New news that new to you

First things first...

You may notice that Bolt Brothers (my local bike shop support) is missing from the sidebar.

That's sort of a long story, but I'll try to be brief. I went to Will Bolt back when I found out that MOOTS was officially going to sponsor me for 2009 as he was the closest MOOTS dealer to my house. Will accepted me into the fold even though he did not know me (beyond local hearsay and gossip). Over this past year he was quite generous and helpful in regards to assisting me in my quest to make great bike race, and on my trip to DSG last year he was quite the travel companion and ward. Unfortunately Will has a life complicated with health issues, and over the past few years he's been under the knife more than a Thanksgiving turkey. He also has to make time for his wonderful family and chase after his own interests, so being an owner of a bike shop became more than he had time for at this stage in the game. His retail store has closed its doors over the last few months, and while Will still plans to be involved in cycling through professional fittings and coaching he has decided (in his own words) "to get lost in the Milky Way".

So I ended up without a bike shop sponsor. There are still a couple of local bike shops I frequent when I have a need to fill my needs, but I got a call the other day while I was browsing at the local Salvation Army and doing my best to not buy a futon or a ping pong table I didn't need nor have room for in my humble abode. A familiar voice from my trip to Durango was on the other end, and a new partnership was born as I strolled amongst the unwanted TV's and semi-soiled undies.

George Wisell from Bike29.com has decided (or his wife Mandy said it was OK) to help me out in 2010. I first met George back when I was racing for Ellsworth Team Twenty Four back in 2001. I was out at the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo when Tony Ellsworth himself (looking resplendent in a $300 pair of designer jeans) showed up to meet the team. His right hand man (who I assume did things for Tony that he didn't want to do with his own right hand) was with him, and that man was George. I really didn't get to know George very well as he had to tend to an ailing, flu ridden Tony, and I spent most of the race sitting around in the pits nursing my injured knee and seeking out beer in the middle of the desert.

I met George for a second time at the Fool's Gold 100 miler in 2008. We were standing around the keg the night before the race when we figured out that we had met seven years ago. What we talked about after that is still quite a bit hazy, but I do remember staying at the keg tooooo long that night. Ouch. Anyways, we kept in touch here and there, Mandy met me this year at Fool's Gold and approved me as a travel companion for SSWC09, and together they decided that sponsoring me for 2010 was not going to be too risque for their tastes. I think my mad dance floor skills were what swung Mandy to my side, but since shoving actual dollar bills in my banana hammock while we were throwing down at the Derailed Saloon would have been the thing that finally got us kicked out this seems like a much more appropriate way to show her enthusiasm.

So I got some much needed support for next "season", but I'll admit I was looking for a shop that would be closer to my house than Bolt Brothers was (45 minutes away by car). I ended up with an order mail bike shop that is over 1,000 miles from my house*, which is a bit further than I would drive for a few Gu's, but lucky for me they do ship stuff all over the country. Whodathunkit? A bike shop the mails your order to you**... I can't believe no one thought of this idea earlier. They should call it an "order mail bike shop".

George Wisell: He's got the head of the devil, and he's thrown it at you.

* They also run a LBS named Five Hills Bikes of the brick and mortar variety, so all you haters that suck my ceramic balls can not totally accuse me of not fully supporting a LBS.

** If you ride outdated 26" wheels don't bother looking for itty bitty tires and wheels in the online catalog at Bike29.com. What you need to do is get rid of that ridiculous play thing you call a "bike" and sack up with a man's bike. BTW: They sell those too.