*BIKE FRIDAY IN COLORADO '09* Denver, Boulder, Longmont Inaugural visit

BIKE FRIDAY'S first formal visit to its Colorado Dealers and Clubs almost didn't happen.

"Worst weather at precisely the time you're planning on coming," chorused the Boulder Folders of our mid-March plans. Yet we pressed ahead, as I'd be coming direct from our annual Bike Friday Arizona Camp -  literally the state next door. For my persistence I was rewarded with precisely 1 week of mid-summer weather before all Antarctica broke loose ...

Denver landing. I was collected at the airport by BF Club of Denver leaders Tom and Dianne McDermott. Tom owns a souped-up Bike Friday Metro that he rides when he's not in recumbent mode. I was treated to some cougar spotting at the local WholePayCheck, and a trip to Fort Collins about an hour north to visit the New Belgium Brewery, famous for its eco-sustainable operations. Unfortunately, we missed the tippling hour but were able to gawk at the company-issued cruiser bikes. 

Boulder bound. I then proceeded to the home of BF Club of Boulder leaders Jeff and AK Butterworth, who gave me the whole bottom floor of their house to rattle around in.

First up: dinner with the outgoing BF Club of Boulder leader Jeff Buechler, who is headed for Portland. Second up: lunch at the Dushanbe Tea House, a shrine to spiritual eating where the Club likes to meet for rides. I was so enamored by the food I went back alone, and in an uncharacteristic mood, ordered what I thought would be a modestly sized Polish sausage with sauerkraut. The foot-long-plus wiener came out on an oblong plate in full view of the entire restaurant; cutting it hastily into two 6" appendages only made it worse ...

Snap, crackle and pop. Next, a squeezed-in appointment with bike fit guru to the stars (yes, I'm talking Lancealikes), Andy Pruitt, at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. I dropped the names of everyone of Andy's friends on our Famous Friday page, but later read that he tries to accommodate all level of rider, no matter how unfamous. 

He scrutinized my crunchy, middle aged knees and declared war on my stylish but insufficiently supportive SPD shoes and the hard-to-fix stance width on my bike. He also finished up with a discourse about this Pocket Rocket (see clip above). I took footage of the entire consult, subsequent tour of the facility, and the actual bike fit with Avery Frazier, a Pruitt understudy. More multimedia on that soon.

I also met Connie Carpenter-Phinney, wife of "the Winningest American" and Bike Friday owner Davis Phinney. Connie, one of the greatest cycling athletes in the USA, admitted to having a couple of BF's in the garage "that Hanz sent them".  Sweet!

Longmont show. My first official engagement was our Bike Friday Adventure Filmfest at BF dealer High Gear Cyclery, Longmont. Where is Longmont? About 15 miles from Boulder, yet people came from all around the area including Denver. The event was a great success, with shop owner Buzz Feldman and staff providing healthy refreshments. It was especially gratifying to see staff attending, as this show provides a good crash course in the world of Bike Friday. The only thing that marred the proceedings was the borrowed projector, which reversed everything on screen. No amount of Googling or button pushing made it right, and I was blamed for causing it, being from the mirror image land Downunder!

I hear that a customer came in the next day and ordered 2 Crusoes. Super sweet! 

Ten miles to the nearest apple pancake. On the Saturday, Friday folk gathered again at High Gear for a social spin to Andrea's German Restaurant, a fast and flat 10 miles away, but still short enough for one rider to get a flat. And here's a lesson: if you have the SRAM hub, carry that wrench like oxygen on top of Everest. None of us had wrenches to remove the rear wheel, and the puncture was too near the stem to patch in situ. He happily hitched a ride home, and we ate his share of carbs for him.

Back to Denver. Jeff dropped me back in the big city for a double whammy Sunday: a BF Club of Denver ride followed by an evening presentation at BF dealer Campus Cycles. The ride, co-led by Tom, BikeDenver's Frank Parish and Lise Neer tooled along the fabulous Cherry Creek trail that skirts the Platt river confluence, a magical place lorded over by REI. It's the closest thing to an oasis you'll find in these parched parts ... 

We couldn't wait for the pizza generously supplied at the presentation by shop owners Dylan and Mark, so pedaled to the Jerusalem restaurant for a falafel fix. 

And did we mention that Campus Cycles provided water, bananas and granola bars for our little club ride earlier? Unheard of!  They turned the space in front of their counter into a cozy theater where about 25 people showed up, including Maynard Hershon. Maynard had some very warm things to say about Lon Haldeman, who I owe my ability to show these movies around the country. Campus thrilled me by making a very generous donation by check to the Peru Orphanage. 

So what do we show at these events? Footage from Bike Friday world like Route 66, Peru,  Round*Up and the BF Factory Tour. 

The last event of the visit was a dinner for Friday folk to watch the outstanding Race Across America 2004 movie, in which not a single Bike Friday appears (unless you count Bike Friday owner and RAAM Grand Master Ron Bell, and ultracycling legend Lon Haldeman). Then again, Bike Friday isn't exclusive - it's just one of the many bikes found in the homes of the fold - even if all they ride is a Friday ... 

Thank you to everyone else who made Bike Friday's first ever Dealer visit to Colorado so fruitful!

Contact lynettec at bikefriday dot com

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