10.19.2009 | 7:31 am
A Note from Fatty: Believe it or not, tomorrow is the last day you have in the “Win An Ibis, Take it Anywhere You Want, and Ride it With Andy Hampsten, Chuck Ibis, and Fatty” Contest. If you haven’t entered yet, read the contest details here, then click here to go enter. Don’t delay! Operators are standing by (except they’re not really).
And now, Part III of “The Great Bike and Trail Pairing” miniseries, written and photographed by Chuck Ibis himself.
The Southwest is for Mojos
So far we’ve had a pair of pairings of idea bike and ride locations, mere suggestions for the winner of our contest. Maybe our winner can do us one better?
Today I’m thinking about a much broader geographical area, that of the great Southwest…
…and the Ibis Mojo.
Think about Moab, Zion, Fruita, Thunder Mountain and more.
This one is about as obvious a pair as salt and pepper. Give the Mojo what you want as far as trail obstacles…rocks, ledges, jumps, lions tigers and bears…and oh my it will take what you can dish out.
It’s almost too wonderful to take in. Yeah, I mean both the view and the bike.
But here’s the thing. If you don’t enter, you won’t win. You won’t win the Ibis of your choice, with a ride in a place of your choosing, along with Andy Hampsten, Fatty and me, unless you go and donate to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Do it here. Do it now.
(And now, back to the scheduled post of the day)
What I’m Going to Say In Austin
This week, I’m going to be in Austin for the LiveStrong Challenge and Ride for the Roses. And at some point, the Lance Armstrong Foundation is going to reward everyone who’s worked so hard to raise so much money in this fight against cancer by…having me stand up and talk to them.
That hardly seems fair, does it? I mean, after all these people have done, you’d think the LAF would instead hire a troupe of singing monkeys or interpretive dancers to entertain these good folk.
But having a blogger talk to them? Ew.
But the thing is, I do have something that’s been on my mind. It’s short, but it’s what I’ve been thinking.
Here it is. Or at least, here’s how much I’ve gotten so far.
Fatty’s Austin LiveStrong Speech
Lance Armstrong and I have some very interesting similarities. For example:
- We both like bicycles, and have been known to ride them from time to time.
- We both like the Tour de France, and have been known to participate in it from time to time (I consider viewing an important form of participation).
- We both like the Leadville 100, and have each completed it a dozen times. What? He’s only done it twice? Well, at least we both do it on rigid singlespeeds. What? He races on a full-suspension bike? With gears? Well, where’s the challenge in that?
- We both have earned a measure of Internet celebrity by writing about Lance Armstrong.
- We are both within 3 years of turning 40. ‘Course, My three years is in the opposite direction, but still.
There are some much more serious similarities between Lance and me, though. We’ve both been hit hard and personally by cancer. Lance fought it himself; I fought it alongside my wife. And it changed and focused both Lance and me.
I think Lance would agree that during your own battle, you are — rightly — focused on yourself and your own treatment. When you’re fighting cancer, you’ve got to marshal all your energy — and the energy of anyone who is willing to stand with you — and engage the battle.
Eventually, one way or another, everyone’s personal battle with cancer ends. Lance’s ended with a cure and restoration to health.
Susan’s and my battle ended with her passing away last Summer.
And this brings up another important way Lance and I are similar. Somewhere along the way, we’ve each realized that the fight against cancer is far too ugly, far too awful, and far too painful to treat as simply personal.
At some point, we’ve each decided that we’ve got to do something to help other people in the fight.
Now, there are a couple of other interesting ways Lance and I are similar. We’re each the dad of four kids. Two boys, and two girls.
That’s perhaps not so very unusual, but this part is: my girls are twins, and are just about three weeks older than Lance’s girls, who are also twins.
And when I think about breast cancer and what it did to my wife, and the way it did the same thing to a grandmother I never knew, and how cancer has affected an almost ridiculous number of people in my family — my wife, my grandmother, my father, my sister, my stepmother, my stepfather — and then I think about my girls.
