A Note from Fatty:Today’s the last day you can win the Stylus 1030 SW, which is shockproof to 6.6ft, waterproof to 33 ft, crushproof to 220lbs of pressure and freezeproof down to 14 degrees. Jill Homer ofUp In Alaskafame is raffling it off as part of Team Fatty. You can win it bydonating to the LiveStrong Challenge on Jill’s Fundraising page. Every $5.00 you donatetodaygets you a raffle ticket toward this camera (as well as a 1GB xD card and carrying case). You might also win an autographed copy of Jill’s new book, Ghost Trails: Journeys Through a Lifetime.Click here to donate.
Another Note from Fatty:Want to win a nice$2000 wheelset?Of course you do. So donate onmy LiveStrong Challenge page; every $5.00 you do earns you another chance at any Dura-Ace wheelset you want. Which rocks. Also, if you’re a member of Team Fatty, every $5.00 you have collected on your own donation page gets you a raffle ticket toward this wheelset, as well as towardtheMasi Soulville 10.
Recently, I have noticed several things about myself, none of which are important or substantial. Indeed, I reference them here merely for my own amusement, and not out of anything like a growing sense of alarm or panic.
Also, I see each of these changes as coincidental and unrelated. Which is to say, I do not see them as part of an obvious pattern, nor as clear symptoms of any particular circumstance.
I believe I have made myself clear.
With that said, I hereby present Several unrelated items, none of which are symptomatic of anything. At all.
Peculiar Burning Sensation at Top of Stairs
As you are no doubt aware, I live at very high altitude: more than 4,000 feet, in fact, and I believe that by some mathematical methodologies I am allowed to round up to 5,000. Which is practically a mile. So let’s just say I live at an altitude of 5280 feet and leave it at that. Or, perhaps for simplicity’s sake, we should round my home altitude up to 5300′. Yes, that sounds about right.
Anyway, some of you may also be aware that until recently (June, 2006), I lived in Sammamish, Washington, which is altitude best described as “essentially underwater.”
With that huge altitude difference in mind, it’s no surprise that I am noticing some lightheadedness, shortness of breath, and burning in the legs when I climb a set of stairs here. In fact, I have to be careful, because I don’t want to give myself a high altitude pulmonary edema.
Which is why I have recently started taking the elevator to my fourth-floor office at work.
What’s peculiar is that until recently, I didn’t notice any of these effects. My theory is that sometimes high altitude sickness can take a while (2.5 years, in my case) to manifest itself.
I’m just glad I caught it before it’s too late.
Certain Articles of Clothing Have Become Unattractive to Me
I hate the way cotton shrinks, don’t you? And what’s weird is I have these jeans that are more than two years old. You would think they’d have done any shrinking they’re going to do by now. But no. I must have washed them (along with my other clothes) in extra hot water and then dried them extra double-hot a few times in a row, because these pants have become uncomfortably tight. Sure, if I spend a few minutes hand-stretching them before putting them on they’re OK, but still.
These things are supposed to be loose-fitting. It says so right on the tag. I should complain to the manufacturer. Does anyone have Michael Ball’s email address?
Uncomfortable Sensation When In the Drops
I have never been a big fan of riding in the drops on my road bike. Lately, though, it has occurred to me that riding in the drops is childish. I’m not in a wind tunnel, for crying out loud.
Furthermore, it lately occurs to me that riding in the drops is extremely uncomfortable. Thanks to my very large ribcage and massive lung capacity, it is not uncommon to have my knees mash into my stomach when I ride in the drops.
I am positive this is not a new phenomenon, so it is surprising to me that I am just starting to notice it now. I think this is very likely similar to the way that you don’t notice a shoe is rubbing your heel until you have been running for several miles.
My Cycling Clothing Seems to Be Defective
I really don’t know why I ever liked my size Medium bibshorts. The entire lot of them are ridiculous. I am so glad that, a few years ago when I was overweight, I had the foresight to also purchase some size Large bibshorts. They look much better.
And it’s really starting to bother me the way Twin Six has started mis-sizing all their jerseys. It used to be that a Medium fit me pretty well. Lately though, even their Larges have been tight. Hey Twin Six, quit screwing around with your jersey sizing!
