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Kokopelli Trail Challenge - Trips for Kids Denver Benefit Ride [OT/SPAM for a cause]

Full Trucker

Frikkin newb!!!
Feb 26, 2003
10,483
7,526
Exit, CO
If this is inappropriate or spammy or whatever I apologize in advance. Let me know politely and I can remove it or whatever... but in my eyes, it's simply a mountain bike related request from someone who is a pretty regular forum member here on Ridemonkey. That would be me, FYI.

My ladyfriend aka Traveling Companion™ aka the LBG has been volunteering with Trips for Kids Denver/Boulder as a ride leader for 5+ years now. Some of you might be familiar with TFKD/B through their involvement with Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, at least here in Colorado. The group is great, and takes underserved youth (often troubled and less fortunate kids from rehab and/or juvenile detention facilities) out in the mountains on single- or multi-day mountain biking and camping trips. TFKD/B also runs the "EARN A BIKE PROGRAM" which focuses on teaching kids bike maintenance while promoting safe urban cycling. It's a great program run mostly by a volunteer staff, and they certainly could use all the help they can get. Which is where this comes in...

Steph and I are participating in and asking for your support and donations for the Trips For Kids Denver/Boulder Kokopelli Pledge Ride—an Epic three-day mountain bike adventure from Fruita, CO to Moab, UT. Each day of the "TFK Kokopelli Challenge Ride" is its own epic ride, testing the endurance of our adult supporters in the same way Trips For Kids programs challenge Denver and Boulder's underserved youth. The weekend of riding and camping promises to be a fun, positive, and personally motivating experience for both Steph and Evan. Proceeds from this pledge ride benefit TFKD/B's cycling based programs that build the health and boost the confidence of over 1,000 underserved youth each year. Basically, this is a similar deal to rides like the MS150, Ride for the Cure, or Ride for the Roses but with a very localized focus, making an immediate impact here in Colorado by getting kids out on bikes.

Please consider helping TFKD/B bring our passion for mountain biking to kids who would otherwise not have the opportunity to experience it by donating to our ride! I've peppered this post with a bunch of links that have more info on the program and the ride itself, but if you be so kind as to donate, the only link you need to follow is this one:

https://www.coloradogives.org/StephAndEvanKoko2013
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,516
7,063
Colorado
Dear Mark,
Thank you for using ColoradoGives.org to make your generous donation.
 

Full Trucker

Frikkin newb!!!
Feb 26, 2003
10,483
7,526
Exit, CO
Thank you for making this a sticky, and to any of you all that have taken a look or helped out. We are nearly halfway to our minimum goal, and we haven't even emailed our non-biking friends and family yet. STOKED, and grateful. Thank you!

I just wish I could ride with you - that ride changed my life.
This is what I hear from local friends that have ridden the Kokopelli, and in thinking about this I can't imagine anything better than having such a life-altering experience also positively affect others as well. Thanks again, señor!
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,516
7,063
Colorado
I just wish I could ride with you - that ride changed my life.
This is what I hear from local friends that have ridden the Kokopelli, and in thinking about this I can't imagine anything better than having such a life-altering experience also positively affect others as well. Thanks again, señor!
I wish to do that ride at some point in the future. Probably not until after Haley is a bit bigger though.
 

Full Trucker

Frikkin newb!!!
Feb 26, 2003
10,483
7,526
Exit, CO
Wait, you're taking kids on this ride?
Although I am 97.8% certain that you are taking the piss with this comment, I figure I should answer seriously for the benefit of the forum. AFAIK, there won't be any children on this ride. It's long and brutal, and is a fundraiser for the Trips for Kids programs, of which this isn't one.




Also, Ithnu... THIS donation IS tax deductible... ya cheap fvcker. :D
 

Full Trucker

Frikkin newb!!!
Feb 26, 2003
10,483
7,526
Exit, CO
Also, I am pleased to report that as of this morning, we have 100% of the minimum donations required of us, with more promised and on the way. We're going to raise our goal this afternoon, and see how much we can raise for this organization. It really is a great group of folks, and there's likely a chapter in your area. If you can't donate, please check out the website and see if you can donate some time or money to a local to you chapter:

http://www.tripsforkids.org/
 

Ithnu

Monkey
Jul 16, 2007
961
0
Denver
Also, Ithnu... THIS donation IS tax deductible... ya cheap fvcker. :D
I don't mean to direct anything at you Evan as I know your goal here is a good one. It's just that with a theme of "Take a Kid Mountain Biking" for ride like this needed me to do a reality check...kids are not REALLY going are they? Then I thought how are you taking them mtn biking without taking them?

