PICTURE YOURSELF HERE JULY 14!

Why does everyone wait for some dumb rodent in Pennsylvania to get yanked out of his hole and announce that spring — at least eventually — is coming?

I can just look at the calendar and see that two months after that varmint appears April will be here and we’ll be chompin’ at the bit to get our butts on our bikes to train for the 2012 NEC! So why wait for that little bugger in the Keystone State to give us the cue it’s time to start thinking about July?

IT’S TIME TO REGISTER FOR THE NEC! THAT MEANS NOW, PRONTO, PDQ, CHOP-CHOP AND LICKETY-SPLIT!

By the time that hibernating furball shows his face on Feb. 2 lets have 125 riders registered to raise funds for the ADA and pedal their tails off to beat the tar out of diabetes. Spread the word to vet and newbie alike that the torch has been passed to a new generation that includes 200 NEC riders, registered early  with their minimum raised by April 1 and their eyes on bringing in even more funds after that to help 26 million Americans win their fight with diabetes.

Stay tuned.

It is now less than 100 days until the New England Classic rolls out of Woburn to make a fund-raising loop around the region for the ADA. The sooner you sign up to ride, the sooner you can start raising funds to fight diabetes and be a part of a fabulous cycling event.

Start today and be at the start line in July

This year promises to be better than ever with new destinations, tweaks to the route and a commitment to raise record funds for the ADA. Don’t miss your chance to ride along with the internationally famous New England Classic Caravan of Crazies.

Get in shape! Have fun! Help the ADA and the nearly 24 million Americans who battle diabetes every day of their life! What could be better?

So sign up today and get out there riding your bike and raising funds. You’ll be glad you did.

Racing in the Cat3/4 women’s race is our very own Emily Wrench of Hub Bicycle (shown here on the right, with some other mug).

So come and cheer. The 8:30 train to Gloucester (Rockport line) will get you there by 9:30, plenty of time for the start of the race. It’s only a short walk or ride from the train to the course. The rain should make for a sloppy fun race.

A quite good video about last year’s race:

Gran Prix of Gloucester 2009 from Mark Lovett on Vimeo.

Bring your cowbell!

This time tomorrow you’ll be halfway to New Hampshire.

Now is our chance to prove it officially.

The Kickstand Look-alike Contest

Help me find the photos of Ryan that look most like Yehuda. The one that did it for me, was one taken by Jim Evans during the 2009 NEC. Can you find a better one?

The competition is likely to be fierce.  This guy is going to be tough to beat.

Who knew there were so many hand drawn Cleveland bicycle shop owner doppelgangers!

Hopefully you are all well under way with training and are making plans to participate in Gearman’s Training Ride. In the meantime, this weekend offers a great opportunity for joining a group ride for 50, 62 or 100 miles.

The Charles River Wheelmen’s spring century rolls out Sunday morning from Wakefield High School and heads into the Merrimack Valley, Northeast Mass. and Southern N.H. There is an arrowed route with maps and cue sheets as well as rest stops with water and food along the way. Entry fee is $20 and the ride is open to nonmembers. For more information check out the CRW web site at www.crw.org

In addition to training, the spring century provides a chance for informal recruiting and marketing. How’s that you say? Well, I’m asking all NEC riders to consider wearing their Tour de Cure jersey from last year. I plan on being there and will be similarly attired. No hard sell, but I’ll be packing brochures in my jersey pocket if anyone asks about the ride.

I hope to see you on the road Sunday.

Tim Wilson

April Fools’ Day has come and gone and that means New England Classic riders need to get down to business. There are almost 24 million people in this country with diabetes counting on us to get serious about raising the funds that will help improve their lives and find a cure for the disease they battle every day.

It looks like here in New England we can actually put aside those plans for building an ark and tune up the bike. Get on the road and start training folks. It’s now less than 100 days – 99 to be exact – before we roll out of Chomerics on Day 1 of the NEC. A well-trained butt is a happy butt so we need you to get yours on the bike so it’s merrily riding along with us in July.

As for fund raising, the sooner you get started the sooner you’ll have raised well more than the minimum.  It’s all about just asking. Whether it’s in person, by phone, in a letter or email, you need to take that first step of asking people if they would like to help defeat an insidious disease afflicting their neighbors, co-workers, friends and family. That’s no exaggeration. Almost 8 percent of the U.S. population or about 1 in 13 people have diabetes.

So what are you waiting for? Don’t be shy. Make your fund-raising efforts something everyone will want to be a part of. Maybe this time of year you can give out jelly beans to everyone who contributes. And when they say, “But diabetes and candy don’t seem to mix,” simply explain that the NEC is “a sweet ride to beat diabetes”. At the same time you’re reminding them that the simple pleasure of a sweet treat that they take for granted isn’t such a simple matter for people with diabetes.

Now don’t finish reading this and make the mistake of telling your self that July is still a long way off. It’s really not. With your training and fund-raising it pays to build momentum early. No ride is too short because every mile in the saddle makes a difference.  No contribution is too small because every dollar makes a difference.

See you on the road.

YOUR BUTT BELONGS HERE

In February your heart belonged to your valentine. Well, it’s March now and regardless of how you fared romantically your butt belongs with us — on a bike that is — in July, riding to raise funds for the American Diabetes Association.

The 2010 New England Classic rolls out in just 4-1/2 months, just 19 weeks or just 132 days depending on how you choose to count. But no matter how you count it’s closer than you think. And if you haven’t registered to ride yet it’s way too close. What are you waiting for? Spring?? Spring doesn’t really exist in New England. So if you are already sick of winter do your psyche some good and pretend it’s already summer.

What does that mean? That means the NEC is just around the corner and you better get your butt in gear, get registered, start fund-raising and at least think about training!

Don’t believe me? I’ll tell you what. Go down to Parker-Hannifin Chomerics at 77 Dragon Court in Woburn at 1 p.m. Saturday and tell me you don’t see a bunch of cyclists talking about this great ride around New England they are doing to support the American Diabetes Association. There’s no surer sign of summer than a gathering of the NEC Caravan of Crazies.

See you there at the Rider Roundup.

Punxsutawney Phil

OK, you varmints, it’s time to crawl out of your hole and get with the program. That’s right, it’s Groundhog Day and I’m back – again – to harass, remind, haunt, plead, implore, beg or whatever else it takes to get you to register for the American Diabetes Association’s 2010 New England Classic.

This year’s tour is shaping up to be the best ever. We’ve already hit the 60-rider mark and are aiming for all-time highs in riders and fund-raising. But we need you to make this happen. If you’re a veteran rider, don’t make like that petulant Punxsutawney character hunkered down on Gobbler’s Knob waiting for spring. Sub-freezing temperatures are absolutely perfect for registering as a rider in the New England Classic. You don’t have to leave the house or even get out of your PJs.

Just go to http://main.diabetes.org/nectourdecure and sign up. Right now! There’s no time like the present to start raising funds for the ADA. In fact, you should take the same approach to fund-raising and training – early and often.

Day One is just 23 weeks from this Saturday and soon you’ll hear more about our annual Rider Roundup on March 6, where you can trade stories from past years, make plans for this year and meet new riders. We’ve got four weeks until the Roundup and I say we should celebrate it with a century – that’s right 100 riders registered. What did you think I was suggesting, a 100-mile training ride? Not yet. But I just may celebrate with a ride to the Roundup if we hit 100 riders.