Jan,
Great report! The bike show is the perfect place to hang and party. Sounds like Sinclair was like Studio 54 in the old days. Such a good time would probably have been wasted on me since one good beer is usually all I can take at any one time. I suppose the "beet face" trick isn't totally dead yet, but sounds as if the crowd did alright without it.
I'm really looking forward to VeloSwap SF on Nov. 15. Are there plans to RAGE while we're up there? Let me know so I can practice drinking; I think with a little training I might be able to at least hang with the stragglers.
Nice job on the trainer. No surprise to me that you kicked ass. The fixed gear rides work wonders. It's all about leg speed. Our vintage rides are always a gas and there never seems to be a shortage of "diceing" somewhere during the ride. I have a special fondness for bridging gaps, usually to the leaders who have taken flight. It satisfies the time trialist in me. Don't have the killer instinct to be a sprinter. Show me a nice downhill (imagine letting a bowling ball out on the freeway at 90mph!). There will be Jan, right there in the frey mixing it up with Matty (full speed on his trike) or Pergolizzi (taking a flyer) or Petry (dancing up the hills), or Chuck (spinning a fixie at rpm's that should tear your legs off).
Thanks for that captivating report! Let's PARTY at Veloswap!
Brian Baylis La Mesa, CA Not one of those who are somebody; but I know some people who are. ;-)
I spent three days at Interbike this year, but in a completely different function than last year, when I slaved away in the Woolistic booth with Alex Clarke and his brother. This year, I walked the entire show floor each day, talking with manufacturers and exhibitors, and basically spreading the VeloSwap 'gospel'. It was great to see some old friends, like Al Budris, VP of Marketing at Veltec Sports; Ron Kiefel, Owner of Wheat Ridge Cyclery; Roy Knickman, co-founder of Abici Bicycles; Greg LeMond, Bob Roll, Tyler Hamilton, and my personal fave, George Hincapie.
The show seemed slightly less crazy than last year on the first day. I managed to connect with a few other CR listees, namely Head Poobah himself, Mr. Dale Brown, and a couple others. I too missed the KK Rendezvous on Tuesday morning, due to excessive imbibing at the Sinclair Party the evening before. It was one wild party and everyone that was 'anyone' in the industry was there. Dale was out in the hall on a sofa when I arrived; possibly the victim of a spiked drink or maybe some bad tequila!!!
I got my VIP passes from Mr. 'Sinclair Imports' himself, Glenn Spiller, only after I proved my worthiness by reciting some hilarious stories that had been told to me by Roland Della Santa. Glenn and Roland are the best of buds and we shared some great laughs about Roland and his amusing stories. I stood back to back with Phil Liggett at the party, shook hands with Gilberto Simoni, who was hitting on a girlfriend of mine, and brushed past George Hincapie with his Tour de France Podium Princess from France. It was the place to see and be seen. Spent a half hour talking with former cycling great Roy Knickman, who has formed a new company with a partner in So. Calif.
The highlight for me at Interbike was stopping by the USPS booth and chatting with George Hincapie on Tuesday. The booth personnel urged me to take a spin on one of the stationary trainer bikes and get a USPS hat. My turn came up and I was pitted against a guy maybe 30 years old, who looked to be in decent cycling shape. I rolled my pantlegs up, slid my sandaled feet into the toeclips and cranked down on the toestraps like it was KILO TIME! The female voice on the computer gave us the countdown: "Three...two...one....GO!" and in the biggest gear on the bike, I took off in full sprint, trying for a sub-20 second time for the quarter-mile distance. I left the young opponent on the starting line and never looked back and ended up winning the competion with a 20.34 second time. That was the best female time and in the top ten of all competitors. I won a USPS Tour de France yellow team jersey for my effort. My second victory on a stationary trainer: the first being at the Sea Otter Classic last year. Everyone wondered how I had learned this strange cycling technique, and I couldn't help but think of the numerous classic rides I've been on in the past three years, chasing the likes of Brian Baylis, John Pergolizzi, Matt Gorski, and Mark Petry and several others as they attacked the peloton with breakaways. Maybe my sprinting has improved because of those epic Rose Bowl rides in Pasadena or along the Pacific Coast Highway.
I thought the show was great. There were some interesting new bikes and a few vintage tidbits worth perusing. I went to the Brooks booth with Chuck Schmidt and my husband Peter, and we stood in awe of the beautiful retro Brooks saddle in a beautiful caramel colored leather, with titanium rails. It was fun walking around the show with Chuck and Peter and listening to their comments on the modern technology stuff being displayed.
Wish I could have talked with more people, and especially the CR listees who were there. I was one busy person there and they kept me busy over at the VeloNews booth, controlling the crowd of people who came to see Bob Roll and to get his new book signed. Afterwards, we sat at the round table and just shot the bull. That was fun.
Hope to see more people next year!
ciao! Jan Johnson VeloSwap - Oct. 25 in Denver; Nov. 15 in San Francisco Portola Valley, CA