I've thought about many things like this that promote a ride that many do on their own without donations. This occurred to me last summer when I registered for the Moonlight Classic. How does me riding my bike around drunk in Denver help? The registration fees go to charity but I could donate anytime.

I guess rides like this just remind people to donate. I'll be quiet now...sorry.
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,375
12,529
In a van.... down by the river
I don't mean to direct anything at you Evan as I know your goal here is a good one. It's just that with a theme of "Take a Kid Mountain Biking" for ride like this needed me to do a reality check...kids are not REALLY going are they? Then I thought how are you taking them mtn biking without taking them?

I've thought about many things like this that promote a ride that many do on their own without donations. This occurred to me last summer when I registered for the Moonlight Classic. How does me riding my bike around drunk in Denver help? The registration fees go to charity but I could donate anytime.

I guess rides like this just remind people to donate. I'll be quiet now...sorry.
Wait... how about a Koko ride for charity... drunk? It's BRILLIANT!
 

Full Trucker

Frikkin newb!!!
Feb 26, 2003
10,483
7,526
Exit, CO
I don't mean to direct anything at you Evan as I know your goal here is a good one. It's just that with a theme of "Take a Kid Mountain Biking" for ride like this needed me to do a reality check...kids are not REALLY going are they? Then I thought how are you taking them mtn biking without taking them?
Ah ha! So a bit of clarification: Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day is one of the things Trips For Kids Denver/Boulder helps promote, in partnership with COMBA and IMBA. This is usually in the fall, and for 2013 Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day is on October 5th, at Bear Creek Lake State Park.

The Kokopelli ride that I am doing is a fundraiser ride in which adult supporters can participate, and specifically raises money for Trips for Kids Denver/Boulder and the programs it provides to kids. There won't be kids on this ride, AFAIK. And donations to the Kokopelli Trail Challenge ride go to help fund things like Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day and other programs TFKD/B promotes.

Sorry if my original post was unclear on this.



I've thought about many things like this that promote a ride that many do on their own without donations. This occurred to me last summer when I registered for the Moonlight Classic. How does me riding my bike around drunk in Denver help? The registration fees go to charity but I could donate anytime.
Fairly good point, how DOES it really help? The same could be true of the MS150, Ride for the Roses, etc. As well as about 13,256 charity run/walk events held every year. But I think you nailed it below...



I guess rides like this just remind people to donate.
^^^This. And it gives an opportunity for people with a passion for something (in my case mountain biking) to reach out to others who share that passion and get some money going for a good cause. Plus, a few thousand people riding their bicycles or running/walking around Denver helps create visible, physical awareness for whatever cause or charity the ride/run/walk is promoting. In the case of the Kokopelli ride which is less visible (when compared to something like the Moonlight Classic) awareness (and money) is raised by people like me posting about it on message boards, social media, and emailing our family and friends.



I'll be quiet now...sorry.
Don't sweat it, man.
 
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How was the sand when you rode it? My understanding of that 2nd section is that the sand conditions are what turn "challenging" into "brutal"...

I missed it, so I can't really comment. My mates agreed it was brutal. Especially with the climb after Dewey Bridge after the sand-fest.
Day two was sand and a headwind, pushing a hundred degrees, and hard enough for me that I accepted a shuttle ride from Dewey Bridge to the campground. I don't know if it was a failure of will or a wise decision because I was spent. Today I think "it was just another 20 miles"; at the time I was whipped.
 
I don't mean to direct anything at you Evan as I know your goal here is a good one. It's just that with a theme of "Take a Kid Mountain Biking" for ride like this needed me to do a reality check...kids are not REALLY going are they? Then I thought how are you taking them mtn biking without taking them?

I've thought about many things like this that promote a ride that many do on their own without donations. This occurred to me last summer when I registered for the Moonlight Classic. How does me riding my bike around drunk in Denver help? The registration fees go to charity but I could donate anytime.

I guess rides like this just remind people to donate. I'll be quiet now...sorry.
They do more than remind people to donate. They provide a framework and impetus for us to go out and beat the bushes and secure donations from people who would not otherwise have contributed.
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,375
12,529
In a van.... down by the river
Day two was sand and a headwind, pushing a hundred degrees, and hard enough for me that I accepted a shuttle ride from Dewey Bridge to the campground. I don't know if it was a failure of will or a wise decision because I was spent. Today I think "it was just another 20 miles"; at the time I was whipped.
That climb out of Dewey Bridge is rough. I'd wager if the shuttle ride wasn't available that would have been a brutal day. :D
 

Full Trucker

Frikkin newb!!!
Feb 26, 2003
10,483
7,526
Exit, CO
QUICK UPDATE!

