A Note from Fatty: If you’ve read the details of this latest prize and your head is spinning and you just want the link to the contest so you can enter it already, click here to donate and enter the contest.
As a rule, riding during winter . . . well . . . sucks. If you go out, you’ve got to get all layered up:
Or if you stay inside and ride the trainer, you put yourself in imminent danger of your brain trying out of your head in a desperate play to escape the exquisite boredom you’re inflicting upon it.
Imagine — if you can — if you could escape all that for a week. Imagine that you’re in Malibu, California, staying in warm, sunny California at a luxury resort: The Ranch at Live Oak / Malibu:
You’re staying in your own private bungalow, with easy access to the pool and hot tub.
You’ve been set up with a custom fitness and training program, and you’re eating great. Not just delicious food, but world-class cuisine that is actually good for you.
You’re riding on awesome pavement, on beautiful, scenic roads.
You’re out there putting in big miles, but you’re loving it like never before, because your bike has been professionally fitted for you by speed guru Mat Steinmetz — the same guy who custom fits Tom Danielson’s bike for him. Plus all your rides are fully supported.
Oh, and you’ve got some great riding company for the week:
Yep, just in case you couldn’t tell from that photo, you’re spending the week riding and hanging out with Patrick Dempsey and Tom Danielson:
So let’s get specific for a moment, OK? The winner of this super-ultra-grand prize is going to get the total package in a very small group training camp put on by Twenty Twenty Cycling: Patrick Dempsey and Tom Danielson. This includes:
Airfare for the trip, which goes January 20 – 26, 2013
Hang out daily with Tom Danielson and Patrick Dempsey
All meals
All local transportation
Supported daily rides
Professional bike fit performed by expert speed guru, Mat Steinmetz
A Garmin Edge 500 (yours to keep)
Daily massage
Cycling and nutrition education
Instructor-led fitness programs
Custom 20-20 Cycling jersey, shorts, rain jacket, t-shirt, bottle, and other swag.
Laundry services
Bragging rights for the rest of your life about the incredible week you just spent
How to Enter
So maybe you’re wondering: how can you get into this cycling camp? Well, there are two ways. One is to buy a slot at T20 Cycling. If I had the money for it, I would do that — considering everything you’re getting, the $8000 price tag sounds like a good deal.
The second way is to go to my Grand Slam for Zambia 2 page and donate. And then hope. Because someone’s going to get this prize. And if you don’t win this prize, maybe you’ll win one of the other prizes, each of which is listed and linked in the donation page. And that wouldn’t be so bad, either, would it?
Regardless of whether — or what — you win, you’ll be doing something really important and awesome: making it possible for kids in Zambia to get a bike, which means incredible things for them — getting to and home from school easier, getting work done faster, and having a wider range of opportunities in job possibilities.
You’ll also be helping train Zambians to become mechanics, and providing them with the tools they need to start a career fixing bikes. You’re helping bootstrap a virtuous cycle: giving some people a little help now so they can help themselves in the future.
In other words, by donating for a chance at a training vacation of your life, you’re improving many others’ lives in a big, permanent way.
PS: Huge thanks to Tom Danielson and Patrick Dempsey for their generosity in providing this prize.
PPS: Last night, Tom, Patrick and I talked about the Grand Slam for Zambia and the cycling camp over at TourChats. You can watch it over at Spreecast (My part starts around 30:00).
Oh, I know what you think of me. Don’t pretend I don’t. You think of me as a goofball. Yeah, you consider me a lovably lurpy, lumpy guy who stumbles about, writing whatever pops into my head at the moment, only to be forgotten moments later.
And you know what? I’d be very angry at you for thinking that, if it weren’t a perfectly accurate description of how I actually am.
At least, that’s how I am most of the time.
Today’s post, however, will do two important things:
Look at this beauty (though the wheels and some components will be a little different in the bike given away, which I’ll explain in just a minute):
When I call this $8000 beauty a dream bike, I’m not just using hyperbole. See, I actually have gotten to ride one of these. In fact, I got to ride it twice.
