09.22.2009 | 9:21 am
A Note About 2010 Jerseys from Fatty: Twin Six and I have started getting a lot of email from people asking about why their 2010 Fat Cyclist jerseys haven’t arrived. As mentioned in my pre-order post, your stuff will arrive in mid-November.
Also, I’ve been getting a lot of email from people wondering how they can buy 2010 jerseys now. Well, right now you can’t order a Fat Cyclist jersey. However, once the pre-order shipment comes in and everything’s been shipped out and had time for exchanges and returns, there will be some jerseys left over, at which point they’ll go up for sale. I’ll announce at least 24 hours ahead of time when they’re available. Please note that these “leftovers” jerseys always go fast. If you want one, you shouldn’t wait a day or two to think about it, because by then they’ll be gone.
Win a Jersey Signed Both by Lance Armstrong and…Me.
OK, I’ve given everyone a few weeks off of the whole “Help Team Fatty Fight Cancer” thing. I figured you all deserved a break. And frankly, I felt like I deserved one too.
But now we’re just a month or so away from the final LiveStrong Challenge event, and it’s time to kick it into high gear.
Over the next few weeks, you’re going to see some pretty remarkable fundraising contests. And we’re going to start with one engineered by my friend BikeCopVT, a frequent commenter and one-time guest poster at Fat Cyclist.
Ben participated in the LiveStrong Philly event and as part of his schwag bag from LAF, received a Team LiveStrong Jersey like the one you see Lance sporting here.
While in Philly, Ben cornered me in the hotel elevator, and got me to sign his Team LiveStrong jersey, after he explained he’d be raffling it to benefit the LAF.
It is because of his career as a bicycle patrol officer that this prize takes on an interesting twist. No, you’re not getting a “get out of jail free” card too.
You see, as a police officer that rides bikes a lot, you develop many strong friendships along the way. Police officers in particular really like to help each other out, and as we all know, friends have connections. One of Ben’s good friends is also a bicycle patrol officer and because of that he has developed a working relationship of sorts with — you guessed it, Lance Armstrong. After Ben begged and begged, this friend agreed to bring the jersey to Lance and Lance graciously agreed to sign the jersey as well.
Or at least, we can assume he was gracious, since Lance has not tweeted about being held hostage for an autograph.
Here is where you come in. You can now be the proud owner of a 2009 Team LiveStrong jersey signed by me and Lance Armstrong. At the same time 100% of your $5 raffle ticket is going to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
For every $5 donation you get one virtual raffle ticket. $10 gets you two tickets, and so on. Donate here (http://philly09.livestrong.org/benkaufman) for your virtual raffle ticket.
Sorry, no picture of my signature (it really is there). You’ll just have to believe it’s there. And also, you’ll have to believe how weird I feel about signing stuff.
Just one problem: if you win you have to decide (if you frame it) do you want to look at Lance’s or Fatty’s signature (Lance signed the front, I signed the back). I’m sure you’ll do the right thing.
The raffle runs until Monday, September 28, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. EDT. Click here to donate, and good luck!
PS: Posts will be kind of scarce for the next few days. I have other fish in need of frying. I’ll be back in force next week.
Comments (54)
08.17.2009 | 7:56 am
The most recent FatCyclist.com fundraiser for the Lance Armstrong Foundation exceeded my expectations in a huge way. When we started the contest for this beautiful bike — an Orbea Orca with the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 group and PRO components — I assumed we’d raise at least triple the amount the bike would retail for, but hoped we’d actually raise $50,000.
Instead, we raised more than $136,922. This is just phenomenal.
And then came my favorite part: giving the bike away. Out of nearly 30,000 chances, random.org selected #10,639 — which belonged to Team Fatty Philly Member Frank W, of New Jersey.
Frank will be riding in the Philadelphia LiveStrong Challenge this weekend. In fact, he was at the Team Fatty Philly training ride when my email notification arrived.
So, for the first time ever, I’ll get to meet one of the big contest winners! (I doubt the bike will have been shipped and built by then, so Frank will still be riding his old bike.)
Here’s what Frank had to say when he won the bike:
I almost fell off my chair when I read your email this morning. I must have read it 10 times and still can’t believe it! Thanks so much.
