it from Garmin Connect to +3, I sure would. Or if they have a date before which they don’t accept rides, then maybe the manual entry regimen would not be too onerous for the rest. Do you know the answers to those questions. I’ll sign up anyway, of course.
Comment by Mark K | 06.21.2011 | 3:03 pm
Me also for the Garmin Connect, rides going back several years could help out the cause, hopefully there will be a way that’s not too difficult.
Comment by Donal | 06.21.2011 | 3:37 pm
I’m signed up at #310! I use a Garmin FR60 with a footpod (not GPS), but still upload to Garmin Connect so it should work nicely.
Great idea though!
Comment by Susan | 06.21.2011 | 4:23 pm
Awesome! I seen the work that Word Bicycle Relief does through your friend, Johan Bruneel. I am heading out to the website and signing up now. Don’t have the GPC or iPhone, but will log what I do anyway. At least its a way I can finally help out. Keep up the great work! Go, Team Fatty, Go!
Comment by Deke | 06.21.2011 | 4:54 pm
Done!
Who knew I was so good at fundraising?
Thanks much for the intro.
Comment by nh_joe | 06.21.2011 | 8:23 pm
Wow, that adds up! I only have 5 weeks of data since I last cleared my Garmin but it was good for $75 – That’s $15 a week, or 6.5 bikes per year! If only I could afford 6+ bikes per year for myself… Oh well, at least I’m doing something good.
Comment by GJ Jackie | 06.21.2011 | 9:55 pm
Wow, I’m Member 343!
@ColoradoMama at 6:43 am: I got all choked-up reading your comment. Nice to know the Runner is embraced by all.
PS – I loved WordPerfect.
Comment by Carl | 06.21.2011 | 10:27 pm
@Jenn – no, I screwed up, I have a 500 and a 605, no 705. I don’t use the 605.
Comment by Carl | 06.21.2011 | 10:41 pm
Oops, I forgot to join Team Fatty, but I just corrected it. Now I have to manually load my rides from June 2010 to present from my cycling log, but that I’ve dumped from my 500.
Comment by Dale G. Abersold | 06.21.2011 | 10:57 pm
I’ve never heard of this blog before a friend linked me here today.
I joined Plus 3 and Team Fatty, and look forward to getting as many miles as possible.
Bikes: they get me to work, make me healthier and thinner, save me money, and make life better for children in Africa. Is there nothing they can’t do?
Comment by Graham | 06.22.2011 | 2:22 am
It got to 10pm last night and I’d still not gone out for the training run I’d planned. Was going to bail, but remembered I’d signed up for this yesterday, and that got me out the door. 7 miles later I’ve added a couple of dollars (might buy an inner-tube!) to the Team Fatty total :) A small start, but I’m doing 106 miles on the bike at the weekend, with 10,000ft of up, so that should help a bit. Wish me luck!
Anyone know how to hack my Garmin so it starts recording the distance covered in Kudos?!
Pingback by Fat Cyclist » Blog Archive » 100MoN Race Report #15: Team Fatty at the NYC “Velodrone” | 06.22.2011 | 6:54 am
[...] « Do What You’re Doing Anyway, Change a Life (For Free) [...]
Comment by Lord Adamantine Sedgepig | 06.22.2011 | 8:49 am
Can SRAM afford this level of generosity?
Comment by Mike | 06.22.2011 | 10:11 am
Signed up as team member #374. Was all excited to upload data from my Garmin eTrex Vista HCx, when I discovered 3+ doesn’t support that model. Very bummed. I have to wonder why, since it works with the Garmin plugin, and the accuracy of the data is probably better than some of the supported models. Maybe I’ll try to contact them and see. At the very least, they ought to support uploading GPX files of track logs.
I suppose I can use the iPhone app for future activities, but I hate using the GPS on that for any length of time because it kills the battery. It’s also not nearly as accurate as my Garmin! Oh well.
Congrats to Greg on the bike! I wanted it too, but I think it went to a very worthy owner.
