4 Days Until Hyannis Port!!

With the Hyannis Port Challenge just days ago, it’s time to pack your bags and get ready! Do you have what you need?

Don’t forget to bring:

• A positive attitude… you can do this ride! You’ve come so far, and now is the time to celebrate.
• Friendship and good sportsmanship… help and encourage fellow riders, runners, and walkers! If you see someone alone, say hello! This event is all about friendships, so make yourself a new friend along the way.
• Bicycle helmet, gloves, bike shorts and foul weather gear. You never know what the weather will be like in Boston in May…so be prepared! (And if we all bring rain gear, it won’t rain!)
• Extra foods/fluids: energy gels and bars, dried fruits, fig bars, bladder-style drinking systems. We’ll have snacks along the route, but if you have a specific food that works for you, be sure to bring it!
• Equipment/other: tubes, sew-ups, bike pump, quick fills, tire levers, allen wrenches, water bottles, small medical pouch (band-aids, blister block), cycling gloves, sunscreen, cell phone, money, driver license and credit card. We will have bike mechanics and medical support throughout the route, but it always helps to be prepared!
• A change of clothes. There will be hot showers at the finish line, so bring a change of clothes so you can be comfortable for the after party!

Preparation
The following items should be worn:

• Helmet (mandatory)
• Gloves
• Mirror (either on helmet, glasses or handlebar)
• Audi Best Buddies Challenge jersey, T-shirt, windbreaker or clear raingear in bad weather or in diminished light conditions
• Bike shorts are best for comfort and worn without underwear to prevent seam abrasions
• Sturdy shoes: bike shoes are the best for pedaling efficiency

Check out the Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hyannis Port website for more last minute details. See you on Saturday!

Fundraising Tip of the Week: The Big Ask

For Hyannis Port participants, you are down to the final stretch...Congrats and see you soon! For Hearst Castle participants, hopefully you are at least thinking about fundraising. HP participants, this tip is a little bit more for you to do in the next week or so. By now, you've sent emails and follow up emails and you have either passed your goal or are "this close" to it. Now is the time for a big, final push. Look back through the list of people you've reached out to and check to see who has donated. Next, look specifically at the list of those who did not donate. Is there one person on there who you were expecting to donate...possibly a big donation? This is who will be your Big Ask.

Invite this person for a cup of coffee or simply pick up the phone and call this special person to talk a little more about what drew you to participate in the Best Buddies Challenge. What about the Best Buddies mission impacted you most and is worth challenging yourself to ride/walk/run the many miles? Remind this person that you are not raising money for yourself, but instead for all of the people who are impacted by Best Buddies 6 different programs. Now comes the most important part. Ask for a specific amount, and aim high! Sometimes these donors don't know what you need or how much to give. By giving them an actual number, there's a good chance you will have a check being written out to Best Buddies on your behalf. Whether they give what you ask or more/less, that is a (big) donation that you would not have gotten had you not taken the extra time and personal touch to describe exactly what you needed from them.

For ideas of what to say, check out the Best Buddies International website or the Audi Best Buddies Challenge website. We are so excited to have 300+ more participants in this year's Hyannis Port Challenge (and hopefully more late-joiners) than in 2008! Happy Fundraising and enjoy your last pre-Challenge week!

Fundraising Tip of the Week: Training and Fundraising in One

As I write this from my Boston office, I am constantly glancing out to window to make sure the sun is still shining. We have been feeling spring-like in Massachusetts for a few weeks now (and I'm sure California is gorgeous too...always). All of this awesome weather makes for the perfect time to organize a training ride to act like a fundraiser. Oh, the joys of multitasking.

Take a Saturday morning and map out a route around your neighborhood or along a bike path near your town. You can use MapMyRide.com to search for routes and map your own rides. You could also check in with a local bike shop to see if you can team up with them for a weekly ride (many shops host rides for their clients). Then invite family, friends, coworkers, etc. to come out and join you for a great morning ride! Ask your supporters to make donations along the route. You will be demonstrating your commitment to training and succeeding in the ride by leading the pack through your ride!

You might even consider hosting a picnic or BBQ after the ride to keep the festivities going. This is a great time to describe what the Audi Best Buddies Challenge is and why you are so excited to do it.

