New Contest to Benefit LIVESTRONG

Now is the time, less than 2 weeks till race day. The time to donate is quickly running out. Luckily for all you fellow procrastinators out there, good things come to those who wait.

In an effort to reach my goal of $3000.00, I am pulling out all the stops and having one last fundraising extravaganza. Alright, it's less like an extravaganza and more like a raffle, but it's still fun and you could win a great prize all while helping fight cancer.

The Prize.

A Complete Custom Alpha Cornhole Set from CornholeU.com. Those of you who know me well, know that I own CornholeU.com, but that's beside the point. Look at this beauty.










This set includes the custom painted boards in your choice of color, a set of matching bags, and shipping in the continental US. A value, if purchased at CornholeU.com of over $200.00! If you win and you're out of the US, we'll figure something out.

Don't yet know what Cornhole is? Not too worry, the short of it is, it's like horse shoes but played with corn filled bags and wooden boards with holes in them. For a more in depth view into what you've been missing, check out CornholeU.com. And what a better way to get into the "sport" than to win a custom set.

To be entered to win all you have to do is donate to my LIVESTRONG page anytime between NOW and August 20th. (Better sooner rather than later)

For every $5.00 that you donate you get one entry into the drawing. Donate 50 bucks and you just got 10 entries my friend. I like those odds. Ten bucks = 2 entries...you get the idea.

So hop to it. Winners will be selected using random.org and will be announced on Monday August 24th...could be your lucky day. Plus, you're fighting cancer at the same time. It's a win/win.

Speaking of win/win I almost forgot. Even if you don't win, (even though you probably will) everyone who donates between now and August 20th will get a $10.00 off coupon good at CornholeU.com. Giving 5 to get 10, it's like free money.

Thanks for your help, I can't do it without you.

Long Overdue Post

My Bad.

Lots of stuff to report as I haven't posted in a while, but I also don't want you to have to sit and read for the next hour, so I'll briefly mention what's been going down in my world and in my bike riding, and then I'll go into some more detail in upcoming posts.

First of all, congratulations go out to Clint, who won the Frost Mileage Challenge for June. His consistency has paid off and he handily beat Chad and I for the month. Things have been a bit busy for the three of us it seems so pictures and results were slow to come in this month, but that shouldn't take away from Clint's victory. He was able to stop the mileage train that Chad was on for a while and now each of us has won a month. July is the last month that we'll be doing the mileage challenge as the century ride is in August so being that's it all tied up, July should be interesting.

I'm back in a pretty good groove when it comes to riding. I went through a spell of being uninspired and not very motivated a few weeks back but now I'm back on it. A ride up in Ithaca with my father-in-law Larry got the juices flowing again. I was a bit bored and burnt out with the lame roads I was riding around Meriden and the beautiful scenery and roads up there drove me to look a little bit deeper in my own backyard for better routes. Since I have taken up riding in a group ride out of our local bike shop on Monday nights and it's been going well. The first time out, I went with the "C" group. They ride at a fun 13 or so mph pace and we had a great time. I found some spectacular roads that I had never been on before that were literally less than 10 miles from my house. As I had a pretty easy time with them, the next time I set out with the "B" team and was more challenged for sure. We averaged about 18.8 mph for 33 miles and I had an awesome time. Riding with a group is drastically different than chugging along by your lonesome and I'm loving it. Still a bit nervous that I don't know all the proper riding etiquette and what not, but I haven't pissed anyone off yet, and I'm making it pretty well known that I'm new so maybe I'm getting some slack.

I'm still out of a job, so it's been a few weeks but it's the summer and I have a couple things working so not in any sort of panic. As a side project even before I was laid off I was starting an online retail store so this has given me a chance to get that off the ground and I even made my first sale already. You may recall my post after Memorial Day not only did I talk about the 100 Miles of Nowhere, but in that post I also talked about the greatest backyard game/sport ever. Cornhole. My new online store offers everything you need to learn and start playing Cornhole. If you haven't heard of it yet, you soon will, and if you're that guy who likes to have everything first, go to http://www.CornholeU.com, get your gear and bring Cornhole to a neighborhood or tailgate near you. It's awesome.