Back in September, I got to ride one during the 2012 Levi’s Gran Fondo, which may be the ultimate perfect course for this kind of bike. At least, it felt pretty darned perfect to me. This bike is light and fast. And yet, it manages to be incredibly comfortable and smooth. By the end of a long day (right around 100 hilly miles on a mix of good and not-so-good road in and around Santa Rosa, California) in the saddle, I had made up my mind: there is no road bike in the world I would rather own.
But that was the second time I had ridden one of these bikes. The first time was when Specialized joined the good folks at Honey Stinger for a group ride in Salt Lake City during the Outdoor Retailer Show. I got to borrow a new Roubaix for a ride up Emigration Canyon — a popular climber’s delight of a road ride.
By the time I had been on the bike for twenty minutes, I had decided: I have to make one of these bikes a grand prize in the World Bicycle Relief contest I was planning to do later in the year.
Yes, back in June I had already started hatching the scheme you are seeing come to fruition right this second.
And as part of that scheme, I knew I wanted someone who actually knows what he’s talking about to explain what makes this bike so incredibly great. So right then and there, I asked Chris Riekert of Specialized — who was along for the ride — to describe the Roubaix on camera (In addition to the fact that Chris does a really good job of talking about the bike, you should watch this video to hear my reaction to his use of the term “Cobble Gobbler”):
So, let me be seriously serious for a second: I really do love this bike. I don’t have one, and I wish I did. And I’m going to be greenly envious of whoever winds up winning this bike.
This is an sophisticated, smooth, beautiful component group. Seriously, money cannot buy better. Oh, and just because I happen to have a thing for gorgeous components, let’s take a closer look at the crankset:
Yum.
You’re going to need a nice stem and bar to go with this dream bike, of course, and those will come from Zipp SL line. You’ll get to choose the Service Course SL stem in the length you need:
You’ll then pair that to a Contour SL Bar in the size that works for you:
Oh, but we’re not done with the whole custom setup thing. No. Cuz you’re going to need a set of wheels. And you know what? You can choose any Zipp wheelset you want.
For what it’s worth, I think I’d go with the Zipp 404s:
Or, on the other hand, it’d be pretty hard to resist the 808’s:
Hey, it’s a tough decision, but someone’s gotta make it. Maybe that someone will be you.
How — And Why — To Enter
Obviously, this is a pretty amazing bike. Perhaps even more obviously, this is one of an incredible number of amazing prizes. Crazily, there are going to be even more astonishing prizes that will be given away as part of this fundraiser.
So here’s a question you probably haven’t asked yourself: why am I playing against type and actually planning and working and otherwise orchestrating such a monstrously huge fundraiser? (Trust me, the prizes I’ve announced and the ones I’ll be announcing didn’t all just fall into my lap.)
It’s because I’ve been to Zambia, and I’ve seen what a huge difference a bike makes in a person’s life there. That improvement is immediate and wonderful and lasting. And I’ve seen for myself that World Bicycle Relief is doing a fantastic job of doing this work thoughtfully, of making our work and donations count.
In other words, I’m doing this because WBR is doing good work, and I believe in it.
And also, because I really love giving cool stuff away.
Ordinarily, I start my contest giveaway posts by sort of dancing around the topic. I hint. I allude. I relate personal anecdotes. All while hoping you’ll somehow have forgotten that I already pretty much told you what I’m giving away in the headline.
But today I’m not going to do that. Because I am so freaking excited about this bike. Instead — a mere two paragraphs into this post — I’m just going to come out and say it, in highly-noticeable bold italicized text: One of the Grand Prizes in the Grand Slam for Zambia 2 contest is a Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper FSR Carbon 29.
Here’s what the S-Works Stumpjumper FSR Carbon 29 looks like when it’s all built up, though — as you’ll see when you read a little further down this post — the colors and specs will be different than shown here:
That right there is a very fine bike. A $9500 bike, as shown stock, above. Anyone would be proud to have that bike just the way it’s shown.
