Yes, my dh works and teaches there!Quote:
There's a SUNY campus there, isn't there?
sounds like maybe there could be a TE team for the Philly ride?
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Yes, my dh works and teaches there!Quote:
There's a SUNY campus there, isn't there?
sounds like maybe there could be a TE team for the Philly ride?
CyclChyk - I also found this blog entry with a decent description of the century ride last year, as well as his garmin upload with map and elevation profile:
http://fishmagic.blogspot.com/2008/0...illy-2008.html
Let's see if I can make this work. Here is the elevation for my 45 mile ride last year from my Garmin. Total elevation gain on my machine says 3,838 ft.
Today and tomorrow, if you are registering for the Philly ride, you can do so at half-off. So $25 to register rather than $50. Just type in PHILLY09 in the discount box when you are registering. Every bit helps in this economic climate! I'm hoping I can get more of my team to register today. We shall see. :)
Thanks! Will spread the word. I want to be part of a team, but we don't have a name yet and have a few members who are on the fence. Can you register and then fill in these blanks later?
I was thinking of that today actually, as I was telling my niece how I signed up and started my team on the first day registration opened just so the team was ready to go when/if the 1/2 off day came along.
I would imagine though, that you can sign up individually. Then when you set up a team, people already signed up can join it. However, I haven't done that and so I can't be certain. I have learned that what makes sense, isn't always what is true. :) It just seems to me that it would make sense that someone already registered can join a team at a later date.
I have a couple on the fence too, mainly due to my soon to be born nephew. :) I'm trying to convince folks to go ahead and sign up and if they end up not being able to go, well they donated $25 to a good cause.
I'm pretty sure you can join a team after you register. If it's not clear on the registration site, then I would call them and ask.
I'm having trouble getting to my email right now (takes forever for the stupid ads to load! grrr) but I have a recent newsletter that provides the phone numbers. I'll post them when I can get access to it.
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Okay, finally got access to the email newsletter.
General Inquiries:
livestrongchallenge@laf.org
888-4-CHALLENGE (888.424.2553)
City Specific Inquiries:
seattlechallenge@livestrong.org
sanjosechallenge@livestrong.org
phillychallenge@livestrong.org
austinchallenge@livestrong.org
Also there is this, which may be of interest to some folks:
What is a Virtual Participant?
You spoke, and we listened! We heard from many of you last year who wanted to participate in a Challenge but couldn't make it to the event, so we created a new registration type just for you. In the event that you can't make it to a Challenge, or if you know of someone who wants to join your team in the fight against cancer, just sign up as a Virtual Challenge Participant. You will have access to all of our great fundraising tools and can ride or walk with us on the day of the event in your own city. After the Challenge is complete, we will send you a T-shirt and water bottle.
Thanks!
So excited to sign up and start training for this:D
Looks like today is the perfect day to sign up!
And I thought I was getting a deal when I only had to pay $35 on the first day they opened registration...
We're currently fighting over a team name. This is what I get for signing up with boys.
I knew when I paid $35 that a half-off day was likely in the future. In 06, 07 and 08, it was in May on their "livestrong day", which I believe was never on the same day in May. Then I read that this year, Livestrong day is in October and I thought - well how is that going to help my team save money? I almost contacted one of the people there that I talked a lot with last year to ask him, please tell me if there will be another 1/2 off day, so my team can save themselves a little money. No need now. Though so far only 2 of them have signed up and saved.
And sorry you are fighting over team names. I run my team like the dictatorship I think it should be. :) KIDDING.
Well, it's definitely an important cause, so I don't want to have a silly, trite sounding name. But I don't want some kind of cancer fighting cliche either. Ahh...sometimes I hate that I'm a writer and can't settle for mediocrity.
Mine actually kinda wrote itself. We started the team because my sister Kelly had just been diagnosed. Her first day of chemo, her daughter commented that other people had a Chemo buddy, but there were so many of us there that her mother had a Chemo Posse. I laughed and said to her - I think you just named our Livestrong team. And thus, Kelly's Posse was born. :)
You can change teams or move to a team after you register - all you have to do is call or email them. I did last year's LiveStrong challenge in San Jose and am doing it again this year. I found the people associated with LiveStrong to be very friendly and accommodating. It's a great group.
Any good fund raising ideas?
Well I just got this email from them:
We are always looking for new ways to help you in the fundraising process and we’ve got two great announcements for you! Based on participant feedback, this week marks the opening of the Materials Request Form on http://my.livestrong.org, a month earlier than last year, as well as the launch of a brand new fundraising tool for Facebook. Both of these resources are sure to help make your fundraising process a little easier.
The Material Request Form on my.livestrong.org allows you, as a participant, to request LIVESTRONG Challenge branded items or informational pieces in order to promote your own fundraising efforts. We offer a variety of items including banners, stickers, buttons, individualized sunscreen packets (NEW this year!) and brochures on the Foundation as well as the LIVESTRONG Challenge.
