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The fat is falling to the floor here at Bike Monkey HQ. A clarity is settling into our eyes and our chests are puffing themselves up considerably. We’re in full-press Fondo mode and have focused our gaze with great precision on the task ahead. No more races to put on, no more magazine issues to produce; there’s nothing that can stop us from pouring all our energies into creating the best day on the bike any of you have ev–
Sorry. Someone came by the office with a box of puppies. And then we went for a ride. And some pizza. And a few beers. Followed by a nap.
Anyway, we’re enjoying the bizarre comfort that comes from having one single intimidating purpose. When it comes to the Fondo, we’re all yours, every minute of every day. More or less.
A Trail of Crumbs:
Merchandise Makes Landfall–A Little Present From Our Friends At Capo
Trek Bikes–The Power of Belief
TwittyFace–Where To Find Us Talking About What We Had For Lunch
Forget Me Not Farm–You Should Know The Good Work You’re Supporting
Finding Your Way–Training Tips from El Patron and Route Maps For All You Planning Types
From Milan With Love
We traffic in faith around here a fair bit. Just like you, we had naught but two-dimensional drawings of the GranFondo apparel for 2011. Just like you, we had nothing but the staunch record of our friends at Capo to keep us from losing sleep each night. Completely unlike you, we were sitting on a hill of cash you all gave us so you could get the bike clothing of your dreams. Last week, all that faith turned into shimmering, skin-hugging sweetness from scalp to sole. The GranFondo kits are in and, for all of you who pre-ordered, they’re in the mail.
For those who didn’t pre-order, we’ll have tons available at the event, both Friday and Saturday. Best get there early, though. Stock is limited to what’s on hand and we’ll go through it quickly. Mockups, prices, descriptions, and sizing charts are still on our website at www.levisgranfondo.com/store.
#Follow@Social_Media, FTW, OMG
Thanks to Twitter and Facebook, we are living in a new, bold age, where relationships are defined in a new technological vernacular. Also, you can totally check out your ex’s new fling and see visual proof that dumping you was the biggest mistake they ever made. You think Zuckerberg doesn’t do that?
Seriously, while this all can be a bit goofy, we’re stoked on being able to talk (and listen) to each of you casually and effectively. We Twitter madly under @levisgranfondo and our name is in the Book of Faces at www.facebook.com/levisgranfondo. Follow us. Like us. You know you want to.
Forget Me Not Farm
Levi’s GranFondo is, above all, a fundraising ride. Our beneficiaries are admittedly complex, but they’ve been chosen for one reason: they’re a reflection of our own diverse community and of the quality of life we strive for here in Sonoma County. Case in point: Forget Me Not Farm.
Levi and his wife Odessa are well-known animal lovers and believers in the power of a fuzzy companion’s affection and healing company. It was only natural that started working with Forget Me Not Farm, a working Sonoma County farm that not only rescues abandoned farm animals, but pairs them with at-risk children who care for them. These kids form long-term relationships and emotional connections with these animals, discovering the value of affection, curiosity, and responsibility in the unconditional ways that people often cannot. For some kids, this Farm is a refuge and is the only consistent and reliable part of their tumultuous lives.
A portion of the proceeds from the GranFondo will go to support Forget Me Not Farm for the third year in a row. We hope you’re as proud of your part in these kids’ lives as we are.
Trek Bicycles
The name Trek Bicycles has long been considered synonymous with innovation, performance, and quality. They were there when the world needed the best handmade steel touring frames in the 70s. They were pushing the envelope with their OCLV Carbon in the 90s. Today is no exception, with collections of premier bikes designed to put the rider on the edge of their goals, be it crushing the competition or cruising the boardwalk. You see these bikes under professional champions and Trek loves nothing more than bringing that winning capacity to you.
We’re proud to share Levi’s GranFondo with a company that sees bikes as a way to save both the world and ourselves. In Trek’s own words, only a bike can “take us places we would never see any other way.”
And we couldn’t agree more.
The Road Ahead
You tell us. Better to know every inch of the road ahead or to abandon caution and expose oneself to the whims and winds of the world?
Ah, pre-riding. If you’d like, please do so. We’ve got maps and elevation profiles on the website with rest stops marked, so plan away. Should you opt for a pre-Fondo jaunt or two, remember you’re in someone else’s backyard and there are no road closures, no support, and little to no cell signal. Ride with respect and do not underestimate the technical descents, steep grades, and all-around long-way-from-home-ness of GranFondo routes. Especially the gran route.
On the day of the event, we’ll have the course signed so well, you won’t need a turn-by-turn sheet or map. We’ll have the whole course so well signed, Stevie Wonder could ride it. Higher ground, indeed.
Training Tips from El Patron
You all may have heard that our main man Levi just put the wood to several of his peers at the recent US Pro Challenge, taking the win for Stage 1 and putting himself in a keen position going forward. As such, we figure he’s got something to say about getting some performance out of one’s bag of bones. A while back, he saw fit to put some of his GranFondo training tips to paper for our bros at Road ID. You’ve still got time to turn those legs into quads of destruction…or at least sausages of distinction. Check it over here. And send LL some sweet thoughts via Twitter and Facebook. He reads each one (not kidding!).
Tickets are still available for our Festa del Fondo gala dinner!
Volunteers are still needed in hundreds of different places. Enlist here!
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