08.17.2015 | 11:08 am
I’m back from Leadville, where I’ve had an amazing week and an extraordinarily intense race (more intense than I’ve told anyone about, so far).
I’m not going to do much in the way of spoilers, except for one really big one. Here’s The Hammer and me, at the finish line:
Yeah, it kinda gives away that weboth finished the race and were both happy and dirty when we did, but I think we can all live with that level of spoilerage.
And now I need to pack my bags and get to Austin, for a three-day workshop I’m leading.
Time to write is just a little bit elusive right now.
But let me promise you this: I have stories to tell, and I’m going to tell them. Including:
- My Leadville writeup
- The rest of the Crusher in the Tushar story
- The Hammer’s 50-mile trail run writeup
- A 100 Miles of Nowhere Update
- My Cedar City Fireroad 100K writeup
- My Interlaken 100 writeup
- The Hammer’s Lotoja writeup
Also, I have winners from the Grand Slam for Kenya, whom I will talk about (who they are and what prizes they select).
I hope to do some writing on the plane this afternoon / evening, which means the first part of a race report tomorrow AM.
Lots coming soon. I haven’t forgotten about you. Honest.
Comments (11)
08.11.2015 | 1:37 pm
Dear Friends of Fatty,
I’m on vacation this week, hanging out in Leadville Colorado, acclimating to the altitude and getting ready for the big race.
I’m also hanging out with other racers and doing my best to be a nuisance to The Queen of Pain as we do the “Reba & Fatty’s Leadville Experience.”
We’re having a fantastic time.
The Hammer and I drove out here, which means that we were pretty darned liberal with how much stuff we brought:
Why four bikes? Well, I’m loaning the Scalpel to a friend, The Hammer is riding her Specialized Stumpy S-Works, I’m riding my (amazing) Cannondale F-Si Black Inc., and we’re bringing my Felt 9 FRD as a backup bike for The Hammer and me.
Nothing but the essentials here, folks.
The Hammer and I didn’t have a place to stay in Leadville for our first couple days, so we rented a little place in Breckenridge.
Within 15 minutes, the place was a complete disaster:
The thing is, most of this mess is from The Hammer. When she’s on vacation, her neat-freakiness is on vacation too.
My messiness, on the other hand, maintains its current horrid levels.
The first day we were at altitude, The Hammer and I rode the Columbine climb, the most-talked-about climb of the Leadville 100. We agreed that for this ride, we would go good and hard. I could be humble about the results, but I’m not going to be. I knocked out a 1:06 climb; The Hammer did it in 1:20.
We’re both feeling pretty good about those results.
The next day, we pre-rode the St. Kevins climb, vowing to no longer do any race-level riding.
Which meant that we weren’t feeling too cooked to take a picture.
Then, yesterday, the Leadville Experience rides began, which meant another climb up Columbine. This time I had fun, talked with people, and took pictures of people as they rode up this amazing climb:
It was a good-sized group, and we got a fantastic photo of all of us at the summit:
Then I got a photo of The Queen of Pain and me.
As you can see, I’m an amazingly good selfie-taker.
Linday Guerrette, the amazing photographer documenting this week for Reba, didn’t necessarily approve of my photo, however, and got one that may be a little better:
Today? The Powerline Climb. I’m proud to say that for the first time ever, I did the entire “hard part” without putting a foot down.
Of course, nobody took a picture of that.
However, I did get a picture of The Hammer, also killing it on the climb:
And I got a photo of Dave Thompson, doing it the way we’ll all be doing it this Saturday:
Reba, of course, was riding it. As I’m taking this picture, I was cheering her on:
“You’re in my way,” she replied.
Hmph.
At the top of the Powerline, Dave Houston posed in front of the incredible mountain vista. He’s riding strong; I have a feeling he’s going to have a terrific race this Saturday.
For perspective of his heightedness, check out David with The Hammer and me.
And finally, a tip, because this blog is nothing if not educational.
When you drive up to 10,200 feet, be careful or your snacks might explode.
