So yesterday evening, Joel was off to Kung Fu class, and I was considering my options of leftovers from the fridge, maybe re-watching one of our DVDs, and finishing up cutting out this suit jacket I’ll be working on one of these days. As I was just about to have a rummage around the fridge, the phone rang, and it was Sarah Gibson of ACME calling, urging me to “pedal my little butt on down to the Plaza,” ’cause there was going to be some sort of bike event going on with maybe some of the guys from the Minnesota Cold Sprints and…Jacquie Phelan!
Now I know not everyone here is a follower of mountain-bike stuff or women’s sports, so that name might not mean much to everyone who checks in here, so I’ll tell you. Jacquie Phelan is one of the first women to really get out there and kick some ass on a mountain bike. She’s the originator of Wombats, a women’s mountain-biking and social club. She’s also an avid dumpster-diver, a charismatic chatterer, giddy, exuberant, wildly-dressed, and a total hoot. I had a big ol’ fun time shooting the breeze with her and Sarah at the Grand Saloon down on the Plaza, where she buzzed around like a happy bumblebee with one of my tulle helmet crests worn like a ruff around her neck, until she switched up and tied it over her cascade of dredlocks like a postmodern fontage.
She was traveling with the We Like Bike crew, a group of cyclists hired to promote 42 Below Vodka. I’m not exactly sure how or why vodka and bicycling are related, but the folks who were riding in this coast-to-coast tour seemed like a super-nice and fun crew. A lot of art students doing an impressive “What I Did on my Summer Vacation.” Likewise a few bike-shop mechanics taking a little sabbatical. Talked for quite a while with a fellow named Jonathan who’s got quite a bit of bike touring behind him and got to hear a bit about some of his pre-We-Like-Bike adventures. Chatted a little about cyclocross with some of the rest of the crew. I can’t say that I know much about 42Below, but I can say that they did a good job getting together a pretty representative cross section of bike nuts to go out and spread the good word.
A couple of the guys had bought some of my hats from ACME, and I made further arrangements to meet up today with Jonathan to show him the rest of my wares and sold yet another hat…ace for me! Once my computer is fixed, I’ll be putting up a few pictures of Jonathan and his new As You Like It Designs hat, and Jacquie, rockin’ the helmet-fluff headdress.
Also going to be adding her blog(s) to my must-read list. She’s got a colorful written voice that’s pretty true to her manner of speech. Moreover, she seems to have lots of adventures (even in her own back yard) and adventures make for good reading.
WOW Michelle THANK YOU> I loved meeting you too. ANd: I PROMISE if I ever make it back to KC MO, I ‘m a gnna have somma yr fab. beer!
HUG!
Her royal mudjesty the queen of unpretty hellraising, JACQUIE