photos

Whoops... forgot to mention: Amanda and Thomas had cameras. They took pictures. You can see them here and here. Thanks to both for posting them.

times and lbs.

Sorry for the delay, folks - I could complain about the frustrating treatment of tables by Blogger, but who really cares about that?

Anyway...here's the numbers.

Rex won the Grand Prize for his performance in the "fastest with the heaviest load overall"... other people came in faster, or brought in heavier loads, but the way the points came out (with the 40 lb minimum), he was the big winner.

On the Short Course, the heaviest loads 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th went to Jonathan (55lbs in a trailer), Heidi (49lbs in her panniers), Nick, and Matt.

On the Long Course, Jimmy smoked the course with a 70 minute time, but though Scrawny Petecame in 5 minutes later, he was carrying 27 lbs more and beat Jimmy in the points competition. Spencer picked up 2nd in the points competition, and Gary brought in a record 72 pound haul in a trailer to win the overall weight prize.

Again, huge thanks to everyone who came and rode, and to all the sponsors that contributed to the prize pool.

Damn... bikes are fun.

Short Course

Name	Town	Minutes	Lbs	Adjusted time
Jonathan	Ypsi	100	55	45.0
Heidi T.	AA	89	49	40.0
Rex R.	AA	71	44	26.9
Nick T.	AA	75	43	32.0
Matt C	AA	75	42	33.0
Allen B.	AA	97	38	59.3
Alice	AA	100	36	63.6
Jesse	AA	52	28	22.3
Natalie H.	Ypsi	71	28	42.9
Tom L.	Ypsi	71	27	44.2
Pete H.	AA	66	20	45.5
Lisa N.	AA	96	18	78.4
Jordan B.	AA	97	18	79.3
Li'l Joe	AA	52	13	37.3
Pete C.	AA	85	12	73.1
Ren F.	AA	96	11	85.4
Larry O	Belleville	60	9	50.5
Forrest K.	Ypsi	60	9	50.5
BenC	Whitmore Lake	83	8	75.3
Wendy C.	AA	85	8	77.1
Melissa	Ypsi	100		100.0
Andy C	Ypsi	71
Dave M	AA

Long Course

Name	Town	Minutes	Lbs	Adjusted time
Scrawny Pete	AA	75	31	43.5
Gary H.	AA	130	72	58.0
Spencer	AA	86	24	62.1
Jimmy R	AA	70	4	65.8
Todd H.	AA	70	4	65.9
Paul N.	AA	92	25	66.7
Trey A.	Ypsi	82	15	66.8
Georgina H.	Ypsi	99	20	79.0
Luke S.	Ypsi	107	24	83.4
Kenneth	AA	106	19	86.5
Rob D.	ypsi	116	28	88.0
Jackie Y	AA	106	13	92.5
JJ	AA	109		109.0
Noodle	AA	131	19	112.0
Anthony C.	AA	136	20	116.0
Kristina J.	AA	150	28	122.0
Andy E	Redford

A quick thank you...

There's a bunch of follow-up to be done, but for the moment, let me start off by saying a bunch of thanks yous right here and right now.

First of all, huge thanks to everyone who came out, rode, donated, and overall kicked ass. Near the end there, I announced that the total haul was 852 lbs of food. But I was wrong. I wasn't counting the non-race donations, and I was totaling individual weights, and rounding-error stack-up blahblahblah... well John from Food Gatherers shot me an email yesterday and when they weighed it all on the big scale back at the warehouse - 1005 lbs.

Holy Guacamole, folks... that's half a ton.
I was hoping to do better than last year, and secretly, I dreamed of 1000 as a target for this year, and well... there we are. Speechless, me.


OK, I take that back, not exactly speechless. I'll go on here a little because there's more thank yous to pass along. Cranksgiving Ann Arbor had a bunch of very generous sponsors this year, and I am grateful for their generous support. My goal with the prizes was to have an incentive for people to haul lots of food and do it fast. Not just riding fast, but not just carrying heavy cargo, either. It worked out better than I could've hoped. 41 people, 1000lbs of food. That averages out to ~25 lbs each. Wow.

Attracting people to benefit a good cause goes a lot easier when there are prizes to be won too. I will admit to some amount of flat-out cold-calling, and it just goes to show how classy some folks are - our sponsors came through and made the prize pool splendid indeed.

Special Huuuuge Thanks to Emily and all the folks at Surly. They chipped in this huge prize pack of really cool stuff (jerseys, hubs, hats, flasks, tools, and more...) that arrived just in time, and I was very glad to be able to spread that stuff around to the people who hauled in food. I wasn't planning on having a title sponsor, but if you count it by the prize donations, Surly was it. They make cool stuff - you should check them out. (One day, when I have space and money for it, I'm getting myself a Big Dummy. I swear... hauling big stuff without the trailer hassle? Sign me up.)

