Name Damian’s Bike
Damian’s awesome Bianchi has been provided to him courtesy of Melbourne’s leading ride experience company – You and I Ride
Damian is yet to name his bike and is throwing it open to you to come up with a name.
You can send your suggestions along with the reasons for your suggestion to damien.kitch@thecrusaders.com.au
To find out more about the bike and to get your creative juices flowing please have a look at “Damian’s Bike” page which outlines the bikes specifications. You can also see the names of the other riders bikes on the Rider Profiles page
Some facts that may spark a few ideas:
Bianchi, the best bike brand in the world, is an Italian bike brand
Damian is an Italian Passport Holder (believe it or not!)
We are riding in France (but also pass through Monaco, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Andorra)
The trademark colour of Bianchi is “Celeste”
The lucky winner will receive a $100 dinner voucher at Melbourne’s best French Restaurant – Bergerac Restaurant
Entries close 16th June so get your entries in before then.
Simon Gerrans signed Jersey
This is a massive piece of sporting memorabilia that you just have to be in the running for. A Simon Gerrans signed Cervelo team jersey that you can frame and admire forever.
To be in the running you must e-mail the special codeword to damien.kitch@thecrusaders.com.au
The special codeword is the name of the alpine town in Italy where Simon crossed the line first to win stage 15 of the 2008 Tour de France. *A quick hint – the codeword can be found on Simon’s website at http://www.simongerrans.com/results/
All correct entries will go into a random draw to win the prize. The draw will take place during the final week of the Crohn’s Crusaders ride.
Thanks very much to our patron Simon Gerrans for donating such a rare and wonderful prize.
Bergerac French Restaurant $100 Dinner Vouchers
Highest Casual Day Fundraising Tally
This competition is extremely simple!
We are asking companies to arrange fundraisers in the form of Casual Day’s or Morning Tea’s on each of the Friday’s that the Crohn’s Crusaders will be riding in France (Fri 5th 12th 19th and 26th June)
The company with the highest fundraising tally will receive a $100 dinner voucher for Bergerac Restaurant. This will be judged at the end of the ride by the company who donates the highest combined total (can be added over multiple donations over the four weeks).
PLEASE NOTE – be sure to enter “Company Fundraiser” and your company name in the comment field so we know to consider you for the prize.
Best work fundraiser photo
Send us a picture of your work fundraiser. The best photo will receive a $100 dinner voucher for Bergerac Restaurant. Please note – we are suggesting “a touch of yellow as the theme for any fundraisers (to signify the leaders “yellow jersey” in the tour de France). Send your photos to damien.kitch@thecrusaders.com.au
Nearest the Pin – Damian’s Post-Ride Weight
While we are on the subject of Bergerac Restaurant and French Cuisine I thought it may be a good time to confess that I’ve been known to carry a few extra kilograms around with me during certain stages of my life! This tendency has earned me loving nicknames such as “Buddha” (thanks Brock and Wade), “Blubber Boy” (thanks Matt Minchin) and “Fat so and so” (Foxy and Nicholls)
When I started training for the Crohn’s Crusaders project I was weighing in around the low to mid 90’s (in kilograms). I am currently at approximately 82kg’s.
This competition is another “nearest the pin” where you have to guess my weight on the day after the final stage. Guesses are to be made in kilograms to 2 decimal places (e.g. – 76.39kg) and can be sent to damien.kitch@thecrusaders.com.au If we have multiple winners there will be a tie-breaker question. Hint: If I was to take a stab I would say it would be somewhere around the 77 to 80kg mark.
I will shout the winner dinner at Bergerac Restaurant on our return to Melbourne.
Entries to be sent to damien.kitch@thecrusaders.com.au
Damian and Marika’s Post-Ride “To Do” List
Damian and Marika have been training their backsides off in the lead up to the ride and have sacrificed a lot of the simple pleasures that “normal” people indulge in such as sleeping in, lazing on the couch in front movies and eating junk food.