What can I say; I love cycling! From my childhood rides in Germany, to my frequent trips around the Jersey shore, I couldn’t imagine being without my ride. Being a graphics designer, I’m basically chained to a desk all day long and cycling is a great way to relieve some stress afterwards.
As most of you can relate, cancer has affected me in several ways. The disease claimed the life of my aunt and tried the same with my dad; but he kicked its butt!
I discovered Fatty’s blog about two years ago and he inspired me to get involved and to fight back. I look forward to the 100 mile ride in Philly next weekend.
And I will keep on fighting to beat cancer.
I love that someone who’s engaged in the fight against cancer and loves cycling won this bike, and I’m excited to hear about how much Frank loves his new dream bike.
Congratulations, Frank!
Comments (51)
08.14.2009 | 4:59 pm
I just got back from a fun, casual ride along Lake Turquoise. What a great trail. Someday I want to come back here just to spend a few days riding.
But what’s really important is that Kellene and I did one of her jumping poses. And even more important than that is that unbeknownst to us, Kenny joined the pose, too.
I believe this may be my favorite photo, ever.
About the Orbea Contest
The Shimano / Orbea contest is now over. I’ve got all the data and am — when I can get a couple minutes, collating it and getting it ready to do the drawing. It’s not a minor task; there’s a lot of data from a lot of sources, and I’m busy getting ready for the race here.
In other words, just because you haven’t gotten notified you’re a winner yet, doesn’t mean you’re not a winner. I will get the winner chosen by Monday when I get home and can double-check all the data.
Meanwhile, consider this: thanks to your donations, Team Fatty is now the first team to ever cross the $600,000 threshold. And we did it on Susan’s and my 21st wedding anniversary. That means a lot to me. Thanks.
Comments (81)
08.14.2009 | 7:11 am
GeoTagged, [N39.24875, E106.29456]
The good folks at Garmin-Slipstream had two big boxes of their branded Camelbak Podium bottles waiting for me here when I got to the hotel yesterday.
These are by far my favorite kinds of bottles, and the only kind I use anymore.
I plan to give these away to folks who come ride with Kenny, Dug, Rick, Gary and me at Turquoise Lake at 1:00pm today.
It will be a casual, mellow-paced mountain bike ride on beautiful lakeside singletrack.
Plus, it’s a good idea to get in a short ride the day before the race.
At this point I believe I have been so convincing that I can no longer imagine anyone NOT joining us for this ride.
See you there!
Comments (36)
08.3.2009 | 10:01 pm
The contest I’m launching today troubles me, because it reveals a previously-unknown weakness in me.
Specifically, I find myself in the ethically-problematic position of trying to figure out how I can possibly be the winner of this contest, the prize of which is a 2010 Orbea Orca or Diva (winner’s choice). Either bike will be outfitted with a Dura-Ace Di2 group with Dura-Ace carbon tubeless wheels, PRO Stealth handlebar, PRO Vibe seatpost and other PRO accessories. The estimated value of this bike is $9,600.
I ask you to consider the below photograph (click the photo to see a larger, more exquisitely detailed version), then decide whether you can really blame me for wanting to keep it myself.
That bike is sexy. Dangerously sexy.
But no, I will not keep this bike, even though I would like to. Instead, I will give it to a random person who has donated any multiple of $5 to my LiveStrong Challenge page, or to a random Team Fatty member (any city) who has raised money in their own LiveStrong Challenge since Friday, July 31.
So, go donate now, or read on for details.
What This Is
So what do you get with this bike?
- Frame: Orbea Orca or Diva:
The Orca is Orbea’s flagship bike, and the Diva is the women’s-specific variation on the Orca. Frankly, there just isn’t much I need to say about these bikes. Just look at them. They’re beautiful. But they’re not just vanity bikes. Oh no. If you’ve ever ridden an Orca, you want an Orca. They ride as sexy as they look. Which, I would like to point out, is very, very sexy.