I want to thank the monkeys who have helped my girlfriend Steph and I achieve our minimum pledge goal for the Kokopelli Trail Challenge ride we are undertaking on May 17-19 by making a charitable donation to Trips For Kids Denver/Boulder! We couldn't have done it without you guys and we're excited to make our minimum goal for the ride. As such, we decided to RAISE the goal, and hopefully hit that before we head out on May 16th. I've gotten a few questions about the Kokopelli Challenge Ride that I'd like to address here:

  1. There won't be any kids on this ride. The ride is for adult supporters of Trips For Kids, and is a way for us to raise money for the programs that Trips For Kids offers to under-served youth in the Denver/Boulder area.
  2. Steph has been volunteering with TFKD/B for 5 summers now, and loves it.
  3. All of your donations go directly to the TFKD/B organization.
  4. TFKD/B is providing us with support for the Kokopelli ride, but from what I understand your donations still go to the organization and the programs it offers to the kids.
  5. If you would rather send in a check instead of a using a credit card online, the address is below. Please reference "Evan and Steph" on the check so they know to add it to our total. Again, we don't get any of this money but it'll be awesome to know how much we raised!
Trips for Kids Denver
3150 W. Jewell Ave.
Denver, CO 80219

So again, THANK YOU to all who have taken the time and effort to donate to the organization, we couldn't have done it without you! And if you haven't donated but were/are considering it, please take a few minutes to click the link below and give a few bucks to a great cause. $1, $5, whatever, it all helps this great organization. For more information about the ride, Trips For Kids, etc. please visit our donation page at:

https://www.coloradogives.org/StephAndEvanKoko2013


Thanks again and cheers!
Evan & Steph
a.k.a. Full Trucker and his Traveling Companion™
 

Wumpus

makes avatars better
Dec 25, 2003
8,161
153
Six Shooter Junction
Rebecca Rusch Crushes Kokopelli Trail Record

Rebecca Rusch didn’t get the nickname Queen of Pain sitting on the couch and she didn’t win four straight Leadville 100s by pedaling easy, so it shouldn’t be all that much of surprise that the endurance cyclist crushed the women’s record on her first ride of the 142-mile Kokopelli’s Trail — despite separating a finger just two and a half hours into the attempt. Coming off a win in the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo and taking the female solo category in the Trans Andes stage race, Rusch shaved 90 minutes off the Moab to Fruita ride, finishing in 13:32:46 and topping the 15:03 set that Lynda Wallenfels rode in 2006.

Rusch’s crash came early in the ride. “I just hit a rut at high speed and took a nasty, unexpected crash. My first thought was, “Is the bike ok?” Next, I felt my left index finger in the wrong place. Without thinking I put it back in place, flexed it to see if I could still operate the brake, and hopped back on. It hurt but felt fine in the flexed position. It was dislocated and would pop back out if I reached into my jersey pocket or didn’t keep it slightly flexed. It wasn’t until I finished that I realized how bad it was and had split it open from the extreme dislocation.”

Yeah, hate it when that happens.

The finger wasn’t the only challenge. Rusch’s light died at 4 a.m., leaving her to ride the most technical section by moonlight. She also ran out of water and had to tackle the last stretch into “on fumes.” But trail conditions were excellent, there was little wind, and in the end, Rusch racked up yet another record.
 

Full Trucker

Frikkin newb!!!
Feb 26, 2003
10,483
7,526
Exit, CO
Do you know if Trips for Kids is a 501c non-profit? My employer does donation matching, it'd be a quick way to double what I intend to give.
You bet they are! Thanks man! Here's they're info page that says they're a 501c(3): http://www.tripsforkidsdenver.org/donate/

But definitely donate on our page if you would ;) https://www.coloradogives.org/StephAndEvanKoko2013

Getting super excited... we leave on Thursday and since this week will be busy with work and whatnot, we started prepping food and gear and such to take on the ride. We decided on 3# of calorically-dense (AND DELICIOUS) hardened salami as our primary trail food, to be supplemented with cheese and Clif Bars most likely. I'm pretty sure this was the right call. :D