They have started to compile a list of “normal” things that they can do after the ride is completed. They have made a quick start below and are asking you to add your suggestions to their post-ride “To Do’ list. Send your suggestions to damien.kitch@thecrusaders.com.au
Damian & Marika’s Post-Ride “To Do’ List:
- Sleep In
- Reintroduce ourselves to our friends and family
- Read a book from start to finish
- Watch an entire series of “24” back-to-back
- Go out late with friends on a Friday and Saturday night
- Take a lazy Sunday drive to a country town for a milk shake. And, then turn around and drive home again.
- Paint a masterpiece
- Learn the second line of Wonderwall on guitar (Damian only knows the first line and it drives everybody crazy when he plays it over and over)
etc etc - You get the idea!
Send your suggestion to damien.kitch@thecrusaders.com.au to go in the running for a $100 Bergerac Restaurant dinner voucher. Entries close on the final stage of the ride.
Win a Posturepole
Official Chiropractor of the Crohn’s Crusaders and 2008 Chiropractor of the Year, Dr Roy Smith of Back In Line, recommended that I get hold of a Posturepole as it will be very beneficial to me after spending long hours hunched over with my neck forward.
I’ve been using it after every long ride and found it to be very useful as it really helped to relieve the nagging neck and shoulder pain that I get after the 3 or 4 hour mark of a ride.
It turns out that the inventor of Posturepole, Dr Bruce Scott is a very keen cyclist (and also a Bianchi enthusiast) and he has offered 5 Posturepoles as competition prizes for cycling enthusiasts on our e-news list.
To be in the running you have to “Describe your favourite ride and how the Posturepole could make it even better’ (in 100 words or less).
Please send your entries to info@posturepole.com.au
*Open to Australian residents only (as it costs a fortune to send these things!)
Please check out the website at http://www.posturepole.info/
Further Posturepole info:
Sore Neck or Shoulders from riding? Relieve that pain fast!
No matter how well adjusted your bike, the problem is that in the head forward cycling position the load on your neck and shoulders doubles for every 2-3cm your head moves forward!
That’s why Damian and his crew are pleased to be using the Posturepole.
This safe and simple remedy helps relieve tension, re-align your spine and gives quick relief in just 5-10 minutes!
Available from health professionals or the web. Call 1800 234 711 or visit www.posturepole.info for more information.
Dirty Dog Eyewear
Dirty Dog Eyewear have really thrown their support behind the Crohn’s Crusaders project and will be giving away 7 pairs of sunglasses throughout the project. We have a separate competition for each pair listed below.
Send your entries to damien.kitch@thecrusaders.com.au
(all entries to be 100 words or less)
Competition 1:
Nearest the Pin - Guess Damian’s total time over the Stage 4 time trial
Guess to be in hours:minutes:seconds (e.g. 1hr:12min:43sec).
Hint: the time trial covers 38km, Damian’s fastest ever average speed is 34kph, it is only stage 4 of the tour so he won’t be giving it absolutely everything but would still like to average at least 30kph. Entries to damien.kitch@thecrusaders.com.au by Saturday 6th June
Competition 2:
Nearest the Pin - Guess Damian’s total time over the Stage 7 Monster
Guess to be in hours:minutes:seconds (e.g. 1hr:12min:43sec).
Hint: this is the longest stage of the ride (224km) and climbs from sea level to 2,400m altitude (we don’t have any mountains that big in Australia to train on!) We will have had a rest day prior to this stage but this will be our first big climb of the tour which will be sure to sting. I would be guessing somewhere between 12 and 14 hours. Entries to damien.kitch@thecrusaders.com.au by Wednesday 10th June.
Competition 3:
Tell us about the worst conditions you’ve ever ridden in
Competition 4:
Describe the toughest mountain you’ve ever climbed
Competition 5:
Stage 17 sees us in the middle of another mountain slog and if ever we will need some additional motivation to help us on our way this will be the time. Send us the best motivational quote you’ve ever heard to help us put the misery of stage 17 behind us to be in the running for a pair of Dirty Dog sunglasses.
Entries to damien.kitch@thecrusaders.com.au by Wednesday 24th June.
Competition 6:
Send us the funniest or most appropriate caption for this photo (*photo will be selected during the ride and posted soon – stay tuned)
Competition 7:
Visit the Dirty Dog website at the following link and tell us which is the best model on the site and why (for your chance to win that pair of sunglasses).
Entries to damien.kitch@thecrusaders.com.au by Wednesday 24th June.
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