Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I'm seriously thinking about doing it this year. It's in early June, and it's a 7-day cycle from SF to LA to raise money for two AIDS charities. Two of my friends are doing it. The thing that's holding me back is the training commitment over the next four months. I have kids to parent, and I'd be spending many hours in the saddle.

a friend of mine has done this for the past several years and he LOVES it! the fundraising is always the hardest part for him. if you want someone to talk to about it let me know & i'll put you in touch.

its awesome that you are even considering doing it!

Thanks takecare, is your friend vegan? I have talked to two of my friends who have done it, and LOVE it, so it's sold me on the idea, but neither of them is vegan and I was wondering about vegan food options. You have to eat a hell of a lot to cycle 500 miles in a week, and I'd hate for the food they serve to be slim pickings for a vegan.

hm, he is at least a vegan-centric vegetarian. PM me your email address and i'll pass it on to him!

Nate was thinking about doing this, with me pregnant I am not sure if he still will. We had several friends do it last year. I am pretty sure they are vegan friendly, it is SF afterall!

We had one guy come to the farmers market a couple times and ride a trainer to raise money, he usually had a really good response, plus he was spending time on his saddle! Last year I had thought that I might do it this year, but obviously being 8 months pregnant I will not be able to!

takecare, I pm'd my email to you, thanks!

littlebear, I LOVE the idea of riding a trainer at a farmer's market to raise money. If I do this, I think I'll co-opt that idea for the pdx farmer's market!

I want to do it summer 2012. A professor of mine from last term did a presentation to our class on it, and hearing her speak about the experience (she's 66 and not a regular cyclist) brought tears to my eyes several times. It sounds amazing. I've heard the food is super awesome and they really strive to make the whole experience as comfortable as possible (shower truck! free massage!).

Not this year, but maybe next. This year my goal is a full century, and to ride all year, instead of on again/off again.

a few years ago i trained for it for six months and was all ready to go, then got hit by a car and broke my arm 3 weeks before the ride. i still went as a roadie, which i ended up regretting because i was really devastated that i couldn't ride and spent the whole week pouting... but anyway! the vegan options suck, but the food in general sucks. i'm talking pb&j for lunch every day and gross pasta with tomato sauce for dinner. there are always vegan bars and fruit around for snacks. but you're not doing it for the food, right? the amount of waste generated by the event was also quite depressing (everything was disposable for every single meal!), so i would recommend bringing your own plate and utensils. the fundraising was DEFINITELY the hardest part! i don't mean to be a downer, it is a really inspiring environment with great people involved, but those are my answers to your practical questions. i totally think you should do it if you can!

Thanks for this! I was wondering about the waste involved in feeding all these people, and I hoped that it wasn't all disposable. I'm shocked that it is. If I do this, I'm definitely bringing my own plate and utensils. I think I might be in denial about how hard fundraising will be. I know a lot of people who are comfortably off and would probably donate between $20 and $50 each. If I get 100 $30 donations I'll have enough, plus I know Mr. Nummers and I could donate to myself. Maybe people are more tightfisted than I'm expecting, but last year a friend of mine did this ride and I donated $30 to him, and I haven't even seen him since college 20 years ago, we're just fb friends. What is the hardest part about fundraising?