Not sure how to use these items to help with your fundraising efforts? Visit the mentor page on our website and contact your local mentor. Mentors are dedicated volunteers with proven fundraising success and their mission is to help you reach your goals! We encourage you to request materials on a monthly basis and enjoy hearing how you used the items successfully. Visit http://my.livestrong.org and order now!
The second tool, our LIVESTRONG Challenge Fundraising™ Application, can be added to your Facebook page so that you can easily extend your fundraising efforts to your online network of friends. You can add it now by logging in to your HQ (Seattle, San Jose, Philly, Austin); look for the “fundraise with Facebook” button.
Once you’ve added our LIVESTRONG Challenge Fundraising™ Application to your Facebook page, your friends can check your progress, donate to your efforts and join you in the fight against cancer.
As your fundraising total increases, your thermometer will fill up on your Facebook page and we’ll send newsfeeds to your network of friends to keep them up to date on your participation and fundraising progress. It’s that easy. Log in to your HQ and add this application now!
I already ordered the sunscreen packets a couple of days ago. I will likely order more bracelets too. We gave them out to people who came to fundraisers.
Our biggest money maker was a yard sale. We raised over $600 with that. People are always happy to get rid of things during spring cleaning. We make sure to spread the word around - friends, family, co-workers. I highly recommend that as a fundraiser.
I also had a fundraiser at Max & Erma's restaurant in Pittsburgh. They made up the coupons, mailed them to me, I spread them around through my family. Then anyone that turned that coupon in with their bill on the day we chose, the company gave us 20% of the total. We made about $150 on that but more importantly it was a fun family event. I have a large family and they all came out for it, along with a number of friends. It was a really nice night! I think a number of restaurants will do that for you, worth asking!
Now, off to check out the facebook application. :)
And today I finished my little video to send around to my potential donors and the rest of my team.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7xNtQTJGG4
I created a facebook account last night so I could use their application.
Very cool! I'll see how well it works. In the end I've found nothing works quite as well as my direct personal emails to my friends where I play up the personal connections and all. I have a niece that rides with us who is very uncomfortable doing that (direct email pleas), so I'm hoping this helps her out.
Well, I added the Livestrong application, but I don't see anything about it on my facebook page. But then I can't seem to figure out how to do much of anything on this facebook page. I think I need Facebook for Dummies.;)
Oh by the way, hotel info/group rates has been published, I think for all cities.
I'm trying to decide if I should go back to the hotel I stayed at last year or stay at a different one. I had problems with my hotel room last year (leaking sink, totally not clean) but it had a refrigerator, which I really will need. Oh well, there's plenty of time to think about it.
We loved our hotel and intend to stay there again. I'm booking a bunch of rooms tomorrow actually. The hotel info was up there last Thursday (I look nearly every day because my team will not allow me to book us anywhere else). I told them it was posted and our hotel was there again and I'd book the rooms the next day. Last Friday I get on the computer and the hotel info is gone again. I swear I felt like I was going a little crazy. :) So when I saw it back up there yesterday, I was feeling a tad less unstable. But just a tad.
I'm sure it's not you.
Which hotel do you like? I was in the Doubletree near Plymouth Meeting mall in 2007 and 2008. In 2006 I was in the Marriott across the street.
Sorry I missed this. This is the hotel we stayed at last year and are staying at this year. http://homewoodsuites1.hilton.com/en...vania/index.do
It isn't as big as some of the others, but I think that may be what we liked most about it. Last year my family hung at the pool on Sunday after the ride. We had left over pasta and beer and pretty much just hung out and relaxed. I stayed at the Doubletree in 2007 too. It was fine but then last year I picked this one because it was a tad cheaper and a tad closer. In the end, I was glad I did and my team was emphatic about wanting to stay there again.
And do you see the application on your facebook profile now? Mine is on mine, not sure how much this will help me raise money, but I guess it can't hurt. I'll just have to send a message to my FB friends periodically directing them to that application.
The facebook app is working now. But I agree, on its own it doesn't do much. But I'm planning to keep a training log under my Notes tab, and in a month or so I'll start actively asking people to support me.
I've been thinking about the hotel and I think I might go back to the Doubletree, mostly because I think it's kind of the HQ for the people who are running the event, so the lobby is always full of people wearing livestrong clothes and carrying livestrong stuff. And I like how that keeps creates an atmosphere over the whole time that I'm there.
But I'll look into the Homewood Suites, too.
