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Specialized Europe Charity Ride
posted by RoubaixRider at 07:33 PM on August 27, 2009
This year marks the third annual ride from Specialized HQ to the Interbike trade show in Vegas. It's Mike’s personal and rather relentless desert-flavored (not to be confused with dessert-flavored) ride that somehow abuses the crap out of people, and simultaneously leaves them wanting more. It also raises huge amounts of money for the Komen Foundation to battle breast cancer, a cause Specialized has supported for years as well.
This year, the European HQ, in S'Heerenberg, Netherlands, decided to stage their own version, crafting a ride from their office to the Eurobike trade show in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Covering a similar distance to the Vegas ride of over 1000km, it promised decidedly fewer cacti and slightly less oppressive heat, while also offering more cows yet fewer cowboys. For the first 6 days of the trip, this team of 10 riders (including European Managing Director Eugene Firkins) will be riding in support of a children's cancer foundation based in Holland.
As I type this, we've just finished our third day, and the crew has started to feel the effects of multi-day distance riding, but the mood is still in good spirits, despite many days of riding still ahead. Shorts are hung out to dry over hotel room balcony railings, ibuprofen are being popped like candy (at least by me, anyways), and the collective calorie intake suggests we've all contracted starving tapeworms.
I don't have GPS data for the first day, merely because I wasn't there; I joined on day two and will ride the remainder with the group. Here's the GPS data so far:
Day 2: http://www.plus3network.com/guest/route/76949
Day 3: http://www.plus3network.com/guest/route/77413
On the final 7th day, the stage from Munich to Eurobike, we'll cover nearly 200km and be joined by about 30 more fresh riders, all riding together in a single day Komen fund raiser, complete with a multi-car caravan of support. I actually did this part of the ride last year, but going the other direction after the Eurobike show, riding back to Munich, and I gotta say, it's a beautiful ride with a lot of empty, scenic roads through pastures, forests, and orchards. Looking forward to it. Hopefully I’ll have some legs left. Time will tell.
categories: News & Announcements , Photos , Advocacy
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Comments (3)
08:17 AM on August 28, 2009 UTC John McCracken wrote:
That sounds cool but when is premium membership going to be extended to Europe and the UK
10:53 AM on August 28, 2009 UTC D C wrote:
Goodluck And Safe Riding...
05:40 AM on August 30, 2009 UTC Piet van der velde wrote:
Hi all,
I am riding in this group, today we ride from Rein to Munich, I am tired. But still looking forward to the final stage tomorrow...220KM
Thx
Piet