I owe Hal Needham a big Thank You!

“What’s new lately”, asked my mom late Sunday night as I am driving and conversing with her on my cell phone. “You haven’t been updating your blog, is everything OK? Isn’t anything interesting happening”. Truth is, this time of year I seem to always slip into my mundane state of mind. Although I entertained the notion of racing every weekend in October, it seems the call of fun base miles rolling out from my front door and post-ride beers seemed overridingly more fun. I was supposed to race Peak to Peak this weekend and even thought about doubling up and suffering some cross the next day but after my teammates were on the fence about making the northern excursion, I found it easy to throw in the towel. So the weekend was spent rolling over leafs on my squishy fat tire bike, getting in the ever-so-important therapeutic miles, and engaging in general TCOBing (taken care of business).


On Saturday, Adam York rode with us and I discovered that he was unaware of the greatest movie ever made. Recently, John Coyle posted a “If it weren’t for Claire Young” story which got me thinking. In a nut shell, his story expressed that he was unsure of where he would be today had Claire not looked at him when he was 8 years old and commented, “You look pretty good on a bike, you should race”.

It made me realize that one movie taught me virtually everything there is to know about life. Folks, I’m talking about Rad, the greatest story ever told…it’s a fact. The movie instilled my passion for bikes, taught me about relationships, love, struggle, money, greed, honor, and the fruits of hard work and dedication. It was 1986 and I think I was playing outside at the time. My eldest brother’s future wives’ brother brought over two movies he had just rented and asked if I wanted to watch them. One was Iron Eagle (another great flick, but that’s another story), the other was Rad. How was I to know my life would change from that day on? I can still remember my first viewing, the tricks amazed me, the soundtrack got my adrenaline pumping, and the plot sucked me in like a dyson. My mom quickly had to enforce the rule that I was to have a 1 hour waiting period, or cool down session if you will, post-viewing before I could ride my bike for fear my elevated state would cause me to surely attempt some kind of stunt that would wind me up in the ER.

Who you I be today if it weren't for Rad?



If anyone has been deprived of this movie and would like to reserve a VIP screening in the Stein Theatre, feel free to contact me anytime and I will personally facilitate your very own evening of life-changing cinematic excellence.

Mom, I hope this provides you with fodder to make it through your week.