The team’s main sponsor is the Riverside Bicycle Shop, a newer shop in Clarksville that is run by Neil Bagget. Neil has much better customer service than the other shop in town. I have avoided Clarksville shops like the plague because service has always been awful and prices were nothing short of gouging someone in need. I can’t tell you how many people I sent to the other shop that were looking to buy an entry-level bicycle and the owner refused to sell them a bike less than $1,500. One time I broke a Mavic tubeless valve stem before a trip to a NORBA NCS race at Snowshoe, WV. I went to the shop to buy the stem because I was about to leave and it was my only option. I made the mistake of telling them I needed it and they charged me $35 for a stem that normally sells for $10. On another occasion, I stopped by the shop hoping to pick up a bike box for a friend that was shipping a bike he sold. Other shops had given me boxes for free. The guy at this shop went out to the dumpster and pulled out a box and then wanted to charge me $60 for it. No thanks. I could go on and on about stories from that shop, but they have gone out of business now that Neil has come along and actually taken care of his customers.
Lee’s offer was an interesting one. The shop will not be the sole sponsor this year. The City of Clarksville has stepped in with some funding. Apparently, the Tourism Board has been trying to build up Clarksville as a sporting city for several years. They have invested heavily in running, but their events didn’t take off like the city had hoped. They began to look at other sports and cycling quickly came up thanks to the large group rides around town and popular touring events like the CRAM ride in May and the Sunrise Century in September. The city wants to host a national-level criterium very soon in the heart of downtown Clarksville. They want a big event with big payout and huge turnout by both the athletes and from city residents as spectators. Also, they don’t want it to be a one-time deal, but rather build Clarksville into a cycling city. I was very excited to hear this as I have wanted to see more high-level racing in my area for a long time now. I think it’s every racer’s dream to have a big race in their home city and get to race in front of family and friends.
The original plan was to have the race take place in 2017, but they quickly realized that an event of this size would take more time to build up and 2018 became the target. I applaud them for wanting to do things right and set a good first impression the first year. In the process of finding out what it takes to host a cycling event of this magnitude, they went to the shop and learned of the local race team. The city wants to fund the team in exchange for us promoting the race. They want us to go to the top regional and national events and hand out info and build up the race so everyone knows about it before 2018 even gets here. They were excited to hear of so many local racers and asked if there were any Pros they could get on the team to help promote it in the Pro peloton. I am the only local Pro racer so Lee immediately thought of me. He said the board members were quite excited to hear that there was a Pro in the area and wanted him to contact me. So he did. The city has thrown around some budget numbers, none of which I know, but Lee says they are very large for a bunch of amateur bike racers. They have already said they would provide our kits and pay for our racing licenses. Once a budget is nailed down, they plan to pay for our entry fees and travel expenses. I made sure everyone knew right away that I am focusing on the mountain bike, but I am willing to still race road to promote the crit. The team is mostly a road team with some cyclocross focus in the Fall. I will be the only mountain biker on the team. Everyone was fine with that and my goals for the year. I can promote the crit. at mountain bike races as well as there is some cross-over among the riders in both disciplines.
This is the best news I have gotten in years! Finally, someone noticed how hard I have been working. When Lee called he did not ask me join to help them, he said “We have a development with our team and I think we are in a position to help you meet your goals.” I’ve never heard that from a team before. They genuinely want me to to help me do bigger races and race as a Pro. Hopefully now I will be able to do more SERC and Pro XCT races, along with a few crits on the National Calendar at the end of the summer. The shop is also already talking about helping me get a new cross bike to replace my broken Redline in hopes that I can be competitive in a full season of cross this fall as well. The shop’s main brand is Giant so they are offering me a discount on one from that line. I am already eyeballing the Giant TCX Advanced Pro 2. Lee also said they thought I was a great person on and off the bike and they would not have been interested otherwise. That was good to hear instead of the criticism I often get locally.
I am very excited to join the team and have teammates on the road for the first time in seven years, since I raced on the Ohio Valley Velo Team in 2010. Before that, the last time I had road teammates was in 2005. I wish they were more into mountain biking, but I will work on getting them to the dirt during my time here. The team riders were super excited and nearly blew up my little flip phone with welcome messages once Lee passed along the news that I was joining. It’s going to be a good time with good people, building up the city around which I have logged most of my miles as a cyclist, making it into a sporting town with an emphasis on the sport I love most.
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