But that's not all - importantly (to me), Swobo came through early on (months ago) in the prize donations, and that support was a big part of trying to make a good event. Thanks Stevil, for the support and donation, and indirectly, motivational support. People talk about community of bike people, and everyone knows the people in their neighborhood, but when you see it come from all the way over in a different time zone, I know that people on bikes, wherever they are, are the good kind of people. (and if you haven't read Stevil's blog, you should. good times, that.)

But let's not forget all the other sponsors... Go with what you know, right? Well... I have a tendency to reach out to suppliers of my drug(s) of choice, and when it comes to around town, it's Arbor Brewing Company and Mighty Good Coffee.

Rene and Matt at ABC are just...well, pillars of the community around here. Not only do they make tasty beer, but they sponsor lots of events for good causes, are active with developing a vibrant downtown, and put their money back into the community. I, for one, and very glad they're here. Thanks to Matt and Rene and Beth for the contribution of the mug club membership. When Rex had first pick at prizes, the mug club was the first thing he wanted, and for good reason.

Dave at MGC not only chipped in coffee beans and tires to the prize pool, but brought brewed coffee to the race for everyone. OK, I lie... Wendy actually brought it. But Mighty Good Coffee is good bike people, and good coffee people, and that's goodness to go around. I got the impression that they pedal beans to your door...(?) Invested in local community, making good product, environmentally conscious? Sweet.

And still in Michigan... a big thanks to Velocity in Grand Rapids and The Hub Of Detroit for helping out with the prize pool. Velocity makes sweet rims, and wheels, and all kinds of other stuff, and has been supporting and promoting racing for as long as I can remember. The Hub (aka Back Alley Bikes) is not only a bike shop, but as half of what they do is a place for a local cycling outreach and education. Bringing more bikes to more people in the city, and sharing knowledge. Good stuff.

And not to forget Yancopads for their support - they make sweet hats and frame-protecting pads for your urban bike-padding needs, and their generous support for this and other events around these parts.

OK, so that wasn't exactly quick thank yous, but that's just because I go on and on. So I'm going to stop now. I'll get results posted after I type 'em in... soon, soon, I swear.

more support

Emily over at Surly just let me know that they're sending a care package our way... which is so very very cool of them.

Among my personal herd of steeds, is my very own Surly. I do so enjoy it, and I'm not plugging them just because they're chipping in prizes. In a world of crazy carbon-ium, silly-low-spoke-count wheels, and all sorts of other shiny doo-dads, Surly makes solid bikes that ride really nice. Think about it next time you're shopping for a new bike.

it goes a little something like this...

What's Cranksgiving? - It's a food drive, on bikes, with prizes. Some might call it a race, but you don't have to be a racer to participate (there's two courses - fast/hard, and slow/determined).

When, Where, and How does it happen? - Sunday, November 23rd, 2008. Meet at Bandemer Park at the Main St. entrance (click here for a map) at 3:00 pm. Bring yourself, a bike, some money (to buy food), a lock (for parking outside the grocery stores), and something to carry food in while you're riding.

From the starting point, you'll go to local grocery stores (maps will be provided) and buy non-perishable food items - keeping the receipts to prove you bought them during Cranksgiving. After you've gone to all the stores on your course, you come back to the finish line where you'll drop off the food. Food Gatherers will be collecting and weighing the food, and there will be some post-Cranksgiving warm beverage, and socializing, and awarding of prizes.

Does it cost money? - Yes. But you're not giving the money to me - you're using it to buy food, and that food goes to Food Gatherers, who runs the food bank for Washtenaw County. How much money? - That depends on you - how much you buy/give. I would recommend bringing at least $10. You have to buy something from at least one store, but the prizes are geared towards hauling food, so the more you bring in, the better the winnings. (heh. get it? "geared"?)

Remember though - it's not about throwing money around. It's about how much food. Big cans of tuna, peanut butter, bags of rice, beans - they're nutritious, and cheap, and feed more people. My biggest nightmare is that people come in with 5 single-servings of ramen. My biggest dream is that people do like Adam and Matt and Ben and Natalie did last year, with 5lb bags of rice, 16 lb turkeys, bringing in 18lbs of pasta and peanut butter... that kind of thing.

What's the Course? - There's two: the Super Size course will be long. About 15 miles or so - kind of like last year, but not exactly the same - but probably 5 stores. Appetizer Course will have 3 stores on the route, so shorter.

What is there to win? - Well, everyone wins the satisfaction of knowing that they're helping people in need. But more specifically:

• Grand Prize: Round-trip airfare for one, anywhere that NorthWest Airlines will take you on 50,000 frequent flyer miles. So there's restrictions based on their policies for "award travel", you know... blackout dates, etc. etc. but as long as you can navigate that, it's off you go.
  
