M
Mike Jacoubowsky
Guest
Saturday evening a guy comes in looking at road bikes... kind of bigger guy,
Irish accent, wants to get back into riding again, says he used to race 20
years ago. I show how some bikes and suggest he come in a bit earlier in the
day and wearing something appropriate to test-ride some bikes. We get
talking about bike racing (both of us being long-retired at that game) and
about the differences then & now. And he starts talking about things that
seemed quite familiar...
Turns out that he was a friend of Paul Kimmage, whose book, "Rough Ride",
I've recently read. He raced with him back in the day, along with his
brother, and had stories to tell about how Roche and Kelly reacted to the
book, and still hold quite the grudge against him.
I was kinda taken aback, for a couple reasons. First, the small-world thing.
Second, like so many of his peers, this guy had not read Kimmage's book.
This astounded me, but part of the problem may be that it's not an easy book
to find in the US (I found it in one of the airport bookstores at SF
International, the one at the foot of gates 70-90). He knew all about the
book, but hadn't read it. He even had a fairly-recent story to tell about
Kimmage going out to... darn, don't recall if it was Kelly or Roche's house,
but the reaction to Kimmage showing up... well let's just say he didn't get
the interview.
If you haven't read the book and can find a copy, I cannot recommend it
highly enough. It was originally published in 1990, but if anything it's
more relevant now than then, given the issues cycling is facing.
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
Irish accent, wants to get back into riding again, says he used to race 20
years ago. I show how some bikes and suggest he come in a bit earlier in the
day and wearing something appropriate to test-ride some bikes. We get
talking about bike racing (both of us being long-retired at that game) and
about the differences then & now. And he starts talking about things that
seemed quite familiar...
Turns out that he was a friend of Paul Kimmage, whose book, "Rough Ride",
I've recently read. He raced with him back in the day, along with his
brother, and had stories to tell about how Roche and Kelly reacted to the
book, and still hold quite the grudge against him.
I was kinda taken aback, for a couple reasons. First, the small-world thing.
Second, like so many of his peers, this guy had not read Kimmage's book.
This astounded me, but part of the problem may be that it's not an easy book
to find in the US (I found it in one of the airport bookstores at SF
International, the one at the foot of gates 70-90). He knew all about the
book, but hadn't read it. He even had a fairly-recent story to tell about
Kimmage going out to... darn, don't recall if it was Kelly or Roche's house,
but the reaction to Kimmage showing up... well let's just say he didn't get
the interview.
If you haven't read the book and can find a copy, I cannot recommend it
highly enough. It was originally published in 1990, but if anything it's
more relevant now than then, given the issues cycling is facing.
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
