What's The Green Ride all about?

We've brought together organizations dedicated to protecting our local environment. Our 2008 beneficiaries provide laboratories and outdoor classrooms for critically important scientific research, protect land from urban sprawl, fight for clean drinking water and teach our children how to become responsible caretakers of our environment.

Our 2008 ride is a three-day fall foliage tour on Columbus Day weekend from Manhattan to the Catskills and back.

The ride is limited to the first 100 riders who register. To participate, riders pay a $100 registration fee and raise $1,800 by registration on Friday, October 10, 2008.

Your gear will be collected prior to the start of the ride and transported to Black Rock Forest, where you have the option of camping or bunking with fellow riders at the green Black Rock Forest Lodge, which features state-of-the-art composting toilets, a geothermal heating and cooling system, and solar lighting. Prefer a private room? You may reserve at your cost a room in a nearby motel (we'll provide a shuttle to take you there and back!)

We leave Manhattan at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11th and arrive back in Manhattan at 4p.m. on Monday, Oct. 13th for a closing ceremony overlooking the banks of the Hudson River and the Palisades.

Along the way we'll take in spectacular views of the Hudson River, Shawgunks and Catskills.

Who's Behind The Green Ride?

We're the creators of the Empire State AIDS Ride, a seven-day, 560-mile bike ride from Niagara Falls to NYC. We built ESAR five years ago as a model for ethical fundraising and efficiency.

Last year's The Green Ride raised more than $80,000 for the Black Rock Forest Consortium and the school-in-the-forest and we're proud to have returned more than 82-percent of donations to our beneficiary.

We limit the size of the ride to fit the infrastructure of the places we visit and rely on a veteran team of dedicated volunteers to take the best possible care of our 100 riders. We pride ourselves on a ride that is safe and fun.

The ride director and creator of ESAR and The Green Ride is Marty Rosen, a former newspaper reporter and editor. She's a dedicated but slow cyclist who these days spends more time planning rides than doing them. In May she ran SAG operations for the Commerce Bank Five Boro Bike Tour and got 32,000 cyclists from 42 countries from Battery Park to Staten Island.

Marty can always be reached directly at martyrosen@aol.com or by phone at (917) 817-5775.

Do I have to be a serious cyclist to do this ride?

You need to be fit and you need to ride your bike regularly from now until the ride. This is a challenging route with hills, distance and the potential for cool temperatures.

Are you new to cycling? Relax and take your time! This is a ride, not a race. If you can sustain an average speed of 9 miles an hour you can complete every day. Need to take a break or sag to the next rest stop? Our volunteers will ferry you and your bike and allow you to keep riding if you choose. That's one of the perks of a small ride.

Are you a racer? Slow down! It's a gorgeous route with plenty to see, and if you go too fast you'll miss all the comeraderie on the road. (We've also found that riders who maintain a moderate pace are less likely to be injured.)

Do I need to get a new road bike?

That's a question for you, your wallet & your local bike shop. If you're unsure of your bike's road worthiness, take it to a good bike shop for a tune-up. Make sure the brakes and tires are in good shape. Have your bike pro adjust the seat and handlebars to fit your body. Inflate the tires to the proper pressure. Never changed a flat before? Buy a pump, spare tube and patch kit and ask your bike pro to teach you how to use them.

Now put on your helmet and take your bike out for a spin. Can you ride 10 miles comfortably? 20? 50 with some training? Then your bike is fine. ESAR1 rider Eric "Three-Speed" Thomann rode across the state on an $85 three-speed he bought 30+ years ago. He was one of our strongest riders and is now completing a lifetime dream to ride his childhood bike around the world (Last year he rode 1,000 miles across Turkey.)

Some participants do ride their mountain bikes, which are heavier and not as fast. They're not ideal, but they're fine if they're what you prefer.

What about nighttime accommodations and meals?

You'll get hearty meals at lunch, dinner and breakfast with plenty of protein, fresh fruits and vegetables and complex carbs. We do provide vegetarian options. We're foodies, and some of our ride's best times happen at the dinner table, so expect great food!

You'll also have regular rest stops where we'll have fresh oranges and bananas, Gatorade and water, protein bars and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

We're giving you the choice of camping, staying in the Lodge, or paying for a room at a nearby motel for both nights.

