This is Fred. Perhaps you've seen him on the wall over Matt's shoulder. It is NOT a booking mug shot.
Say Hi, Fred.
Most days, Fred doesn’t wear pants to work.
He has a home office, of course. He is a titan of finance and does a lot of his work via secured computer and Skype conference calls. Never pan down if you’re on a conference call with Fred.
Fred, it rhymes with Shred, is also a multi-tasking bike rider. His nickname on a road bike is Diesel, because he will, if you let him – and we do let him – stay out front and pull for an half hour.
On his mountain bike, a sweet full suspension Trek Super Fly AL 100, his nickname is Bone crusher. It is stenciled on the bike. He is called this because he crushes his own bones in spectacular, and sometimes frightening, crashes which are mostly caused because Fred thinks he can fly (literally) over jumps. Stay on the ground Fred.
When he’s not riding, Fred likes to knit sweaters for small dogs from the finest back hair available. He is a chess champion, too, having defeated Boris Spassky (or was it Karlov? Or Sputnik?) in 1 move, the infamous raised eyebrow, stink-eye Commie stare down made famous by John Wayne. (Or was in Ronald Reagan? We forget). Fred is also a graduate of the Marquis de Sade School of Pilates, Yoga Poses and Beer Drinking and enjoys ordering ACP with pineapple at Mexican restaurants.
OK, so next to none of that is true. We … wait for it … made it up.
Fred really is a titan of finance, an excellent family man and generous with his time and talents. He has quietly chipped in to buy a new bike for a kid in foster care who could really use a break, and is one of the original Solar Bear riders who to date have raised somewhere north of $85,000 for Cancer Services of Winston-Salem by pedaling to the beach each autumn. (Ok, so those clowns have conned an honest-to-God chef into riding with them, have a real-life beer sponsor and get to spend a weekend at the beach when they’re done. But somebody has to do it. And it’s for a great cause.
This winter, when indoor trainer season starts up, look for Fred at the shop on weeknights. He will lead, for fun and the Marquis, a stretching session and a core workout.
Oh the joy. ...
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Ok, so we’re a week late on the Customer of the Week and this guy isn’t technically a customer.
But hey, Thanksgiving was yesterday. Black Friday this morning. The food coma has barely worn off.
So what’s the story with this guy? And what’s he doing on this page?
His name is Brian – it could be spelled “Bryan,” but we didn’t happen to have an ink pen and a dry piece of paper in the jersey pocket. So sue me.
Anyhow, Brian volunteers his time, a lot of it, at the Lake Norman State Park Mountain Bike Trails. As you can see, he’s rigged a gas-powered contraption from a leaf blower, a hose, a scooter and some sort of nylon bag to groom the trails at Lake Norman. Yes, that said “groom the trails.”
Brian is out there, weather permitting, a couple days a week. We know because we were on a field trip, doing “research” recently and spotted him doing just that. In fact, a few days later, he was out with a rake doing detail work moving what he’d missed.
Some mountain bikers, the nutty kind who think you’re not gnar-shredding until and unless you can lose teeth or break a femur pooh-pooh such a thing.
But not us.
Brian, who turned down an offer of a couple beers by saying he “only drinks beer in December because I’m kind of obsessive,” reminded us this Thanksgiving about the giving end of things. He’s out there working selflessly so the rest of us not named Mike or Eric or Simon can enjoy some awesome riding.
And that reminded us of actual customers like Louis and Alan, of Hearts Fame, who ride all the time and lead a smooth-flowing group. If you’ve ever thoroughly enjoyed yourself circumnavigating Pilot Mountain on July 4 or hit the Yoo-hoo 100 on a Labor Day, you owe those guys a thank you.
Same for Ken if you’ve ridden in Tanglewood – he got it rolling with elected county officials - and Mike Cobler, who’s put in a literal ton of work out there to maintain it.
Like Brian, those people aren’t doing those things for profit. They’ve done those things to promote the joy of riding, on the road or in the trees, so we can all have a better experience.
Thanksgiving has passed, but the turkey and pecan pie haven’t. So get out and ride something this weekend. And say a quiet thank you for the people who’ve made it better. ...
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Check out Pj, Brenda and Ken with Pj and Brendas new Electra Townie Go's. They had their bikes outfitted with paniers, extra lights and mirrors. Pj is a car guy and owns a really nice vintage MGB that he'll drive to California and back. Enjoy your many adventures on your new Townie Go's Pj and Brenda, we can't wait to hear about them. ...
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