I wrote this post some time ago and never published it. I am now with bittersweet feelings. We closed our shop after 22 years of business. It was a difficult decision, but the appropriate time with other job offerings that came available to Roger. Cycling is still a part of our lives!!
Today my ride photo is of my bikes (Grace and Beauty) leaning on each other. I used my road bike to get to the shop so that I could hit some local trails on my mountain bike. After taking the pic, I scanned the background and saw the yellow jersey and realized that I had forgotten that memory. That jersey is autographed by the one and only Greg LeMond. Roger and I have met him, we even got to go on a group ride with him.
Some background. This is bk (before kids) and we were living in Eureka Springs, AR. I was teaching 8th grade math and social studies and Roger was working at the Booze Brothers. Also at that time, Roger was riding for the Wal-Mart cycling team. This team was sponsored by the granddaughter of Sam Walton. Parts of this story sound like a gossip column, so beware. A cool side note is the granddaughter was married to a cyclist who had been on the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Track team. As well as paying for entry fees and travel expenses they also sponsored events to teach and inspire. One such event was a visit by Greg LeMond and Chris Carmichael (of Carmichael Training Systems). That day began with a talk by Greg on his life as a cyclist and Chris shared training insights. When you listen to people talk who give you stars in your eyes, they become more real, human. It reminds me of the saying that “everyone has to put their pants on one leg at a time”. I cannot fail to mention that Greg’s wife, Kathy LeMond was there also, offering her insights. At the end of the talk was a drawing for an autographed, yellow jersey that is now framed and hanging in our shop. But wait, it isn’t over. We get to go on a group ride with both Greg and Chris. I am getting woozy just typing this out. Talk about incredible experience. On the ride, talking and chatting it up we get tidbits of information from both of their lives and the people they have worked with. Chris talks about his work with Rebecca Twig and Lance Armstrong. This was after Armstrong’s recovery with cancer and making his comeback. Side note here: I am pretty sure that Carmichael took a call from Armstrong after our bike ride, Armstrong was training in the Appalachian Mountains. Believe it or not, the day isn’t over after the ride. We go to our sponsors house (the one that has the hyperbaric chamber in it for altitude training) to watch footage of tours that Greg competed in. I will tell you what, sitting literally right next to LeMond and getting the play-by-play and behind the scenes juice was priceless.
There, that is the story behind the yellow jersey hanging at Tailwind Cyclists.
