News

The Ride for Semper Fi

Posted by Bryan on Aug 12, 2010 in Blog, News | 0 comments

Yesterday I received some information about an awesome ride called The Ride for Semper Fi. I don’t think I could sum up the purpose of the ride any better than their press release.

From Phoenix to San Diego: A challenging bike ride for a great cause
The Ride for Semper Fi sets goal to raise $177,500 for injured Marines and their families

PHOENIX—When 50 cycling enthusiasts pedal from Phoenix to San Diego this October,
they’ll not only test their endurance, they’ll be on a mission to make a difference. The third
annual Ride for Semper Fi, which begins Oct. 13, is a 430-mile, three-day cycling adventure to raise money for injured Marines. The goal is to raise $177,500 for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund by the time the cyclists end the ride at Sea World on Oct. 16.

“We are not professional athletes or career fundraisers, but we are people who want to give back to those Marines who have sacrificed so much of themselves in order to fight for our country,” John Greenway, founder and chairman of The Ride for Semper Fi, said.

Between now and the Ride’s kick-off in October, the 50 riders who participate—including
some injured Marines who have benefited from the fund in the past—devote nearly five
months to a rigorous training regime. They complete training rides of up to 100 miles while
also continuing their individual fundraising efforts.

In 2009, the Ride raised more than $150,000 to help defray expenses, assist in recovery and support family members of Armed Forces service people injured in combat. This year, the fundraising goal is $177,500, which will help pay for medical expenses, physical therapy and other necessary equipment, such as wheelchairs and prostheses.

“The Marine Corps was founded in 1775,” Greenway said. “So, we knew that raising
$177,500 would really mean something to those Marines who are so important to us and our cause. It’s not only about raising the money. It’s about showing them that we respect their history, and recognize their significant contribution to our country’s history, too.”

Greenway first envisioned The Ride for Semper Fi when he attended his nephew’s
graduation from Marine Corps boot camp. Knowing his nephew would likely be deployed to
Iraq or Afghanistan, Greenway became determined to make a significant contribution for his nephew and all other Marines fighting overseas.

The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund is a non-profit charity that has given more than $38
million in grants to more than 15,000 injured Marines and their families. The Fund provides
immediate financial assistance to defray hospital bills and recovery expenses.

For more information about The Ride for Semper Fi, its next rider-fundraiser, or to make a
donation, visit www.therideforsemperfi.com.

About The Ride for Semper Fi
The third annual Ride for Semper Fi is a philanthropic bicycle ride that begins in Scottsdale,
Ariz., and ends three days and 430 miles later at SeaWorld in San Diego. Fifty cycling
enthusiasts, including some former Marines, will complete the journey. The ride begins on
Oct. 13, but the fundraising journey begins now with a goal to raise more than $177,500 to benefit the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. To donate to the Ride for Semper Fi, or to learn more about us, visit: www.therideforsemperfi.com.

You can find their Facebook Fan Page here.

I’ve made a small donation and encourage you to do the same if you’re able.

2010 Tour de France Contests

Posted by Bryan on Jul 6, 2010 in Blog, News | 2 comments

My post on the 2009 Tour de France contests has been getting SLAMMED the past few days so I thought I should put up a current 2010 list. If you know of others please feel free to add them to the comments.

Cadillac Lead the Pack Sweepstakes
Cateye Predict the Stage Winners Contest – daily winners!
Performance Bicycle Tour de France 2010 Giveaway
VeloReviews Predict the Podium
Map My Ride / Aquaphor Le Tour Challenge
Active.com Trivia contest – daily winners!
Trek Dream Bigger Giveaway
Total Cyclist Tour De France Giveaway – daily winners!
Pro Bike Kit Tour de France Competition
Road ID TdF Giveaway

Photo courtesy of Joe Schlabotnik.

What Do You Think About The Prototype Team RadioShack Jersey?

