Equipped with ENVE wheels, ROTOR rings, cranks and power meters, KMC chains, Shimano Dura-ace Di2 drivetrain and brakes, Ceramic Speed bearings and a Sella Italia saddles, this is, without question, the most exclusive, amazing bike I have ever had in a contest.
It is just like the bikes the pros in Team MTN-Qhubeka rode, with the exception that ENVE will also provide the cockpit for the bike.
In other words, the bike we’re giving away as part of the Grand Slam for Kenya will be nicer than the ones the pros rode.
How does that make you feel? A little bit like this?
Friends and Family
It makes perfect sense to have this bike as a prize in Grand Slam for Kenya. After all, Qhubeka is World Bicycle Relief’s program in South Africa that provides bicycles to people in need.
Check out the Thompsons — WBR Ambassadors and Friends of Fatty — riding with Team Principal Doug Ryder, Polka-Dot Jersey phenom Daniel Teklehaimanot, and team honcho Tyler Farrar:
It’s been an amazing month, both for the Tour de France and for World Bicycle Relief.
I don’t think there’s ever been a question of whether the cause is good enough to warrant donating in the Grand Slam for Kenya.
But if there’s ever been a question of whether the prizes in the Grand Slam for Kenya warrant making a donation…well, I think that question has now been definitively answered.
I love watching friends and family win. Especially when it’s a surprise win. Whether it’s doing unexpectedly well in a race, getting a raise (or employee of the month, as my son just did), or finding a great relationship match.
I know their success has nothing to do with me, but I still feel proud, and honored to even know them.
It’s a little weird to have this feeling about a company, but I do. I’ve thought of Ibis as a friend for…well, pretty much ever since I started mountain biking, and long before I ever started writing about riding.
For the past several years, Ibis has been doing really fantastic work. Making bikes that are beautiful and incredible at what they’re made for.
But lately. Uh, wow. Lately, Ibis has been innovating bikes that have just caught everyone’s attention. To the point that if you want one of their incredible Mojo HD3s you’ll have to get in line.
That’s not hyperbole. Ibis has been designing bikes that are so amazing they simply cannot keep up with demand.
I love hearing that. It’s like hearing that your brother just graduated from college and now a bunch of companies are having a bidding war on who gets to hire him. Sorta.
And I love that in spite of this overwhelming demand, Ibis is still setting aside a place in line for you, if you are lucky enough to win this grand prize in the Grand Slam for Kenya.
But let’s be honest, you’re probably gonna get the Ripley or the Mojo. Hey, I don’t blame you.
Magic Wheels Included
I am, in general, not someone who really notices tiny little differences in bike hardware. Can I tell the difference between a carbon seatpost and an aluminum one? No.
Can I tell the difference between a flexy handlebar and a really stiff one? Nope.
Can I tell the difference between any kind of cranks? No. No I cannot.
But I can tell the difference between Ibis ultra-wide 41mm rims and regular wheels. They climb better. They descend better. They corner better.
They do everything better.
And this bike is gonna include a set of these amazing wheels.
Between the wheels and your incredible Ibis frame, you are going to instantly be a better rider.
Instantly.
I mean it.
XX1, Guide, Reverb…Holy Cats This Is a Great Bike
This isn’t just a frame with wheels, either. We’re going to set this Ibis up pro, with a SRAM XX1 drivetrain and the incredible new Guide brakes. A Rock Shox Pike fork and Reverb dropper post will complete your setup.
All told, you’d pay around $9000 for this bike. And it would be money well-spent.
It is going to be the most amazing bike you have ever owned.
A Note from Fatty About the Upcoming Leadville 100 Webinar: Hey, Reba Rusch — The Queen of Pain — and I are doing a really cool webinar series on final prep for the Leadville 100. You should attend, even if you aren’t doing the Leadville 100 this year. Why? Because it’s good info for pretty much any kind of endurance racing. Plus we’re very entertaining.
I am not as light as I have been the past couple years. In fact, I’m about five pounds heavier than I was last year.
