Originally the Livestrong Ride Series was limited to 18 years and older, but now they have removed that restriction as long as their is a parent or guardian riding with them.  Though i hadnt noticed this restriction, since it hasnt applied to me in over a decade, I was suprised to find out it had been there in the first place.

During the Ride For The Roses this past year there were several people under 18 riding.  Almost all were with their parents but im sure there were some going solo as well.  I remember a five person bike passing me on the ride last year with two children, their parents, and a toddler in a baby seat in the middle chair.  The whole family was riding together and it was cool to see.  Also there were several fathers and sons that flew past me on the ride.

Im glad they changed this and I think that they’ll probably be able to pull in a few more people this way.  Also those under 18 still in school have access to a wealth of classmates and their parents in a network that is comparable to any corporate co-worker environment.

Everyone, at some point, has gotten a chain letters either through normal mail or email. Why not turn that to your advantage. Not in the sense of becoming a spammer (the evil incarnate scum of the earth :^) ), but by sending your friends an email and asking them to forward that email on to at least three of their friends.

The Livestrong Ride online donations at your HQ page are required to be at least $5. In your email give a personal message, or share your story, and ask the recipients, if they are able, to donate $5 to your Livestrong Ride. Make it clear that they dont have to donate if they are unable but can still help to support your ride by continuing the chain and forwarding your email to at least three of their friends. In this way the people that recieve your email are always recieving it from a friend and thereby making them more inclined to read it and possibly donate.

The reason to ask only $5 is that its something someone can probably spare easily and a bigger number could make one feel that if they could not donate that amount then they may not donate at all. If enough people make the small donation then it becomes a huge accomplishment and promotes both the message of the Lance Armstrong Foundation but also helps you reach your fundraising goals.

For last years Ride For The Roses, Chris Carmichael, Lance Armstrong’s coach, created two training plans for the ride. One guide is for beginners and the other is for advanced cyclists. So far the training materials for the Livestrong Ride Series are still forthcoming, so i thought it might be beneficial to share the guides from last year so that people may take advantage of them now. I’m sure Chris will probably be the one putting together the training for this years Livestrong Ride Series as well.

• Guide to Training Documents
• Beginner Cyclist Training Guide
• Advanced Cyclyist Training Guide

Looks like I was way off with my guesses on Jersey levels that i found in the Livestrong Rides FAQ and reported a few weeks ago. My assumption was that there would be each jersey level represented at each ride, turns out that the jersey levels will stretch over the entire Livestrong Ride Series. While not what i had been thinking, it makes sense, since a person may only ride one ride they should have the jersey level they’ve achieved in the Livestrong Ride Series for that ride. Also if they qualify for the Ride For The Roses then no one would be able to see and acknowledge their efforts if they only got their jersey rewards in Austin and not at the individual Livestrong Ride.

The Fundraising Awards Levels are:

• $500 - Livestrong Ride Goodie Bag
• $1000 - Livestrong Ride Goodie Bag, Special Edition Livestrong Ride Series Bag
• $2500 - Livestrong Ride Goodie Bag, Special Edition Livestrong Ride Series Bag, two tickets to Livestrong Pasta Dinner
• $7500 - Livestrong Ride Goodie Bag, Special Edition Livestrong Ride Series Bag, two tickets to Livestrong Pasta Dinner, Special Edition Livestrong Ride Series Jersey (White? they dont indicate)
• $15000 - Livestrong Ride Goodie Bag, Special Edition Livestrong Ride Series Bag, two tickets to Livestrong Pasta Dinner, Special Edition Livestrong Ride Series Jersey (Green Jersey)
• $20000 - Livestrong Ride Goodie Bag, Special Edition Livestrong Ride Series Bag, two tickets to Livestrong Pasta Dinner, Special Edition Livestrong Ride Series Jersey (Polka Dot), Exclusive Autograph Session with Lance Armstrong
• $30000 - Livestrong Ride Goodie Bag, Special Edition Livestrong Ride Series Bag, two tickets to Livestrong Pasta Dinner, Special Edition Livestrong Ride Series Jersey (Yellow Jersey), Special Invitation to a Yellow Jersey Team Ride

The cutoff for the Pasta Dinner is 14 days before your event, and seven days for the other awards. To qualify for the Ride For The Roses you must complete fundraising by September 3, 2006.

You can find more here, at the Livestrong Rides Fundraising Incentives Page.

My first ebay auction, referenced here, First Ebay Auction Up, for my Livestrong Ride has closed and raised $44.00 in support of my ride and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. This auction raised far more than i was expecting and am really happy that it did so well. I have one more set of Ron Francis items from his jersey retirement night that i can auction. I’m looking forward to see how this second auction fares in comparison to the first. I’ll be contacting bidders that did not win my prior auction for this one.

This is an example of how to use auctions to raise money for your charitable interests that i was discussing in my previous blog entry regarding contacting your local sports teams for items to auction. I’m hoping each additional auction is just as successful.