The story behind Obamacycling

[Lace King]

Here's how Obamacycling officially got started:

I ran out of stickers in early Jan, and as I was browsing through the store, I noticed that EVERYTHING was out of stock/back ordered/unavailable. I couldn't get my stickers, let alone any of the other stuff that I wanted.

I checked back with the store a few days later, and still, everything was out of stock! I finally got fed up and checked into buying things in bulk. Yes, the support packs were available to buy! (they said back-ordered, but I could still go through with buying them. I bought a student support pack and a hoodie, but according to some reviews, it could take over a month to get my things! Oh well...

But what was I going to do with all of that extra Obama merchandise that I would have??

"I got it! I'l post around on the HQ blog and see if anyone needs any of it," I thought. So I did; I put up 5-10 posts in the HQ blog asking people to e-mail me if they needed any of it.

Sure enough, the e-mails came in. "I only recieved 13 requests, but at least the merchandise would go somewhere better-off," I figured.

One guy wrote to me "My primary is March 4 (OH), is there anyway that you can get some stuff to me before then?"

"I can try, but it all depends on when my support pack arrives," I wrote back.

It was about 1:30 am at that point,on Super Tuesday night (the HQ blog was booming that night), I'd just won the bet that we WOULD win Missouri, and it hit me.

"Obamacycling."

I sat and thought about it for a second, trying to figure out if I'd have enough donations to square up with those in need. "Oh well. It's worth a shot," I accidentally said out loud, getting me a wierd look from my mom's friend. I went to the HQ blog and made the announcement, asking people to e-mail if they had/needed things.

Here's what I said:
"As everyone who has tried to buy things at the BarackObama store knows, there is a serious backup in shipping right now; in some cases, 6-8+ weeks!!!

LETS DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!

Do you have any new or gently used Obama gear that you can spare? From stickers to shirts to signs, we'll take all of it. Or for that matter, are you in an upcoming state and you do not have any Obama things? Tell us! We can probably help you out!

Here's what you do:
e-mail me at: [e-mail]
Tell me what you have or what you need. We will try to match you up with someone who has or who needs those things!!!!

lets OBAMACYCLE, and get through this jam at the Barack Obama store.

YES WE CAN.

Thanks,

Lace K"

It was already 4:30 am. I was toast for the night.....

...I woke up the next morning and immediately checked my inbox. Guess how many requests, let alone offers, I had?

54.

It took a day or two to get enough offers, but I got them! However, I realized that I had a potential problem. The donations that I recieved may have been scams.

That happened a couple of times, but, over 200 people WERE matched! In one day! (luckily I'm homeschooled and can donate lots of time to the campaign)

The following day, after one of my posts in the HQ blog asking people to Obamacycle, I noticed another post.

Someone set up www.obamacycle.com. My jaw dropped.

My heart sank; someone already came up with this idea?! Then I went to the site, only to realize that apparently I hadn't even come up with my own words that I put in my posts!

"6 to 8+ weeks, " was the phrase describing the Obama store wait that was on the home page. "Obamacycling" had been taken too. I wasn't so original after all.... :(

I clicked on Furqan's--the BarackStar who created this website--profile. I clicked on the blog post "Don't throw it away; Obamacycle!"

Oh.

Oh!

"Whoa, he created this in response to my posts?!" It now made sense. Furqan saw the posts, saw the frantic asking of other Obamamaniacs asking for gear, and went ahead and set this up, so he said in his entry.

I messaged him and gave him some tips on the forums, and thanked him for his work. We re-formatted the forums and added a few more categories, and I put up a background on the home page. He asked that I work with the forums in helping people get matched up, and with keeping the forums organized and tidy.

---so that's it; that's how all of this got started!---

Just another example of the fact that

YES,
we
CAN!

-Lace K

[Lace King]

:)
I do!

[Major Man]

Wow, I've benefitted from donations from California for the Virginia primary. I just sent a box of left over supplies to Pennsylvania.

You're efforts are appreciated. Make sure you get all A's at Home school!

[Adam LeGrand]

Lace, I hadn't read this before, you are seriously awesome.

Keep up your good work, we'll have Barack in the White House in no time!

Fired Up in PA!!!