This is a source of concern to me. By which I mean, I whine about it nonstop to The Hammer: “I cannot believe how fat I am this year.” She rolls her eyes and tells me I look fine, I’m racing fine, and I worry too much.
She has a point. I am, as near as I can tell, stronger than I have ever been (thank you TrainerRoad!). Even with this stomach that’s just enough bigger that the shorts I wore comfortably last year…I’m wearing uncomfortably this year.
Even so, I worry. I worry a lot. As I turned up onto the ten-mile-long dirt road climb, I worried that thanks to the head start Ben, The Hammer, and Lindsey had (four minutes for Ben, eight minutes for the women), I’d never see them during the race. I worried that this five pounds was going to drag me down, down. And I’d be the slowest I’ve ever been in this race.
I worry, as it turns out, way too much.
I Like Climbing
Within a few hundred yards of the ten-mile climb, I realized something that I actually already know, but tend to trivialize until I’m actually in a race.
I am good at climbing. Really good.
Part of it comes from living in a place where, straight from my driveway, I can put together a near-infinite number of rides with 10,000 or more feet of climbing (road or mountain).
Part of it comes from having grown up in Alamosa, Colorado, at an altitude of 7500 feet.
Part of it comes from having ridden a single speed most of the time for the past few years. I know that spinning a fast cadence is the way most people get to the top of a mountain, but for a guy with stumpy legs, high-torque / slow cadence seems to work OK.
But I’d say most of it comes from the fact that I love how it feels. The pain of climbing: well, I don’t necessarily mind that feeling. The raggedness of my breathing: I like it. The metronomic repetitiveness: it’s my friend.
Most of my waking hours, I’m thinking and creating and problem-solving and worrying and writing and stuff. Even when I’m on a bike, most of the time, my mind is still going.
But when I’m climbing — climbing something really really difficult — that is all I’m doing. I wouldn’t call it meditative, per se, but I would call it focusing, simple.
And of course, it makes me happy when I pass people.
Oh Hi There
About half a mile into the climb, I passed Cory (Ben’s dad). He yelled encouragement. I nodded my head, unable to understand how anyone might be able to have enough wind to actually yell anything at all.
Next, I saw the group of fast guys I couldn’t quite hang with on the flats. “Hey, I really appreciate the huge pull you took,” I told the guy in the Half-Fast kit. “I swear I wanted to jump forward and take a turn; you were just too strong and rode me off your wheel.”
“You did take a pull,” he said. “You were the guy who got the train going.”
Hm. That hadn’t occurred to me. “Thanks again,” I said, appreciating his generous perspective.
Something like that can put you in a good mood.
I said, “Hey,” or “Hi,” or “Nice work” to as many people as I could as I climbed. Lots of people said it back. The atmosphere was incredibly friendly. Everyone being nice to each other, even as we did our best to not be bested.
Then: The Hammer. I could see her up ahead. I quieted down, so she wouldn’t know it was me catching her. Then, as I got to within about five feet, I said, “That is one fine-looking ass.”
“Aw, that’s sweet,” said Ali Knutson, who was riding alongside The Hammer.
“I love you, baby,” The Hammer said, as I kept on going.
“Aww,” said Ali, and probably everyone else in the area.
The Hammer and I can be just a little bit nauseating, I hear.
Ben
I kept working. Going right at the pace I know I can climb without self-destructing. I said hi to my niece Lindsey as I went by.
But now that I had caught him, I had a great idea: he and I should work together to be faster in this race. I slowed for just a second so he could grab on.
As it turns out, I hadn’t really needed to back off at all. He was already there. And he hung on, too — the first person I had come by who had been able to do so.
That kid’s gonna finish sub-9 at Leadville on his first try this year, mark my words.
Somewhere — maybe on one of the brief downhills, maybe on the short flat section, I lost Ben.
That’s OK, though. I was about to the big ol’ descent on the scary 13-mile gravel road — not something you could really work together on anyway.
I’d see Ben again. Sooner than I would have thought.
Rebecca Rusch — AKA The Queen of Pain — and I were recently talking about how the final few weeks before the Leadville 100 totally start consuming all your thoughts and time.
