Endurance Training Clinic at PV Bicycle Center

Debbie Varon, a Hearst Castle event alumni rider and Specialized employee, will be hosting an endurance training clinic at PV Bicycle Center in Palos Verdes on Sunday, March 29 starting at 5:00 PM. PV Bicycle Center is located at 4B Peninsula Center, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274.

In addition to Debbie's training tips, Best Buddies staff will be on hand to answer questions about our Hearst Castle event and raffle off some cool prizes! PV Bicycle Center is also offering a 15% discount on clothing and accessories for clinic attendees. For more information and to RSVP for this training clinic please email JeremiahAngel@bestbudddies.org.

PV Bicycle Center also hosts two weekly training rides departing from their store which can be used as great training for our Hearst Castle event. The shop's ride schedule is as followed:

SATURDAY SHOP RIDES: 7:00 - advanced ride, 30-40 miles; 8:00 - beginner's ride, 5-10 miles & intermediate ride, 20-25 miles

SUNDAY SHOP RIDE: 7:30 - advanced ride, 25-35 miles.

For more information about these group rides call PV Bicycle Center at 1.888.377.7441

Fundraising Tip of the Week: Host a Happy Hour

With St. Patrick's Day just behind us, we've all had a chance to get to a bar and enjoy a libation or two. It's a great social environment and a great spot for some fundraising. Today's tip is to host a happy hour at your favorite local pub!

Past riders have gone about this differently. Some have worked with the management to see if the bar would donate 10 percent of the proceeds to the Audi Best Buddies Challenge between the hours of 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Others have worked it out so that they could arrange for and take in the cover charge proceeds between those hours. It might also be good to see if the bar would donate food for you to give away or collect the proceeds from. Door prizes are always fun!

Once you have set up the best time and place for your happy hour, it might be a good idea to print off those business cards we've made for you and collect some additional materials and then set up a table at the event. Here you can explain what you are riding for, and easily rake in some more donations.

Getting people to the happy hour is easy too! Utilizing social networks, like Facebook, make it simple for people to spread the word about upcoming events. Either create an event and send it to all of your friends, send everyone a message about it, or send out a massive email. Make sure to tell people to bring a friend or two. It's that easy!

Hopefully this tip is helpful for you. For more hints and tricks, check back next Wednesday or send us an email at HCcoach@bestbuddies.org.

Join us at the Best Buddies California Festivals of Friendship

We've been so fortunate to have your support and participation in past years, and because of your incredible fundraising efforts, Best Buddies is able to provide programs which help improve the lives of people with intellectual disabilities through one-to-one friendships and integrated employment opportunities. As an active supporter, we thought you might like to check out Best Buddies' mission in action:

March is Best Buddies Month! In honor of this, Best Buddies California is holding its annual Festivals of Friendship in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Inland Empire and San Diego. These events feature activity and vendor booths, celebrity guests, live entertainment, free food and beverages and a spirited one-mile friendship walk.

Join Our Group Ride! Join Hearst Castle Ride Coach, Jeremiah Angel, on a group ride to the Best Buddies Bay Area Festival of Friendship on March 14. Jeremiah will take you on a 1.5 hour easy-to-moderate paced ride through the beautiful Berkeley Hills to the Festival in time for the start of the celebration. This is sure to be a great day where you can combine training for the ride and experience the Best Buddies' mission first-hand!

WHAT: Audi Best Buddies Challenge group ride to the Best Buddies Bay Area Festival of Friendship led by Ride Coach, Jeremiah Angel

WHEN: Saturday, March 14. Ride will depart Sproul Plaza at 10:30 am sharp.

WHERE: University of California, Berkeley, Sproul Plaza, 2490 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94720

Please RSVP to JeremiahAngel@bestbuddies.org as soon as possible to confirm your attendance and receive more details about the group ride!

Join Best Buddies at the 2009 Amgen Tour of California

For the third year in a row, Best Buddies is teaming up with the Amgen Tour of California. The 2009 Amgen Tour of California will take place February 14-22. The nine day stage race features world champion riders and world famous teams. Starting this Saturday in Sacramento, the course heads south through the redwoods, winds through scenic wine country and along the coast, for a grand finish in San Diego on Sunday, February 22.

Come out and stop by the Audi Best Buddies Challenge promotional tent located at the finish line at each day of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California! Our staff will be on hand to answer questions about the Hearst Castle event, in addition to great raffles and give-away items!

We look forward to seeing you on the route,

Jeremiah Angel
Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hearst Castle

Versus footage of last year's "Buddy Up" program at the Amgen Tour of California:

New B-52's album to be released March 25

We are really excited to have the B-52s playing at this year's Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hyannis Port. This is a big year for the B-52s. Next Tuesday, March 25, they'll be releasing their first album, Funplex, in 15 years.

The New York Times had a great interview and look at the new album this past Sunday. Read it here.

