Hey there Team Transplant…
It’s a beautiful week here in Denver Colorado, and as I look at the sunshine outside my office window my mind drifts away from my day job and to cycling and enjoying the fresh air. If I can’t be outside enjoying this fine weather on my bike, I might as well blog about it, right?
So… who’s riding with you for Team Transplant this year? Another great avenue for fundraising—and even better than going at it alone—is to recruit new people to join the ride! Last year, my husband and I rode together on the 25-mile off road. It was such an amazing experience that this year I started recruiting my friends and family before the registration was even online!
It’s such a fun experience to be a part of Team Transplant, especially when you’re out there riding and fellow E-Rock riders ask you about your jersey and the foundation (it’s true, it happened to us twice!). And I have to say, it’s even more fun if you can get your friends and family involved. This year, I’m riding with my husband, a few friends, and my 64-year old mother. There are no age limits! There is a course for everyone!
Today’s Challenge:
1. Recruit a rider. Email your best friend, invite somebody from work, or invite a family member and invite them to register now.
2. Comment and let us know who you invited, and why! Challenge them publicly via the “Comments” section of the blog! How can they say no???
Heck, I'll put some skin in the game. I, Susan, Team Transplant Blogger, challenge the following people to join me on Team Transplant:
1. Julie
2. Christine
3. Cheryl
4. Red
5. Jessica
6. Joel (I know you've got a goal of 5,000 miles this year, this will help!)
7. Joan
8. Liam
9. Scott
Get involved, and involve others! I’ll be looking for your comments!
Susan
Devoted Rider and Shameless Promoter
Team Transplant
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
WE HAVE A WINNER… and another prize announcement, too!
Hey there, Team Transplant. I hope that this weekend’s beautiful weather inspired some of you to get out there and start training. Today, I have two VERY exciting updates for you.
First off, a HUGE congratulations to Steve Klein for being the first rider to reach $1,000!!! Amazing job! As you may recall, he not only has the bragging rights of being the #1 Team Transplant fundraiser to date, he is the lucky winner of THREE MONTHS of personal training courtesy of Tyler Hamilton Training.
Steve, does that mean you’ll be signing up for the century in June? Great job!!!
SECONDLY, I’m proud to share with you that 1st place prize for fundraising has been announced—it’s this hot little Trek 2.3 Road Series (see below for image), courtesy of our sponsors Wheat Ridge Cyclery! The folks at Wheat Ridge Cyclery will provide you with the appropriate size and style, and even provide you with a basic fit. This is big news—this bike is worth $2,000!
So, let’s get out there and start raising some money! Send your emails and your solicitations to anyone you know—anyone want one of those posters for your office yet? Please see my previous blog post for details on fundraising kits, sample emails, and other helpful hints to get started.
Spring is here… let’s get moving!
Susan
Team Transplant
First off, a HUGE congratulations to Steve Klein for being the first rider to reach $1,000!!! Amazing job! As you may recall, he not only has the bragging rights of being the #1 Team Transplant fundraiser to date, he is the lucky winner of THREE MONTHS of personal training courtesy of Tyler Hamilton Training.
Steve, does that mean you’ll be signing up for the century in June? Great job!!!
SECONDLY, I’m proud to share with you that 1st place prize for fundraising has been announced—it’s this hot little Trek 2.3 Road Series (see below for image), courtesy of our sponsors Wheat Ridge Cyclery! The folks at Wheat Ridge Cyclery will provide you with the appropriate size and style, and even provide you with a basic fit. This is big news—this bike is worth $2,000!
So, let’s get out there and start raising some money! Send your emails and your solicitations to anyone you know—anyone want one of those posters for your office yet? Please see my previous blog post for details on fundraising kits, sample emails, and other helpful hints to get started.
Spring is here… let’s get moving!
Susan
Team Transplant
Friday, March 19, 2010
SPECIAL PRIZE ANNOUNCED FOR FIRST RIDER TO RAISE $1,000!
Hellooooo Team Transplant!
Let’s talk fundraising, shall we?
As I sit and look out of my office right now, I’m not feeling particularly motivated. SNOW? Really? It seems inconceivable that spring will get here but… Trust me. The snow will melt, we’ll be pulling our bikes off the racks in the garage, pumping tires, filling water bottles, and hitting the trails. Some of you might have even done it last weekend.
And as important (and fun) as it is to train for the ride, now’s the time for us to also turn our attention to the reason why we’re all a part of Team Transplant—fundraising. It’s time to think about why you feel motivated to be on the team, and why it’s important to you.
It’s easier than it sounds. Last year my husband and I wrote an email, talking about why Team Transplant is important to us and we blind copied pretty much everyone in our address books. Colleagues. Friends. Friends of friends, aunts, uncles, cousins, you name it. And by the time we were picking up our registration packets on that sunny (yes, SUNNY) day in May, we had raised over $1200.
Which brings me to the AWESOME news I have to share with you: The first Team Transplant rider who raises $1,000 will receive a FREE 3-month personal training program with Tyler Hamilton Training (a $900 value). How cool is that?
Some ideas on how to get to $1000:
1. Update your facebook status telling your friends about Team Transplant
2. Send out an email to friends and family (There's a sample letter in the fundraising toolkit!)
3. Hang up a poster in your office, on the fridge, wherever! (Let us know if you want posters!)
4. Put the pressure on all those co-workers pawning off Girl Scout Cookies. Three months of personal training will work off a lot of Thin Mints!
5. Ask for 2 bucks from 500 friends. Ask for 5 bucks from 200 friends. Ask for 10 bucks from 100 friends. See where I’m going with this?
