Doing Well and Doing Good :: D2R2 Raffle Frame

It's a pretty simple thing, society is better off when we help each other out.

Good folks like Sandy Whittlesey and the entire crew at the Franklin Land Trust set a standard for us all to follow. They work hard every day to preserve the land and rich heritage of Franklin County in Northwestern Massachusetts.

That Sandy is an avid cyclist and decided to marry his love of cycling with FLT's mission by creating the Deerfield to Deerfield Dirt Road Randonnee is a gift to all of us. D2R2 as it is called, is a benefit bike ride through some of the most scenic and rugged back roads in New England.

I struck up a conversation with Sandy after the ride last year about what constitutes the perfect bike for a ride like D2R2. I also suggested that if we could come up with a frame design that we were satisfied with, that we should raffle off a custom build to help raise money and awareness for the Franklin Land Trust.

Here's what Sandy has to say about the frame that we jointly developed and displayed earlier this year at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show:

"The raffle frame is designed specifically for the bumpy back roads and dirt roads of Franklin County. It looks like a racing bike, but there is clearance for slightly larger tires and fenders, and the design is lower to the ground for stability. The rear of the frame is designed to flex over bumps in the road. This is not a superlight racing bike any more than it is a heavy touring bike - it is, literally, the best conceivable design for a ride on the very roads we have here. And, the best part, it comes with FLT artwork! This is just the second frame ever built like this, a collector's item."

She's resplendent in British Racing Green and Vanilla Shake panels, although you could choose a different color combination if you are the winner. We all win when we have beautiful places to ride, so please take a moment to click through here and help out the Franklin Land Trust by entering the raffle.

Better yet, register for the ride itself, and purchase raffle tickets at the same time here.

Hope to see you in a few weeks out on the back roads of Franklin County doing well and doing good.

Cheers,

G.