Hola Kiddos!
Well, it must be that time again… It’s time to have a little party! We’ve never needed a reason to get together and have fun, and this time is no exception. We’re getting together at the Sea Dog Brew Pub on Saturday Feb 25th at 6:00 PM, for some munchies and a few beverages- Check out their menu! It’s a relatively new place, just about a mile from the starting line at Chomerics. This isn’t an “Official” event, just a bunch of friends getting together for some fun- However, if you’re new to the NEC, or new to multi-day cycling, come on by to pick the brains of people who have done it before and meet some of the other riders before July- Maybe you’ll even find a training buddy!

We’ve reserved a private room, but they require a minimum of 21 to get it, so please RSVP on the facebook event page here:

Keep the wind at your back, and the downhills in front of you,
GearMan

We’re pleased to announce that GU Energy has confirmed their in-kind support of product for the 2012 New England Classic TourdeCure!

Some of you were really stoked about their new Gingerbread flavor (I’m looking at you Gagne gang). Curious about how excited our riders were? Here’s a “taste!”

We’ve got 45 brave souls that are joining us for either the weekend route or the seven day adventure – pick YOUR destination TODAY at: www.diabetes.org/nectourdecure

True story.
We’ve got another round of the Rider In-Training Tshirt Contest going on NOW until 5pm next Friday. It’s a whole week to register and raise $175* (online via your Tour Center).

Already at $25 or the $50 mark? Just ask 5 more people for $25 each!

*donations must be online to be eligible for contest.

Registration is NOW OPEN online at www.diabetes.org/nectourdecure
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Want to get together?
We’re having a Bikes n Brews gathering at one of our fabulous local bike shop supporters! Hub Bicycle Company will be hosting our 1st Bikes n Brews of the season on Saturday, November 12th! Have you heard the news? Hub Bicycle Company is moving down the street to a new (and larger) location! Check out some of the details here! Let’s kick off Emily’s new digs in style with some laughs, some beverages, and cycling stories!
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See you soon!
~Ryan; Your-Friendly-Neighborhood-ADA-Guy

Check it out! The 2012 Rider-In-Training Long Sleeve is HERE!
Want to win this snazzy shirt?

Read the latest e-blast that went out an hour ago! Didn’t get the email? Let me know! Some spam filters don’t like the program we use, but I won’t know unless you give me the head’s up!

It was a bit of a scramble and a touch of serendipity, however, WE have booth space at the upcoming Hub on Wheels event: Sunday, September 25th, 2011 from 9am-5pm!

We’ve got several NEC cyclists participating with the ride, itself and at least one confirmed person to staff the booth (Thanks Tim!). Many of you are using Facebook to coordinate route lengths, arrivals, etc. Keep up the amazing work! Be sure to wear your Tour de Cure jersey (from the last 5 years, at least – these really “pop” in the public’s eye) on Sunday to keep our efforts of advertising the Tour and the NEC alive! We NEED more cyclists (especially more week-long warriors).

If ANYONE can help Tim with the table – PLEASE contact him directly at: timnec@comcast.net
If ANYONE needs help coordinating a meeting place for the actual ride, or wants to ride as a group – I know our ultra-hip Gagne Gang (Darice, Barry, and Pete) of the Livestronger team are on top of things. Look them up on Facebook, or ask me for their email.
Let’s have an AWESOME time at Hub on Wheels, but don’t forget that this is a HUGE opportunity to PROMOTE/RECRUIT!

Anyone that recruits two NEW cyclists* (or more) from this event will receive either a pair of cycling socks or a long sleeve in training tshirt! Be sure to let me know when they’ve registered and “claim” them as yours!

Send them to the site! http://main.diabetes.org/nectourdecure – it’s still a work in progress (i.e. fundraising details/support, driving directions, routes, FAQs, photos), but it IS LIVE!

Check it out if you haven’t already signed taken the plunge for 2012!!

Wiiiith MOTION!

A common phrase both uttered and heard in late-July and August. You might remember the phrase from the 1st night on the NEC 150/550 at the Best Western in Portsmouth! Ahh, those were the days! It’s now nearly 6 weeks after the most adventurous Tour de Cure event the ADA offers has passed and we can feel and see Fall on the early horizon. I wanted to take a moment to relive some of the memorable moments from the New England Classic 150/550 Tour de Cure, recap with our fundraising successes, and thank you all for your incredible work.

Day 1 = Air Conditioning. Need I say more? I think our first night together was one of the very best not only for the temperature controlled environment, but the opportunity to dine and socialize as one group. For the chance to have you all hear just how wonderful you are and to have someone that directly benefits from your hard work and fundraising efforts thank you first-hand.

Day 2 = A NEC 550 rider got into a scuffle with a pot hole, and unfortunately, the pot hole came out the victor. Poor Lee’s trip was cut short, but his spirits remained positive. Returning to UNE with an arm in a sling and a kind word for anyone nearby, he joined the NEC 150 riders on the bus home to get some well deserved R&R. Many thanks to Jim and Kirstin for their immediate response time to his crash and the support you gave him until the cavalry arrived.

Later on the Tour = thanks to the documented encounter from Todd via his Blog

Before I wrap up, I have to share one anecdote. Mike* has been riding the NEC for many years. He’s a very fast rider. John* and Brad* are also fast riders who have been riding the NEC for many years. Among the fastest, there’s always some competition to see who is in first at the end of the day. It’s not a race, really, because everybody stops for breaks and there is no “winner” per se. The group is usually larger including a group from Connecticut, a kid from Indiana, and a few others. The turnout was so low this year that these were the only three.