Besides that, I've been looking for a job, working on securing financing for the movie and trying to enjoy the summer. Weather's been a bit dodgy here, but riding should really pick up in July. Oh, I almost forgot. Another reason that my mileage has suffered is that I now officially have to split time between riding and running. As you've heard me mention, the speed of cycling has made running seem a bit more tedious, but I've been on some great runs lately and realize that it'll always have a spot in my training routine. That's good news too, considering that I found out about a month ago that I was selected to run in the 40th running of the New York City Marathon. It's that Cadillac of marathons and I'm really excited to have the opportunity. I'm a bit scared as this will be my first full marathon but I will have six half marathons under my belt by the time November 1st, race day, rolls around and I'm now really motivated to get out and jog a bit.

Lastly, great news on the fundraising front. I have officially crossed over the halfway mark to reaching my goal of raising $3,000.00 for the LIVESTRONG Challenge. Thanks to a great supporting email from Kim, Todd's sister-in-law who is battling breast cancer right now, and the support of Becky's California relatives, I'm at $1,605.00 and going strong. I have a motorcycle rally in support of the cause coming up later this month and I'm hoping that with you're help will put me over the edge. It's a great cause and I can't tell you how much your support means to me and to the overall fight for a cancer cure.

Thanks for catching up, more frequent posts to come.

Christmas in June

Fatty Gear Arrived!!


It's a good day. I opened the mailbox and was greeted by a sizable package from Twin Six. It could only mean one thing, my new FatCyclist apparel is in da house. Now you know I'm not a real cyclist, and as such, up until today I did not own a real cycling jersey.


Well friends, now I do.


And not just any jersey, a limited edition 2009 Fat Cylcist jersey. Oh, and I said sizable package so you know there's more than just a jersey. That's right, I also got a Fatty water bottle, Fatty socks, a Fatty t-shirt, and the creme de la creme...FatCyclist bib shorts. It's the complete package, and it's nice. Bib shorts will be a new adventure for me. What could be cooler than padded spandex shorts? Padded spandex shorts with overall-like suspenders to hold them up. Oh yaa. I'm contemplating posting a picture of me in the bib shorts, but I'm not sure I'm ready for that level of public humiliation. Plus I'm trying to gain new readers, not scare existing one's off, so I'm on the fence about it. Probably would be pretty funny though...I'll think about it.


The best part of this cycling gear extravaganza, all of the proceeds from Twin Six's sales of this Fatty gear goes right to LIVESTRONG, to help cancer survivorship and research. Awesome. A while back I did a post on how Twin Six rules, and this is certainly more proof of that fact. Keep up the good work Ryan and crew.

I'm proud to wear this stuff, and it's a constant reminder that this is all for a great cause. A nessesary cause.

Mileage Monday Update Coming Soon

Here we are, another week has gone by and another Mileage Monday is upon us. I have yet to get the report in from my brothers so the official post will be coming a little later today, but here's a little tease of the post to come.

I got in a total of 36 miles last week. I got in twenty on the Lotus and only got out for one measly little 16 mile ride on my bike. I should've gotten in some miles yesterday, but Todd twisted my arm into some golf instead, (he didn't have to twist hard, or at all really) so my total stands at 36 miles. If my math is correct, and thanks to the calculator on my computer it is, my grand total since starting this mileage counting thing is 92 miles. A mere 8 miles from the LIVESTRONG Challenge finish line, and it only took me three weeks...nice.

Mileage Challenge

It's On!

As you know my brothers and I are taking on this LIVESTRONG Challenge thing, but things just got a little more interesting. We have decided to do a monthly mileage challenge to make sure that we getting in the training that we need to, and also to raise some more money for this great cause. Here's how it's going to go down.

At the beginning of each month, we will all take pictures of the odometers on our bikes to record our starting point for the month. The goal then being, quite obviously, to ride the most amount of miles out of the three of us, in that month. Sounds good right, but a competition like this wouldn't be much fun without a carrot dangling so here it is. If you ride the least amount of miles in the month, you must donate $20.00 to the winner's LIVESTRONG page, and $5.00 to the second place guy's LIVESTRONG page. If you come in second, you must donate $15.00 to the winner's LIVESTRONG page. If you win, you just rake in the donations. Sweet. Here's an example, as I'm sure I didn't explain that as easily as I could have.

