Write it down

Cranksgiving Omaha 2008 will be November 15 at noon at Bike Masters. We're contacting sponsors and getting the details sewn up right now, so keep an eye out in the next month or two for more information.

Last year we had 820 pounds of food and supplies -- we're aiming for 1,500 this time around. Lofty, but doable. See you soon.

Until next year ...

We delivered 820 pounds of food and supplies to the Omaha Food Bank in our first Cranksgiving. It was a stressful, but rewarding, experience and I can't wait to do it again. Thank you for supporting our efforts. We helped a lot of people in just a few hours -- and our contributions were appreciated.

Oh -- Des Moines got 2,004 pounds this year. Let's go for 1,500 in 2008.

Thanks again,
bryan

820!

The final tally, according to the Food Bank's scale, was 820 pounds. Wow! Thanks again to everybody who rode or volunteered. I know I've said it a zillion times, but you guys made it happen -- I just lined up prizes and rules.

bryan

huge pic gallery here.

Pics/stats/thanks

Giving instructions -- we had 43 riders and 8 volunteers beside Chris and I. We had near-perfect numbers and near-perfect weather, with the only complaint being a stiff SE wind.

The LeMans start is underway. That's Eric Brunt out to a lead he never relinquished. And he was on a single-speed.

Some riders ran up the hill with their bikes, others went out through the parking lot.

Brady Murphy, left, checking in. Mike Munson is in the background. Munson had an advantage of sorts -- he went with me on a pre-race test about a month ago. He must have soaked up a few secrets.

From left, Brandon, Rod and Janna checking in a rider.

Our smallest volunteer enjoyed the soup cans the most.

Ryan and Roxy checking in with their loaded BOB trailer bag.

Sean Kennedy has nice technique.

The SS men's winners -- Eric Brunt in gold, Rafal Doloto in silver and Dale Rabideau in bronze.

Women's geared winners -- we had no SS riders -- Suzanne Wilson in gold (she was third overall), Stephanie Vandermeulen in silver and Julie Harris in bronze.

Men's geared -- Marco Vasquez in gold, Kevin Murray in silver and Mike Munson in bronze.

This is either Andres or Camilo Torres. He got a new Crumpler backpack to replace the flimsy little drawstring bag he used. Let me know which one of you it is, guys.

Bob Brindamour pulled his son Ben in a Burley. Each had their own bags of stuff. Bob got a Snickers cheesecake made by my mom for having the heaviest load.

Joe Savoie had a 25-pound bag of flour on his bars. It broke. He -- and his bike -- were covered.
Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Volunteers loading up the food. We had a LOT of it -- more than 700 pounds' worth.


Nicol Woody giving the high-wheeler a shot. It was a bit too big for her, though.

Thanks to everybody who helped out or rode or even sent a note of encouragement. Cranksgiving was a big success because of your contributions. The Omaha Food Bank will be getting a sizable donation on Monday, and a lot of people will benefit from your generousity.

Thanks to our sponsors: Bike Masters, Trek Store, Highgear, Olympia Cycle, Dave's Decks, Monster Energy Drink, Ergon USA, Twin Six and Bad Lasses. Everybody left with a prize because of their generousity. We look forward to having them back next year.

Thank you!

We had 770 pounds collected by Omaha Cranksgiving riders today. My hope was for 500. Wow.

I'll post a lot more tomorrow, including pics and a video of Janna riding the high-wheel bike at Bike Masters, but I do want to say thanks to all who rode, helped or sponsored. It was tiring and stressful for me, but worth it in the end. Thanks again.

Edit: Chris posted some pics here.

The current prize list

Water bottles:
27 total -- 7 from Twin Six, 6 from Trek/Highgear, 14 from Clif Shot

T-shirts:
10 total -- 7 from Twin Six, 3 from Bad Lasses

Socks:
12 pairs -- 6 from Twin Six, 6 from Trek/Highgear (in the bottles)

MTB grips
4 pairs -- GP1 from Ergon USA

Cheesecakes
2 -- from my mom. Heath Bar and Snickers

Red blinkies
1 -- from Olympia Cycle

Fenders
2 -- 1 Zefal mudgard from Bike Masters, 1 CKS mtb fender set from Olympia

Hats
1 -- Columbia cycling cap from Olympia

Pumps
1 -- Mini frame pump from Bike Masters

GU
1 box -- 24 pack of Vanilla from Bike Masters

Sunglasses
2 pairs -- Serfas sunglasses from Bike Masters

Recovery packs
3 total -- Three packages with Clif Shot recovery drinks and chews

Instant energy
4 -- 4 six-packs of Monster Energy Drink

Backpacks
1 -- A Crumpler backpack from Bike Masters, $130 retail. Very cool.

See you Saturday.

Plans have been finalized

Well, mostly finalized. I have some minor stuff to deal with, but we're ready to go.

Items of note
We could still use a few volunteers. We have 5 confirmed right now, but another 5 or more would be awesome. If you were planning on riding, keep those plans -- just bring a friend who wants to hang out in a bike shop for a few hours.

The poster was made by Ben Vankat, a coworker of mine at the newspaper. His work, along with Mallie, has made this site and event look great. Thank them both if you get the opportunity. They're probably tired of hearing it from me.

More prizes have arrived. We now have an awesome Crumpler backpack, two pairs of Serfas sunglasses, a 24-count box of GU, a Serfas mini-frame pump and a Zefal rear mudgard/fender. Oh, and a discount coupon for Shimano winter shoes. Also, Trek/Highear is tossing in six water bottles, each with a pair of socks inside. And, finally -- for now -- my mom will be making a cheesecake. Maybe two cheesecakes; I'm not sure. But they're good. And it'll be tasty after lugging groceries around NW Omaha.

Email me if you have questions or concerns, or if you want to help or donate. bredemske at hotmail dot com.

See you on the 10th.