• Other Prizes: Merino Jerseys from Swobo, Rims from Velocity, Beer from Arbor Brewing Co. (mug club membership), pads/hats from Yancopads, coffee from Mighty Good Coffee, etc.
  

What the weather is crappy? - Rain/snow or shine, folks. Hunger knows no season, and neither do we. Wear gloves, dress warm, pedal hard.

so far, so good.

A flyer for the moment. Other sponsors TBA.

I'm still trying to figure out how to give away a plane ticket as a prize. I've got 50,000 frequent flyer miles to give away, which gets you a round-trip in the lower 48 on NorthWest. Should it be the grand prize for the fast ones, or the ones who bring in more food?

other stuff going on

Also happening the weekend of Cranksgiving... a multi-day event in Detroit - 6pm Saturday night for makin' with the tricks and skids, and 8pm Sunday night for the the alleycat and the party with the DJ. Check out Andrew's blog for details.

For the ambitious, do all three - show off your skills on Saturday in Detroit, show off your big heart (and hauling capacity) on Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor at Cranksgiving, and then head back to The D on Saturday night to how off your speed and style and partyness.

Nice.

we now return you...

... to your regularly scheduled race.

OK folks, it's been a little slack over the summer, but now that the Halloween festivities are over, and now that the election is (almost) over, what we have before us is - Cranksgiving. The plan is the same as earlier with two courses to choose from. The date? It's going to be the 23rd. Sunday. Afternoon. Daylight (or as much as we can get).

The good news I got today is that Velocity is chipping in to the prize pool too. How awesome is that? They're here in Michigan, make really sweet stuff, and they're really cool folks. Thanks to MD over in Grand Rapids.

Stay tuned folks, it's shapin' up. I'm getting that tingly Cranksgiving feeling again.

Swobo: supporters extraordinaire

I got a package in the mail today - one that just gives me a solidly warm and fuzzy feeling about bike people out there. Stevil over at Swobo shipped over the beginnings of the prize pool for Cranksgiving Ann Arbor 2008. Stevil, along with being My Favorite Swobo Employee, is the brains and fingers behind How To Avoid The Bummer Life as well.

I hear people talk about "doin' you a solid". I didn't quite know what that meant until now. This guy, half a continent away, who I've never met, is helping out with prizes for a race to benefit a food bank he hadn't heard of before. Maybe it's love for bike people, maybe it's a promotional opportunity, maybe it's a charitable tendency, maybe all of the above. I don't care what you call it. That, my friends, is what I call a standup guy.

So now we've got these sweet 100% Merino jerseys that are 100% ready to be 100% won. 100% Awesome.

the wheel... she turns.

No, not the bike wheel, but that does too. The wheel of the seasons. The years. The cycles of hoosey-whatsey.

So here we are in 2008, and I'm already having silly ideas about Cranksgiving. You see, it's not just a food drive, it's not just a race, it's an "experience™".

So I'm thinking about how to make it fun for all... We want to bring in lots of food, so that means lots of people, but it needs to cater (heh, get it? "cater") to the varying riding types out there. So in the interest of attracting not only the usual motley bunch of bike fanatics and hammerheads, I'm introducing a new format. Feature. Way of life.

This year, we'll have 2 courses to choose from:

• Appetizer Course - a modest course with a few checkpoints. Not as long as last year, and I think the prizes will go for amount of food. Maybe a timed, specified grocery load division and un-timed, unlimited weight division. Maybe for furriest bunny suit... something like that. I haven't quite figured how that will work yet, but it'll be good.
• Super-Size Course will be long and fast. It will be grrr-reat. When Brady, Sean and Dave came blasting into the parking lot last year, they had the finish-line shakes. You know, where you've been pushing the pedals hard enough and long enough that when you stop and try to get the receipts out of your pocket, your hands are shaking too hard to separate them and you can't stop coughing because you've been sucking wind hard for the past hour? That's what I'm talkin' 'bout. Not everyone killed themselves like that, but not everyone came in 7 minutes before the next finisher, either. But the food matters too, so we might up the weight bonus just to keep things interesting...
  

And so since I'm getting a start on the shenanigans early, I thought I would start planning the prize pool early too. I know, it's early. But I was awestruck when I heard back right away from Stevil Kinevil over at How To Avoid The Bummer Life that they'll chip in to the prize pool. For those that are unfamiliar - Stevil is the biking, beering, blogging, mustached sensation over at Swobo. I was a fan of HTATBL before, but now I see it as what it really is - a Big Heaping Pile of Awesome. Thanks, Swobo.

(On a more somber note: you might have heard in the news - one of the myriad of consequences of the recessi-... er, "economic downturn" is that donations to food banks are way down. Please consider giving in your local neighborhood. If you live in Washtenaw County, that's Foodgatherers. Their annual summer fundraiser where they raise a big chunk of their annual budget, is coming up, so mark your calendars.)