AND… all of this is on top of the amazing stuff that you get from the American Transplant Foundation for raising all that money! Check it out on the website at AmericanTransplantFoundation.org. You'll be looking sizzling hot in the cycling gear you'll earn... not to mention what 3 months of personal training will do for you!
REMEMBER: This is for the FIRST rider to hit $1,000. It’s a Friday morning. If I can sit here and blog, you can blow off work for a few minutes to send an email, update your Facebook, and put a post on your Twitter page. It will take just a few seconds, and who wants to work on a snowy Friday anyway?
Let's raise some money!
Cheers!
Susan
Team Transplant
Let’s talk fundraising, shall we?
As I sit and look out of my office right now, I’m not feeling particularly motivated. SNOW? Really? It seems inconceivable that spring will get here but… Trust me. The snow will melt, we’ll be pulling our bikes off the racks in the garage, pumping tires, filling water bottles, and hitting the trails. Some of you might have even done it last weekend.
And as important (and fun) as it is to train for the ride, now’s the time for us to also turn our attention to the reason why we’re all a part of Team Transplant—fundraising. It’s time to think about why you feel motivated to be on the team, and why it’s important to you.
It’s easier than it sounds. Last year my husband and I wrote an email, talking about why Team Transplant is important to us and we blind copied pretty much everyone in our address books. Colleagues. Friends. Friends of friends, aunts, uncles, cousins, you name it. And by the time we were picking up our registration packets on that sunny (yes, SUNNY) day in May, we had raised over $1200.
Which brings me to the AWESOME news I have to share with you: The first Team Transplant rider who raises $1,000 will receive a FREE 3-month personal training program with Tyler Hamilton Training (a $900 value). How cool is that?
Some ideas on how to get to $1000:
1. Update your facebook status telling your friends about Team Transplant
2. Send out an email to friends and family (There's a sample letter in the fundraising toolkit!)
3. Hang up a poster in your office, on the fridge, wherever! (Let us know if you want posters!)
4. Put the pressure on all those co-workers pawning off Girl Scout Cookies. Three months of personal training will work off a lot of Thin Mints!
5. Ask for 2 bucks from 500 friends. Ask for 5 bucks from 200 friends. Ask for 10 bucks from 100 friends. See where I’m going with this?
AND… all of this is on top of the amazing stuff that you get from the American Transplant Foundation for raising all that money! Check it out on the website at AmericanTransplantFoundation.org. You'll be looking sizzling hot in the cycling gear you'll earn... not to mention what 3 months of personal training will do for you!
REMEMBER: This is for the FIRST rider to hit $1,000. It’s a Friday morning. If I can sit here and blog, you can blow off work for a few minutes to send an email, update your Facebook, and put a post on your Twitter page. It will take just a few seconds, and who wants to work on a snowy Friday anyway?
Let's raise some money!
Cheers!
Susan
Team Transplant
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Team Transplant Kick-Off Party
February 18, 2010 will be a day many of us remember here in the Mile High City. President Obama was in town for a fund raising event, causing traffic nightmares in and around the downtown area with rolling road blocks, during what would prove to be an already difficult rush hour. The snow was flying, and the roads were quickly turning into ice rinks. The average drive times from one end of downtown to the other was pushing 45 minutes, and forget about going anywhere if you were on the highways.
But a little traffic, snow and ice wouldn't stop Team Transplant volunteers and riders from meeting up at Wheat Ridge Cyclery for the team kickoff party! Maybe it was the lure of great food and drinks, provided by our friends at Spicy Pickle and Apple Jack Liquors. Maybe it was the debut of not just the 2010 Team Transplant jersey, but this year an entire kit! Perhaps the exciting news that Olympic gold medal cyclist and Tour de France veteran Tyler Hamilton would be speaking to the group that night. Or maybe it was the fact that both the volunteers and the 2010 team riders simply know how important raising money and awareness for the American Transplant Foundation is!
The evening started out much quieter than any of us would have preferred, but with the weather as it was, it came as no surprise. Slowly but surely, one after another, people started to arrive. The weather didn't deter people from coming; it just slowed them down a bit! As the volunteers started signing the the new arrivals in, and getting them officially registered as Team Transplant riders, the air and the attitudes started to lighten up. One after another, people signed up to ride, not only themselves, but in several instances signing up to 5 additional riders who couldn't make it in that evening.
The great staff at Wheat Ridge Cyclery, along with several manufacturers' reps answered questions and showed off great new gear and equipment to the team, as we mingled through the store. Sandwiches and salads, beer, wine and sodas all started to slowly disappear from the food tables. Every rider who signed up that evening was treated to a 20% discount at the store for that night only, and by the sound of the cash registers ringing, everyone was going to take them up on that offer!
The time came for Tyler Hamilton to speak, starting with his history in cycling, his time as Lance Armstrong's Lieutenant on the US Postal Service team during the Tour de France, and some very touching and poignant stories about his own personal battles which ultimately led to his retirement from professional cycling. But as with any true champion, Tyler would emphasize that his retirement was not his demise! After a stint back in Massachusetts to spend time with family, Tyler has returned to Boulder to help the casual rider and the future champion alike train like a professional.
All in all, the evening proved to be a complete success. The goal of our kick off party wasn't just to sign up riders (we get most of our registrations through the easy online system anyway), it was to let the riders meet one another, check out some great new cycling gear, and get excited for the Elephant Rock ride which will be upon us faster than we realize. Throw in the rare opportunity to not only listen to a gold medal Olympian, but talk to him one on one, and the thoughts of brushing the snow off your car and face the Colorado winter seems to disappear altogether.
Brian Fakharzadeh
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