Scales: Not to Be Trusted, Nor Used
Lately, I have decided that the scale is not a valid way of determining my leanness or fitness. Consider: if I were to start an intensive weightlifting program, I would likely lose fat — not that I have much to lose — and gain muscle. What would the scale tell me about this positive change? Merely that I have gained weight!
(Note: I have not actually started a weightlifting program, but this is still a valid hypothetical argument.)
Furthermore, I have noticed — in times past — that when I stop training, I usually lose weight, at least for a little while, perhaps from muscle loss, though I am quite muscular even in the worst of times.
In short, the bathroom scale — which I do not in any way fear — is an unreliable way of measuring my progress (or, hypothetically, regress) as an athlete, and I choose not to see what it says.
A Note from Fatty About How You Can Win a Really Cool Camera:Jill Homer ofUp In Alaskafame is a great athlete, a talented writer, and a gifted photographer. And she’s amember of Team Fatty. Huzzah! Well,Olympushas been good enough to help Team Fatty raise money for the LAF by donating an updated version of the camera Jill uses on her adventures — theStylus 1030 SW, which is shockproof to 6.6ft, waterproof to 33 ft, crushproof to 220lbs of pressure and freezeproof down to 14 degrees. Basically, it’s a cyclist’s dream camera. And you can win it bydonating to the LiveStrong Challenge on Jill’s Fundraising page. Every $5.00 you donatetoday, tomorrow or Wednesdaygets you a raffle ticket toward this camera (as well as a 1GB xD card and carrying case). You might also win an autographed copy of Jill’s new book, Ghost Trails: Journeys Through a Lifetime.Click here to donate.
Team Fatty 1-Week Report
So, Team Fat Cyclist: Fighting for Susan has been around for one glorious week. What can we say we’ve accomplished during that time? Some pretty cool stuff, actually:
Team Fatty accounts for 25% of all 2009 LiveStrong donations made so far.
Team Fatty is the #1 team in Seattle, Austin, and Philly. We’re #2 in San Jose — by less than $100. Serious kudos to Team Lanterne Rouge in San Jose, by the way. A team of one person that’s raised more than $6000 deserves some props.
Team Fatty currently has 282 people divided between the four events. Frankly, I’m trying to decide whether this is a really great start, or whether it means that my goal of 1000 people on my team was just not realistic. What do you think?
Together, we have raised about$21,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation in one week. That is extremely cool, and gives me great hope that — whether we have 1000 or 500 people on our team — we can still hit that $1,000,000 goal.
Those of you who have registered to be a member of Team Fatty in the 2009 LiveStrong Challenge (in Austin, San Jose, Seattle, or Philadelphia) probably already know that for every $5.00 you collect on your fundraising page, you get a virtual raffle ticket (I’m excluding myself from all these raffles, by the way) to win this bike:
Yes, the Soulville. Seriously, that is just a cool bike. Take another long look at it, would you?
What surprises me is the fact that quite a few people have signed up for Team Fatty but haven’t raised any money yet. If I were you, I’d find a friend, family member or complete stranger to donate something (or donate something on your own page, for that matter.)
Because, believe me, you want this bike. But you can’t win it if you don’t have any money in your donation page.
And the deadline for the raffle for this bike is Friday night.
How to Win the Wheels of Your Dreams
How would you like to have a nice $2000 wheelset? Well, that’s the next big prize you can win: anyShimano Dura-Ace Wheelset. Like the Soulville, you’re automatically entered in a raffle to win these ultra-top-end road wheels with every $5.00 you raise on your own LiveStrong challenge page.
But what if you don’t plan to do the LiveStrong challenge yourself, but you’d still like to help out, and wouldn’t mind winning an incredibly nice wheelset while you’re at it?
No problem. Just donate on my LiveStrong Challenge page; every $5.00 you do earns you another chance at the any Dura-Ace wheelset you want.
Mmmmm. Carrrrrbon. Man, I sometimes wish I weren’t me, so I could win these wheels.
You think it’s easy giving away all this awesomeness, knowing all the while that I can never win any of it?
It’s not fair, I tell you. It’s just not fair.
I’ll be fine. I just need a moment to myself.
OK, I think I can continue.
Again, the donation for this wheelset raffle is this Friday night. So go donate now.
