Day -101 (Mar 3, 1999)
Just over 100 days until the start of the Big Ride!
Ever since signing up, I've been thinking of ways to fund-raise. My mind has been working overtime and I often lay awake in bed at night, thinking of wild and creative fund-raising. It's too bad that I didn't get started earlier, because I've come up with some neat ideas, but they would take time to organize. One of my favorites has been the idea of a park party with food and a live band, advertised on radio and in the local paper. The goal would be to find a local music group to donate their time (and get good crowd exposure). Tickets could be sold. People would come on a sunny spring weekend day to a local park (there's one just a block from my home that has a stage and amphitheater). A raffle could help raise money, concert tickets & perhaps even a portion of the food profits could be used. Sell food tickets for a hot dog or hamburger plate. In my sleepy mind, it seems like it would be a fun day and raise lots of money!
I've ridden about 300 miles on both my mountain bike and my new touring bike, which I picked up from the store last week. The touring bike and other equipment set me back about $1800 ($800 for the bike and $1000 for a rear rack, water bottle cages, computer, clip-in shoes, clothing, rain gear, panniers, etc.) OUCH! My butt hurts from the bike seat, my legs hurt from all the hill training and now my wallet hurts.
The house is a wreck. (Bike clothes are scattered everywhere and some aren't so clean. There are bikes taking up most of the living room. There is nothing in the fridge or cupboards to eat. Nearly all my clothes are piled on top and around the hamper. There is nothing clean to wear. The bathroom is filthy. The only room of the house that's not a mess is the newly remodeled kitchen (which still has plenty of touch-ups and trim work waiting to be done). And now, to top it all off, the newly-repaired kitchen counter (which split during the winter) is starting to split AGAIN. (You don't want to hear that story, trust me). The counters were supposed to be the piece de resistance of the kitchen, but they've been more like falling to pieces.
Regrets. Maybe going on this BIG RIDE isn't such a good idea? Seems that I'm only adding to the stress in my life.
I called a radio station today (KLLY) to see about getting some air time to promote my fund-raising efforts. They run a Sunday morning talk show that focuses on local events and people. They said that they'd call back and let me know, but the conversation seemed very positive.
I feel like I'm just starting to catch my stride. I've only raised $1,500, so far, but things are starting to roll now. I've made up flyers to hand out to people at work, which is where I'm concentrating the bulk of my fund-raising (since I'm there all the time and if not there, then I'm out training). While I've only collected $1,500, I can think of nearly another $1,000 that is promised (although, getting a promise is easy, but collecting can be hard). The polo shirt promotion seems to be helping set the tone for $100 donations, so it looks like that idea is working out. I look at the Big Ride Donation wall chart that I made and put outside my office and while $1,500 seems like a lot, $7,500 sure seems to be far away!
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