Posted by Bryan on Dec 8, 2009 in Blog, News | 7 comments

All the buzz lately, at least with the folks I follow on Twitter, has been Team RadioShack’s first team camp in Tucson this week and then yesterday they release pics of an early version of their new jerseys. I’ve been waiting to see what they look like and am glad to finally see it.

Team Radioshack Prototype Jersey

If you’re signed up to the Team RadioShack email list you would have gotten this yesterday (I took the liberty of bolding some key points):

If you are receiving this email, you’ve either followed the team from the glory days of the Blue Train or are a new and excited fan for what will be the next great American cycling team: Team RadioShack. Either way, we wanted to say thank you for your support and give you a sneak preview of a working prototype of the jersey the guys will be riding in in 2010. While the final Jersey is expected to look very similar, it will be officially unveiled in Australia in January during the Tour Down Under. It was our goal this year to create something visually distinctive and a look that was symbolic of what we feel Team RadioShack is all about: cutting edge technology, speed, strength, determination and a global message to LIVESTRONG. The experts at Nike and our partners at RadioShack helped to create this fast form-fitting design using various textures and patterns symbolizing the themes of new technology, global connectivity and community. We think it looks pretty damn cool.

Some early Twitter feedback I saw was that some folks don’t like it. @ultrarob says:

“Think new Team RadioShack jerseys look old and out dated just like Radio Shack…”

I’ve even seen some responses calling it “F-U-G-L-Y” and others saying that Team RadioShack needs to hire a graphic designer.

I’m no graphic designer (and definitely not a pro cycling fashionista like everyone else seems to be) but I kinda like it. It looks subtle and the logos seem to fit the design pretty good. If I wanted to see anything extra it might be some blue to round out the red, white, and blue.

For all the haters, I think they missed a couple of key points in the release above. They are:

It’s a working prototype.
The final jersey will be officially unveiled in January at the Tour Down Under.

Could the final version look similar? They say it will but for everyone to get bent out of shape over an early prototype is a little extreme.

I think it looks pretty damn cool too.

Used Pro Bikes For The Super Poseur (or you can just call me Magnus)

Posted by Bryan on Oct 15, 2009 in Blog, News | 1 comment

Poseur Everything I’ve heard about buying an ex-pros bike is bad. They ride them thousands of miles a year and stress them to the limit. It would be like buying a used car with over 100,000 miles on it with no warranty. That was driven by Nascar driver. As his personal training vehicle. Probably not a smart move. So, I was a little surprised to see the tweet announcing Slipstream Garage. It’s a new component of the Garmin-Slipstream online store where you can buy certified bikes that were ridden by the team.

So, what can you get? For a mere $3,500 you can pickup Julian Dean’s 2007 Felt B2 or you can splurge a little and get yourself Christian Vande Velde’s 2008 Felt SL 1 for $5,000. That’s some serious green for a bike that’s been rode hard and put away wet. $5000 would get you a very nice NEW bike so I’m not sure how many of these Garmin-Slipstream will sell. Will they sell some? Absolutely (there must be a lot because after releasing this announcement the Garmin website slowed to a crawl, and even wouldn’t connect once, due to the folks flocking to get their hands on one of these machines). There’s at least one or two folks out there who have an obscenely excess amount of cash laying around (certainly not myself) and would not bat an eyelash about the price to be able to brag about the bike on their next group ride. The signature namesake of the bikes might even pull a little weight while picking up chicks on bikes.

To quote the Garmin-Slipstream website:

There’s no reason to beat around the bush, these bikes and frames have been raced hard. In most cases, there’s less than 20 days on the odometer. These bikes are barely broken in (and full of bragging rights).

At least they come out and tell you that they’ve been raced hard but, hey, the bragging rights is what it’s all about. And with the signatures badges still intact you could probably change your name to ‘Magnus’ (aka Magnus Backstedt) for maximum poseur-like appeal. Just imagine the chick-magnet draw that would have. Un. Freaking. Real.

Update: Well, after one day all of the complete bikes are sold except one – Magnus’ bike.

