Cycling stories #1
since i can't seem to get any mileage in these days (schedule just didn't work today), i instead am going to recount some occassional cycling stories here, not of me and my pathetic attempts over the years at riding enough to warrant my bikes, but instead to recount different bike racing experiences i've viewed. if i can, i'm going to include a pic or two summing up the experience, but this won't always be possible.
#1: In 1989 my parents were living outside of Philly in West Chester, PA on 5 acres in a freakin' beautiful bucolic area. the land around there was heavily and strictly zoned, so there were only farms and big-ass homes on acreage. the various Philly clubs used to always ride that area around the Brandywine River, and WestChester was also home base to several nationally ranked triathletes. my dad worked in business and had ties to banks, so in the early summer of '89 we got an invite to attend the CoreState Championship, which is the Philly nat'l campeonato that's been held since '85 or so (this past fall the structure was all changed with the pro championship going to SouthCarolina and Philly becoming more of a 1day race. hope it lasts unlike the SanFran deal).
for those undereducated, Greg Lemond had moved from a totally Nothing year with PDM in '88 to race for ADR, a Belgium team, and somehow this became ADR/CoorsLight in the US. I believe also that there was some CoorsLight connection in Euro races as well. in fact, Greg put on one of those hideous Pink Coorslight hats on when he won the Tour in '89, defeating Fignon. we attended that '89 race at the guest of the bank- CoreStates- in fact where we could suck up the ambience, etc. the final, and notallthatclimactic, point is that '89 was the only year that Greg Lemond, first and best American cycling hero, raced the US Nat'l Pro Championships, apparently under the encouragement of CoorsLight. He had had a somewhat bad Giro, almost quitting, but finishing a little better with a 3rd place in the last time trial. Therefore, shortly thereafter, he returned to the states to race CoreStates.
He didn't win, but Greg was active throughout the race. It was a THRILL to have GREG LEMOND in the US racing, given that at this point he was more of a minor deity having won the '86 Tour. I know he also had made his presence known out west in various Coors Classics/Red Zingers and in the '86 worlds, but this was a special EastCoast- and Nat'l Championship- appearance. that day Greg Oravetz (sp?), a fellow CoorsLight rider, won. in fact, it was about the only damn thing he ever won in cycling (after a webcheck, i found that Oravetz also won the '91 US Criterium campeonato). Oravetz won the jersey, but the day was truly dominated by the appearance of true cycling god GREG LEMOND.
#1: In 1989 my parents were living outside of Philly in West Chester, PA on 5 acres in a freakin' beautiful bucolic area. the land around there was heavily and strictly zoned, so there were only farms and big-ass homes on acreage. the various Philly clubs used to always ride that area around the Brandywine River, and WestChester was also home base to several nationally ranked triathletes. my dad worked in business and had ties to banks, so in the early summer of '89 we got an invite to attend the CoreState Championship, which is the Philly nat'l campeonato that's been held since '85 or so (this past fall the structure was all changed with the pro championship going to SouthCarolina and Philly becoming more of a 1day race. hope it lasts unlike the SanFran deal).
for those undereducated, Greg Lemond had moved from a totally Nothing year with PDM in '88 to race for ADR, a Belgium team, and somehow this became ADR/CoorsLight in the US. I believe also that there was some CoorsLight connection in Euro races as well. in fact, Greg put on one of those hideous Pink Coorslight hats on when he won the Tour in '89, defeating Fignon. we attended that '89 race at the guest of the bank- CoreStates- in fact where we could suck up the ambience, etc. the final, and notallthatclimactic, point is that '89 was the only year that Greg Lemond, first and best American cycling hero, raced the US Nat'l Pro Championships, apparently under the encouragement of CoorsLight. He had had a somewhat bad Giro, almost quitting, but finishing a little better with a 3rd place in the last time trial. Therefore, shortly thereafter, he returned to the states to race CoreStates.
He didn't win, but Greg was active throughout the race. It was a THRILL to have GREG LEMOND in the US racing, given that at this point he was more of a minor deity having won the '86 Tour. I know he also had made his presence known out west in various Coors Classics/Red Zingers and in the '86 worlds, but this was a special EastCoast- and Nat'l Championship- appearance. that day Greg Oravetz (sp?), a fellow CoorsLight rider, won. in fact, it was about the only damn thing he ever won in cycling (after a webcheck, i found that Oravetz also won the '91 US Criterium campeonato). Oravetz won the jersey, but the day was truly dominated by the appearance of true cycling god GREG LEMOND.
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