But you see, we aren’t getting a stock bike. We’re going full-on custom.
This frame — which retails for $4500 — is pretty much the foundation for the best trail bike you can build right now. It’s a FACT 11m full carbon FSR frame with dedicated 29er geometry, 130mm of travel, full-cartridge bearing pivots, PF30 BB, and 142mm dropouts. In other words, it’s a much nicer frame than you have ever imagined.
For the rear suspension, you’ll have a FOX/Specialized Brain shock with the ground-breaking AUTOSAG feature, buttery-smooth Kashima coating, Trail Tune inertia valve damping, Brain Fade, and adjustable rebound. If you don’t understand what that means, though, how about this: you’ll be able to roll over all kinds of stuff, and laugh maniacally as you do.
It’s going to be light enough for fast climbing, and incredibly plush for extraordinary descending.
And I gotta say, I like the orange, black, and white color scheme.
But wait a second. I believe I said that The Grand Slam for Zambia was going to include this as a bike, not just a bike frame.
And that leads us to the remarkable component spec for this bike, courtesy of SRAM.
This is SRAM’s top-of-the-line 2×10 group, and it’s a beauty. I especially dig the look of the crankset:
But you’re going to be all set up with the XX-ness. Shifters (you can choose between trigger and grip), derailleurs, brakes, everything. Even the incredibly sweet RockShox Revelation XX.
The RISE 60 wheel set are a sexy set of asymmetric carbon fiber rims. Sapim CX-Ray spokes and exclusive hub and pawl designs integrate seamlessly with your ride to boost speed, strength and engagement while ensuring low inertia and explosive acceleration. At least, that’s what the marketing copy says. One thing’s for sure: they’re going to look and ride fantastic. Look:
These are built for pro racing from Truvativ’s strongest, lightest carbon fiber. The Noir T40 Flat Bar weights just 110 grams and is 580mm wide fro maximum control, with a 5-degree sweep.
The Truvativ Stylo T40 stem is light enough for pro-level XC racing, but strong enough for burly trail riding. And I cannot believe that I just used “burly” in a sentence.
I Envy You
When all is said and done, this is going to be an absolute top-shelf mountain bike. As in a $10,000 top-shelf mountain bike. Sadly for me, I cannot win it. Which seems desperately unfair, but there you have it.
But you could win it — or any of the other prizes I’ve either announced or am going to be announcing soon. (Which includes, just as a reminder, an awesome “Africa in Moab” trip, the NYC trip, and a bunch of other things I am going to freak you out with in the very near future).
All you have to do to have a chance at winning is to go to my donation page and do something really kind and good that you’d probably do anyway: make a donation of any amount. Someone’s going to be chosen at random to win this bike. And while it’s unlikely to be you, it was also unlikely that Ed would win the Mojo. Or that Laura would win the trip to France. Or that Paul would win the trip to NYC.
In other words, someone’s going to win each of these prizes. And since, when all is said and done, this contest is going to have more than 10 prizes that could be considered “grand” prizes (3 Moab trips + the NYC trip + this bike, and we’ve hardly even gotten started), maybe this is a contest worth entering.
Oh, and if you don’t really dig mountain biking, you may want to go ahead and donate anyway. Because you wouldn’t be far wrong to think of this week as a Specialized sandwich, where one of the pieces of bread is this incredible bike I just described, and the other piece of bread is something roadies might find more to their liking (and is every bit as top-shelf).
What prizes will be revealed tomorrow, though? Another bike (not from Specialized), and a number of very cool other things.
And then, next week, I’m going to announce stuff that is even more insane than what I’m announcing this week. Stuff that is simply not to be believed. Honestly, I do not see how it will be possible for me to ever top this contest. I just don’t.
Waaaaay back in May of this year, I launched a contest to raise money for LiveStrong: An Ibis bike of your choice, outfitted with awesome Shimano components, and then a trip out to Utah, where SLC Bicycle Company would professionally fit the winner for that new bike. And then we’d head out for a weekend of riding.
