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Archives for February 2010

Those Good Rides (Follow-up post)

02.14.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

There was less response to the post about the “big” rides you plan for the coming year than I would have liked, but I’m guessing that’s because most of my readers in North America and Europe are still in the depths of winter and perhaps haven’t given it much thought.

However, there were enough interesting answers that they deserve some notice.

Nolan Kuehn mentioned what I hope will become a favorite of mine: The LBJ 100 in Stonewall, Texas. I say I hope it will become one, because I haven’t ridden it yet. Last year, I was all set to head out there for the ride, when I woke up sick, and I had to skip the ride. It’s at the ranch of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, about 60 miles west of Austin in the Texas Hill Country. The ride starts and ends on the air strip behind the Johnson house, what was the “Western White House” while he was president. Coming at the end of March, the weather can be unpredictable. Last year, the temperature was was 37°F (3°C) at the start, with a brutal wind.

Cliff echoed my choice of the Hotter ‘n Hell Hundred in Wichita Falls, Texas, but it’s not an unmet goal of his — he’s done it 19 times! He still regrets his only DNF in the ride, when he crashed out.

Besides RAGBRAI, another cross-state ride that got a nod is the three-day long Trek Across Maine. Dana McEwan (“Maine Velophile“) is gung-ho for the three-day ride in June that covers 170 miles.

An anonymous reader suggested this doozie: the 2010 Assault on Mt. Mitchell, a 102-miler from Spartanburg,SC to the top of Mt. Mitchell in NC (highest point in the Appalachians), involving over 11,000 feet of cumulative climbing. He says he’s been trying to finish it for the last three years and feels confident that 2010 is going to be his year.

Across the pond, Steven King has an enticing idea: Cycle Cairngorms, a two-day trip around Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park. It covers 170 miles, 50 in one and a deadly 120 on the second! There’s an option to do only the first day, but Steven says, “I survived the first day last year and am gearing up for both this time round.”

Keeping with the Celtic flavor, another anonymous reader voted for the Race Around Ireland. Seven days, circle the entire island counterclockwise. It’s a qualifier for the Race Across America. If you’re interested, you’ve got until September to train for it.

Darryl, who writes the “Loving the Bike” blog, is not so definite about his big ride plans, but he has dreams. He wants to ride across the United States, and also in Italy and France. Dreams are good. This whole idea about what big rides you have in mind started with a dream, and I’m going to keep on dreaming about roads to ride.

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Categories // Rides Tags // Rides

Charity Rides — and the Fundraising Dilemma

02.11.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

Lots of us sign up for charity rides. Often, they require payment of a nominal entry fee, a portion of which supports some worthy local organization, and that’s that.

But then there are the big ones, that are tied into national charities, and require not only an entry fee, but that each rider raise x amount of money.

I hate to ask people for money. I couldn’t sell ice in the desert.

But, if I want to ride in my MS 150 in two months, I’ve got to.

In my case, it’s not too bad. The MS Society expects each rider to raise a minimum of $400. Last year, I surprised myself and raised $485. This year, with the economy still in the doldrums, people seem to have tightened their purse strings. But I’m still well on my way to exceeding $400 again.

Other riders set a target higher than the minimum. That’s the case of Ashley, of Massachusetts. She’s entered in the Livestrong Challenge Philly (Philadelphia) in August. The minimum fundraising amount is $250, but her target is $1,000.

How does a person raise that kind of money?

Since most of these big events are organized by big charities, with support staffs, fundraising tips are made available to riders. The MS Society posts a 12-week plan to help you reach your fundraising goal, starting with your participant center. That’s a web page where potential donors can click a link or two and make an online donation to your effort.

Bike Noob’s participant center.

Ashley’s participant center.

But I like the MS Society’s tip for Week Two: Be Strategic with the First Donation! The names and amounts from your donors show up in a scroll on your Participant Center. In my case, my cousin has MS. Her sister made the first donation toward my ride, in the amount of $100. That sets the tone for others who visit the site — they can see that some folks are giving generously.

Then, it’s recommended you email your “second tier” of prospective donors — friends and family. Many of these can be expected to write a check. My second tier is made up of my co-workers, and my boss donated $50. Everyone will see his name in the scroll. Hint, hint.

Other ideas: Email a third tier of prospective donors. These could be people you know who you don’t see as often, but who might surprise you by coming through for you. In my experience, these donations average about $10, but they mount up fast.

You could also raise some additional money yourself, by selling unwanted or unneeded items at a garage sale, or on EBay, or on Craig’s List.

And don’t forget matching gifts from your employer, if they offer that kind of program.

Most people I know who have ridden in these rides were pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to reach their goals before ride day.  If you’ve read this far, please consider making a donation to Bike Noob or to Ashley.

And if you’re considering joining a charity ride yourself, they’re all over the place, all year long. I won’t list them here, but Biking Bis has a nice list of them. There’s sure to be something to whet your riding and fundraising appetite.

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Categories // Rides Tags // charity ride

What’s the Best Cyclocomputer?

02.09.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 18 Comments

Once again last weekend, I started a ride without waking my cyclocomputer. It automatically goes into sleep mode if I’m stopped for about five minutes, and quite often, I’ll forget to hit the button to wake it up so it can continue to tote up my mileage and measure my speed and cadence.

It’s a bit bothersome, especially for someone as OCD as I am about keeping tabs on my cycling stats. But overall, I like the computer. It’s a nice Cateye V2C. It’s wireless, and it gets me the info I need — but not the info some of my friends expect from their computers.

So I wonder — What do you expect your cyclocomputer to do? How elaborate do we want it to get at collecting and storing data?

Some want a GPS unit that saves the whole ride, so it can be downloaded to a desktop computer and then followed interactively.

Some want a computer that measures heart rate in addition to speed and cadence.

Others prefer a minimalist approach, and just want to know how fast they’re going and how far they’ve gone. They don’t really care about all that other stuff.

And then there are those who have a love-hate relationship with their computers. That would include both of my guest posters, Jeff Hemmel and Don Blount. Jeff and Don have each used this space to rejoice in the “freedom” that riding without a computer gives.

But whenever I ride with my club, every person in the group has a computer of some kind attached to their handlebars. So — to repeat my opening question, what do you expect your computer to do? And if you’d like to describe the make and model of yours and its features, feel free to go ahead. That’s what comments are for.

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Categories // Accessories Tags // computer, Cyclocomputer

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