Tour, Ride, and Hang Out with GARY FISHER

07.22.2015 | 1:32 pm

I’m just ridiculously pleased to announce the latest prize in the World Bicycle Relief Grand Slam for Kenya contest: A day with Gary Fisher.

Yes, Gary Fisher, the mountain bike pioneer / innovator.

Yes, Gary Fisher, the advocate / evangelist for bikes

Yes, Gary Fisher, the man with the panache.

Yes, Gary Fisher, quite possibly the most interesting bike-related man on the planet.

What’s The Prize?

Here’s the video chat Gary and I had where we discuss this incredible prize:

If you don’t have 53 minutes to watch this, however, here’s the prize all boiled down and convenient for you:

• We fly you to Wisconsin, then wisk you away to Waterloo, where Trek global HQ is located
• We put you up in the beautiful Mansion Hill Inn
• 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

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:

• A trip to hang out with Gary Fisher
• 12-Day Cycling Trip to Italy with InGamba
• Trek Project One Bike of Your Choice
• Juliana Nevis
• Yet Another Trek Project One Bike of Your Choice 

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!