And Now For A Motivational Speech From a Couple of Guys Who Live In A Van Down By the River
Okay, I know I’m hammering pretty hard, pretty often about this LiveStrong stuff. The thing is, it means a lot to me. I love telling Susan that nearly 300 people have signed up to be part of a team bearing her name, and that we’ve already raised $20,000. And that we’re trying to raise a million.
I love telling her that great companies like Shimano and Masi and Olympus (and many, many more, which I’ll be unveiling soon) are helping us.
I love being able to tell Susan that while her cancer sucks for us, her story is inspiring hundreds — maybe thousands — of people (including me) to start doing something about this stupid, evil disease.
I love telling Susan that she has a lot of friends honoring her, while they honor and fight for their own family and friends.
And — after seeing this video of Medium Brad (who we earned more than $20,000 for last year) and Mike Roadie (who we earned more than $37,000 for last year) — I like thinking about what it’s going to look like when Team Fatty gets up on the stage next year.
I think they’re going to need a bigger stage.
Enjoy the video. Be sure to stick around for both speakers — Mike wears a Fat Cyclist t-shirt up onto the stage and presents Lance with a Fat Cyclist jersey. Not to be missed.
You know what’s not fun? Coming down with the flu when you need to be taking care of your family, that’s what’s not fun.
But it’s where I am.
So, just a quick post right now, because I wanted to let you all know how we’re doing so far on the LiveStrong Challenge.
A Great Start on Registrations: Between yesterday and now, 234 of us have signed up for Team Fatty. I’m really pleased with this. That’s nearly a quarter of how many people we need on the team altogether, just in the first day. That said, this also means we still need 766 of you to join up and help. So, if you haven’t signed up yet, please do. You don’t have to plan to attend the event; you just have to be willing to chip in some time to help us fight cancer.
A Great Start on Fundraising: So far, we’ve raised $9,077 together, in just a day and a half. You know what this means? It means we’re currently the top fundraising team in all four cities, so far. In fact, here’s an interesting little piece of trivia: Team Fatty has so far raised more money than all other teams combined. Of course, one day’s results don’t mean a ton in the grand scheme of things, but we’re definitely on the right track.
Thanks, everyone, for your work and contributions.
A Personal Note from Fatty:Before I launch into the (very cool news) about Team Fatty, why you should join and what you can win, I wanted to give you an update on how Susan’s doing, and you’ll be glad to hear it’s mainly good news, in the form of a machine. About a week ago, we got a home Oxygen concentrator, which Susan uses pretty much full time. The difference to her quality of life has been huge. She doesn’t need to sleep as much, she’s more alert when she’s awake, and she sleeps better when she’s asleep (i.e., doesn’t wake up gasping for breath every few minutes). I keep looking for an opportunity to borrow the machine from her for an hour so I can see how I’d feel on the bike afterward. So far, no luck, and for some reason I don’t feel right taking it from her by force.
Team Fatty Starts Today
Today we kick off Team Fat Cyclist: Fighting for Susan (“Team Fatty” for short) for the 2009 LiveStrong Challenge. In case you’re new to the idea or need a reminder, you can read where I announce the team here, but the basic idea is this. If Fat Cyclist readers like you (especially you, in fact) will join my team and work to raise money to fight cancer, we will
Be the largest LiveStrong Challenge team there has ever been.
Raise more money to fight cancer than any team ever has.
Make a legacy for Susan that she will be able to be truly proud of.
Oh, and one more thing. You will have opportunities to win some jaw-dropping prizes, whether you join Team Fatty or help out as a contributor.
Starting today.
Let’s Talk Incentives For A Moment, Shall We?
Whether you want to officially join Team Fatty or just want to contribute, I want to add an element of fun and awesomeness to your efforts, in the form of unbelievably cool prizes.
I have pestered and pestered (and pestered) Tim Jackson — the Masi Guy — forever to give me a Soulville, because . . . well, just look at the damn thing. Holy smokes. It’s gorgeous. No matter how many bikes you have, no matter what kind of riding you do, you can’t help but want a Soulville.
Well, Tim has never caved in and given me one of these bikes, but Masi — and Tim — jumped right on board when I asked them to donate one on behalf of Team Fatty for the LiveStrong Challenge.
And you can win this beauty . . . by helping Team Fatty fight cancer. I’ll explain how in just a minute, but first I need to make you drool some more.
