Man..................it's bee 2 full weeks since we were out in DV and I still haven't come completely down. It seems like there's a new e-mail or pile o' pics on the web every other day or so and that kick-starts all the emotions swirlin' 'round my soggy brain for another go-round.
And I love it!
I think if we could get prospective riders to visit this blog and read what various members of the team have had to say.............there'd be no limit to what we could accomplish!
So...here's a few things to think about, some short-term, some l-o-n-g-e-r..........
PARTY TIME! Watch for an official E-Vite w/ a chance to RSVP and all soon but here's the scoop:
When - Tuesday. 11/13 from 7-10pm
Where - New Holland Brewing Company (A team sponsor!) Downtown Holland
Who - You, your family, your friends, anyone you ride in honor of, anyone that might be a potential rider, donors and sponsors.
What - A gathering to celebrate what we have accomplished thus far and an official kick-off to the 2008 season.
Why - Because we deserve it. Because we want to honor and enjoy the bonds that a season of effort and success have forged between us. Because we wanna make next season an even bigger deal than this season! (And because the food is yummy, the beer is cold and we wanna look at pix from MT and DV!)
Please help us make sure we have enough to go around by following through w/ the RSVP, okay?
PARTY TIME, TAKE 2! Sorry to be less than chronologically precise but I almost forgot to mention the Naya wine event this Thursday! It's called "Tasting for Sophie" and it's been set up by the endlessly hard-working Sarah. (AKA 'Sophie's Mom") It's @ Naya on East Paris in GR and there are lotsa details at http://www.nayagr.com/
PARTY TIME TAKE 3! Well....it's sort of a party! The shop is hosting our infamous Chilly Chili Ride this Sunday @ 2:00pm. We ride about 35 miles form the shop and then there's a post-ride chili taste-off. It's a shop tradition that dates back into the 80's, way before there even was a Velo City and it's a hoot! Bring a pot of chili if you are so inclined, otherwise just fetch alone your bike and your belly, it's all good!
OKAY, ARE YOU READY FOR THE BIG QUESTION? It's not too soon to start the dialogue as to where we wanna ride next season. As of right now the tentative 2008 Ride Schedule is Sonoma in June, Asheville and Whitefish in Sept and DV in Oct. There's been a lotta talk about where to ride next year and whether we can possibly get the entire team to the same ride and I know that there are probably as many opinions on the subject as there are riders so let's get it started, shall we? The sooner we get an idea of what folks want the sooner we can start working towards that goal. I'm looking forward to hearing what you guys have to say!
I can't wait for the 13th and I think it'd be AWESOME if we had a ton of folks show up. I can't think of a better group o' folks to spend a Tuesday evening with!
See you there!
MC
Monday, November 5, 2007
Stuff to think about for November!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
9 comments:
Hey, is this where you want RSVPs? Or, should we call Velocity?
Anyway, while I'm here, I'm RSVP-ing here. I'm bringing two (maybe three) others along on the 13th. My brother, Andy (yippee!) and a friend (or two) who's interested in riding in '08.
So, that's Patti Bills + 2 (or 3)
Can't wait, y'all!
Pea
Ah, yes...2008. I'm giddy to start thinking about this already! My priorities, in no particular order:
1. That we make every possible effort to take the entire team to one site, one ride.
2. That we go in the fall.
3. That Katie can come (i.e. anything prior to mid-September is tough).
4. That we find another, perhaps locally significant, type of animal ears/antlers/etc. for Rob to wear on his helmet in '08.
5. That we have yet another ridiculously awesome time.
Preliminary vote from me: Asheville (provided it's a bit later in Sept.). Otherwise, Whitefish, which also looked awesome.
a Survey for us to try
So first, I added a survey from Survey Monkey above. It's an anonymous survey to let us know what you think. Take a minute and fill it out so we know what our team things.
My order preference for next year... I'm thinking team as a whole would be great. My current employer says I can't take vacation from August 10th ish to around mid-September (University startup in late Aug is busiest time of year for computer nerd people). So, I'd vote Whitefish or Death Valley. I hate that damn valley but I'm not sure you can reproduce that experience anywhere else.
Take the survey, if you would.
Re to Nicole:
1. Yeah, definitely.
2. Spring, not so much. Gotta have time to build up the anticipation.
3. Ain't a ride wifout Katie.
4. Rams horns if Whitefish, Hippie rasta cap w/ patchouli reek if Asheville.
5. Guaranteed. We could have a ridiculously awesome time if we rode 50 laps around Borculo. It's about the people, not the place. That said, I don't wanna ride 50 laps around Borculo, thank you very much.
If this was the last ride I could ever do, I'd pick Death Valley without an instant of hesitation - that's the most intense experience of the three rides I've done. When I think "JDRF Ride," I think of Death Valley. When the pumps and meters and test strips all go in the trash, and the sites and fingers heal for good, Death Valley, under the stars and the date palms, is where we'll celebrate.
If I wanted a ride that was challenging and beautiful (and green and moist, and not so much with the wind), I'd pick Asheville. It's a great, fun town, and my favorite biking experience on the rides.
If I wanted a place to do outdoor stuff in addition to a gorgeous ride, I'd pick Montana. In terms of overall experience, it's squarely between DV and Asheville. Being near Glacier NP is a huge draw; for us flatlanders, terrain like that seems almost impossible.
But, then, yeah, it's about where WE go.
Just not to Borculo.
did
It's all about the team. I will go anywhere, anytime that we can get the entire West Michigan Team together. That said, after three rides in DV I'd like to see a different part of the country, perhaps somewhere with less than gale force wind speeds.
Tom
Ditto on everything everyone said, and after riding with Tom in DV, I can agree straight up with the need to find a place without gale force winds. (nod to Tom) I like Derek's description of the three rides. I LOVED DV, but...
agree with the rest of y'all because to me, the decision to get the whole team someplace far outweighs the choice about place.
Question: how does the fundraising change when you say to your friends, "I'm going to Ashville" or "I'm riding in Montana" as opposed to "I'm riding in Death Vally?" It seems as though the extreme sports idea of DV is what got my friends to pony up (they're sick like that). Might mean we (or at least I) do some creative fundraising if I don't go back to DV. Thoughts? Advice?
Patti
Patti,
We need to call the other rides by their proper (more extreme) names. "I'll be doing the Rocky Mountain ride (Whitefish) or the Smokey Mountain Ride (Asheville)." Maybe not quite the same panache as "Death Valley" but riding in the mountains should sound suitably tough to the sickos.
Tom
What's wrong w/ Borculo Did? I wanna toss my 2 cents in here since I kinda kicked the whole dang thing off in the first place. I dig the fact that the consensus seems to be "All for one and one for all" in general and I hope that we can pull that off. As one of the 3 of us that's been to MT, Asheville and DV I can heartedly concur w/ D's capsule descriptions of the 3 venues in question. I dig the desert and do feel that DV holds the best chance of providing the most intense overall experience (for better or worse!) of the three, followed by MT. The ride in Asheville is great but the rest of the weekend is a little scattered and ordinary. (Except for pizza @ the Mellow Mushroom!)Whitefish sort of splits the difference......more isolated than Asheville but not quite as remote as DV. As powerful as a hold as the desert has onme I can totally understand that others are immune to it's spell and that's what the mountains are for!
Look.......I dont' get or want a vote. This is all about you guys and I'll be more-than-glad to go wherever ya'll wanna go. I don't think it's too early to be talkin' about it though and i'm glad that we are.
See you Tuesday!
MC
Post a Comment