Comments (25)
08.6.2015 | 11:47 am
A “Hey Come Have Some Free Brats With Me” Note from Fatty: Celebrating the fact that the Grand Slam for Kenya has raised more than $100,000, World Bicycle Relief is going to put on a free bratwurst dinner on Wednesday, 8/12 6pm – 8pm, at 201 W 8th Street in Leadville.
Come have a brat with The Hammer, Reba and me, talk about the race, and celebrate the change we’ve made in hundreds of Kenyan schoolchildren’s lives.
Click here to RSVP, so I’ll know you’re coming, OK?
Where We Stand
We’re down to the final couple days of the Grand Slam for Kenya. It ends Friday. If you want to win one of the six incredible bikes or two amazing trips, you’re running out of time to donate. (So click here to go donate now.)
Meanwhile, let’s take a quick look back at what we’ve done so far.
- 733 different people have made donations
- There have been 786 donations, which means 53 of you have donated more than once. Thanks!
- The average donation amount is currently $132. That’s very close to the cost of a Buffalo bike, and a very clear indicator that you are the most generous readers in the world.
- People in 48 of the 50 United States have donated. Which is amazing…and also maked me wonder what I’ve got to do to get Delaware and North Dakota on board.
- People in six of the ten Canadian Provinces have donated. Thanks Canadians!
- People from 19 different countries have donated. That, I think, is the most amazing number of all. This fundraiser has truly been worldwide.
Between this fundraiser and the one I did with the Thompsons a few months ago, this site has (as of this writing) raised $128,415. That is just $18,585 away from the $147,000 goal (the cost of 1000 bikes) I have set.
I think that’s achievable. Especially if you Delawarians and Northerly Dakotans loosen up your wallets.
Big Thanks
The breadth and depth of this contest has been…huge. I want to thank Katie and Claire for logistics support (and for negotiating many of the prizes) in this contest, as well as for doing the actual drawings.
I want to thank the good folks at ENVE, both for sponsoring Team MTN-Qhubeka, and for providing the incredible team replica bike as a prize. Good heavens that thing is gorgeous (and has been a huge fan favorite, judging from the massive number of donations it has inspired).
I want to thank Chuck Ibis and the entire Ibis tribe. This man and this company have supported my fundraisers for pretty much ever, even as their bikes become so droolworthy that people have to get in line to buy them.
I want to thank the first and last name in mountain bikes: Gary Fisher. A lot of companies are willing to part with their products in the name of charity; Gary is willing to donate his time. That’s incredibly generous and is a prize I’m just deliriously happy to have inserted myself into.
I want to thank Specialized for donating not just the bike in this contest, but the bike in my contest this last Spring. And, I should mention, it also provides bikes to WBR athlete ambassadors. This is a company that has shown a lot of commitment to the WBR cause.
I want to thank Juliana Bikes for joining in and donating a Nevis frame. Some lucky woman donor is going to be riding a seriously hot bike soon because of this great company.
I want to thank InGamba for donating the most amazing cycling vacation I could ever imagine. Whoever wins this prize is going to have extraordinary bragging rights. Cycling in Italy for twelve days…are you kidding me?
I doubly want to thank Trek, because it provided not just one bike for this contest, but it went the extra mile and provided two. Plus it helped facilitate the prize with Gary Fisher.
I want to thank SRAM, both for their support of this contest and for their ongoing support of World Bicycle Relief. I love the way this for-profit business puts so much heart and so many resources into this world-changing foundation.
And most of all, I want to thank those of you who have donated — and those of you who are going to donate today. I simply cannot grasp how I’ve managed to have the good fortune to have you as readers and friends, but I am grateful for you every single day.
What Next?
Friday, The Hammer and I start working our way to Leadville, so expect short little posts while we’re vacationing. The week after that, I’ve got a big company offsite thing going on…but I’ve also got a treat for you: a multi-part story that’s all ready to go. You’ll hardly even notice I’m gone.