We’ve got to find more and better ways of treating this. Of detecting. Of someday curing it or better yet preventing it.
Because that’s another way Lance and I — and most everyone else — is the same. We’ve almost all been affected by cancer. And the horrible thing is, we’re all probably going to be affected by it again, sometime in our lifetimes.
So we’ve got to do something. For those close to us now, and for those who we don’t even know right now.
Which is And that’s why I’m proud to help raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. I’ve seen, firsthand, the sense of purpose — of mission — in the people here. From Lance to Doug Ulman to Colleen O’Farrell to AnneMarie Rickes to Ron Kolenic to Chris Brewer to many, many others.
These are people who care about this fight as much as I do. And I’ve seen them care about it on a personal level and on a global scale.
I think the fight against cancer always starts as a personal battle. But for me — and for Team Fatty and for Lance and for the Lance Armstrong Foundation — it’s grown way, way beyond that. The fight doesn’t end with your own battle against cancer. It doesn’t end at all. It just gets bigger.
And it never stops being personal.
Comments (56)
10.17.2009 | 9:00 am
A Note from Fatty: You don’t have much time left in the “Win any Ibis, Take it Anywhere You Want, And Ride it With Andy Hampsten, Chuck Ibis, and Fatty” contest. Details are here, and you can go enter the contest by clicking here.
I’ve asked Scot Nicol — AKA Chuck Ibis — to describe which bikes he’d take to what places. This is Part II in “The Great Bike and Trail Pairing” miniseries.
The Almost Unbearable Lightness of Being…On a Hakkalügi in Sonoma County
Being from the wine country in California, I am constantly hearing about parings. Furthering our pairing discussion of yesterday, here’s a wine country pairing suggestion for our future contest winner: Get a Hakkalügi…
…and ride it in Sonoma County.
I know that the “Lugi” is technically sold as a ‘cross’ bike, but it’s unlikely that our winner will want to waste a chance to ride with “the legend of the Gavia” in the form of a 45 minute cross race.
So I have a better idea. Let’s go on an “Adventure Bike” ride, right here in my backyard, an hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge.
This ride will be as tasty as PB&J (another great pairing) and as unlikely as vanilla ice cream in root beer (I think I’m salivating). And it might be more memorable than either.
Our “adventure” rides extend the variety of riding we normally do by allowing us to weave in long stretches of dirt…
…in the middle of a nice road ride.
Bonus: no cars on the dirt.
The photos you see above are from a 72 mile stint we did that was about 2/3 pavement and 1/3 dirt. Lots of scenery. One Pacific Ocean. One Highway One (briefly).
Yeah, you could do worse than choosing the a Hakkalügi / Sonoma County pairing.
There’s just one problem. You can’t win this bike or go on this ride with Andy Hampsten, Fatty and me unless you enter the contest. Which you should do. Right now. Click here, already.
Comments (20)
10.16.2009 | 9:17 am
A Note from Fatty: The “Win any Ibis, Take it Anywhere You Want, And Ride it With Andy Hampsten, Chuck Ibis, and Fatty” contest is in full swing. Details are here, and you can go enter the contest by clicking here.
I’ve asked Scot Nicol — AKA Chuck Ibis — to describe which bikes he’d take to what places. This will take the form of a mini-series, titled….
The Great Bike and Trail Pairing Mini Series
The winner of this fantastic contest will have a legitimate shot at creating one of the great pairings in history. Done right, it could a be more talked about match than John and Yoko and Bacall and Bogey combined.
It could replace all those fond (and to some, kinky) memories of Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima, not to mention Lucy and Ricky.
Could it be a strong enough choice to permanently erase Cheese Whiz and Crackers from one’s cranium?
What we’re talking about of course is which Ibis the winner chooses, and what place the winner decides to go ride said bike.
