Help me help the Yinzer Yutes

I've agreed to help the Trans-Sylvania Epic raise money for the PA Interscholastic Cycling League... and THERE'S SOMETHING IN IT FOR YOU (keep reading, you can win something nicer than a box of chocolates).

I hate to be all wishy-washy about it, but the children really are our future.  I don't want to weigh you down with all the bleeding heart feels stuff, but they're going to be the ones advocating, politicking, consuming (thus pushing the "industry" to produce new standards we need), and building trail long after all us currently forty-fifty year somethings are burned out and tired... but still riding... just slower... except Ned and Tinker.  Those are just the selfish reasons.

Want to know all the unselfish reasons to support our junior riders and potential junior riders who haven't yet been exposed to the most awesome sport known to man (next to stick shaking, which will replace single speeding's cult status)?

Here's a sweet tidbit over on Pink Bike about the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) and why it's important to them, the youth of a nation.  There's even some more specific information as to what we (me and my fellow TSE'ers) are trying to do over on the pledge page.

In the interest of making this more interesting for all parties interested, I asked Industry Nine if they would be willing to donate a pair of Torch hubs (retail value @ $575+) for the purposes of a fund raising raffle.  There was zero hesitation on their part.  Yeth.  That's what I heard anyways.  Might have just been "yes."  Same same.

Industry Nine has done this kind of thing for so many groups and organizations, I'm surprised we all don't already have at least one set of I9 hubs by now.  BTW:  This prize would also be good towards getting a full-on Industry Nine wheel system (hubs, aluminum spokes, rims) if you wanna pony up for the difference.  Say whuh?

So, yeah.  Details.

$10 gets you two chances to win and every $5 more gets you another... the sky is the limit on donations and number of entries, so feel free to bust open those piggy banks for the cause.

Why start at two for $10 and not one for $5?

Dig deep, folks.  Like a burrito and a Coke deep (you're not getting a burrito and a novelty-sized Dos Equis for $10).  If you can only afford to spare $1-$9, it will be appreciated.  Just don't cheat yourself out of a meal to do so, hoping you'll have a shot at the hubs... because you won't.

All this will be on the up and up.  Each name/entry will be assigned a number as the donations start to pour in.  Your name gets two numbers for $10, three for $15, four for $20... I think you get it.

In this example, John Smith gave $10, Fred Durst gave $35, Jeff Goldblum gave $20 (must be running low on Super Bowl commercial money).

I'll then use an online random number picker to choose a winner.  No darts.  No flipping a coin three hundred times to get through a useless (but very exciting) bracket system.  I need to do everything right so it's super legit.  There's probably more than a 50% chance I'm going to know the winner personally.  Who else reads this blog anyways?

Maybe I'll have The Pie do all the number generating and cross referencing on video to keep it superdonkey above board?

So donate away STARTING NOW.    You have until June 3rd to get your money in, and then on June 6th, I'll announce a winner.  I need the three day grace period to get back from TSE, and make sure the ducks are all in a row.  Not sure how easy it will be to add names to the numbered list while I'm at Boy Scout Camp on my flailing laptop or iPhone.

And I also want to make someone's Monday less Monday.

Good luck and start giving!!*

* Be sure to NOT donate as anonymous if you want to be entered into the raffle.