Comment by Cliff | 06.22.2011 | 3:11 pm
What a great cause! Thanks for sharing it with us & making it so easy to join & get started! I need to remember to use my Garmin Edge 305 more often! I have a bunch of tracks on my iPhone (using Motion-X GPS) but until we can import those to +3, I’m woefully short on activities!
Comment by Bragger | 06.22.2011 | 6:04 pm
UPDATE: I was able to upload everything that was currently in my Garmin 605. I could go back and hand enter older data, but I’m satisfied with what it gave me. Uploads were quick, and I was thrilled that my twice-weekly Zumba classes count too. Also the two whole days **cough cough** of Paddle Georgia that I completed.
Comment by Eric | 06.23.2011 | 7:19 am
Well I can’t find a way to upload other non-Garmin GPS data so after receiving a promotion at work yesterday I splurged for the Garmin 500. Should have it by the end of the month so I can really start adding in some miles/kudos.
Great idea, Fatty!
Comment by Al | 06.24.2011 | 3:08 am
Have signed up with the iphone app. Looking good!
Pingback by Fat Cyclist » Blog Archive » Friday Laundry List of AWESOMENESS | 06.24.2011 | 11:06 am
[...] signed up to be part of Team Fatty on the +3 Network, raising money for World Bicycle Relief, you should. It won’t cost you a thing, and you’ll be doing a lot of good for some kids who need [...]
Comment by Cyclin' Missy | 06.24.2011 | 2:38 pm
I just signed up on +3 as a part of Team Fatty! I entered my activities from the past week, and will enter more when I get home to my log. Since I’m training for my first marathon in October, I am looking forward to entering lots of exercise days for a great cause this summer!
Comment by Turn The Damn Cranks | 06.25.2011 | 12:23 pm
Don’t know how, but I somehow got double-credit for signing up. Hope SRAM won’t think I am trying to rob them blind! :)
Now to get back on the bike after a few hectic, ride free weeks . . .
Comment by John | 06.25.2011 | 11:12 pm
I went to sign up, but noticed this in the terms of use:
Does that mean that we non-USAians can’t join? Or we can but it won’t count?
I hadn’t noticed that. I’ll ask. -FC
Comment by Alibikerb | 06.26.2011 | 6:31 pm
I followed your instructions exactly and after clicking on the “join” team fatty button , it says they cannot find the group. I also tried to load my data from my garmin unsuccessfully. Wish this would work – I ride 200+ miles weekly
Comment by Sharon | 06.26.2011 | 7:03 pm
Cool project. Having difficulty joining team fatty. I click on the join button (http://www.plus3network.com/groups/505/join?crumb=810725ecd1) and then I see the not found screen again. I can access the team fatty group page (http://www.plus3network.com/group/Team-Fatty), but somehow cannot actually join. Help please?
Comment by Linda | 06.27.2011 | 3:26 pm
This is the coolest thing I’ve read in a long time. Genius!! Fatty thanks for doing the leg work this far. Now we can do some leg work for World Bike Relief.
Comment by Michelle Mc | 06.27.2011 | 3:59 pm
I had the same problem last night reported in the last few comments, but when I logged onto the Plus 3 site this morning and clicked on “Groups”, there was Team Fatty sitting proudly under “My Groups”. The iPhone app also worked seamlessly to report my ride.
Thanks for sharing. It gives me the extra impetus to get off the train a few stops sooner (or later, in the reverse direction) and do more of my commute by bike.
Comment by Roy | 07.1.2011 | 12:17 am
You should get the +3 network to sync with “imapmyride” workouts.
Comment by NeilRJ | 07.1.2011 | 7:44 am
Unfortunately they seem to have changed the earning ratio. Undoubtedly its still a great thing to do but its now 1 cent per kudos intead of 1.5.
I can’t help but wonder if SRAM have panicked in reaction to the amount Team Fatty had earned last month!?
Comment by Triflefat | 08.10.2011 | 4:23 am
The earning ratio is getting worse! Now it seems to be down to 0.75 cents per kudos.
I guess we can’t complain about SRAM’s generosity, but it would have been nice to receive some explanation from them or Plus 3 about these two changes