Well, its official now the Livestrong Ride Series in its former incarnation is dead and gone. The site redirects to the Livestrong Challenge now and all the links have been changed to match. From what i can tell it is a change in name only as none of the fundraising levels, rewards, dates, etc. have changed. The additions are only the 10K run and the 5K Run/Walk components.

According to the Livestrong Challenge FAQ, it is not possible to participate in more than one event that weekend. It seems that the walk, run, and ride will all occur at the same time on Sunday. I wish it were seperated but it doesnt look like that will be the case. I’m just hoping that the start is very well organized with that many people, of varying endeavors, all starting on the same day.

Make sure to update all your fundraising links in any promotional materials, emails, websites, etc where you have placed it because those links are invalid now. As i found out when a friend pointed this out to me this morning. I really wish they had done a redirect for those links rather than letting them die. From making a living in computers i know that it isnt that hard to have a rewrite script on the old site to make sure no one’s links go dead. But oh well.

Just got a notice in my email that the Livestrong Ride Series has “evolved” into the Livestrong Challenge. Strange that the series has evolved before the first event has even taken place, isn’t it. The details in the email are scarce and a new Livestrong Challenge website is promised but as of this morning it is still unavailable for viewing.

The cycling leg appears to remain untouched according to the email, with a rider able to choose their cycling distance as defined before. The new aspect appears to be the addition of a 10K run and a 5K run/walk to the Livestrong Ride weekends. All riders already registered for their Livestrong Ride have been automatically registered for the Livestrong Challenge in the same city. Also promised is a 10 week training component to be provided by Nike, but that is the extent of the information on it.

I guess i understand where they’re going with this because they can bring in many many more people with a walk and run component that wouldnt be attracted to the cycling aspect. Everyone can slap on a pair of shoes and run or walk but you need a lot of equipment and investment to perform the ride. Im interested to see what more comes of this when the Livestrong Challenge website goes live.

This past weekend was the second of the monthly Home Poker Tournaments to raise money in support of my Livestrong Ride.  This month we had 13 players and raised $97.50 in the house rake from the tournament.  The “rake” is the house’s cut of the action.  Also, this time, I came in third place and donated my winnings to the LAF also.  After doing so the second place person donated his earnings, minus a beer run, to the LAF as well.  The money jar sat in the middle of the room the entire night and collected money from some spectators who showed and decided not to play.  Overall the tournament raised over $125 this weekend.

If you’re looking for an easy fun fundraiser, this is the one for you.  Everyone loves to play here and in two months the tournaments have raised almost $250.

The Portland leg of the Livestrong Ride Series has been moved from September 24th to July 30th.  This is a pretty big jump in timing so it should be factored into your training if this was the ride that you are participating in.  Thats almost two months difference in the timing.

Turns out that September 24th is during Rosh Hashanah, known as the Jewish new year.  No work is permitted during this period and it is a time of resolutions and reflection.   Initially the plan was for Portland to be on the anniversary of the first ride but i fully understand why it was moved.

Im a little late adding this due to my Daytona trip but when i came back yesterday i found in my email box an update from the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

The registration packets for the Livestrong Ride Series are being mailed in March this year. The packet will include a fundraising poster that you can use at your fundraising events. I find this to be a nice addition to the packets because it will give a professional appearance to the fundraising events. Last year, if i remember correctly, you had to contact the LAF directly to get fundraising materials. If you need more materials this will probably still be the case but at least one poster is in hand.

Also included will be a fundraising notebook with training and fundraising tools. I imagine these tools will be printed versions of the PDF’s currently available on the Livestrong Ride Series Tools page.

It looks like this will be a very good and useful package this year.