On June 23, I did the drawing for this contest, which I won. Sadly, I was not eligible, so I had to do another drawing. Ed Perrey of Austin, TX won, and then waited — oh-so-patiently — while I tried to find a weekend where I was both home and available to go riding.
Last weekend was — finally! — that weekend.
Where to Ride?
When we talked about where we ought to go riding, Ed had initially wanted to go to Moab. Then he saw my recent videos of rides I’ve been doing right at home. “Let’s just ride your local trails,” he said. “The singletrack you’re riding is like nothing I ever get to ride in Austin.”
An excellent choice, if I say so myself. Not to mention one that made my life considerably easier. And, as it turns out, cheaper, since we just had Ed stay in our guest room. In my defense, it’s a really nice guest room, with a bed and electricity and everything.
Oh, and free wifi, too.
Getting Fitted
I picked Ed up at the airport and we went straight to SLC Bike, where Ed’s bike was all built up and sitting on a trainer, ready for him to be fitted on.
Ed and I took a moment to just stare at it, giggling. The Ibis Mojo SL is a beauty, especially up-close and in real life.
I got a picture of Ed with his new bike before the fitting got going:
If you look closely at my reflection in the mirror, you can see that I was wearing my Ibis t-shirt (which is 18 years old, for reals), special for the occasion.
Then I took a couple minutes to get some close-up shots:
The current Mojo frame design has been around for about seven years. I’d say it’s aged pretty darned well. It’s just gorgeous.
Mmmmmm. XTR.
Mmmmm. More XTR.
And then the pro bike fitting — expertly done by John McCool — began. Ed talked with Joe about what kind of riding he did:
And got measured:
And got his cleat position tweaked:
Then John made adjustments to the bike, got Ed comfortable on it, and told him he was ready to ride.
As a testament to what a great fitting John had done, Ed was instantly more comfortable on his new Mojo than he had ever been on his previous mountain bike, and remarked as he was riding that he was easily cleaning things he would have had trouble with before.
So was it the fitting or the new bike that was responsible?
I’m going to go with the obvious (and probably correct) answer: both.
Bad News
My original plan had been for Ed and me to go from the bike shop straight to Corner Canyon and get a ride in right away.
But as we started driving south toward the trailhead, the rain began. And by the time we got to where the exit would be, it was raining hard. Riding would have been bad for the trail, and I’m a fair-weather rider anyway.
“Let’s put the first ride off for a bit,” I said, and we headed to my house to wait out the storm.
Bad News Becomes Good News
I was scared. Scared because I had brought this guy out for a weekend of riding, just in time to be here for the firs serious rainstorm in 60 days or more. Would the rain let up in time for a ride his first day here?
Would the rain let up at all?
And even if it did, what kind of condition would the trails be in?
I tried to calm myself the best way I knew how: with food. “While we wait for the rain to stop,” I said, “Let’s get started on boiling some brats in beer. We’ll grill them for dinner tonight.”
I dumped bratwurst and chopped onions into a pot, while Ed poured in can after can of PBR.
By the time the brats were done boiling, the rain had stopped.
“I think Lambert Park might be OK for riding,” I suggested. “It’s sandy soil and drains fast,” I continued, exuding a confidence I didn’t feel.
We headed out. I was stressed out about the possibility of mud bogs that would swallow bikes and passengers whole; Ed was just stoked to be riding his new bike.
As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about. The rain had served to turn the previously dusty trails into perfect, tacky, grippy trails. And to cause most of the leaves on the trees to fall, creating an unbelievably beautiful carpet for us to ride on.
Looks like The Hammer was enjoying the ride too.
We got in ninety minutes of riding before it started getting dark. Time enough for us to ride most of the good trails in Lambert Park, time enough for Ed to absolutely totally fall in love with his new bike, and time enough for me to consider how lucky I had been in my random selection. Not only is Ed a strong rider who could appreciate a good bike and a good trail, he’s also an incredibly easy-going guy who was stoked to get in as much riding as was humanly possible during the weekend.
After finishing the ride, we ate bratwurst. Lots and lots of bratwurst.