For route ideas, ride materials or any other ideas, don't hesitate to email us at hccoach@ bestbuddies.org. Also, if you would like to lead training rides in your area, let us know! We're always looking for route leaders and new training rides. Happy Fundraising and bring on the summer!

Best Buddies Celebrates Bike-to-Work Day

May is National Bike Month with May 11-15 being Bike-to-Work Week and cities around the country hosting official Bike-to-Work Day events. We'd like to encourage all our Audi Best Buddies Challenge riders, walkers and runs to participate in Bike-to-Work Week and join fellow bike commuters in celebration of pedal power! Boston's official Bike-to-Work Day is on Friday, May 15 and for those of you in the Bay Area of California, our Bike-to-Work Day is on Thursday, May 14.

In San Francisco, our Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hearst Castle staff is teaming up with our event sponsor, PG&E, to host a downtown "Energizer Station" where commuters can stop by for free coffee, bagels and other breakfast items. Our Energizer Station will be located on Beale Street between Market and Mission from 6:30 - 9:00 am. In addition to breakfast, we will also have lots of other cool give-away items. If you can't make it to our Energizer Station, there are 26 other stations which will be open to bike commuters around the Bay Area. For a detailed listing of all Energizer Stations and more information on the Bay Area's Bike-to-Work Day visit the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's website.

ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCED: CIARA TO PERFORM AT HEARST CASTLE!!

We are so excited to announce that this year at the Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hearst Castle, we will be celebrating at the finish line with an exciting performance from Grammy-winning artist, Ciara!

Ciara, one of People Magazine’s Most Beautiful People, brings her high-powered sound and energy to this great event! Ciara is best known for hit songs “One Two Step,” “Goodies,” “Like a Boy,” and her latest hit, “Love Sex Magic”. She has collaborated with some of today’s hottest musicians such as Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliot, Ludacris and Ne Yo. Bursting onto the music scene in 2004 with her album Goodies, Ciara has evolved into a hit-making, boundary-breaking musician with her just-released (and appropriately titled) third album, Fantasy Ride. Be sure to catch Ciara as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, this Saturday, May 9!

So tune in to SNL for a sneak preview and register for the Challenge if you haven't already done so! It's bound to be an unforgettable day!

Fundraising Tip of the Week: This One is for Moms

Mother's Day is coming up on Sunday, May 10, and I'm sure your kids are scrambling to find the perfect bouquet of flowers or your favorite box of chocolate. We might suggest hinting to your children that donations to your Best Buddies Challenge fund are also happily accepted. Not only will your kids be showing how much they love and appreciate you, but they will be helping you support the Best Buddies mission.

A musical greeting card is great, as are the flowers, chocolates, and custom-made noodle necklaces, but a simple donation to your fundraising goal will last a lot longer through the friendships it builds and job opportunities it creates. Thank you for all that you do to support our Best Buddies family, and we can't wait to see you at the event!

For more fundraising tips, email hccoach@bestbuddies.org.

Register a Friend and Get $100 Towards Your Fundraising Commitment!

We are all about promoting friendships at Best Buddies and so this month, we invite you to Challenge Yourself AND a Friend to Change Lives. From May 1 to May 30, when you and a friend register to Ride, Walk or Run in the Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hearst Castle, you will each receive a $100 credit toward your fundraising goal!

Here's How it Works:

Step 1: Get yourself registered! It’s so easy to do, just click here to get started!

Step 2: Ask a friend or family member to join you! Have them take the first step and register for the Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hearst Castle at http://www.bestbuddieschallenge.org/.

Step 3: Let us know who you referred to register and get your $100 Credit! Email HCCoach@bestbuddies.org with your full first and last name, and the name of the friend you referred, so we can make sure you both get your credit.

That's It! You and your friend will be $100 closer to your fundraising commitment while also changing the lives of those living with intellectual disabilities.

For more information, please contact us at HCCoach@bestbuddies.org or call 1-800-718-3536

*$100 Credit will be applied prior to Hearst Castle Event Check-In *Limit of one promotion per person (maximum fundraising credit allowed is $100) *Offer valid for non-sponsor team registrations only *$100 Credit is non-transferable.