Today we begin a 4 part dissection of what could be…should our winner be up to the task.
Big Wood and a Tranny
Up in the wilds of Idaho there’s a thing called the Big Wood River. It winds through the town of Ketchum, a place most people generically call “Sun Valley.” I’ve had the great fortune to live in this Wood River Valley, and learned a lot about the trails up there.
An astute winner would seriously consider Sun Valley as the chosen spot for our rendezvous, and a doubly astute reader would take possession of a Tranny, perhaps even of the single speed variety.
They say you can access nearly one thousand miles of singletrack from the greater Sun Valley area. That’s enough for at least two or three days of exploring. On top of that, much of it is smooth like buttah.
Depending on one’s mood or level of fitness, there are rides consisting of easy middle ring climbs, or you could choose high altitude lung-busters.
Consider the White Clouds, up in the Stanley basin above Sun Valley. Our intrepid Tranny Single Speeder Seanny Boy rode his rig up to Castle Peak in the White Clouds recently and filed this photo:
Along with the photo he filed following report: “Chillin’ at 10,000’.”
Brief and too the point, Sean, thank you, we like your style. This same bike is up in Bend Oregon this weekend, doing the Big Fat Tour. You could certainly add Bend to your list, but I don’t think it carries the weight of an Antony and Cleopatra type of pairing.
Here are a few more shots to whet your appetite for some time in the Wood River Valley.
There’s just one problem. You can’t win this bike or go on this ride with Andy Hampsten, Fatty and me unless you enter the contest. Which you should do. Right now. Click here, already.
And now, back to our regularly-scheduled blog post….
Wherein I Try Running Again, In Spite of My Better Judgement
Usually, I don’t write on Fridays, because Friday is the day I dedicate to eating pie, and I don’t like anything else to interfere with that activity.
But I knew that people would be interested in my experience with running. Or at least I like to imagine that you’re interested. In fact, I like to imagine that you’re so interested in my run that to tell the truth you had a rough time thinking about anything else. It made conversation difficult and infiltrated your dreams.
So here’s how it went.
Wherein I Negotiate a Major Concession
My problems with the run started well before the run itself, and manifested themselves in the form of a paucity of correct clothing. This is a weird situation for me, because I can ride every day for three weeks without washing a single item of clothing. Although the neighbors begin to complain when I do this.
Anyway, it turns out that my running shoes are about four years old. It took a while to find them, since I haven’t used them since moving into this house. I found some shorts — you know you’re a cyclist when shorts without a chamois feel wrong — and used a Melanzana Power Dry Shortsleeve as my running shirt. Somehow, wearing something made and purchased in Leadville was comforting.
We’d be running on trail — thank goodness — so I showed up at this runner’s house, expecting we’d drive the mile and a half to the trailhead and begin there.
But she planned to run there.
“You need to understand,” I said, without even a trace of petulance in my voice, “that if we start here and run to the trailhead, I may be finished for the day when we get there.”
I am confident she did not roll her eyes. Though it may have looked that way.
So we drove. I passively-aggressively played Meat Puppets (“Open Wide” and “Another Moon,” both from Forbidden Places, both of which I love and both of which I’m pretty sure nobody else in the world loves) on the stereo, and did not make eye contact.
This Is Not So Bad
I got out of the BikeMobile, which I imagine was feeling very confused to be at a trailhead parking lot without a single bike in the bed.
I expected there would be stretching and warming up, and began to formulate my plan as to how I would pretend like I knew how to stretch and warm up. But then she just started running.
I knew I needed to either feign an injury right then or follow. Panicking, I couldn’t think of a suitable injury, so I ran.
Or, more accurately, I sort of did a fast shuffle-walk, while moving my arms as if I were a speed walker. On me, this looks very athletic and graceful.
The trail was briefly level, during which time I could tell I was in serious trouble as the runner became a speck on the horizon.
But then, something unexpected and good happened: the trail turned up.
And I like climbing.