I then forced him to join my family as we watched the second half of the second movie in The Lord of The Rings.
Sadly, Ed fell asleep. Which was probably a good thing, since — weather permitting — we had a big ride ahead of us the next day.
Day 2: The Big Ride
I woke up at 1:30am, to the sound of rain. I knew that American Fork Canyon was simply out of the question. We wouldn’t be riding there.
But — but — Corner Canyon was still a possibility. At least I sure hoped it was, because the thought of having someone fly all the way out to Utah to then go riding nowhere but in Lambert Park seemed a trifle . . . underwhelming.
I figured the trick would be to stall a little bit. Give the trail a little time to dry out.
So we went to Kneaders for breakfast and got their famous Cinnamon Bread French Toast, which — on Saturdays — is an all-you-can-eat proposition.
“I had kind of thought maybe I’d lose a little bit of weight during this trip, what with all the riding,” said Ed.
I snorted in reply. “Nobody loses weight when they hang out with me.”
We put Ed’s Mojo — no longer looking like a brand-new bike — on the Bikemobile’s rack (I have fork mounts for only two bikes in the truck bed).
It was overcast and cold, even though the forecast had promised us no rain for the rest of the day.
We got started on the trail, with me staring suspiciously at the trail, which was wet, but not muddy.
And that’s the way it stayed, getting better and better as the hours went by. Up Anne’s Trail, which is unfortunately very ugly right now, due to the fall colors:
And then Rush, followed by Canyon Hollow and Ghost, finishing up with Creek View:
Oh, and while I had the camera out, I took a self-portrait, too:
I like this picture mostly because I look very handsome in it. And also because it looks like my helmet is the exact same color as the sky.
In the end, we did 3800 feet of climbing in one big ride. Not at all a bad day for a flatlander / sea-level-dweller.
But that wasn’t enough for Ed.
After we got home, I grilled burgers, after which Ed suggested we head back out to Lambert park for a quick ride before it got dark.
I believe that Ed may like that new bike of his.
I’m happy to report, however, that after we got back from that second ride of the day, I countered any calories burned with The Best Cake in The World, topped with homemade ice cream.
We then watched the first half of the third movie in The Lord of The Rings, during which Ed fell asleep.
Last Day
Ed had a flight to catch in the early afternoon, but we still had time for a quick ride in Corner Canyon. We rode up Clark’s — the only trail Ed hadn’t been up the previous day — with the intent to continue on up Jacob’s Ladder, then down Ghost and back to the parking lot.
To my delight and relief, when we got to the top of Clark’s, Ed reported he’d had enough climbing. He was tired out.
Which was pretty much exactly the measure of success I was looking for.
We bombed down Rush one last time, Ed catching all kinds of air on the hundreds of whoop-de-doos on the way down.
We returned Ed to the airport on time and uninjured.
I’ll ship his bike to him once I’m finished riding it myself for a couple months.
In an hour or so, I need to get in a car and head to the airport; I’m on my way to Santa Rosa for Levi’s Gran Fondo. And, more importantly, for the first-ever GranDonut race, which you probably have never heard of, because I haven’t really been talking about it here on my blog, nor on Twitter.
Ha.
Yeah, I know. I tend to latch onto things and not let go. But there are some very good reasons why. And I’d like to make my closing argument here, in the hopes that maybe you’ll donate to either Team Fatty or Team Levi. Or both.
The Causes
I’ve kind of been focusing a lot on the silly part of this race, mostly because this is indeed a very silly race. But here’s the thing: this ridiculous race is all about raising money for some amazingly good causes, some of which you’ll be really familiar with, some of which you won’t.
Forget Me Not Farrm: This farm is the Leipheimers’ pride and joy: a farm to help kids who are victims of abuse and neglect heal from trauma. The farm teaches these kids how to value and care for living beings, develop respect for all life forms, and create a compassionate way of behaving and relating to others that is the antithesis of their violent experience.
