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In this week’s ColumbusUnderground.com Podcast, we sit down with Tom Lennox, the executive director of the new Pelotonia Bike Tour event that benefits cancer research efforts at the OSU James Cancer Hospital. We discuss different ways for people to participate, where the tour route will take you, and how Lance Armstrong has gotten involved.
You can use the player below to listen to the podcast, click here to download an mp3, click here to subscribe via iTunes, or click here to subscribe to the rss feed.
[audio:http://blip.tv/file/get/ColumbusUnderground-CUPodcastEpisode16TalkingPelotoniaWithTomLennox194.mp3]
Walker, thank you for your concern and understanding. At this point I don’t think there is anything else to do. You sound like a very caring and kind person. Warmest regards.
weatherstone,
PM me.
I am riding. I understand your predicament. I also understand where they are coming from. I think we might be able to come up with a solution. We might be able to pledge support for you into mine.
A.
Addendum : I have also sent communication to Lance.
At minimum, I will gladly cede my place to you to ride in my stead and the responsibility for the fund-raising will be mine. I think we can come up to something more though.
A.
Excellent! Keep us all posted with how this goes! Would love to help spread the word and help out. :D
Wow Andrew, how generous. I am touched reading that.
Andrew, yes I certainly understand where they are coming from. Please do not give up your place in the ride, merge supports or anything like that. I am very moved by the generosity and benevolence of the persons here. Just raise as much as you can for The James. P.S., thank you for sending communication to Lance. I tried getting through his LAF but everything is screened.
To weatherstone:
I feel terrible about your situation. But I think the Pelotonia people are trying hard to raise money to stop stories like yours from happening all together. The whole point is that there are so many others like yourself – and many of them are choosing to participate and at least give it a shot.
You should read some of the profile stories on the pelotonia site (like Lisa Pilla’s) – she has a little different take on the situation.
All the best.
Again I don’t see the issue with having varying levels of monetary commitment if it helps the overall goal of raising money and raising awareness. I think the stories and the profiles of the various riders are wonderful, but everything needs to be looked at from the individual standpoint. What one person is capable of, another may not be.
Listening to the podcast, the part where they were headed to OSU for some recruitment really struck me. How many students would you get to ride if you had a “student” level that required you to raise a minimum of $250 or $500 instead of the $1,000 or so? I would make a fair assumption that you would see students turn up for that.
Just my thoughts. Looking forward to being a part of this as a volunteer this year.
lifeontwowheels Says: Again I don’t see the issue with having varying levels of monetary commitment if it helps the overall goal of raising money and raising awareness.
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know a lot about what all it takes to put this on, but I’m sure there’s some pretty big logistical expenses that take place with having thousands of riders head from Columbus to Athens, spend the night, and ride back to Columbus the next day. A lowered cost for participating means more riders being able to take place, but then you’ve got an increased cost per head for all of those logistical costs. And when you’ve higher costs per person, then you can commit less money overall to the cause.
Maybe I’m wrong… but that’s my assumption.
Well from their website:
“Fortunately, Dr. Caligiuri quickly found a gracious and enthusiastic partner who shared his vision. Having recently decided to expand its operations in Columbus, NetJets Inc. was inspired by the opportunity to take a stand against cancer and provide vital support to the Columbus community. With NetJets’ support of Dr. Caligiuri’s passion, Pelotonia was born. Thanks to NetJets’ 12.5 million dollar transformational gift that funds Pelotonia’s operations, 100% of every dollar raised by Pelotonia and its riders will directly support essential and innovative cancer research at the OSUCCC-James.”
Plus the $100 rider fee. So the $1,000 really has nothing to do with the logistics itself. Which is why I have trouble wrapping my mind around this model. If the idea is to raise as much awareness and funding as possible, doesn’t it follow to be as inclusive as possible?
And no, $1,000 isn’t much if you get creative. The trouble is that you have a wide range of individuals each with their own networks and support. One individual may have a very easy time soliciting funds. Someone who is a student or working at a minimum wage job who would like to ride in honor/memory of a family member has a very different network that they are tapping into making fundraising much harder.
Listening to this podcast, some of their videos on the site and reading the site itself it seems one of the big themes in this is the idea of the community coming together in common support of one idea. The model seems to conflict that, at least on the surface, by effectively turning off people who would otherwise participate.
[ETA, I want to be very clear I am not knocking the ride itself. It's a wonderful idea. I would love to see about putting together a team next year that could raise funds together.]
Via Email:
Pelotonia just surpassed 1,000 riders. Effective right now, we have 1,016 riders signed up. That means it has raised at least somewhere between $1M and $2M already, depending on the routes chosen. It could be higher given some riders have raised more than twice their minimums. For example, Lisa Metzler has raised $3,873.00 so far, and her minimum was $2,000. We are now 84 days away from the event, which is the prime time for people to start training.
Good for them!
Interested in being a Pelotonia Volunteer? Volunteer Link Here
Hello Pelotonia Volunteers!
Excitement for Pelotonia’s inaugural tour is building, and many of you have asked how you can help. Well now you can tell us!
We have recently updated your Volunteer Profile pages to allow you to tell us when, where, and how you can help during Pelotonia weekend. So, before July 14th, please log into your Volunteer Profile page, click on “My Information” and mark all of your applicable preferences. Then we will be back in touch with you in August with more information regarding your volunteer assignment(s) and any training that applies. If you are looking for more information about Pelotonia’s volunteer opportunities, please take a look at the descriptions that can be found under “Volunteer Info.”
For those of you who previously indicated that you would like to volunteer, but have not yet created your own Volunteer Profile, please contact Andy Hutter at 614-221-6100 and he will be happy to help you start one. As always, questions can also be directed to questions@pelotonia.org or call 614-221-6100.
Be well,
The Pelotonia Team
Pelotonia seeking generous bicyclists
Spots remain open in charity ride with Armstrong
Thursday, July 23, 2009 3:24 AM
BY JEFFREY SHEBAN
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Finding enough bicyclists willing to commit up to $2,000 to participate in the inaugural Pelotonia Tour is proving to be an uphill climb for event organizers.
Five weeks out, the Columbus-to-Athens fundraiser for cancer research is 540 riders short of its goal of 2,250.
Organizers aren’t panicking yet, they say, but they’re getting antsy.
READ MORE
Pelotonia’s $4.5 million to go long way at OSU
Sunday, August 23, 2009 3:41 AM
BY MISTI CRANE
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
When you compare $4.5 million with the $4.9 billion annual National Cancer Institute budget, it might seem a paltry sum.
But $4.5 million targeted at a single Comprehensive Cancer Center and at the right research and recruitment efforts represents a significant advance in making Ohio State University a standout, said Dr. Michael Caligiuri, chief executive of the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital.
READ MORE
Pelotonia donors speed past goal
$4.5 million raised to benefit cancer research at OSU
Saturday, October 31, 2009 3:13 AM
BY JEFFREY SHEBAN
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Despite a down economy, the Pelotonia Tour surpassed its funding goal, raising $4.5 million for cancer research at Ohio State University, officials will announce this afternoon.
READ MORE