Fundraising is Over, And I am Number One.

The Tour De BBQ folks extended the fundraising until November 1st, in order to raise money. Today is November 1st, and I am the number one fundraiser for the Tour De BBQ 2011. 

Top Ten Fundraisers

Tour de BBQ 2011

1. Justin Husman - $1,320.00
2. Steve Tomac - $1,300.00
3. Carrie Helfers - $1,150.00
4. Craig Henwood - $825.00
5. Andrew Warren - $635.00
6. Titus Fehling - $458.00
7. Niki Fehling - $395.00
8. Jonathan Nye - $385.00
9. Stacey Corrado - $270.00
10. Marc Meyer - $262.00

Thanks so much to everyone that donated, I really do appreciate it. You all made this a very special birthday for me, and I cannot thank you enough. 

This does come with a group of prizes, including a handmade trophy. I haven't seen mine yet, but here is what I assume it will look like. 

I Love it When a Plan Comes Together.

I am a Brooks saddle guy  - I know that paints a picture in your head of a fussy old dude with a beard, but I don't always have a beard...

I'm also a guy that reads lots of blogs - the other day, on Rat Trap Press there was a post about work space cleanup. While that doesn't sound particularly exciting, there was a picture in the post that made my heart race. For the past few weeks, I have been cruising eBay and various bicycle parts websites halfheartedly searching for a red saddle for my Ross mountain bike. I say halfheartedly, because I am a Brooks guy - and I know this bike needs a red saddle. Brooks does make a red saddle, but it's obviously a pricey commitment to make to a bike I'm unsure of keeping. On the other hand, I also didn't want to just buy some cheap red saddle just for decorative purposes - the $25 I'd spend on the cheap saddle would probably be better spent on a red Brooks. It's a vicious cycle I'm caught in, but one that makes sense to my crazybrain.

Then I spotted this picture.

This is the part where angels sing. 

I quickly put a comment up asking to get the saddle - I fully intended to buy it, but Myles graciously offered to send it free of charge. (He is also a Brooks man, and can see no reason to have any other type of saddle.) I'm very excited to receive it, and can check one thing off of the list of parts I will need to purchase for the Ross rebuild. We DFW bloggers stick together. 

A Special Offer For All Who Donated.

As some of you may know, I worked very hard begging for money from people to participate in the Tour De BBQ 2011. I ended up raising over $1200 for the University of Kansas Cancer Center, and am very pleased with my results - and just as pleased to know that I know enough charitably mided people that I can raise so much for such a good cause. I wrote a review of the ride here - and some of you may have noticed the stunning picture of me crossing the finish line. That photo was taken by the official ride photographer, and I purchased a high resolution download of the file so that I could have at least one high resolution photo of myself. (Most mughsots are generally very low resolution.)

Even though I signed this in MS paint, it's still better than my real handwriting.

As a special thank you to everyone who donated to my cause, I would like to offer you copies of the photo. You can see that I signed the copy above with a general "thanks" that can apply to everyone, so if that works for you, please feel free to download that copy and order a print - I am assured you can print a poster with that photo if you so choose, because it is so highly resolute.

If you feel like you would like a more personalized signed photo, I'm going to offer one to everyone who donated. Let me know in the comments or by contacting me via email that you would like a personalized photo - I'll mail you a hand signed, 4 X 6 copy of the photo above, at no cost to you. I would ask that you refrain from trying to resell it on eBay and make a profit, unless you will donate 50% of all profits generated to a charity of your choice.

If you want one of these photos and didn't donate, please feel free to do so - then let me know what your photo should say.

Tour De BBQ Fundraising Check In.

Howdy all! I am checking in today with my Tour De BBQ fundraising report. You can actually make this author a liar if you donate before you read. That might be fun.

Anyway, here is the report: I'm still the king at $720.00

Top Ten Fundraisers

Tour de BBQ 2011

1. Justin Husman - $720.00
2. Carrie Helfers - $550.00
3. Craig Henwood - $355.00
4. Stacey Corrado - $245.00
5. Michael Alexander - $150.00
6. Niki Fehling - $145.00
7. Benjamin Andrews - $100.00
8. Luke Babb - $50.00
9. Kathy Lung - $50.00
10. Jonathan Nye - $40.00

Proof here.

Once again, I want to thank everyone who has contributed so far. Notice how I use those two words there - so far. There is still time to make a donation before the ride, so please do if you are inclined to do so. I'm pretty happy at 150% of my initial goal, but would really like to stay in front. If so, I'm going to be an insufferable prick that day, asking everyone, "So, how much did you raise?" and then spiking them with "I'm the number one fundraiser, you know..."

I rode home on Saturday, and man, laying off in the hundred degree heat has been stupid. I couldn't make it much more than 10 or 12 miles an hour, and in fact had to stop once because I was being beaten so badly by the sun. I was OK in July, but I haven't really ridden for most of August - which might have been a miscalculation. I rode some morning rides, and some messing around rides, but that's about it.

HOT

I want to close by saying thanks again to everyone who donated so far - I really do thank you all for making any contribution. I promise not to hammer you with this every year (and in fact, next year I am thinking about riding RAGBRAI) and in fact might never do a fundraiser again. However, I am doing it now, and would really appreciate your donation to me this time.