Dale, my apologies, but it's gonna be hard to separate the on- and off-topic. This party rocked. In no particular order at all:
Wayne Stetina Dale Stetina Mildred Kugler and a flock of Pop's kin George Mount Jack Simes III Davis Phinney, in a day-of-show surprise arrival Joe Breeze Otis Guy Jacquie Phelan Peter Rich (Hey -- Hall of Fame voters! How the heck has this contributor slipped through the cracks?) Cheri Elliott, the BMX girl who beat the boys -- in a national championship race The reunion of Eric Heiden's custom-built Cinelli Laser time trial bike (used in the '86 Tour) with his Seven-11 skinsuit and 1985 National Champ's jersey, across the stage from Major Taylor's Peugeot and rollers. Jeanne Golay, bringing along the Paris Sport frame that was her first sponsorship, and describing the excellent advice of Jeannie Longo (something about losing 10 kilos and drinking more wine) Levi Leipheimer and Odessa Gunn CR's own Ted Ernst Bob Tetzlaff Old-school BMX royalty Perry Kramer, Toby Henderson, Dave Clinton, Scott ("I never lost to Cheri") Barrett and his brother gOrk ("he did"), and the pied piper of the ABA, Bernie Anderson. Mike Plant and a bunch of past and present Medalist Sports crewmembers And, a bunch of the current AEG crewmembers (leaving us wondering who was down running the Home Depot velodrome, let alone working the Tour of California setup) Jeff Groman, introducing Jimmy Walthour's twin kids, Jim and Georgia
Jeez, I know I'm leaving folks out who I absolutely should not. Forgive me. Including guests and volunteers, there were more than 350 people in the room and I was a little busy.
This is not to mention the brass ensemble outside Freeborn Hall on the UC Davis campus, playing to folks arriving on the red carpet. And the UC Davis women's 'a capella' group singing inside Freeborn before the event really got started. Amazing catering from Il Fornaio, including astonishingly silent service in the midst of presentations and acceptance speeches. Donated Fat Tire beer and Sutter Home wine. Two projection screens with video intros of the inductees and Levi. The inductee and Hall of Fame memorabilia displays. The 2008 Induction water bottles provided by Specialized, or the 2008 Induction jerseys provided by Voler. The silent auction -- and the live auction of a 2009 Tour of California team car ride-along.
So Davis did its best to convince our US Bicycling Hall of Fame friends that we know how to roll. Cross your fingers that we get to do it again some time.... :)
Dan Kehew
Davis California USA