This weeks training ride, whilst well attended due to the best weather to date, seemed to be a strain for everyone. No one in our little group quite felt up for it so it was a bit of a bugger that we got lost and did an extra 10km. It was a double bugger because the extra 10km contain some huge hills which were just energy sapping. Harvey put us all to shame by doing 85km and I put myself to shame by falling off again on a busy high street. Fecking shoes.
On the plus side though I started to get a view of the scenery and countryside that makes up the majority of the ride and parts were stunningly beautiful especially when we got off the roads and along the lake shore. I have decided to stop more often and take pictures as I am kicking myself for not taking more on this ride.
Our team now has an proper name. After much debate and suggestions (including mine of Scary Hairy Marys which I thought covered everyone on the team one way or another), Mark and James boldly came up with a name and designed 5 possible logos which, in true Canadian fashion meant we had a chat and a vote. Our team leader bravely put a deadline on the logo voting and on Friday evening the Mark/James coup was complete. Team Velocity with the meteor theme.
I hope I don't get into trouble for posting the logo as I am not sure how much of a secret it is meant to be and I seem to be getting myself into trouble these days. The Ontario Fun Police are ever vigilante and I have been advised that my attempt at raising money via my Helicopter Ride GIVEAWAY can't possibly be a raffle as it would mean that I am breaking some law as I don't have a permit to run raffles and perversely I am not allowed to get one. I think I broke the condo rules by leafleting my building (all 40 floors) advertising my GIVEAWAY so I am in trouble all round for my little fund raising attempt.
Which brings me onto my last little update: I am now at $4200 in donations. Which is amazing so THANK YOU to every person that has made a donation. When I did the London Marathon in 2005 I was lazy on the fundraising side of things and only raised 3/4 of my very low target.
Lazy is perhaps not the right word. I am not very good at or comfortable asking people for money and in this day and age when a credit card donation happens prior to the event it amounts to demanding money for no other reason that someone is asking. Good cause or not it is like an emotional mugging. "Give me money because if you don't you will worry about how this affects our friendship". So we dutifully pay up, or at least I do (with the sole exception of Cat charities which I despise). It is this aspect of raising money that I am not very comfortable with.
The minimum each rider is asked to raise is $2200, the average raised is $3000 per rider and $6000 is where PWA recognizes this as a special achievement. Our team to date has raised $56k and is currently double any of the other teams and with Harvey at $20k and Miss C hot on his heels (or her own heels) our team should raise a very impressive amount of cash. Downside is that everyone you see is strapped because with 400 riders that's a whole lot of emotional mugging going on.
So, $1772 to go. I am hoping for 25% of that via a donation from the client I am working for. I am hoping for a matching donation from my employers Canadian office which will put me on the home straight and if I could only get $10 from everyone I know on face book then I will be home and dry.
I will be stopping at $6000 as I will have nagged, bored, blackmailed, harangued, shamed and pleaded with everyone I know. Endlessly. If PWA thinks that $6000 is a job well done then that is good enough for me.
TTFN
Dave
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