Pre-order Funplex through Amazon.com

Buddies are the Stars at the Amgen Tour of California

As Best Buddy Austin Thornburg left the stage at the start of stage two of the 2008 Amgen Tour of California, it was he, not George Hincapie—a Tour de France stage winner—who faced a sea of adoring fans seeking autographs and journalists after interviews. Austin was at the Amgen Tour as a part of Best Buddies Buddy Up program in which five of the top professional teams had each donated a stage to a Best Buddy.

The Slipstream/Chipotle, High Road Sports, Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast, CSC, Jelly Belly and Bissell professional cycling teams teamed up with Best Buddies Rachel Lofton of San Francisco, Michael Thorne of Monterey, Trevor Lucken of Sacramento, Austin Thornburg and Nick Douglas of Bakersfield and Amy Lewis, Travis Raefield and Breanna Barlow of Taft.

Each team had a Buddy join one of their riders at the start of each stage for the sign-in ceremony. It only took a few minutes into stage one?s ceremony—at which Rachel joined Sliptream/Chipolte's Christian Vandevelde, a two-time member of Lance Armstrong's Tour de France winning teams—for everyone watching to realize that Lofton was the star.

"Each day it was an incredible moment. These Buddies were the stars. They were ones being interviewed, signing autographs and getting cheers from fans," said Richard Fries, marketing director for the Audi Best Buddies Challenge. "This is what Best Buddies is about. We remind others—in schools, in jobs, in society—that an intellectually disabled person is special, is a star and is capable and deserving of anything and everything that you and I are."

After Austin cheered on Hincapie as he and his team, High Road, headed out for more than 100, twisty, hill miles through Wine Country, he headed to Sacramento for an exciting finish up Capitol Mall. He then joined Governor Arnold Schwarzenagger on stage to present the leader's jerseys for that day.

For stage three, Nick buddies up with KBS/Medifast rider, Nick Waite—a former National Champion. On stage four, Michael of Monterey joined CSC's German superstar Jens Voigt, and on stage six, Amy and Trevor will team up with Jelly Belly's Nick Reistad, while on stage seven Travis and Breanna will join Bissell's team leader, Ben Jaques Mayne.

The teams have also donated a spot in their team cars for each stage, so if you are going to be in the area for stage six and seven, drop by the Audi Best Buddies Challenge tent in the expo at the finish of each stage and register for the ride and for your chance to win a ride in the car. A special Tour discount on your fundraising commitment is also available for those who register at the event.

Watch Team Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital on the road to the Hearst Castle

Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hyannis Port now a century!

That's right, the 2008 Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hyannis Port is a little bit longer and will now be 100 miles. After eight years of 90 miles from Boston to the Cape, riders will have to push those pedals a few more miles before they can enjoy clam, lobster and The B-52's.

Check out the route map

For those looking for a shorter ride, the 20-miler is still available. See you on May 17.

ABBC: HP - The B-52's to play

Are you ready for a little "Love Shack" Hyannis Port?

That's right, the B-52's have agreed to perform at the 2008 Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hyannis Port. The hit-makers behind "Love Shack", "Rock Lobster" and dozens of other chart toppers will be performing for participants in the ninth running of the event which will be held on Saturday, May 17 2008.

THANK YOU ALL!!!

Dear Riders,

What a great ride! The fourth Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hearst Castle proved to be the most successful fundraising event in the history of our organization. We can’t take credit for that--it’s you who made that possible.

You should be proud of your commitment to people with intellectual disabilities. Your hard work fundraising and training for the ride proved that you care passionately about Best Buddies and our mission. This event would not have been so successful without your contribution.

Based upon your recommendations last year, we worked hard to enhance and improve the ride overall in the key areas you recommended. For example, last year many riders suggested that we invite professional cyclists to participate in the ride and that we should look for a classic rock group to perform. As a result professional cyclists from teams, T-Mobile, CSC, Kona, Tibco and Jelly Belly participated this year along with Cheap Trick as our musical entertainment.

How did you feel about the professional cyclists participation or Cheap Trick? In an effort to continue to improve, please take a few minutes to fill out our anonymous SURVEY . The results generated from the surveys help us make improvements and enhance all aspects of our future rides. Once you've completed the survey you'll be sent a confirmation email containing directions to the picture gallery of this year's ride.

Whatever the distance you rode, and whatever the amount you raised, take heart in knowing you have made a difference in the lives of so many people with intellectual disabilities that Best Buddies serves. Thank you so much for your support of people with intellectual disabilities. We are incredibly grateful and look forward to seeing you next year!

Speaking of next year the 2008 ABBC: HC will be on September 6, the weekend after Labor Day. We know that it’s a long ways off, but if you had fun go ahead and REGISTER !

With respect and admiration,

Mark Lewis, Ride Director

Michael Collins, Ride Operations Director

Richard Fries, Marketing Director

Dylan Taylor, Regional Ride Director

Alan Sakell, Rider Financial Coordinator