It’s with this third great truth in mind that I’m one giggly mess about announcing that Shimano is donating any Dura-Ace Wheelset you want as a prize. For myself, I think I’d go with the Hi-Profile Carbon Composites:
You know why? Because while the three great truths of road cycling mentioned above are all well and good, there’s another great truth of cycling I think is worth mentioning: Sexy, light, strongwheels are even better than best of all.
And make no mistake: these wheels are — in addition to light and strong — sexy. Quite possibly too sexy for you. But you should still try to win them, and then perhaps you will become sexy enough to have these wheels.
Hey, it’s possible.
Big kudos, props, and high-fives, by the way, to Shimano. This is the third cancer-related fundraiser they’ve been involved with on my blog, and they’ve let me know they’re in for more.
And — you guessed it — in a few minutes I’ll explain how you can win these. But first I need to show you one more cool prize.
First Prize: Lance Armstrong-Autographed Sports Illustrated
Hey, look what an anonymous benefactor sent me.
Yep, it’s a June 11, 2005 issue of Sports Illustrated – the one right before Lance won his seventh Tour — autographed by Lance Armstrong. The magazine’s in excellent condition.
Obviously, you can’t buy this anywhere. But you can win it, by helping Team Fatty fight cancer.
How Can You Win?
I’m giving these prizes away in different ways. Here’s how.
The Masi Soulville 10 : The way you can win this bike is by joining Team Fatty and raising money on your own page. You can register in Austin, San Jose, Seattle, or Philadelphia — as a rider, a runner, or a virtual team member (meaning you aren’t planning to make it to the event). Then, for every $5.00 you raise in your personal fundraising page by Friday, December 12-- whether it’s money you donate or you get someone else to donate — you get a virtual raffle ticket toward the Soulville. Once again, in order to win this bike, you’ve got to be a member of Team Fatty.
Join Team Fatty and raise money on your personal fundraising page. That’s right: every $5.00 raffle ticket you earn toward the Soulville raffle also earns you a ticket toward the Dura-Ace Wheelset raffle. Can you see how it’s a good idea for you to join Team Fatty and start getting your friends and family to start donating onto your fundraising page? Yes, I thought you could.
The Armstrong-AutographedSports Illustrated: You can only win this autographed Sports Illustrated by joining Team Fatty. Every $5.00 you have raised by December 12 gets you a raffle ticket toward this prize.
I’ll do drawings on all three of these prizes the evening of Friday, December 12, and will notify the winners by email right away. Then, once I’ve heard back from them, I’ll announce the winners on Monday, December 15.
How Do You Join Team Fatty?
Oh, it’s really, really easy to join Team Fatty. First, you’ve got to decide which event you want to be part of: Austin, San Jose, Seattle, or Philadelphia. If you’re just planning on fundraising — not attending an event — then pick whichever city you most closely identify with. Then, just follow these steps:
Click one of the below links to go to the Team Fatty page for that city:
Fill out the form. Note that the $50 registration fee is the same, whether you do one of the rides, the run/walk, or join the virtual challenge. Note: TODAY ONLY, you can enter a discount code of LSCREG09 for a $15 discount on the registration. So do it today!
Start fundraising. You’ve got to raise a minimum of $250 to attend the event of your choice.
What Does Team Fatty Expect of You?
How hardcore am I expecting members of Team Fatty to be about fundraising? Well, what I’d ideally like to see is 1,000 of us, each raising $1,000. That would make a million dollars, and that would be unheard of. But, honestly, all I ask is that you make an effort. Tell your friends why this matters to you, and ask them to donate $25.00. Tell your family about how every family is eventually touched by cancer, and ask them each to donate $25.00.
Without really trying very hard, anyone can raise $500. And if you try hard, you can raise $1,000. And if you try really, really hard and raise $2,000, there’ll be something very good in it for you. I’ll explain more very soon. But it will be worth it.
Plus, remember: every time you get someone to donate, your chances go up in the next raffle. And there are going to be a lot of raffles like this.
Being a hard-working member of Team Fatty will definitely have benefits, even if you don’t ever win a raffle. And that’s not even talking about the whole “noble cause” part.
Why Should You Do This TODAY?
If you join the LiveStrong Challenge today (December 1) and enter the discount code LSCREG09, you get $15.00 off the registration fee. So save fifteen bucks and join Team Fatty right this very second.
