Billboards No More

Twin Six, the company behind the effort to make cyclists no longer look like billboards when out riding, is on board Chambana Cranksgiving 2010! We're eagerly awaiting a surprise box from them in the mail, which is sure to contain an awesome prize for a Cranksgiving cyclist. Check out their gear at twinsix.com and be sure to come out on November 14 for a chance to win their contribution.

Local Love

We're feeling the local Chambana love today after hearing from two of our favorite downtown spots, Farren's and Esquire, who have donated gift certificates for Cranksgiving racers. Mmm...the Russell...Grilled Chicken Strawberry Salad...Greek Pizza...

Maybe it's time for lunch.

Thank you, Farren's and Esquire!

Great Prize

We just heard from Wald that they're again sending us some love this year - in the form of a front basket complete with a funky liner. They've been a great supporter of Chambana Cranksgiving, and we're thrilled to have them on board again. Check them out at waldsports.com, and be sure to ride Chambana Cranksgiving 2010 for a chance to win this sweet prize.

Lots of sponsors

Hey, there are a lot of new sponsors listed over on the sponsors page! Go and check them out and maybe click on a few links. All of them have generously donated great prizes for our racers.

Stepping up our Game

Wow! We are back again for a third year and super excited about making this the best year yet. Cranksgiving will be on November 14th starting and finishing at The Bike Project (Urbana location). An important part of that is a new sponsor... drum roll please....Chrome Messenger Bags. I am crazy excited that they have signed on as a sponsor this year. Send them some love by checking out their products and maybe buying a few things.

Here is the link to their website
http://www.chromebagsstore.com/

A New Record for the Second Annual Chambana Cranksgiving: 888 Pounds!

Thank you to all of our cyclists, sponsors, and donors who made Chambana Cranksgiving 2009 an unqualified success! Thirty-four cyclists came out to ride on what turned out to be a gorgeous day on Saturday; we saw lots of familiar faces from last year, and were thrilled to see some new ones join the bunch too.

When we first started to plan this year's Cranksgiving, we were a bit disheartened to hear the calculation from The Eastern Illinois Foodbank which estimates that local hungry families’ need for food has increased 30 percent from last year - because, as we all know, last year food banks across the country were already unable to keep up with increased demand. However, our cyclists, sponsors, and donors certainly stepped up to the challenge, and hauled 888 pounds of nonperishable food across the finish line - more than 30 percent above last year's total of 613 pounds, even though we did it this year with fewer riders (perhaps we should revert back to last year's practice of holding it on a Sunday?). That means we've raised just over 1500 pounds in two years! That's a lot of green beans...and oatmeal...and peanut butter...and tuna...and cranberry sauce...

In sum, we are very proud to be part of a community whose members are concerned with the wellbeing of their neighbors - and, moreover, who enthusiastically embrace a slightly unconventional means of addressing those neighbors' needs. We are also proud to be affiliated with the communities of other great cities like New York, Ann Arbor, Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha, and Miami (and the list goes on) who also ran their own Cranksgiving events this year; we're eager to hear the results of those alleycat food drives too. We had a blast on Saturday, and greatly appreciate the response of our participants - and the sponsors whose contributions of prizes and after party munchies ensured that our cyclists didn't go home empty-handed or empty-stomached. We're already looking forward to our third annual Chambana Cranksgiving (mark your calendars for mid-November 2010!) and definitely hope to see you there. Thanks for a great event!