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Sunday
June 29, 2008 |
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A
special invitation to fellow OHPV Members...
Last year we only saw one other recumbent! It would be fun
this year to show up in force! |
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Thanks for considering joining us!
Participating in last year's ride had such a
profound impact on us, that we are "kicking
it up a notch" this year and heading up
our own team! To get a flavor of what we
experienced, take a look at our page from
2007 for our thoughts and
pictures. Hopefully the information on the
rest of this page
will answer all the questions that you may have.
If not, drop me
an email!
Jeff@TandemRide.com |
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I think this
story from last year
captures the true sentiment of what this ride is
all about...
In spite of the nasty weather, at various places
along the route, you would see "well wishers"
cheering you on. Many of them had noise
makers or simply clapped and cheered and you
passed by. There is one image permanently
fixed in my mind. At one lonely
intersection of two country roads, there was a
young woman standing in the rain, her hair
totally soaked and dripping. She
cheered and called out words of encouragement as
we passed. The sign she held said simply:
"In memory of my DAD." Without a word to
each other, we just naturally started pedaling a
little bit faster. She reminded us what
the ride was all about! Last year's rides
raised almost $9 million to help fight cancer!
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Read our survivor story
here |
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The "LIVESTRONG Challenge"
rides are the major fundraisers for the
Lance
Armstrong Foundation, whose purpose is to...
"unite people to fight cancer believing that
unity is strength, knowledge is power and
attitude is everything."
Since its inception, the LAF has raised $181
million to support cancer survivorship programs
and initiatives to make cancer a national
priority. This year there will be four
LIVESTRONG rides around the country, one of them
right here in
Portland.
The ride begins and ends at the Nike Campus in
Beaverton. You have the choice of rides in
four different lengths: 10, 40, 70, and 100 miles.
The "century" course is really intense.
It's really for the "tour de France wannabes."
In fact, tandems are not allowed on that ride
because of the terrain. The exact route
for 2008 has not been announced, however they
say it will be "similar" to the routes used last
year. You can see a copy of last year's
map here.
Other details for
the ride can be found
here on the
FAQ page of the LIVESTRONG
site.
The cost of registration is $50 per person, with
a commitment to raise an additional $250 in
contributions for the Lance Armstrong
Foundation. The system they have in
place is really cool. When you register, you
set up a web link to your own personal page on
the LIVESTRONG donation site. You can then direct
potential donors to that web page where they can
donate right there online. Each time
someone contributes to your ride, you are
automatically sent an email to let you know.
On the donation page, you can use the default
text and images, or you have the
option to customize your page. You can take a
look at ours (Jeff &
Michelle) to see
what we did.
If you have your own web site, you can link to that page
like we do. If not, you can email your link
to your potential donors. As an example,
Jeff's link is: http://portland08.livestrong.org/tr_jeff
(you pick your own name at registration,
red portion).
When you go to the
registration page, it will walk you
through all you need to fill out. Just
make sure you are registering for the ride in
Portland. At one point you will have the
option to: "Start a Team, Join a Team, or
Join as an Indivisual." Click "Join a
Team" and then look down the list to
find "TandemRide.com."
After you have finished registering, please email me to let me
know (Jeff@TandemRide.com)!
We'll be in touch by email prior to the ride,
and meet up on the Saturday before hand when
picking up our registration materials.
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"FAQ" (Frequently
Asked Questions) |
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How many bike rider will there be?
Last year in the horrible wind
and rain there were about 1,700. I don't
know how many they expect this year. I
believe there is some maximum number, just
logistically they can only handle so many.
In addition to the bike rides, there are also
walks and runs of various lengths going on that
same day.
Does the team ride together?
The "team" is more for encouragement and
fundraising prior to the event. Some of us may ride together,
but not necessarily. Each different ride
(10, 40, 70, 100) actually starts at a different
time, so for example: all those on our
team riding the 70 mile ride will likely line up
and start together. It will be up to those
individuals how long they want to stay together
as they head down the road.
Will we get
together as a team at some point?
We'll try to get together before race day for
some sort of event, we haven't figured out the
details yet.
What if I can't keep up?
It's not a race! You will
see a few "hardcore super-bikers" riding the 100
mile ride who act like it's the "Tour de
France," but 99% of the riders know it's not a
race, it about the cause! (See the
story from last year above)
I am concerned
about riding that far on roads, how safe is it?
I think we saw 100 police cars along the route!
They blocked all the major intersections to let
the bikes through. There are also signs
along the route alerting drivers to be aware of
bikes. The other thing is that with that
many bikes all riding together, drivers are very
aware of the bikes! We felt totally safe
at all times!
What if it rains?
Obviously you haven't seen our pictures from
last year! :)
see: LIVESTRONG
Challenge 2007
You dress appropriately,
remember why you're riding, and have a great
time anyway!
What kind of
facilities are there along the bike route?
This event is supported incredibly well.
Every 15 miles or so, there are rest stops that
are well staffed by enthusiastic volunteers.
They provide food, water, restrooms, and even
mechanical help if you need it. Normally
the beverages they provide are water and sports
drinks, but it was so cold and miserable last
year that they also had coffee and hot
chocolate!
What do we need to
take with us?
As with any long ride, you will want to take
spare tubes, and other emergency repair items.
Take water bottles, but you will not need to
carry food and water for the whole ride since
you can refill at the rest stops. In
addition, take a change of clothes in a separate
bag for the "after event party." We just
left ours in the car while we rode.
What if we have a
breakdown that we can't fix on the road?
There are vans with bike racks that pick up any
riders with problems on the course.
If we ride a
tandem, does each person have to register, or
just one per bike?
Each rider must register, pay the registration
fee, and raise the minimum amount in donations.
Do I have to ride
a tandem bike to join the TandemRide team?
Absolutely not! A tandem recumbent just
happens to be our bike of choice. Our team
is open to: singles, tandems, uprights,
and recumbents (or whatever else you may ride)!
What if I don't
raise the $250 in donations that is required?
Saturday before
the ride, at registration you will need to make up the
difference. Since the primary purpose of
the event is to raise money to fight cancer,
they assume that each rider will raise at least
the minimum. At first we were a
little hesitant, not knowing how we would raise
the money. After all, since we were riding
together on a tandem, than meant we had to raise
a minimum of $500! We soon found out that
gathering donations to fight cancer was probably
one of the easiest things to raise money for,
since nearly everyone has been touched by this
disease in some way. Last year we raised
about $650 between us. We are setting a
higher goal this year.
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Some pictures from last year...
(more
here) |
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| Lance
led the pack out of the Nike Campus. |
We were so excited when it
was our turn! |
Hopefully the change
in dates from the end of September to end of
June will mean better weather! But in
spite of the cold, wind, and rain, it was indeed
an awesome experience!
I hope you can join
us this year!
Jeff & Michelle
Jeff@TandemRide.com
Michelle@TandemRide.com |
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