Your point about the Doubletree is exactly what I loved about it. The first year it was just me staying there and riding, with two friends along for support. My sister and brother in law who rode live in Philly. So I loved seeing so many others with their bikes and their gold/black. I cracked up that there were 2 weddings so there were all these people in their finest, and then lycra and the sounds of bikes and cleats. Such a mix! And usually I can say - oh my car, it's the one with the bike rack. But there, half the parking lot had bike racks. :) I got into a conversation in the elevator with this older couple because I saw their jerseys and told them that I rode for a while with 2 members of their team - their daughter I found out. We had a lovely conversation.
The next year, it was about cheaper and closer. And in the end, the closer is even better because you come in on a different road (part of which we actually ride in/out on during the challenge) and we hit no traffic. And then my family ended up loving it because they liked being the big fish in the little pond. :) We made friends with others there who were riding, but you are right, the feel is very different.
If you end up staying at the Homewood Suites - you are more than welcome to be an adjunct member of my team. We won't leave you hanging. ;)
Cue sheets are posted for Philly.
I kept the cue sheet from last year, so I'll compare them to see if anything has changed.
Anyone coming to Austin in October?
Thanks for the tip on the cue sheets being up. I'm doing the Philly ride also. I booked Homewood suites. Hope to see you ladies there!
Susan
How far ahead of time do you suggest booking two rooms?
The first year I booked later in the summer for our rooms, last year a bit earlier, and this year I've booked already. I figure it can't hurt to book ahead. I told the travel folks that I intend to tell my team that they have to commit by Aug 1 and that I'll release any extra rooms then so as not to hold them up.
Susan - definitely keep your eyes open for a large crowd of folks at the Homewood Suites, with our shirts the day of the ride looking very Irish. Can't miss us!
I also figure that as long as I know the dates I'll be there, I might as well book the hotel so I don't have problems later. I decided to go with the Doubletree again. The Homewood Suites is too far from the Cracker Barrel, which is where I like to go for the pre-ride dinner (wild blueberry pancakes, yum).
I've never been to this area, so all the info. is helpful. Thanks!
I need to install the Facebook app. I think we should all friend one another to spread encouragement and show everyone else how cool it is to ride/donate!
Ok, so maybe I'm really missing something.
On the Cue Sheet, it tells you to turn onto Old 40 Road, then onto bridge road, but according to bikeroutetoaster, the numbers don't match up, the roads don't intersect, etc etc.
Now, I know I'm completely unfamiliar with the area, but why can I not figure out where this bloody route goes? Anyone have it GPSed yet?
Mr. Bluebug32? Oh no, we have another man invasion!:pQuote:
Originally Posted by Mr. BlueBug32
I have the 45 mile ride on my Garmin. http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6778283
I'm sure you can search there for plenty of folks that uploaded their rides from the longer distances.
The names of the streets mean nothing to me even after riding it twice. They are so well marked and manned that we never had to worry about it
I think I figured it out (mis-named on the Cue sheet, and if you go backwards to forwards, it is the same road)
Here it is, as best as BRT allows:
http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=43017
I've traced the cue sheets on google maps in the past, and there were some discrepancies between street names from google and those on the cue sheet. But Kim is right, this is the best-marked ride I've ever done. I bring the cue sheet with me for backup but have never looked at it on the route.
I haven't had a chance to look over this year's cues yet, since I spent 4 hours last night working on upgrading my virus-scan software after having a problem with a trojan on my pc. (Yippee, it was fun - not.) But I'll try to look it over in the next day or so to see what the problem might be.
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Okay, I compared the cue sheets for the 70 mile ride, and it is exactly the same as the one from last year. Of course it's possible that something might change by August, due to road work or something, but it was very consistent for the last 2 years.
The turn at 7.53 miles is onto Old Forty Foot Rd, according to google maps - the cue sheet calls it Old Forty Rd. The turn at 7.56 is onto Quarry Bridge Rd, which quickly turns into Quarry Rd. The cue sheet calls this Bridge Rd.
I seem to recall that in cases where the cue sheet names did not agree with the google names, the actual street signs agreed with the cue sheet.
BTW, the difficult hills start after the rest stop at 20.54 miles (RS#2). And for those doing the 70 miler, the left turn onto Dairy Lane at 32.4 miles begins a sweet downhill section. Something to look forward to when you're huffing up Huff's Church Rd...
For anyone traveling to Austin in October, your bike can fly for free:
http://www.livestrongchallenge.org/s...639&ct=6921593
My motto on the Philly ride - what goes down, must come up. :)
That rest stop at 20 miles is funny because you know what lies ahead. The first year my sister said - oh I think all the worst hills are behind us at that rest stop. Then we were like - oh no, they were just ahead of us!
Last year I sent a text back to our "encampment" at the start line from that rest stop, telling them that we were heading into the big hills so send positive vibes. Of course my brother who trains in Pittsburgh was all - those hills? you thought they were bad? Dude blew us out of the water and he's 20 yrs older than I am. I must do more training back in my home town!