For whatever reason, running uphill felt like I was using my cycling legs, at least to a degree. Maybe the smaller steps you take when you’re going uphill, combined with the quad-focused effort of moving your body up the hill uses close enough to the same motion as cycling that I was able to get into a reasonable facsimile of a climbing groove.
So within a minute or so, I caught up.
It’s possible this occurred merely because she let me.
Regardless, a weird thing had happened: I had begun to enjoy myself. I’m going to come right out and say it: I like running uphill, on dirt.
Tactical Error
And then, I did a foolish thing: I opened my mouth. “This isn’t so bad,” I said.
“You want to go faster?” she replied.
In my head, I answered, “No, I want to lay down and start planning out what kinds of pie I’ll be eating tomorrow.”
Out loud, I said, “Up to you. I’m maybe at 30% right now.” WHICH WAS A JOKE.
“You’re at 30%?” she replied.
“Maybe 28%, but I figured I’d round up for your benefit,” I (very very stupidly) answered.
And so she turned it on. Which, when I think about it, was the only possible response.
And it left me with a choice. Chase? Or start walking?
I chased.
New Cease Fire Terms
Something that the last season of cycling has taught me is exactly where my breaking point is. I am now very well acquainted with when my body is right at the edge of what it can do, and when it’s going to crack.
So I went up to that edge and did my level best to keep up, and more or less managed to do so.
“Do I need to say ‘uncle’ or something?” I whined.
“You just need to say, ‘Alpha female, please please please slow down,’” she replied, not sounding particularly winded.
Now, I may not have mentioned this before, but I have a certain amount of pride. And just a hint of stubbornness. So I quoted Westley from Princess Bride.
“Death first.”
Which, as the run continued, increasingly seemed like a legitimate possibility.
Capitulation
It will always be a source of pride to me that I managed to keep the runner in sight as we ran this trail. Enough of a source of pride, in fact, that I never ever ever intend to find out if I managed this because I could, or because she let me.
Cuz it would kind of kill the drama of the event to find out that she had simply gone from one level of not trying to another level of not trying, except now perhaps not trying a little bit less.
Anyway, the trail emptied out onto a paved downhill road.
At which point, it took all of ten seconds for me to loudly beg, “Alpha female, please please please slow down.”
On pavement, downhill, I felt incredibly ungainly. There was no rhythm whatsoever to my steps. I felt like I was landing flat on my feet, with the impact going clear up into my skull.
Grace has never been my strong suit. Here, however, I was a thrashing, flailing, bumbling wreck.
“I feel like I’m pedaling squares,” I said.
“You shouldn’t feel like you’re pedaling at all,” she replied, not unreasonably.
Eventually, the pavement turned onto a dirt road that goes along a canal and back toward our starting point.
I must have looked on the pathetic side of pathetic, because several times she said, “If you need to walk, just say.”
“Death first,” I said again, but this time it wasn’t so much a proclamation of defiance as an actual statement of intent.
My “running” wasn’t much faster than walking, anyway. If any.
Eventually, we got close to the start point. She picked up the pace. I responded by failing to pick up the pace. She sprinted. I had no sprint.
She finished strong. I finished, full stop.
Sometimes, that’s enough.
PS: Today, I hurt. Quads and shins, mostly. But not as badly as I expected to. And I do intend to start running a couple times per week. For bone density, and because I simply cannot stand the thought of another winter riding the rollers, Every. Single. Day.
Comments (67)
10.15.2009 | 8:17 am
A Note from Fatty About the Current Contest: Monday, I promised that today i would reveal who the mystery rider will be in the “Pick an Ibis, (Nearly) Any Ibis” contest. You know, the one where you could win an Ibis Silk SL, a Mojo, a Tranny, or a Hakkalugi, then choose a place where you’d like to ride it, and then meet Chuck Ibis, a mystery rider, and me for a ride there.