The Challenge started yesterday, April 1st. No, it's not a joke. So if Chad rides 300 miles in April, Clint rides 200, and I ride 100, here's how it would play out.

I would donate, $20.00 to Chad, the winner, and $5.00 to Clint, (second place). Clint would donate $15.00 to Chad. And all Chad does is brag about kicking our butts and watch his fundraising pot grow. Simple right?

We're going to check in with each other every Sunday night, and I'll post a mileage update on Mondays. Yup, "Mileage Mondays", my first recurring segment on the blog, love it.

We'll see how April goes, I'd love to figure out a way to get you, the reader, involved. Like picking your horse for the month and pledging a certain donation based on the outcome. Something like that, I don't know, could be cool and its for a good cause, but I have to put some more thought into it. Any suggestions, I'd love to hear 'em.

Thanks for reading and following along.

New Rider for the Cause

Team Fatty Keeps on Growing

A warm welcome goes out to my friend and new team mate Todd Guerrette. Todd has joined Team Fat Cyclist: Fighting for Susan and will be riding with my brothers and I, in the 100 mile LiveSTRONG Challenge in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, Todd's sister-in-law Kim is battling breast cancer, so in honor and support of her, Todd will be dusting off the bike (yes, he already owns one) and raising money to support the cause.

Having Todd join up is a great addition and is a good reminder that this isn't just a fun ride or a good excuse to try something new and make fun of myself. While the journey to race day can be fun, and learning a new sport is exciting/humiliating, the entire reason that we're taking on this challenge is to support a critical cause that in some way, effects us all. We appreciate your support, both financially and otherwise, so please visit our fundraising pages and keep the emails and comments coming.

If you live in CT/MA/RI area, keep an eye out for our fundraising events. I'll make sure all the information gets posted to the blog as we finalize things, but we will be throwing an event or two in support of the Philly 09 LiveSTRONG challenge so stay tuned. If you'd like to be kept in touch via email please drop me a note at noncyclist@gmail.com and I'll make sure you get added to the distribution list. To make sure you don't miss a blog, bookmark this page or you can also subscribe to noncyclist.com using the subscription buttons on the right hand side of the blog. Again, thanks for all of the support!

No Bike...No Problem

Welcome to Non-Cyclist.

This is a blog about the quest to get ready for the 2009 Livestrong Challenge. My name is Clay and along with my brothers Chad and Clint, I have signed up to ride in the 100 mile Livestrong bike ride next August in Philadelphia.

A Little History

My older brother Chad is a pretty avid cyclist and had been contemplating riding in the 100 mile race for some time. Finally, while all on the phone one night he said he had signed up. Without really thinking it through, I blurted something out like, "that would be fun, we should all do it." Clint and Chad have been to Moab twice and have done some biking together in the past. Myself on the other hand, I don't own a road bike and have never ridden one. I got a mountain bike for graduation 10 years ago that I've ridden way more than 10 times, probably at least 15.

OK, so I'm not a prime candidate for a century ride, but it sounds like a good time and more importantly it is raising money for a good cause. For more information on how the Lance Armstrong Foundation helps in the fight against cancer check out their website.

Inspiration

One of the ways that Chad got turned onto this event was through Fat Cyclist. If you haven't checked out this blog you are really missing out. If you have visited the site you may be thinking to yourself that the name Non Cyclist is eerily similar. Yes, it's true. I have derived a bit of inspiration from the Fat Cyclist blog. I should make it clear that this blog will be in no way as funny, entertaining, thought provoking or worthwhile as Fat Cyclist. However, I love the fact that Elden started his blog as a way to hold himself accountable in his effort to shed some pounds. Now, however it has grown to be much more. I can't replicate his story or his story telling so to learn more about him and how cancer has effected/is effecting his life read his blog. What I can tell you is that he is putting together the largest, most dedicated Livestrong Challenge team in history. I'm proud that my brothers and I are members of Team Fat Cyclist: Fighting for Susan, and I plan to use this blog to help hold myself accountable to the training/learning I need to do before race day.

I can't promise that I'll post everyday or that everything will be spelled right but if you want to take a journey with me without have to get the saddle sores, check back often to see how I'm doing. Wish me luck.