05.26.2010 | 8:08 am
A Note from Fatty: You probably know Noodle from her incredible “100 Miles of Nowhere” video last year. Well, she continues to be a remarkable supporter of Team Fatty in our fight against cancer. Well, she crashed into a patch of poison ivy on Day 4 of her Trans-America ride to raise money for Team Fatty Austin, broke her wrist and blacked out, and had to be airlifted to the hospital. She’s back in New York and on the mend, but I’m sure it would mean a lot to her if you dropped by her blog and left her a comment of support. You can also follow her on Twitter.
Fight Cancer, Look Stylish
Between the big LiveStrong / World Bicycle Relief fundraiser, my trip to Tucson and my trip to California, Johan Bruyneel had done plenty of nice things for me (and others lately).
But last night, I got this email from him:
Elden -
Back in Europe and I wanted to send you a quick email. First, it was so great to see you and Lisa on Saturday at the TT. We enjoyed having you by the bus and in the car for the ride behind Mura! It was an experience for me and Eki too, as normally there’s a quiet mechanic sitting back there!!
Secondly, thank you for all you’ve done and continue to do for all these philanthropic organizations. Whether it be for LIVESTRONG, World Bicycle Relief, Amgen Breakaway from Cancer or your nephew in need of a new kidney, you continue to inspire me and remind me that it’s about more than just winning bike races. From the comments I’ve read on my Twitter and Facebook pages and your blog, it’s safe to say that many people are inspired by you as well.
From our discussions, I know you have some big fundraising goals for Team Fatty at the LIVESTRONG Challenges. So I was thinking of a way that I can help the 2010 Team Fatty. What about if we donated 100% of the profits from my online clothing store — from Wednesday, May 26 til the end of May — to Team Fatty’s goal in support of LIVESTRONG? Whoever buys anything from the online store, we’ll give all the profits to LIVESTRONG via Team Fatty. I think that may be a simple way to help you and your team out. Let me know your thoughts.
Let’s also talk more about the other idea we discussed on Saturday. Something to think about when the season is over.
Need to go now.
Take care.
JB
Well. That’s kind of awesome, isn’t it?
Check out some of the cool stuff from the Johan Bruyneel Collection. I really dig the “Cobbles” t-shirt:
And the “Bruyneel Cycling” t-shirt is very cool too:
And I wouldn’t mind having the “ride” jacket at all:
There’s lots of other cool designs there, too. So: check out the Johan Bruyneel Collection here. You’ll get some cool clothes and you’ll be helping Team Fatty fight cancer.
PS: If you haven’t joined Team Fatty in our fight against cancer yet, you should. For one thing, we’re doing something important here. For another, the more — and sooner — you raise, the better your chances of winning something outrageously cool.
And I’m not being hyperbolic here; the stuff I will be announcing soon is going to make your jaw drop. And — get this — money you have already raised is going to improve your chances for winning every contest I run.
So, just hypothetically, imagine that I’m going to give away four really amazing prizes in the next few months (those of you who have followed this blog for a while might have an idea what an “amazing prize” might be). And suppose you sign up right now for Team Fatty in any of the four cities, and you raise $500 before the first contest is even announced. Well, that $500 gets you chances to win in all four of those big giveaways.
In short, join Team Fatty, raise a lot of money, and do it soon. You may win something nearly too awesome for words.
So get started. Pick a city and sign up:
- Seattle: June 19 – 20
- San Jose: July 10 – 11
- Philly: August 21 – 22
- Austin: October 22 – 24
- NYC Marathon !!! (Haven’t gotten the Team Fatty signup worked out yet; more on this soon)
Comments (29)
05.18.2010 | 10:53 am
I’m just a few short days from flying to Los Angeles, where I will get to ride in the Team RadioShack car, following some very lucky pro as he tries to ride 21 miles very, very fast.
I could just sit in the car during the ride, taking it all in, doing my best to remember it all so I can write a lucid, interesting, and perhaps even clever blog post about what it’s like to ride in a team car during a time trial.
I could, but I won’t. Because if I did that, I would completely miss the opportunity to do the following:
- At a key moment during the race, I’ll ask the driver to stop swerving so much. “I think I’m going to hurl,” I’ll say.
- Bring a pillow, “Just in case I get bored.”
- Point out interesting landmarks along the way, and maybe ask if we can stop so I can take pictures.
- Ask, several times, “Are we there yet? I really need to pee.”
- Ask the team mechanic if he’d mind adjusting the trim on my rear derailleur.
- Bring Funyuns, eat them noisily, ask if anyone would like some.
- Ask if I can have a turn driving.
- Tell the driver I know a shortcut that can get us there faster.
Furthermore, I plan to wrest (what other blogs use the word “wrest,” by the way? None, that’s what. This blog is freaking educational) control of the radio from the driver and do the following:
- Holler the lyrics to the Macarena song, very loudly.
- Tell the cyclist that it’s OK to slow down. “Not everyone can win every day. Maybe it’s time you give someone else a turn. Feel free to just phone in your ride today,” I’ll say.
- Say, “Big Ben, this here is Rubber Duck. What’s your 20?” And then I’ll make the squelching noise CB radios made when you released the “Talk” button.