But really, in terms of sheer awesomeness, the part I did not reveal was the part that goes to 11. But let’s start with a hint. Here’s his legs (in the background of this photo by Arnaud Bachelard, Chuck is politely asking the dog to stop biting his knee):
What, you still don’t know who it is?
OK, maybe this will help:
Yes, that’s right. If you win this contest, you will get to ride with Andy Freaking Hampsten. The winner of the 1988 Giro d’Italia. And two-time winner of the Tour de Suisse. And now the owner of Cinghiale Cycling Tours.
He’s a legend. An honest-to-goodness cycling icon. And good guy.
And you can ride with him (and you will note that I have cleverly arranged so that no matter who else wins, I will get to ride with him too) if you win this contest.
And then there’s the not-minor fact that you could be doing this ride with Andy Hampsten on your new Silk SL:
Though Andy’s totally happy to ride dirt or a combination of road and dirt with you instead, if that’s your thing.
On Monday, when I leaked to Mark (I’m terrible at secret keeping) that it’s Andy who will be the mystery rider, Mark said, “The coolness factor of this contest just doubled.” I believe that is probably true for anyone who really loves cycling.
Of course, if you read BikeRadar, you’ll notice they somehow found out about Andy Hampsten (from Mark, perhaps?) and published it yesterday. Since this leak directed all kinds of traffic toward the contest, I’m all for it.
So, those of you who have been on the fence about this contest (though frankly I don’t know why you would be on the fence about this contest), go enter now.
And now, on to today’s actual post.
I Am Not Sorry. (Sorry!) Really, I’m Not Sorry. (So Sorry.)
I am sometimes reluctant to take people new to cycling on rides with me. No, not because they’re new and will slow me down. I expect that. That doesn’t bother me at all.
But it clearly bothers them a lot.
Most people — neighbors, friends, family — I take out on rides spend between 30% and 90% of their talking time apologizing for slowing me down, making me wait, and in general not magically being as good of a cyclist as I am, even though I’ve been doing this for close to two decades and it’s their first time out since puberty.
“It’s totally fine,” I will usually begin.
“I’m riding with you for the company, not to race, so don’t worry about it,” I will later say.
“Seriously, I’m having fun. Stop worrying,” I will plea, eventually.
“OK, one more ’sorry’ from you and I’m slashing your tires,” is generally my final tactic for trying to stop the apologies. Which causes nervous laughter, mainly because I can — at will — summon a gleam of madness to my eyes. Next time you see me, ask me to do it. It’s an awesome party trick.
For the longest time, I have had a hard time understanding why people will continue to apologize, when I’ve made it clear that I don’t need — or want — an apology?
But now I understand. Because I’m scheduled to go running with someone — a strong runner, someone who regularly runs marathons — today (I’ve got this notion that next season I might do some Xterra races).
And I find myself apologizing already.
I find that I am saying the exact same things to this runner that my non-cycling friends and neighbors say to me when we ride.
I say, “I’m really going to hold you back.”
And, “I hope you already got a workout in today, because you won’t get one when we run.”
And, “I won’t so much be running as moving my arms as if I were running, while I actually shuffle lamely.”
Please note, I have said all these things before the running has even started.
So I’ve been gazing introspectively and deeply into my soul, asking myself the age-old question: “What is wrong with me?” After all, I know this runner knows I am not a runner. I know she knows I will be slow. I know this will be an easy, no-effort outing for her, after which she will almost certainly go get her real run for the day in.
And yet.
I think, though, I now get why new cyclists apologize to me when we ride. It’s for the same reason I’m — against my will — preparing a lengthy list of apologies to use.
It’s because, secretly, in my heart of hearts, I hope to hear, in response to my apology, “Well, you know, actually you’re a natural. I wasn’t going to say anything because I didn’t want to swell your head, but you are pushing me. I am absolutely at my limit, and am starting to cramp up. I honestly do not believe I can hold the blistering pace you are setting.”
And so on.
