October 16th, 2007
Livestrong Challenge Day 2 Part 2
After the race we headed back to the hotel to get showered up and change. We ended up spending the next few hours vegging out watching TV with Paul and Ron grabbing quick naps. After we got cleaned up we headed over to The Jackalope. Zack had gone to Austin a couple weekends previously for the Roller Derby nationals and had stumbled upon the burgers at The Jackalope and told me that we had to try them. I can easily say that the chipotle burger was the best in town and i’d argue that it may be one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. Now my opinion may be colored by the fact I was starving from the race earlier but I don’t think that was the case. When we ordered we talked to the chef about what to get and he said if it was our first time that we had to have the chipotle and I’ll say the same. Check it out if you’re hungry and near 6th street, if you’re not near there take the trip over.
From there and having full stomachs we headed up sixth browsing around before turning onto Congress to walk along the riverfront. A local told us that the bats were probably already gone for the season so we didn’t get a chance to check them out at sunset but maybe we’ll get lucky next year. All in all it was a lazy afternoon and we headed back to get ready for the fundraising appreciation dinner that night. We watched most of the LSU vs Kentucky game before we had to leave at the end of regulation. Once we got to the convention center and headed upstairs we were checking Paul’s Blackberry for score updates.
When we first got to the dinner everyone was having appetizers and beers in the hall waiting for the room to open up where we would rush in and grab whatever seat we wanted with placards that were given to us. We mingled around talking with random people we had met over the weekend so far. We bumped into Chris Carmichael, Lance Armstrong’s trainer, in the crowd but didn’t chat. Once the doors opened we headed in and grabbed one of the nearer tables to the podium so that we could get a good view of what was going on. At each seat we found a silver keychain gift inscribed with the Livestrong Challenge logo. It was very cool and I’ve been looking for one for awhile. It’s the kind that splits apart and I’ve been looking for one for awhile so I can pop off my house keys for running.
The presentation began with Doug Ulman who was president of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Over the course of the evening we were treated to videos of the various work that the LAF has done over the course of the year such as the Livestrong Summit and presidential candidates debates. We were also told how the LAF disperses the funds we raise and found out that the Austin Livestrong Challenge had raised 3.8 million dollars. Quite an amazing number for a single event and were also told that the LAF has now raised 250 million dollars since its inception eleven years ago.
Doug also told us about the course and how Lance had ridden it a few days before and came back and told him it was a tough course. That should’ve been a sign of what was to come. Next Lance himself took the podium and talked about the history of the LAF and then told us about the course himself. It turns out that he took over the ride course this year and decided that he wanted to “take it back to the hills and the most beautiful country in Texas if not the world” and had helped “make it possible to win seven tours”. He also told us that it would be challenging with hills, switchbacks, and cattle guards. When a seven time tour champion tells you that the course is tough then you know you’re in for one hell of a time.
The dinner wrapped up with the presentation of awards to the top fundraisers, teams, and those that reached the most people. It was a great event and I hope that I get to go again but this time as my own fundraising award and not just a guest. Knowing we had to get up and take on the ride the next day we all headed back to the hotel to crash for the evening with the alarms set for 4 am.
