Yesterday evening we went over to Handsome Cycles in Downtown Minneapolis.
They were having an open house to show off Greg LeMond, plus his Tour De France winning bicycles and one of the new bikes Greg’s company will have for sale in 2015.
Handsome was serving tall boy PBRs, Fox news had a very big camera on a very big tripod. Everywhere there were lots of bike nerds and geeks. TDF highlights were on the big screen and everyone was excited to meet the man.
She Who Must Be Obeyed was invited to this event by Knock. They are a design company that created the look and feel of the Handsome store. They do very nice work. The store does not look like a typical bike shop. It feels comfortable, all around there are quality goods. Bicycle clothing for men and women who are not inclined to wear Lycra. Not to forget that Handsome makes really nice bikes that you can have built up any way you want.
Back in the day when Greg was racing, I was a big fan. I remember when he won the Tour in ’86, ’89, and 1990. I had kept all my copies of Winning magazine, VeloNews, Sports Illustrated, etc. featuring Greg. I even had a pair of those Scott handlebars on my Team Miyata bicycle for years.
Before we left to go downtown, I carefully grabbed eight of said magazines to show Greg that I was a really serious fan and maybe get an autograph from a real TDF winner.
People were milling about when he arrived at Handsome Cycles. Everyone wanted a piece of him. It was a polite feeding frenzy. Fox TV grabbed him and interviewed him. They were on a deadline. We all waited patiently to shake hands and say hi to our hero. He was extremely personable with everyone. When it was my turn to visit with him I pulled out all of my pristine magazines to show him and prove I was worthy of his attention. I introduced myself, we shook hands and Greg asked me if he could autograph all of my magazines now that we were on a first name basis. I said I would be honoured if he would like to do that. While Greg and I were talking She Who Must Be Obeyed heard two other fans comment. ” He came in with a fine collection of magazines” “He’s going to leave with a fabulous collection”.
This is not the first time I have met Mr. LeMond. Back in I think 1993. We both were with our families at a Dim Sum restaurant In Golden Valley. Traditionally, if you brought small children to Dim Sum, the father wander around the restaurant with his baby to allow the mother to eat and the dad to show off his manliness. It also keeps the crying down. During my wander I stopped by the LeMonds table during such a walk about, and introduced my youngest and myself to them.
I recounted this tale to the 3 time Tour de France winner as he was autographing my library. We didn’t talk about bikes or racing. No, we talked about Chinese food. Specifically, who has the best Dim Sum in town. I am sure we will meet up at Yangtze some time.
It is fun to meet a celebrity who truly likes other humans. Greg LeMond is that person. I can’t wait to test ride one of his new bikes.
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