- Drivetrain: Dura-Ace Di2 Group:
Back at Interbike last year, Shimano was showing off its not-yet-released Di2 electronic shifting group, called “Shimano Electronic Intelligent System” (SEIS). Until I saw it in action, I didn’t really get the “Intelligent” part, but the fact is, it’s incredibly cool. When you tap to shift in the back, the front derailleur senses and trims to make sure your chain’s still aligned. If the rear derailleur gets bumped, it adjusts back so it’s true to the cassette. And it shifts fast. This bike is just off-the-charts fast, light, and high-tech.
What? You say you want all the details? Good call. Here’s the bike’s spec:
- Frame/Fork: Choice of 2010 Orbea Orca or Diva (Choice of size & color from stock on hand)
- Shifters: Dura-Ace Di2
- Rear Derailleur: Dura-Ace Di2
- Front Derailleur: Dura-Ace Di2
- Brakeset (F&R): Dura-Ace
- Crankset: Dura-Ace 7900 (Regular or Compact)
- Bottom Bracket: Dura-Ace 7900
- Chain: Dura-Ace 7900
- Cassette: Dura-Ace 7900
Wheelset: Dura-Ace Carbon Clincher Tube/Tubeless compatible…WH-7850-C24-TL- Tires: Hutchinson Tubeless
- Handlebar/Stem: PRO Integrated Carbon Stealth Bar
- Seatpost: PRO Vibe
- Battery / Charger / Wire Kits: Dura-Ace Di2
- Saddle/Pedals not included
How You Can Win
Oh, you think you’d like to have this bike? Well, of course you would. Well, to win it, you’re going to need to do a little cancer fighting with me. Here are the ways you can donate.
- By Donating at my Philly LiveStrong Challenge Page: For every $5 you donate at my LiveStrong Challenge page, you get another row on my spreadsheet. That DOES NOT mean that if you want to donate $50, you’ve got to do ten $5.00 donations. I’m awesome at Excel and will be able to give you the correct number of chances automatically, based on how much you donate. Click here to donate now .
- By Raising Money at Your OWN Team Fatty LiveStrong Challenge Page: If you’re a member of Team Fatty, now’s a great time to donate money to your own LiveStrong Challenge, as well as to get others to donate to it. For every $5 you raise starting last Friday (July 31) to the end of the contest, you get another row on my spreadsheet.
The contest ends August 13 at Midnight, MDT. At that point I will choose a winner at random from my spreadsheet, using random.org to pick the lucky person. I will then fire off an email to the winner. Once I get acknowledgement, I’ll announce it on my blog, and you can begin collecting envious looks.
Why This Is Important — AKA, How I Got This Bike To Give Away In The First Place
Perhaps you are talking to yourself right now. And if so, perhaps the thing you are saying to yourself is, “How did Fatty wrangle this kind of bike to give away? I had no idea he has that kind of juice.”
Well, the fact is, I do not have that kind of juice. Not even close.
However, there is a guy at Shimano whose fiance has the same kind of breast cancer my wife Susan has, and he and I have spent some time talking. He’s got the same kinds of reasons to hate and fight cancer that I have.
So. He’s got the goods, I’ve got a ready-made soapbox, and you’ve got a serious need to get yourself the sweetest bike you could ever imagine. It’s a match made in heaven.
And, more important than all that, is the fact that if and when we all work together to fight cancer, we will eventually succeed. So please, donate now. You may — or may not — win this incredible bike. Regardless, though, you’ll have done something good and important.
And how often do you get to say that?
Q&A
People are asking some good questions in the comments, so I’m adding this section to respond to some of the ones I’m seeing frequently:
Q. Can I win if I live outside of the U.S.?
A. Yes, but you’ll be in charge of any customs charges if you win. Fair enough?
Q. What’s the name of the guy at Shimano who’s gone to all this trouble?
A. He asked to not be named. Just think of him as a great guy at a great company who cares a lot about doing the right thing. Because that’s who he is. Just like you.
Q. Are we automatically entered if people have donated to our personal site since 7/31 or is there something we have to do to be sure we are entered?
A. It’s automatic. I took a snapshot of everyone’s personal site earnings on 7/31 and will do so again at the end of the contest. The amount you’ve earned during that period, divided by $5, is the number of chances you get.
Got more questions? E-mail me or ask in the Comments. I’ll do my best to get an answer to you.
Comments (107)
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