Bobby Gets PICL'd!

It was a dark night in a city that knows how to keep its secrets, but on the 12th floor of the Acme Building PICL Board member Mike Festa was searching for the answer to life’s persistent question: how far can he ride his bike in one day. That didn’t feel dramatic enough, so he decided to ride the tight and narrow trails at Batsto Village, New Jersey. Doubling down on the difficulty, he chose the shortest day of the year. Festa assuaged the guilt of ignoring normal adult responsibilities for a day by claiming it was an attempt to raise money for PICL, and implored others to attempt the same feat. In a move that will soon prove financially ruinous, he boldly stated that if any rider should cover more ground than his 91.55 miles he will donate an additional $20 per mile (!) to PICL!

Enter Bobby Lea

Bobby and Mike regularly race against each other at regional mountain bike events, where the former takes great pleasure in inflicting pain and suffering on his friend. Upon seeing the challenge, Bobby recognized a chance to turn the screws in a year that has been bereft of opportunities to abuse Festa. Like Mike, he shares a love of silly challenges and relishes any excuse to ride a bike all day long.

Bobby “Gets PICL’d” Was Born

On March 20th, Bobby will attempt to beat Mike’s FKD (Farthest Known Distance) at Batsto Village. Bobby likes round numbers and big goals, so he’s aiming to cover 100 miles to leave no doubt about shattering the record, thus triggering the shrinking of Mike’s bank account balance thanks to paying off his challenge gift to PICL.

Here’s where you come in: support Bobby’s “Get PICLed” by pledging a dollar amount per mile ridden/suffered or choosing a level that makes magic happen and help to ensure that our PICL kids have a full season of playing in their Local Dirt!

All money raised will go directly to PICL’s Local Dirt initiative. What does this mean? Yes, for just $500 we can fund a fun local event for our kids. Our goal? Raising $8,000 so we can fund 16 Local Dirt Events. And, after the challenging year-of-the-pandemic, don’t you think that getting kids on bikes is the least that we can do? Don’t wait - click to donate today.

Love the idea, but wondering how you might do a specific thing to help a Local Dirts?

Course tape $17.65 - This stuff has so many uses for getting people in, out, around, and through a venue. It’s also good for wrapping presents and your Mummy! Be prepared, send course tape!

Hose Reel - $36.79 - I’m sorry, what? Yes, a hose reel! No, we’re not watering the course, we’re saving the earth, a little bit at a time, by recycling that sweet course tape. Yes, we care that much. Yes, it’s a little weird. Yes, we’re okay with that. And yes, you could double up on course tape and a reel!

Wind blades $49.85 - Teams can make Local Dirts happen with a lot that they have in hand, but these simple flags are super useful to help bring people to the venue and for fun finish lines that make the events better for kids and families!

Dig In Rogue Hoe $74.95 - Local Dirts only happen when we dig in! And PICL digs into stewardship more than any other NICA League. Support all the digging we’re doing right here.

Let’s GO! port-a-john $116.40 - no matter where we go, someone has gotta go. We don’t need a lot of these for Local Dirts, but we do need at least one. Heck, we’ll even put your name on it! Who could ask for more?

Pick up a PICL Permit!  $255 - We’re always on the hunt for places for Local Dirts. Know any? Let us know! Sometimes it means permitting. Every time it’s called for you’ll know that you helped greatly by picking up a PICL permit. Pick a peck of PICL permits even! That 8 of ‘em…cause a peck is 8 dry quarts (but you knew that, right?)

Local Dirt $500 - Make PICL Dirtier! This covers production of a Local Dirt. You make one happen AND you get an Olympic Shout-out too! Wait, what was that??!?

Olympic Shout Outs!! - Team $500 (which makes a Local Dirt happen too!) or $100 for an individual or single family. Direct from the record breaking attempt, live or on the social channels, Bobby will connect with whoever you think needs an Olympic Shout-Out!! Send your favorite PICL rider or local team a 2021 send off they’ll love!

About Bobby

Bobby has been riding and racing bikes since he was old enough to swing a leg over a bicycle. He cut his teeth on road, track, mountain bike, and cyclocross races in the Mid-Atlantic region before graduating to the professional ranks. Following the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, his third Olympic Team, Bobby decided he’d had enough of full-time racing. He traded skinny tires for fat ones and immediately fell in love with the regional off-road scene.

The friendly atmosphere, camaraderie, and inclusiveness was the perfect antidote to the high-performance and high-pressure environment he left behind. Bobby is driven by a love of bikes and was drawn to PICL by the organization’s commitment to getting #morekidsonbikes.

There is much more to cycling than competing, but race days are an integral component of PICL and the Local Dirt initiative promises to bring more opportunities to more kids around the state. Bobby chose to support this program because he knows the joy that a good day of playing bikes with friends can bring, and wants to make that joy as accessible as possible to all PICL participants.

Get Bobby PICL’d - DONATE TODAY!