After that, well, the fun part of the season begins, and I’m looking forward to writing about it as it happens.
Comments (28)
08.4.2015 | 1:16 pm
A TL;DR Note from Fatty: Donate here!
To get a sense of my feelings toward Specialized, all you need to do is come break into my garage.
No, wait. Scratch that. Don’t break into my garage. But feel free to swing by (by appointment only, so I can prepare a snack for you), and I’ll show you the eight Specialized bikes The Hammer and I ride and race, from mountain bikes to road bikes to time trial bikes.
And while you’re in our garage — ogling our bikes and eating our food — I’ll take the opportunity to tell you about how Specialized has been an incredible partner in my World Bicycle Relief fundraising, right from the beginning and through each and every one of my Grand Slams.
Specialized provides bikes to WBR ambassadors, they provide bikes to me in my contests. They are, in short, committed to the cause and a great partner in the WBR vision.
So — as you might expect — I’m incredibly grateful that they have donated any S-Works frame of your choice to the Grand Slam for Kenya.
And that will be paired to absolutely top-end parts from SRAM and ZIPP to make you a killer dream bike.
Want to go the mountain bike route? It’d be hard to beat the S-Works Stumpjumper 29 if you’re a hardtail guy (like me):
Or maybe you’d rather go with the Epic, for extra go-down speed.
Personally, the bike I would build for myself (since I have the Specialized mountain bikes, road bikes, and time trial bikes I want already) is a Crux:
I’d build that up with SRAM CX1 components and — why not? — take up CX racing this year, just to show off my bike.
or if road is more your thing, you could go with the Tarmac (like I did):
Or you could go with the Roubaix — for a slightly smoother ride — like The Hammer did:
The thing is, I’m just getting started. Specialized has a bike for pretty much every riding style. And they’ve got these bikes dialed.
What is this prize worth? Anywhere from $8000 to $12,000, depending on the frame, components, and wheels you go with. Regardless, you’re going to have one heckuva bike.
Now You Know
This is the final grand prize in the Grand Slam for Kenya. Which means, all told, there are six dream bikes and two amazing trips (details on the other five bikes and the two trips are linked to from yesterday’s post).
Eight grand prizes. Eight. And a cause — getting Kenyan schoolchildren bikes, so they’ll stay in school, do better in school, get better jobs and have better lives — that is impossible to top.
The cause is huge. The prizes are commensurately huge. You have from now ’til Friday to donate.
I hope you win. And I know schoolchildren in Kenya will.
Comments (9)
08.3.2015 | 9:41 am
A “Join Us Tonight” Note from Fatty: Rebecca Rusch — aka “The Queen of Pain” and I are doing a three-part webinar series on Leadville 100 racing strategy. Tonight at 6pm PDT / 9pm EDT, we’ll be talking about How to be a Leadville 100 Course Guru.
This webinar will be more than an hour of details, stories, splits, and strategy for the Leadville 100 course. It’s going to be both fun and practical, so be sure to click here to register, and we’ll see you this evening!
If you missed the first webinar in this series — “Be 1/2 Hour Faster at the LT100″ — you can watch it here.
A “Join Us All Next Week, Too” Note from Fatty: If you’re going to be in Leadville next week, you should join The Hammer, Reba and me for Reba & Fatty’s Leadville Experience, Fueled by GU. From Monday to Friday next week, Reba and I will be putting on rides, clinics, and parties, and book signings.
None of it costs anything.
Come ride, learn, and hang out with us. The schedule is here.
An “Especially Be Sure to Join Us for Free Bratwurst” Note from Fatty: Celebrating the fact that the Grand Slam for Kenya will have (hopefully!) raised more than $100,000 by the time we get to Leadville, World Bicycle Relief is going to put on a free bratwurst dinner on Wednesday, 8/12 6pm – 8pm, at 201 W 8th Street in Leadville.
Come have a brat with The Hammer, Reba and me, talk about the race, and celebrate the change we’ve made in hundreds of Kenyan schoolchildren’s lives.