We Are Just Getting Started
Team Fatty is just kicking off, and frankly I don’t have any idea what I’m doing, yet. But I can tell you this: I have a pretty good-sized spreadsheet now with prizes to raffle off. There’s not a stinker in the bunch, and some of them are going to spin your head and make you sit down for a minute while you collect yourself.
Also, there will be a Team Fatty jersey. And it will be awesome. Twin Six and I are working on it right now.
This whole cancer thing is deadly serious business…but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun — and win stuff — while we fight it.
Susan and I are looking forward to having you on the team.
I have a very, very important ethical dilemma I want to talk about today, but first I want to answer a couple of questions many people have been asking about Team Fat Cyclist: Fighting for Susan (“Team Fatty” for short).
Where’s it going to be? A lot of you have asked, “Which event / challenge will Team Fatty participate in: San Jose, Seattle, Philly, or Austin? The answer is: All of them. We’re going to win the Team awards for all four separate events, and then, when they combine our team size and money raised, we’re going to win the overall, too. (By the way, I’m not just making this up; I checked with LAF to make sure we can do this.)
If you can’t attend the event, can you still be part of the team? You bet you can. You’ll be able to sign up as a volunteer and still help raise money for the team. The most important part of being part of Team Fatty is not about being at the event. It’s about working together to fight cancer (and it’s also about kicking all the other teams’ butts, too). As for myself, I hope to attend all the events (but also have to be honest with myself and admit circumstances might prevent me from attending some — or even any — of them).
What If you don’t — or someone who wants to join with you doesn’t — ride a bike? You can still join. There’s a run/walk option.
What if you’re already committed to a LiveStrong team? I suggest you stay on that team and work hard for it. I don’t want to poach anyone. That’s not what this is about.
What does the money you raise in the LiveStrong Challenge do? It does a lot. A lot of people have been asking me why I’m a big fan of the Lance Armstrong Foundatiion. Sometime next week, I’m going to go into specifics.
Expect more details as I figure out what the heck I’m talking about.
I’m Going to Need Some Help On This
Since I announced that I’m going to form Team Fatty, I have received a lot of email. All of it’s been helpful, and a huge amount of it’s been extremely generous. In fact, I think you’re going to find it pretty exciting what you might win by either joining or contributing to Team Fatty.
The thing is, right now I can’t handle all of this. I’m waaaaay behind on my replies and it’s getting worse. (People who have written to me already: please be patient and I’ll try to get back to you this weekend, events permitting.)
It’s almost as if I’m trying to maintain a job, take care of four children, take care of a sick wife, write a blog, and manage a big event/contest, all by myself.
I need some help from a few people who are willing to keep track of prizes, keep track of registration, and keep track of the four Team Fatties. If you’re willing to help me out, email me with what you’re good at.
Thanks!
The Velveeta Dilemma
One of the most difficult chores I have is finding foods that Susan will eat. Nothing really sounds good to her.
Except for one thing: Scrambled Eggs, prepared using my Grandma’s recipe. Susan has those every day. Because they are incredibly delicious.
The thing is, Grandma’s Scrambled Eggs are easy to prepare. Ridiculously easy, in fact. But until Susan got sick, I haven’t made them, ever.
Why? because Grandma’s Scrambled Eggs use Velveeta Cheeze. And I just couldn’t bring myself to buy or use Velveeta. I just couldn’t. Cheese shouldn’t be shaped like that. It shouldn’t taste like that. And it for sure shouldn’t be textured like that.
Velveeta, as far as I was concerned, is useful only as fish bait.
Now, I am not a foodie. Far from it. But still: Velveeta Cheeze is just gross.
Still, when I racked my brain trying to think of something soft and warm and comforting for Susan to eat, I thought of my Grandma’s Scrambled Eggs — just regular scrambled eggs, but with a little Velveeta instead of cheddar — and how nobody could resist them.
So I swallowed my pride and bought Velveeta for the first time in my life (I don’t fish a lot). And of course, the scrambled eggs turned out wonderfully. Warm, fluffy, mellow, and perfect. I make them for Susan every morning. And what she doesn’t eat, I finish off. And the kids, who don’t know any better, love these scrambled eggs without even having their irony alarms going off.
Which leaves me with a dilemma: how am I supposed to accept this new reality, this horrible, horrible truth? It pains me to say it, yet I know it is true:
Velveeta is a new staple at the Fat Cyclist household.
