Fight Breast Cancer, Win a Dream Bike

10.3.2012 | 1:37 pm

A Note from Fatty: If you already know how this works and would just like to get your donation in, click here to go to my donation page. Good luck; I hope you win!

When I first decided to get seriously and permanently involved in fundraising for the fight against cancer, I had a big decision to make: Do I go fairly general — raise money against all kinds of cancer?

Or do I go fairly specific, and raise money for the fight against breast cancer, which is what Susan had?

I made the right decision — going general — because regardless of where the cancer starts, it’s infuriatingly destructive. I want to partner with and fight for everyone and anyone who wants to work in this fight, regardless of what kind of cancer has affected you.

That said, I have a special place in my heart reserved for hating breast cancer. It’s what got Susan. It’s what got my grandma, so I never got to meet her. My stepmom had it (she’s doing great). It’s what had me scared on behalf of one of my absolute favorite blog-friends very recently (she hasn’t mentioned it publicly here, so I won’t mention her name right now).

And it’s what got Michelle Weiser, the woman who was engaged to my friend, Dustin Brady.

Dustin (you’ll remember him from his incredibly inspirational Ironman story from last year) and I got to know each other during Susan’s and Michelle’s fights, talking on the phone about how our loved ones were doing, treatment status and options, and trading tips on what made Susan and Michelle more comfortable.

By the time we lost Susan and Michelle, Dustin and I had agreed that we’d keep working together in the fight against cancer. Me with my soapbox, Dustin with his awesome access to top-notch incentives.

Which means you have a chance to win an outrageously sweet road bike — a Giant TCR Advanced SL with the all new Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 11-speed group with wheels (WH-9000-C24 clinchers) and Dura-Ace pedals. Not to mention some additional amazing prizes.

All for the benefit of Young Survival Coalition, the global organization dedicated to the critical issues unique to young women diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Grand Prize

Michelle worked for Giant Bicycles and Dustin works for Shimano, so it’s little wonder that the grand prize for this contest is a Giant TCR Advanced SL, with the all-new Dura-Ace 9000 11-speed group, with wheels and pedals.

Check out the frame:

The frame and fork are an advanced SL-Grade composite, with internal cable routing. The Fork has a full composite OverDrive 2 steerer, the seatpost is a Vector composite.

And in short, this is a pro-level frame. Read more details here.

And then you’re going to build it up with the all-new Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 components and wheels:

This is a mechanical group, but the technology behind it is insanely amazing. As in, the geniuses at Shimano have made the shifting action feel both easier and — astonishingly — more responsive. Check out the review from FairWheel Bikes to get an idea how incredibly great this brand-new groupo is.

Then this all gets topped off — OK, more like “bottomed” off with — Dura-Ace pedals. And in short, this bike is going to be fast, ridiculously light, and beautiful as all get-out. You are going to love it.

More Prizes!

Hey, not everyone’s going to win a top-end road bike. In fact, most of you won’t. Come to think of it, only one of you will.

Luckily, there’s more than just one prize we’ll be giving away. For example, we’ll be giving away this super-sweet set of Dura-Ace PD-9000 pedals:

And we’ll be giving away a GoPro HD Hero2 camera:

Just in case you haven’t seen my videos lately, this is the exact same kind of camera I’ve been using and getting the best footage I’ve ever gotten. Check this out. And this. Nice looking, eh? If you’re riding, you definitely want one of these for yourself. Awesome, easy-to-use, incredibly versatile cameras.

And finally (and most expensively, actually), we’ll be giving a way your choice of WH-7900-C50 or C-35 clincher wheels, compatible with 10 or 9-speed bikes.

As for myself, I dig the C50s, as you can see on my Shiv:

Niiiiice.

And here’s a little prize with some attitude — something to tell the world what you think about cancer:

A complete kit from the F&ck Cancer site, the brainchild of Dustin and Michelle.

You know, I think I might get one of those kits for myself.

How The Contest Works

Entering the contest is really easy. For every $5.00 you donate at my Tour de Pink fundraising page, you get a chance at winning each of these prizes. So, here’s how it works, in nice easy steps:

1. Go to my Tour de Pink fundraising page.
2. Donate any amount, in $5.00 increments.
3. For every $5.00 you donate, you get a row on my magical spreadsheet of prizes.
4. I choose winning rows at random, using random.org to choose winners.
5. You must donate by October 11 to win.
6. I will contact winners by phone and / or email.

Pretty simple. And the fact is, Young Survival Coalition is about as straight-line to the type of cancer that both Susan and Michelle fought. Charity Navigator gives them four stars.

So your money will be well-spent, on an incredibly relevant cancer.

Speaking for both Dustin and myself, thank you very much for taking the time to make a donation.