Stimulus money is still at work in Vermont and there are lots of highway construction projects underway, each with a set of flagmen. On one particular day, John and Brad were out front for the day. Mike came up on one such flagman who had just switched his flag to “Stop”. There was no traffic ahead. There was no traffic behind. The other end of the site was visible and the road was clear. He sat there a few minutes and made some chit-chat with the flagman.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
“How you doing?”
“Good.”
“Nice day.”
“Yeah.”
He waited a few minutes longer. No traffic ahead. No traffic behind. So, finally, Mike said, “Is there some reason we’re stopped here? I mean, I don’t see anything.” The flagman answered, “oh, you can go on ahead. Your pals just asked me to slow you down.”
Mike came in third that day.
* their real names.

I couldn’t think of a better group of people I’d like to work with and work for than each of you. Your stories, your reasons for riding, and your passion fuels me and pushes me to keep reaching for higher goals and make a larger impact on the world around us.

To date, we’ve raised $225,608! Despite our lower numbers for the week-long ride, the NEC 550 riders managed to collect $118,802. The NEC 150 riders came out in full force and reached a rider count of 100! They were $81 shy of gathering $100,000 themselves! I’ve got $9,000 to secure before December arrives and I’m now seeking any leads or ideas to certain companies you may know of that would be a good fit for us, or that would want access to such fantastic people such as yourselves. Mike w/ Team Tally has already reached out to his CEO at TJX and several of you have asked what more you can do. Where do you shop? Who’s your bank of choice? Do you go to a gym? What TV stations/radio stations do you watch/listen? Start asking and maybe get me an introduction – I’ll take care of the rest!

On behalf of the 120+ kids and counselors w/ diabetes from Camp Carefree, on behalf of my father, my aunt, and myself – I thank you for everything you do, give, and share to make this event a success and this world a better place!

Warmest regards,
~Ryan

Hiya Kids,

Jim Evans, our most excellent communications guy/SAG wagon driver deluxe has posted all the pictures he took on the NEC this year. You can check them out here
I know I promised you more details about day 6 and 7, and I’ll try to get to them in the next evening or two.

Keep the wind at your back and the downhills in front of you
GearMan

Monday, Day 7+3, Chez Gear-Lu, 7:30 PM

Hiya Kids,

Sorry for being incommunicado the last few days- The two guest computers at Best Western were even more popular than the bar… Never got a chance to touch them. For those who have been following along, you may or may not know that Lulu and I have been in the process of moving in together in Chez GearMan, (Now officially known as Chez Gear-Lu) and waiting around for the cable guy was about the last thing we had time for in the midst of painting, re-plumbing the whole house, planning, organizing, and marking a 50 mile raining route, moving, training… You get the point. So now, I’m scabbing off the neighbors Wi-Fi (With permission, of course) to try to bring you all up to date on the last little bits of the trip. This will probably take a few days, so keep checking back.

This year, we changed day 6 and 7 routes to accommodate a change in our overnight location- We stayed in Keene, at the rotary,  at the Best Western just before Norm’s Ski and Bike-  sadly, eliminating them as Rest Stop 3. They have been with us for many years and have always been more than kind to us- opening both their facilities and their hearts to us, and always letting us know how welcome we were. The good news? We knocked off the uphill slog past the Troy Fire Dept. as we weren’t heading to Franklin Pierce. The bad news? Even though we weren’t going via Troy, there was still plenty of climbing to be done in order to get back OUT of the Connecticut River Valley. The good news about the bad news? We were doing it in the morning, with fresh legs, and not for the last 15 miles of a roughly 88 mile day 6 as in years past. This mileage was tacked onto the beginning of day 7, although a few crafty re-routes enabled us to minimize the impact, PLUS add two more ice-cream shops for Rest Stops! The first, in Jaffrey, was literally at the end of the runway of Silver Ranch Airport, site of the annual “Jaffrey Festival of Fireworks“, you can check out a 2 or 3 minute sample from a few years ago, when the theme was movies- “Lights, Camera, Pyro!” I was there for about 12 hours on the first of the two day, round the clock setup for this event, complete with live bands, multiple concert sound systems to broadcast the soundtrack, and roughly 25,000 annual viewers. You should check it out if you get the chance.

Rider feedback was positive about the new routes for days 6 and 7, and were REALLY positive about not staying at Franklin Pierce- Home of the World’s hottest cafeteria, and typically host to 250 soccer or cheer-camp kids at the same time as us… Making for 50+ person lines for food, and not many available chairs in the dining area. The best Western was nice, clean, and featured great food and a really great staff, not to mention our own private banquet room. They also had an indoor swimming pool, so if it rains, you can go swimming without having to worry about getting wet… That’s a really nice feature right there!

OK, Now I’m going to go find some dinner. Check back!

Keep the wind at your back and the downhills in front of you
GearMan

Thursday, July 14th 7:55 AM, Summit Lodge, Killington VT

Mornin’ Everyone!
Sorry for no entry yesterday, the SNAFU threw us for a collective loop, and it was a hectic day to say the least. About 75% of the riders are out on the route, tearing down a 5+ mile stretch of 8-10% downhills, on their way into the Connecticut River Valley, and then back into New Hampshire. We’re staying at the Keene Best Western tonight, which is a new stop for us, so the riders will be denied their favorite uphill slog, past the Troy Fire Dept to Franklin Pierce University… It’s not the worst hill of the trip, just the most demoralizing. Just when you think you’re at the top, there’s more… And more… And MORE. The only bad part of spending your morning riding down into the valley, is that it means you’re going to spend your afternoon climbing back OUT of it!

I promise to post more later, but for now I have to beat feet.
Keep the wind at your back and the downhills in front of you
GearMan