[CR] American Flyers memories

(Example: Production Builders:Cinelli:Laser)

From: Brook Watts <brook.watts@comcast.net>
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 10:54:40 -0700
To: Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: [CR] American Flyers memories


Great story from Jim about Woodul and American Flyers, I could share more than a few memories from that era since I followed Bill Woodul's footsteps at Campagnolo USA.

A couple of things stand out about American Flyers that have CR content: -- I visited the film while it was doing studio work in LA. They had finished St Louis location filming and we're doing the interior scenes before the entire crew moved to Grand Junction CO to join the Coors Classic and do the action scenes on location. I arrived at the Warner Bros. lot in the 1984 Buick wagon with the rainbow stripes. and was quickly asked for a number of spare parts to help the mechanic (Jimmy Flanagan from Houston who had been a Campy USA guy previously) keep the Suntour equipped Specialized running, I recall Campy part 2004, the brake clamp washer, being a much needed item since the Suntour equivalent was prone to breakage. -- We supplied a spare rainbow striped Buick wagon for use in the race scenes (filmed in parallel with the Coors that year) but it popped a head gasket and ended up in the parking lot rather than the film. I had a lot of headaches crippling that station wagon from Colorado back to Houston. -- Woodul did have a speaking part, 1 line I think, and it was a line I heard him use more than once after a race "You uncorked a good one in the sprint...." or some similar line. -- Bill was proudest of teaching Rae Dawn Chong how to change a rear flat wheel. She's does it quite well in the movie.

RIP you old SOB.

Brook Watts Longmont Colorado USA

Jim Merz wrote:

Well I don't have that much to say, other than it's a pretty bad film. Bill Woodul of Campagnolo Support fame was ready to move on and I got him a job with Specialized Bicycle. So he did basically the same thing for us, technical support for all the big road races in the USA. Somehow he found out that a Hollywood movie was going to be made, loosely based on the Coors Classic. So he was right in the middle of this and got the movie people to use Specialized bikes for the good guy team. Kevin Costner rode on this team in the movie. I did not go down for the filming, but Bill was on hand for the whole thing. He is in the film on rollers if I remember. The premiere was in San Francisco, Bill got me in to see this. So I got to meet the director, and actors. My ex-wife could not even talk when we met Kevin Costner, I thought that was pretty funny.

By the way, my last name is with a "r", not "t".

Jim Merz
Big Sur CA