We supply roomy 8 x 8 foot tents with a generous rain fly, big enough for two participants. We expect the evenings to be cool if not cold in October, so come prepared with a four-season sleeping bag and warm jammies.

You may also opt to share a room in the new Lodge, with twin-sized bunk beds and the coolest bathrooms we've ever seen! The odor-free and flush-free composting toilets feed a basement colony of earthworms who turn waste into clean soil. During your overnight stays you'll also get to visit the resident brook trout and tour the separate laboratory and classroom building, where consortium members including scientists from the Museum of Natural History and Columbia University carry out field work with the potential to affect the problems of global warming and acid rain.

Can I really raise $1,800?

Sure. It's about as easy as riding your bike to the Catskills and back on an October weekend. You can do it, but it takes persistence and planning. With help from those of us who have raised tens of thousands of dollars for AIDS causes, you can reach your minimum and even double or triple it!

Here are a few rules we follow:

• Talk about your ride!

• Always carry donation forms! Everywhere! Bring them out to dinner. Keep a stack at your desk. Never go to the gym without one!

• If you ask for $25 you'll get $25. Don't! Ask your supporters to give as much as they can. Many of our 2006 riders asked friends to donate $1 a mile and they collected dozens of checks for $560. Two riders asked friends to contribute $3,200 --- and they did!

• ASK. Talking about your training is great. But don't forget to ask for support!

And, a few phrases to remember:

"Please, support my efforts." "I can take a check." "I'll help you fill out this form now". "That's okay, if you don't have a check, you can write down your credit card number." "Thank you! Your donation matters."

Don't forget to write

The most effective fundraising starts with a personalized letter to your friends, family and co-workers.

As you customize your letter, tell your friends why you've decided to make this trip. All of us are effected by our changing environment.

We're are saying by our participation that we are committed to supporting the top environmental groups in our region and their research and advocacy on behalf of our region.

Here are some tips for writing an effective letter:

• Make it personal. Make it interesting! You're doing something great!

• Keep your letter to a single page

• Check for typos!

• Print it out and have a friend read it before you mail it.

Send your personalized letter to everyone in your address book along with a donation form and a self-addressed stamped envelope.

When your donations arrive, and BEFORE you mail them to us, please go to your personal web page and enter them there. Make sure you include email addresses, particularly for donations of more than $250. We do NOT sell our mailing list, so your supporters don't have to worry about spam. Our system automatically generates an email receipt which is the only record your supporters will get for tax purposes. (And the only contact they'll have from us.) AFTER you enter your checks, mail them to The Green Ride, P.O. Box 26, Piermont, NY 10968.

Internet donations

You may also offer your supporters the option of contributing online.
We love the convenience of the internet. We've also heard from walkers and riders from around the country and they all agree, sending an e-mail on the Kintera system is easy and you'll get results. Many have told us they've increased the level of giving by more than 20-percent by using the internet. Click here for some quick tips on how to get the most out of your personal web page!

Start by writing a personal note to your friends. Here are some samples to get you started. You can send the same note to everyone from the Kintera site and your e-mail list will be blocked from your recipients. It's a more personal touch.

Follow the same rules for writing a regular letter.

• Make it personal! Make it interesting! You're doing something great!

• Keep your note brief. No more than four paragraphs.

• Check for typos!

• Print it out and have a friend read it first.

Donors who support you by e-mail will automatically receive a thank you generated by the website. That's a nice start, but they'll also appreciate a phone call or a good old-fashioned thank you note.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

We can't say it enough, and neither can you!

Your donors will appreciate a sincere thank you, and they'll remember your effort when you ask them to support you in the future.

Print a postcard using a picture of you and your bike and mail it with a note of thanks.

Send a note describing your training efforts.

Keep a blog detailing your training regimen. You can also keep an online journal on the personal webpage you've get when you register. It's fast and easy to email your friends a link to your training and fundraising page.

Corporate fundraising

The Green Ride is dedicated to offering an event that is sustained by the generosity of our riders, whose entry fee covers about one-third the costs of food, road support, permit fees, and other charges. We're grateful to the many small businesses and corporations who are donating goods and services to allow us to return a high percentage of donations to our beneficiaries.

Contact the ride office at martyrosen(insert@here)aol.com or by phone at (917) 817-5775 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, please!) for more information about sponsorship opportunities.

We'll thank our corporate sponsors by adding their names to our website and ride jersey!