A Thousand Times No

Remember when I mentioned that I was going to have to spend a lot of time on my bike?  Now that it’s December, I want to say more about the reasons why.

Elden Nelson, the award-winning blogger better known as the Fat Cyclist, has set an outrageously ambitious goal for next year: to assemble over 500 cyclists and runners under one banner during the 2009 Livestrong Challenge events, and to raise a million dollars for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. He has formed “Team Fat Cyclist — Fighting for Susan,” which also goes by the double-wide nickname “Team Fatty.”

To give you some perspective on how over-the-top the targets for Team Fatty actually are, the biggest team in Livestrong history to date was comprised of 260 participants, and the team fundraising record stands at $350,000.

Repeat after me:  Team Fatty will try to double the record for participants, and triple the record for contributions.

This morning I signed up for Livestrong Philadelphia, committing to ride an “English century,” (100 miles in one day) next August.  Then in October, I will be heading down to Austin, Texas, to ride a “metric century” (approximately 100 kilometers / 65 miles) through hilly terrain.  The junk in my trunk is already weeping.

I’ve never been much of a Join-a-thon kind of person, but this is a very special exception.  Before this blog was even a twinkle in my eye, I was a regular reader of Elden’s blog.  He encouraged me to take up electronic ink, and he’s part of the reason why I’m here in the blogosphere today.

So now my blog is making way for the Opening Pitch: I’m going to need your contributions.  Lots and lots and lots of (fully tax-deductible) contributions.  A thousand times over.

You’ll be hearing plenty more about this in the upcoming months, but you can get an early start by stopping by my Livestrong fundraising page and making a secure online contribution.

Please don’t say “No.”