Which is a useful thing to know, really. So the next time I ride with someone new, I’m going to wait for that first apology, and then say, “I can’t believe you are apologizing! You are doing great! Seriously, you used to ride competitively, right?”
And, in the off chance that the runner I’m about to be crushed by reads this, I’d appreciate it if you’d memorize either or both of the above quotes and use them as appropriate.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
PS: Sorry I’m going to be so slow!
Comments (66)
10.13.2009 | 12:17 pm
“What,” I sometimes ask myself, “would be the most insanely cool contest I could ever come up with?”
Give away a bike? Done that. A lot.
Give away a trip? Done that, too.
Take a winner on an awesome ride of their choosing? Hmmm. Haven’t done that, though it’s certainly a good idea.
But what if I gave away an Ibis? And what if you got to choose what kind of bike you win? It could be a road bike (the Silk SL), a mountain bike (a Mojo or Tranny), or a cyclocross bike (the Hakkalugi).
And what if it were spec’d to the nines, whichever way you go?
And what if I hand-delivered – along with the Ibis Honcho and Mountain Bike Hall-of-Famer Scot Nicol (aka Chuck Ibis) — that new bike to you at some awesome cycling destination that you get to pick (but which Chuck and I get veto power over)?
And then what if we all went on a ride together?
And then, just for a little air of extra mystery, what if a cycling legend — whom I will not name at this time, but will announce this Thursday — joined us for that ride?
Would that kick butt?
Why yes, I do believe it would kick butt. In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it would kick mucho butt indeed.
Well, that’s the next big Fat Cyclist fundraising contest, with – as usual – all money going straight to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
And I think this is one you’re going to want to enter.
Let’s Think About the Bikes for a Moment
Usually – by which I mean “always,” as far as I know – when someone does a bike giveaway, they have a certain bike in mind. You either win it, or you don’t. If you’re a roadie, maybe a new MTB doesn’t really trip your breaker. Or vice-versa. Or maybe as a hardcore cyclocross guy you’ve been wondering when someone’s going to give away anything but the lowest of the low end cyclocross bikes.
Well, this is the contest of your dreams, buckaroo. Consider the following hotness, if you will, and begin to obsess about which you would choose if you win (click any of the photos to see them up close and personal):
MTB: The Ibis Mojo SL
The Mojo may be the most beautiful mountain bike in the world, and now with the SL, it’s seriously light, too. And still practically bombproof. Though I do not recommend detonating explosives around it, because really, what would that accomplish?
If you don’t know about the Mojo, you will learn in the coming days. If you do know about it, well, we don’t need to say any more, it’s a Mojo SL.
I think I saw about 10 of these at the 24 Hours of Moab. All the riders looked happy. And strong. And not fatigued. And I think they were better looking than the other riders.
Road: The Ibis Silk SL
I ride and love an Ibis Silk SL, which I currently have built as a 13-pound road singlespeed. Yeah. It climbs pretty well. Built as a regular ol’ road bike, you can get it to around 15 pounds, easy. And it flies. Except not literally. Cuz that would be scary, and not safe.
We raffled one of these off last year, and our winner – Matt Kreger — has done it right, riding in Livestrong rides, centuries and just commuting to his job.
Although in typical Ibis fashion this bike is understated and classy, it’s sexy as all get-out. Choose from clear gloss – showing off the carbon weave – or British Racing Green or a rich Red. Me, I’d go with the green, if I got to pick. Again.
MTB: The Ibis Tranny
It’s a carbon fiber hardtail. It’s a geared bike. It’s a single speed. It’s a travel bike.
It’s all of the above. And so much more. It’s the Ibis Tranny.
It’s probably the coolest bike you’re never heard about. But you’re going to hear more in the days ahead.
Cross: the Ibis Hakkalügi
This is the best-named bike in the entire world. The Hakkalügi used to be a steel bike, but the elves at Ibis magically changed it to a carbon frame. For you purists out there, sorry. For you weight weenies out there, you’re welcome. We used to say “Steel is real.” Now we say “Steel is real…heavy.”