As of this moment, the Leadville 100 MTB WBR team has raised close to $120,000. That is so cool.
An Unusually Awesome Problem
I have a problem regarding the Grand Slam for Kenya I need to tell you about. I’m not sure how it happened, and I’m a little bit disconcerted to have to say it. Because it’s…very weird.
Oh, and also it’s very awesome.
OK, deep breath: here I go.
I…um…I ran out of month before I ran out of prizes.
Yep, I got to the end of July, and I still haven’t announced all of the grand prizes that go with the Grand Slam for Kenya.
But I have a plan, and I think you’re going to like it.
A Surprisingly Excellent Solution
So here’s my solution to the “I’ve got more amazing prizes than I have time to announce them” issue.
More time.
Yes, I’m hereby extending the Grand Slam for Kenya to this Friday, which — coincidentally? — is when I pack and head to Leadville.
Which means you still have time to donate, if you haven’t, and you have more time to donate again, if you already have.
Because the sheer number and quality of prizes I’ve announced is easily worth multiple donations. Seriously, I am not aware of any cycling-oriented contest, anywhere, put on by anyone, that has anywhere near the range and quality of prizes I’ve got here.
Nobody. Anywhere. Ever. I mean it.
And I’m still going to announce one more grand prize, tomorrow.
What We’ve Got So Far
A month is a long time, and the number of prizes I’ve announced is so crazily overwhelming that I have a hard time listing them off the top of my head.
So let’s recap, shall we? In reverse chronological order.
1. The MTN-Qhubeka Team Replica Bike with ENVE Wheels and Components
This bike. Oh my. It’s just…stunning. Glorious. A lot of you expected me to reveal this bike, and yet were all just a little bit overwhelmed when you actually saw it.
As you should be. Oh mercy. Click here for details on this prize.
2. Any Ibis You Want, Including the New Mojo HD3 or Ripley LS
Choice can be a very difficult thing, when you’re choosing between some of the best, most innovative mountain bikes on the market today. Which would I pick? I think I’d get the Mojo HD3. But I’d lose some sleep making that decision. So much goodness. Click here for details.
3. Tour, Ride, and Hang Out With MTB Icon Gary Fisher
Nobody has more stories than Gary. Nobody knows the world of cycling better. Nobody is more of a visionary. Hanging out with this guy for a day is a truly priceless prize. Riding with him and seeing the new Trek factory with him as your tour guide…well, that’s all gravy. Click here for details.
4. One for the Women: a Juliana Nevis
I’ve seen one of these in action. It’s a gorgeous bike, and fully loaded. I have a feeling that whichever lucky woman wins this is going to suddenly notice that she’s wanting to sign up for a lot of XC races. Click here for details.
5. Twelve Days Cycling in Southern Italy with InGamba
This…well, this is going to be the best vacation you ever have. Riding for twelve days, with every single little thing taken care of for you, so all you have to do is…have fun. I don’t know who is going to win this, but I am already incredibly jealous. Click here for details.
6 AND 7. Any Trek Project One You Want
This prize is so nice, we’re giving it away twice. And it is very nice indeed. We’re talking about any top-end Trek Project One bike, built up with your custom paint job and top-end SRAM wheels and components. I can’t believe that two people are going to win this prize. That’s just nuts. Click here for details.
How Much, Again?
To sum up, that’s five amazing bikes we’re giving away, and two incredible trips. Seven grand prizes in the Grand Slam for Kenya.
And tomorrow, I’m announcing one final grand prize: another top-end bike, from another amazing bike maker.
All told, when you donate, you are entered to win any of a half dozen dream bikes, and two unbelievable trips.
And you’ll be changing a life for the better, in a meaningful, immediate way.
With all that in mind, could you not donate? No, don’t answer that. I’m not interested in that kind of jibber jabber.
Instead, just go donate, and then come back tomorrow to find out what the next big prize is.
PS: Prize rules are here, and details of the contest are here. And, once again, the donation page is here.
Comments (11)
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