sent 6/28/06

All,

Recruiting
Just over 5 weeks to go to the MS 150 and we're up to 51 total riders with 19 of them new to the team! My goal was to increase our total riders to 80 this year and felt in order to do it we'd need 32 new riders to cover the inevitable riders that can't make it. I think we're right on track with that so please keep talking up the team so we can pull in those last 13 new riders we'll need. For those of you new to the email string, we do have a recruiting incentive of one night stay at the Heidel House Resort on Green Lake, a $300 value. A team member will get one chance to win the drawing for each member they recruit so there are currently 19 chances to win out there. Not bad odds. Use the attached link and click on the button that says join our team at the top right to go ahead and sign up. www.sonicstreamers.org

Fundraising
Course it's also about time to start fundraising if you haven't already. Some pointers that work for me is to send a personalized letter to friends, neighbors, relatives, etc. I do a mail merge with Word so it looks professional but add a short handwritten note at the bottom and include a self addressed envelope for return. I also write about what's important to me, and that's curing the disease so that my wife doesn't have the debilitating effects of MS many suffer from. Feel free to copy my letter and alter it to fit your situation. http://sonicstreamers.org/teamresources.html

I also write emails, mainly to coworkers and others I'm close to. It's usually a very short note on why I ride and why donations are important. When I write them, I always do them individually. sending an email to 50 people at a time will normally be ignored by 50 people.

With a team as big as ours is, I'd like to get at least 10 of us among the top 100 fundraisers and 20 over $1,000 and eligible for a yellow jersey. Last year the cut off for the top 100 was $2,210, we had six team members make it and 4 more that just missed. This year of course the number will probably go up. I do have one other Heidel House gift certificate for a free night so I'll raffle that off as well. One chance to win for each $1000 in pledges!

Training rides
I'm planning additional training rides on July 1st, 15th and the 29th at 9AM in Waunakee. We begin at the Prairie Elementary School on Madison, just north of hwy 19. Rides will vary but will approximate 35 miles with short cuts for those that would like to take a shorter route. For those that haven't been riding, it's not too late. I recommend 3-4 weeks of 3 rides per week of at least an hour in length. Course, some are active enough, or young enough,to get away with little or no training.

Jerseys
I've ordered the jerseys and approximately half are already spoken for. Check the link if you'd like to see what they look like. http://sonicstreamers.org/ourteam.html it's the green one on the left. They have a 3/4 zip this year and the cost is a $60 donation fo the NMSS by check and should be sent to me at 222 W. Washington Ave, Suite 775, Madison, WI 53703.

All for now

Ken