Chuck says if the winner chooses this bike, he’s got some amazing rides-part dirt, part paved-that will be unlike any ride you’ve ever done. Unless you regularly ride with Chuck that is, then it will be the same old same old.
I want this bike so bad.
Where Would You Go?
If I were going to pick somewhere in the U.S. to go ride, I think I’d pick somewhere in Colorado. Crested Butte, maybe. I haven’t ridden there, and I hear it’s incredible.
Chuck won’t shut up about it.
But Chuck’s lips keep flapping and then he starts thinking maybe he’d like to go riding at Thunder Mountain.
Or in Sonoma County (his backyard).
Or maybe you’d like to go to Moab. You could do worse than go MTBing there with a couple guys who have been dozens and dozens of times.
Or maybe you’d want to go somewhere else. Somewhere I haven’t thought of, but which would be really awesome.
It’s fun to think about, isn’t it? And I suspect it’ll be fun to do, as well.
A Little Bit About the Mystery Person
I’m not telling you who the mystery cycling icon is strictly because I’m coy and don’t want to give everything away quite yet. But I will tell you this. If you think it’s Lance Armstrong, you’re wrong. However, it is someone who is a beloved former pro road cyclist with a resume that is pretty darn stratospheric, and you will be over the moon to meet and ride with him. Yes, that’s a clue: our mystery rider is a male. Which rules out Jeannie Longo.
I’ll say who he is this Thursday.
Let’s Recap
- The winner gets an Ibis bike of his or her choice, color and size is your choice.
- We’ll fly you to the best possible riding spot in the US, according to you (and ratified by us).
- You’ll get to ride with Chuck, Fatty and a Mystery Hottie.
Wow. I mean, really. Wow.
The Details
Entering this contest is easy. And here are the rules.
- The contest begins now (October 13) and goes through Midnight (MDT) October 20.
- For every $5.00 you donate at this LiveStrong Challenge Page, you get a chance at winning this incredible bike / trip / ride with Chuck and Fatty and the Mystery Man. Just click here to donate, make your donation in multiples of $5.00, and you’re automatically entered.
- If you are a member of Team Fatty Austin, every $5.00 you raise on your OWN LiveStrong Challenge page between now and the end of October 20 gets you a chance at this prize.
- The date of the trip depends on finding a day that works with your schedule, my schedule, Chuck’s schedule, and the Mystery Man’s schedule.
- Where we go: This has to be somewhere in the U.S., with reasonable access to an airport. And Chuck, the Mystery Rider, and I seriously do have veto power. If we don’t want to go somewhere, we won’t. But if you can make a case for mountain biking in Ohio, more power to you. We’ll listen.
- You can select any Ibis bike, except the Mojo HD.
- We’ll box the bike after the ride and ship it by UPS to you. If you want to get it sooner than we’re willing to pay, or if you want to fly it home with you, you’ll need to cover those costs.
- If you live outside the contintental US and win the bike, it is your responsibility to get into the US; we’ll fly you the rest of the way.
- Customs and taxes for the bike are your own problem.
- The prize for this contest is exactly the things listed here. If it’s not explicitly mentioned, it’s not part of the prize. In other words, your hotel is your own problem. As are your meals. Although we might foot the bill for burritos afterward. Because we’re like that.
Why This Matters
Why are we doing this monster giveaway? Well, we have reasons.
- Ibis is a dangerously cool company, and loves to do things creatively and differently. I like that.
- Chuck Ibis is – in addition to being a mad genius – an extremely good guy.
- Everyone hates cancer, and when a really cool people get together – Ibis, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the Mystery Cyclist whom you are really really really going to want to meet – get together, we can do more in the fight than any of us can alone.
So, go donate now. This is the big one. The Grand Finale. Seriously. Go.
Comments (85)
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