List of Tour de France Contests

Posted by Bryan on Jul 10, 2009 in Blog, News | 15 comments

UPDATE: I’ve redirected all Tour de France Contest posts to this page and updated the links for 2011 Tour de France Contests and Giveaways. I’ll add more as I find’em but if you know of one not listed please leave it in the comments or contact me.

With the Tour de France in full swing it seems like everyday I’m seeing where somebody is running a contest or giveaway ranging from trips to bicycles to gear. I thought I’d try and put them all in one spot. Here you go.

RoadID Tour de France Challenge – Multiple ways to enter and with the Grand Prize totaling $8500. And if you don’t have a RoadID it’s a good time to get one.
Map My Ride Aquaphor le Tour Challenge – jerseys, bikes and a trip to Paris.
Trek Travel daily giveaways
Tour de France Fantasy Cycling Challenge at NBC Sports
IZOD Race for the Podium – trip to Paris, Cervelo Bicycles, Giro Helmets, and Clean Bottles
Training Peaks – daily giveaways of Training Peaks premium subscriptions plus drawings for more prizes on July 23.
Easton/Cycling News Trivia Challenge – answer the trivia question each day for a chance to win a EC90 XL Carbon Clincher Wheelset, EC90 SL stem, SLX3 handlebars, & seatpost, or an autographed BMC jersey. The grand prize winner gets a BMC Teammachine SLR01.
PerformanceBike.com – Three lucky winners get over $5000 in gear including a Scattante CFR Race Road Bike.
IG Markets Cycling Tour de France Competition – ‘Like’ their Facebook page and enter to win a signed copy of On Tour by Bradley Wiggins.
Pro Bike Kit £1000 Gift Voucher Competition.

Here’s a list of special sales and/or promotions by some of our sponsors:

ING DIRECT Chicago Café to Host Bike to Work Week Events

Posted by Bryan on Jun 12, 2009 in Blog, News | 0 comments

I received an email this past week asking if I’d like to write a post about ING DIRECT’s Bike to Work Week Events next week in Chicago. I’m not sure how many Chicago readers I have but perhaps I have a few. I’ll tweet this as well so hopefully it’ll see a bigger audience of Windy City folks.

BIKE TO WORK WEEK OFFERS CHICAGO CYCLISTS OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE BOTH PHYSICAL AND FINANCIAL HEALTH

ING DIRECT Café Provides Bike Tune-Ups and Savvy Savings Tips at Polonia Triangle

Chicagoans looking to take the smart route towards improving their physical and financial health can start by celebrating Bike to Work Week with ING DIRECT’S Café Associates in Chicago from June 15- 19.

All week, the ING DIRECT Café will support cyclists and savings by providing a bike service station, savvy savings tips and free coffee at the Polonia Triangle at Milwaukee Avenue. Riders participating in the Bike to Work Week challenge can stop by the station between 6:30 a.m. and 10: 00 a.m. CT. For more information, visit ingdirect.com/seminars.

WHEN: June 15 – 19, 2009

WHERE: Bike Service Station
Polonia Triangle at Milwaukee Avenue
ING DIRECT Café
21 East Chestnut Street
Chicago, IL 60611
The café is located between N. Wabash Ave. and N. State St.

MEDIA/PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES: Visuals of the Chicago Café associates giving tune ups and savings tips to Chicago’s loyal bike commuters.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Kendall Roy, 302-255-3619, kroy@ingdirect.com

About ING DIRECT

ING DIRECT, the nation’s largest direct bank and now the largest thrift, is dedicated to inspiring Americans to become a nation of savers. Since its inception in 2000, more than 7.5 million Americans have entrusted their savings with ING DIRECT, building the bank to $82.4 billion in assets. For more information on ING DIRECT, or to learn more about the bank’s high-value products, including the Orange Savings Account and the Orange Mortgage, visit ingdirect.com or call 1-800-ING DIRECT. For information about ING DIRECT’s financial education website visit orangekids.com.