LiveStrong: I’ve seen this organization up close, both as a recipient of their help, and as a person who has helped them raise money for general cancer support and very specific programs like Camp Kesem. LiveStrong is making a difference for good to thousands and thousands of people who are fighting cancer. I’m incredibly proud to help them out, and am grateful to those of you who join me.
VeloStreet : VeloStreet works to improve cycling resources throughout California and in Sonoma County in particular.
The Prizes
But as you know, it goes against my nature to ask you to donate your money without giving you a shot at some pretty cool prizes.
The big one, of course, is a trip to the 2013 Levi’s Gran Fondo. That’s not a trivial prize, nosirree. Especially when you consider that you’ll get to bring someone along with you. Airfare, hotel, ride registration, the fancy-schmancy VIP dinner: the whole thing. Pretty darned sweet.
And there are other awesome prizes that will be given away, too: two complete gran fondo kits, two signed (by Levi) Gran fondo jerseys, two Gran Fondo helmets, and two Gran fondo Messenger bags.
Pretty sweet.
The Stakes
I’m going to be honest with you: I don’t think Levi has ever taken a good hard look at what he has to do if he loses this race.
Let’s recap, shall we?
If Team Levi (consisting of Levi Leipheimer, Patrick Dempsey, and Rebecca Rusch) loses, he must:
Wear a propeller beanie for the rest of the Gran Fondo, including during the ride.
During the live panel for The Levi Effect — which will be broadcast hither and yon for the whole world to see — say something along the lines of, “You’ll have to excuse me, I’m a little winded. I just got my ass handed to me in a bike race with Fatty of the awesome fatcyclist.com blog.”
Consent to a live interview on the Fat Cyclist blog sometime during the year of 2013, discussing a topic of my choosing.
The item I’m really focusing on here is the first one: the propeller beanie. If Team Fatty wins, Levi has to wear a beanie for the rest of the Gran Fondo events.
Yesterday, in order to be prepared for this eventuality, I procured the following:
I am going to so enjoy having Levi walk around in that.
The Race Itself
Of course, the race itself is going to be pretty awesome. It’s evolved into a relay race, with the two teams being Team Fatty (Kristin Armstrong, Tom Danielson, me) and Team Levi (Levi Leipheimer, Patrick Dempsey, Rebecca Rusch).
The pre-race trash talking on Twitter has gotten pretty awesome, and includes photos of Levi, Tom, and Rebecca all training for the big race:
Of course, all of these people are going to learn a valuable lesson: don’t let a guy with the nickname “Fatty” rope you into a race that features eating as the most strategic component:
You see the difference between their faces and mine? They’re clearly goofing off, having a bit of a laugh.
I, on the other hand, am dead serious. I’ve got the eye of the tiger, baby.
Not to mention the stomach of the hippopotamus.
Move Along, Nothing to See Here
By the way, these racers seem to have not noticed that the rules on the course length and type, not to mention the type of bike to be ridden are rather . . . vaguely expressed.
I wonder why?
Oh, I’m sure there’s no reason.
Just In Case You’re Going to Be There
The race itself will be at 2:00pm on the northwest corner of the Finley Center parking lot, in Santa Rosa, CA. It’s free to attend, so if you can show up, you should show up. And please cheer me on.
Note, however, that there will be a press conference at 1:00pm prior to the race. You should come to that, too, because there will be very important and serious questions both asked and answered there.
Follow Me This Weekend
Penultimately, allow me to recommend that you follow me on Twitter. See, I plan to be posting photos and short pithy statements all during the big event, starting today and going through the weekend.
Sure, a lot of that will eventually wind up here on the blog, but it’s kind of fun to see what’s going on as it happens.
Plus, you can suggest things to me in something like real time, and I’m easily influenced by peer pressure.
One Last Plug
There. That’s my case. Go ahead and donate to either team — Team Fatty or Team Levi — but please donate.
But bear in mind that as the guy who both defined the race and wrote the (strategically vague) rules, I would be very astonished indeed if I lost.
But you’re going to be all set up with the XX-ness. Shifters (you can choose between 
