Showing posts with label Tour of California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tour of California. Show all posts

2.22.2009

037: Humor: A lesson.




This is one of the most amazing things I've seen in a while. I found it here.

A few reasons why I think this is amazing:

1) That this guy had the balls to dress up like this and wait all day just to show off his huge double syringe to Lance. That's patience.

2) In the second frame Floyd Landis is clearly framed between Lance's elbow and syringe boy. Was this planned? If so, amazing execution gentlemen.

3) Lance's Long ass shorts. From my research I have heard that they have a special compression band near the end, and he hates short-shorts. Why does this guy have to come back and kill all the style that is in cycling? Seriously.

4) Horner cracking up in frames three and four. At least someone on that team has a sense of humor. So does A. Schleck apparently because he's cracking up in there too...look for it...

5) Check out the last photo. I love it. This guy not only brought his own pile of cocaine to the party, but when one of the party goers gets angry and pushes him into it, he loves it. Look at the smile on this man's face. He gets it.

Someone help me find this man as I would love to interview him.

Yet, I think that something could be learned from these photos.

A lesson in humor and humility. Laugh it off. That's what I say. Why take yourselves seriously guys? There's no reason for that...you're already counting your calories, heading to bed early, sewing up the front of your underwear when you sleep next to a lady (Sean Kelly?), you might as well lighten up a little. Horner has proved time and time again that he's more than capable of leading the charge. Everyone else just needs to hang on for the ride.

The 'cycling industry' in and of itself is not done yet. Its still has a few tricks up its collective sleeve. This is where cycling is going to be saved. I can't do it all myself though, so I enlisted the help of a few new friends.


I mentioned before that I was traveling with Brock Webster. At one point in the trip Brock was mistakenly identified by the editor of Velonews as the 'Rock Lobster' guy. Whoops. Sorry, that's Paul Sadoff, but good try anyway. I did like his response when told that he was incorrect with the name..."oh, sorry, I used to drink a lot." This is all hearsay by the way. But definitely what I'm talking about. Humor.

So, after laughing a few times about this interaction myself, Brock and Seve (the man crafting the whole affair) decided that this would probably be the best way to represent the BMC brand.

It is a two part ad. Could be almost a music video if you think about it.

Part one:

-Get a funk band. Something local. Dress them to the T. I'm talking red shirts, white pants, and hopefully if we can pull it off, matching red shoes. (Note to self: get the pantone color from the red in the BMC shirt and see if we can match that.) Also necessary is a character who's willing to play this part. Something that's going to be a little eccentricity mixed with maybe just a touch of hippy values, combine that with an exquisite sense of the dance floor and we're set to move on to part two.

Part Two:

-All shock value here with this one. Hope like hell that most people haven't been hiding under rocks the past few years and know who Napoleon Dynamite is. If they don't we're fucked. Either way, as much of a spectacle the we can make out of this, the better. Get the locals involved. "Oh my god, he's soooo cute." This is our target market. Aging women that will run right out and buy a BMC or two for their brothers? Sisters? Boyfriends? It doesn't matter at this point. We've hit they nail on the head, these are customers for life.

They identify.

Humor. Look it up.

2.19.2009

036: Burgers in Your Jersey Pocket.






Another one of my favorite domestic cyclist has to be Mr. Horner.

Why?

Is it because he's always smiling like the Cheshire Cat? No, that's not it, but that is a bonus.

Is it because at one time or another he's been teammates with the likes of Landis, Johnson, Armstrong, and even Mark McCormack? Nope, not that either.

It's because he eats cheeseburgers.

I kid you not. Again, I'm going to refer to Armstrong's Twitter.
Fuck. I can't stay away from that thing. I snapped these photos at the Prologue, and sure enough, that night as I'm brushing up on my Twits (pun intended) I see that Armstrong has Twitter-ed Horner coming back into the team camp with an In-N-Out Burger bag filled to the brim with burgers. Animal style.

This is brimming with amazing-ness for a few reasons. One being meat. The other being that In-n-out is known for its off the menu-menu. They even make a burger called the "Flying Dutchman." And why shouldn't they? The Dutchman is two meat patties with two slices of cheese and onions. Nothing else.

Perfect cycling food.

I would put that in my jersey pocket any day of the week.
Speaking of which, have I mentioned that I really like food.

In fact, today I rode around most of the day with a roast beef sandwich in my jersey pocket. I was afraid that it was going to get cold, but then I realized that my jersey got steamy enough to kind of keep it warm for a few hours. Even the mayo, greens and caramelized onions snuggled between the toasted (hours earlier) baguette were ready to be eaten at any moment.

Does it sound like I'm on drugs? Because I'm not.

It just feels that good to be back in Cambridge.

So, thanks for that Horner.

2.15.2009

031: TOC Prologue


Tour of California: Prologue from j. dunn on Vimeo.

Shot this video from the BMC team car yesterday at the Tour of California. I didn't bother to change the audio at all, because one of the things that I was really psyched about during the prologue was the crowd. I don't think I've seen a bigger crowd at a cycling event in the states. Pretty amazing stuff.

More on that later...

Also, check out some of the Rapha Continental goings on....we were featured in the Oregonian today, the business section in fact.
Good stuff...