- Yell upcoming turn instructions to the rider, but constantly confuse left and right. “Slight left — I mean right — bend up ahead in twenty — I mean thirty five — yards, I mean 3.5 kilometers. No, right! RIGHT! TURN AROUND!”
I suspect that right this minute, everyone on the team is fighting for the privilege of being the one to have me be behind them.
Fight Cancer, Win a Jersey Autographed by Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, or George Hincapie, and a Whole Bunch More Cool Stuff
One of the things I like about the Amgen Tour of California is the close association with the Breakaway from Cancer initiative. Breakaway from Cancer, in case you aren’t familiar with it, is a terrific source of information and tools for people who are battling cancer.
So, during the Amgen Tour of California, I’m working with Amgen to help raise some money for this initiative. By donating, you have a chance of winning one of the following:
- One of 2 jerseys autographed by Lance Armstrong
- A jersey autographed by George Hincapie
- A jersey autographed by Levi Leipheimer
- One of 3 Amgen Tour of California merchandise packs, each of which includes an ATOC leader jersey, a pair of Oakley sunglasses, an ATOC t-shirt, an ATOC bag, and a pair of ATOC socks.
How do you win? Simple. Go to the Amgen Breakaway from Cancer donation page and make a donation. For every $5 you donate, you’ll automatically get a chance when we do a drawing for the prizes listed above.
This contest goes until the end of the Tour, Sunday, May 23. Winners will be notified by email on Monday, May 24, and announced on this blog once they have confirmed.
It’s a great cause with some very cool prizes. Go donate now.
PS: Thanks to Dug for pretty much all the funny parts today.
Comments (46)
05.12.2010 | 5:29 pm
A Note from Fatty: Let’s end this deluge of 100 Miles of Nowhere stories with one from Team CarboRocket. And be sure to read Mary’s bio. She’s awesome. And while you’re at it, check out the Team CarboRocket blog in general. Many of them participated in the 100 Miles of Nowhere, which makes them the coolest cycling team in the world.
“Hi Sammy!” Lisa called out every time we rode by the headless snake in the gutter.
She named him after about the 10th time we rode past him on our 33.5 times around a 3-mile loop in Surprise, AZ. Team CarboRocket of Arizona won the “Team CarboRocket AZ” division, starting early in the morning and finishing early in the afternoon.
We battled wind gusts, heat, one bee swarm, muscle cramps, and climbed over 1000 feet in 100 miles to nowhere. Mountains and farm fields and newly minted subdivisions framed our ride around the box.
Enthusiastic neighbors rode one lap with us rocking the flip-flop-beach-cruiser style; a triathlete lasted about 8 laps. In our final mile, we raced the neighborhood bmx gang.
CarboRocket fueled successful team bonding, and we hatched hillarious plans for Team CarboRocket bootcamp and bbq.
– Mary, Team CarboRocket
Comments (6)
05.12.2010 | 5:00 pm
I am so proud of my husband! He joined Fatty’s team and did the 100 Miles of Nowhere ride!
We raised $180 in cash donations, plus what was donated online, which last I heard was up around $175. The generosity of friends, family, and coworkers amazes me. Thank you to everyone who gave generously!
Unfortunately he was only able to complete 56 miles of the ride due to technical difficulties, but I am proud of him nonetheless. I was able to be there and support him, which was fun, but now I’m as red as a cooked lobster from sunburn.
I loved Tommy’s water balloon idea where for a donation, his coworkers could throw a water balloon at him as he rode by.
That was how we were able to raise so much in cash donations, and it was so much fun for everyone.
– Erin
Comments (6)
05.12.2010 | 1:00 pm
Beautiful but chilly 47 degrees as I rode down to the Seattle Burke-Gilman stage to meet my cycling buddy, Jessica, for our 100 MON. Jessica had never done a century and she may not be my buddy after this one.
Our route ran along a 1.15 mile section of the Burke-Gilman Trail near Metropolitan Market. Other than Metropolitan Market’s excellent pink elephant sugar cookies and clean bathroom, the routing may have been suspect (and all my fault).
Early going was great at 6AM with the trail empty, but soon the mini-peletons, runners, walkers, and pretty much everyone in Seattle was out on the first truly beautiful day this year despite the cold. After 8 AM, we had many moving roadblocks including a dude walking his dog while riding a skateboard. The trail was in decent condition for this time of year, but coming to a dead stop to turn around every 2 miles was brutal.
The weather warmed up later in the day, but that just lead to good sweat and a helluva show for folks seeing me in the white jersey. We had get some great support and even Kamala himself was out for the ride, complete with TWO livestrong bracelets.
Jessica’s mom showed up to say hi. Around Miles 30 and 90, a couple of other buddies I know joined up to spin a few laps. Superstar status goes to Jessica’s pal, Shane, for riding 35 miles with Jess after I started flagging and fell behind.
Jessica climbed atop the podium in the Women’s Burke-Gilman Division in about 7 hours of riding time (best not to ask about total time); I followed up to top the Men’s Division around 7:30. Medals to be awarded at a banquet this week.
Awesome event! But next year on the trainer with movies!
– Mike S, Seattle
PS: Check out the video — it’s awesome!
Comments (5)
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