It can be a really intense and anxious time for people who have entered the race and dedicated pretty much all our waking moments to it for eight months or more.
We came up with what I think is a terrific idea:
What if we did a series of three webinars during this run-up to the race, designed to address the questions, challenges, and hopes Leadville 100 MTB racers all have on our minds?
And that’s what we’ve done.
Reba and I are teaming up to provide a free set of three webinars to help you get ready for the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race during these last few weeks before the event. These webinars are designed to help you finish faster, use the course to your advantage, and have the peace of mind that you haven’t left something important at home.
While free, these webinars do require you register, so be sure to sign up for each (and if you can’t attend live, don’t worry, they’ll all be recorded and uploaded for on-demand viewing both here and at http://www.rebeccarusch.com/leadvilleexperience/).
Knock Half an Hour Off Your Time: Top Ten Racing Tips (Wednesday, July 29, 6:00pm PT / 9:00 ET) Two weeks before the race last year, Reba started working with The Hammer to help her get her fastest time ever, knocking an incredible forty minutes off her previous best. These same strategies will work for you, whether you’re hoping to finish before the time cutoff or get the coveted big belt buckle. Click here to register.
Know the Course (Monday, August 3, 6:00pm PT / 9:00 ET) Sure, you know about Columbine and Powerline, but there are tips and tricks you can use on every single section of the course to stay focused, fast, and safe. We’re going to talk through each part of the course, describing what to do, what to watch out for, and what your split times should be for common finish targets. Click here to register.
Final Checklists (Monday, August 10, 6:00pm PT / 9:00 ET) You’re on your way to Leadville. Don’t forget anything important! We’ll talk through the absolute essentials for you and your crew (if you have one), from bike to clothes to food to tools. We’ll also be providing actual checklists for you to use and adapt. Click here to register.
Reba and Fatty will be happy to take and answer your questions during these live webinars. We look forward to chatting with you soon!
Gary Fisher gives you a tour of the newly revamped super-high-tech Trek factory
Gary takes you on a ride — mountain or road, your choice — on the trails / roads Trek uses when testing its bikes
Gary shows you the nightlife of the Mad City.
You have to put up with me pretty much the whole time, because I am going to be right there, tweeting and blogging and otherwise making a pest of myself
Is this a big deal? Yes, this prize is an incredibly big deal. This is a can’t-put-a-price-on-it prize. This is, in short, a really good reason to make a donation.
Other Stuff You Can Win
Just as a reminder, however: when you donate in the Grand Slam for Kenya, you are entered to win in all of these drawings. Which include, so far, these five grand prizes:
And all you have to do to enter to win is make a donation. The more you donate, the better your chances.
Why This Matters
I love having fun with these contests. For the Grand Slams, in particular, I love putting together a slate of prizes so astonishingly amazing and huge that it’s simply hard to believe.
But the bigger reason I love doing these WBR contests is because we are making a huge difference in the world.
So far, together, in all of the WBR contests and fundraisers I’ve done, we have raised enough to buy right aroud 5,000 bicycles.
That means 5,000 kids are able to save about 1.5 hours per day as they go to school and back.
That’s 7500 hours we’re giving to these kids — who live in harsh, time-consuming rural areas — per day.
And because they have this time, they’re going to school more often. They’re staying in school longer. They’re getting better grades.
Their improved education, combined with the better range of jobs available to them (because they can travel greater distances) means the benefit they get from these bicycles doesn’t end once they’re out of school, either.
And the better jobs mean better lives for them and their families.
In other words, what we are doing makes a big impact. Right now. To a lot of people, in a very personal way.
So: huge thanks to Gary Fisher for jumping in and volunteering to spend his time in making this prize available. It means a lot to me to have a bonafide cycling icon and innovater being a part of Grand Slam for Kenya.
I’m incredibly proud to be a World Bicycle Relief Athlete Ambassador, and incredibly grateful to you for your help in making the world a better place. Thanks tons for your donations, and I hope you win!
