Re: [CR] Was: Rebecca Twigg. Now Jocelyn Lovell

(Example: Racing:Roger de Vlaeminck)

Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:46:25 -0800 (PST)
From: "Joe Starck" <josephbstarck@yahoo.com>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: Re: [CR] Was: Rebecca Twigg. Now Jocelyn Lovell


When Christopher Reeves' "Nothing is Impossible: Reflections on a New Life" was published in 2002, I read it that year. (I've yet to be a parent, but for those who are parents, I'd reccommend the book.)

In 2001 I made a pair of Rivendells for Rosalyn and Jimmy Carter that Rivendell Bicycle Works gifted to the former First Lady and President.

After reading Reeves' book the following year, I was truly sincere when I suggested to Grant Petersen that Rivendell should gift a custom bicycle to Reeves, that if Rivendell were to gift bicycles annually, Reeves should be #2. Reading accounts of Reeves progress convinced me that Reeves was just as deserving, or even moreso, of a Nobel, and, a new custom-fitted bicycle. "He doesn't even ride a bike!," barked Petersen. "It's never to late to learn!!," I shoulda barked back, but alas, I didn't. Whether Reeves would have accepted or declined the offer, I don't know, but methinks the offer woulda -- at the least -- been in line with all of Reeves' other sources of inspiration, including comedian Robin Williams' bit when he visited Reeves, butt you'll have to read about that bit yourselves CR-ers.

About the same time that I wrote the following post below on the BOB list, I also sent a letter to Jimmy Carter, about Reeves and his book and his spinal cord injury progress, and I even threw in a Carter/Reeves for 2004 nudge: Superman & Peanutman! Carter returned to me a signed copy of my letter.

So, when's the last time that Jocelyn Lovell has been fitted for a new bike? He's what? Only 60 years old? That gives him up to a couple of decades to report back to the list on how it rides.

http://search.bikelist.org/getmsg.asp?Filename=internet-bob.10409.1009.eml

http://search.bikelist.org/?SearchString=%22christopher%20reeve%22

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Reeve

Joe Starck
Madison, Wisconsin USA


--- On Sat, 1/29/11, Dr. Paul B. Williams wrote:


> From: Dr. Paul B. Williams <castell5@sympatico.ca>

\r?\n> Subject: Re: [CR] Was: Rebecca Twigg. Now Jocelyn Lovell

\r?\n> To: "Dale Brown" <oroboyz@aol.com>, "classicrendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>

\r?\n> Date: Saturday, January 29, 2011, 4:13 PM

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Nope still living. I do remember the day he was run down

\r?\n> though.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> 

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Some interesting clips and pics of Jocelyn on these two

\r?\n> sites (check out the video on the second clip where he talks

\r?\n> about training in the winter slush with sand in his

\r?\n> water-bottles):

\r?\n>

\r?\n> 

\r?\n>

\r?\n> http://archives.cbc.ca/programs/669-8012/page/1/

\r?\n>

\r?\n> 

\r?\n>

\r?\n> http://www.sportshall.ca/accessible/hm_profile.php?iS

\r?\n>

\r?\n> 

\r?\n>

\r?\n> >From what I remember he was not the most likeable of

\r?\n> characters. His feat in 1974 of winning all but one of the

\r?\n> races at the Canadian Championships was extraordinary though

\r?\n> (sprint, 1Km, individual pursuit, team pursuit, team time

\r?\n> trial, road race) - distances from sprint to 200km! 10

\r?\n> National Road Championships golds. 6 National Track Sprint

\r?\n> golds; 2 National Track Points Golds. 4 Commonwealth Games

\r?\n> gold medals (also 1 bronze and 1 silver). 2 Pan-am Games

\r?\n> gold medals.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Struck down at 33 it is hard to say what else he may have

\r?\n> accomplished - this was the beginning of the reigns of Curt

\r?\n> Harnett on the track and Steve Bauer on the road. Lovell

\r?\n> became a mentor to Bauer.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> 

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Dr. Paul B. Williams, BAH, MPhil, PhD

\r?\n> Instructor,

\r?\n> Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies,

\r?\n> Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada

\r?\n>

\r?\n>

\r?\n>

\r?\n> 

\r?\n> > To: jameshmerz@gmail.com;

\r?\n> classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

\r?\n> > Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2011 16:14:41 -0500

\r?\n> > From: oroboyz@aol.com

\r?\n> > Subject: [CR] Was: Rebecca Twigg. Now Jocelyn Lovell

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > Yes, in a wheel chair since the early 1980s. He had a

\r?\n> line of high end bikes for a while. Does anyone on our list

\r?\n> have an example of his bikes?

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > I just found this bit of info online:

\r?\n> > << Jocelyn Lovell starting making bike frames

\r?\n> from his own workshop in the early eighties. After his

\r?\n> tragic accident the business was closed. I believe that Mike

\r?\n> Mulholland of Cyclops Cycles bought his equipment. Both the

\r?\n> Lovell and Cyclops bikes have a place in Canadian bicycle

\r?\n> history. Both were reasonably well made.

\r?\n> > After his accident a good number of Lovell bikes were

\r?\n> made by Velosport in Quebec. I believe some of the procedes

\r?\n> went to the Spinal Cord Society. The bikes were of mediocre

\r?\n> quality.

\r?\n> > ...(snip).....

\r?\n> > Mike Barry.>>

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > I also see that Lovell passed away in 2005.

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > Also:

\r?\n> > << Once a grand Canadian marque, highly revered

\r?\n> and sought after by all, the Lovell name has been bought by

\r?\n> a distributor and is now known as Lovell USA. No longer are

\r?\n> these lovingly handmade one-by-one by skilled Canadian

\r?\n> craftsmen, but mass-produced Asian imports adorned with

\r?\n> Lovell decals and low direct-to-consumer prices>>

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > Dale Brown

\r?\n> > cycles de ORO, Inc.

\r?\n> > 1410 Mill Street #100

\r?\n> > Greensboro, North Carolina 27408 USA

\r?\n> > 336-274-5959

\r?\n> > http://www.cyclesdeoro.com

\r?\n> > http://www.classicrendezvous.com

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > -----Original Message-----

\r?\n> > From: Jim Merz <jameshmerz@gmail.com>

\r?\n> > To: CR List <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>

\r?\n> > Sent: Sat, Jan 29, 2011 4:01 pm

\r?\n> > Subject: [CR] Fwd: Rebecca Twigg

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > http://cyclingmagazine.ca/2010/11/sections/feature/jocelyn-lovell-canadas-first-cycling-icon/

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > I found this story about Jocelyn Lovell. I did not

\r?\n> know he had been

\r?\n> > paralyzed. He raced in the Northwest, I was in at

\r?\n> least one race that he was

\r?\n> > in. Pretty good rider, to say the least.

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > Jim Merz

\r?\n> > Big Sur CA

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------

\r?\n> > From: Jim Merz <jameshmerz@gmail.com>

\r?\n> > Date: Sat, Jan 29, 2011 at 12:13 PM

\r?\n> > Subject: Re: [CR] Rebecca Twigg

\r?\n> > To: rdf1249@aol.com

\r?\n> > Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > I did not have much to do with Rebecca, but had one

\r?\n> incident where I saw her

\r?\n> > ride. Have no idea on the year, but one time I was at

\r?\n> the finish of Seattle

\r?\n> > to Portland watching the first finishers. I seem to

\r?\n> remember she was going

\r?\n> > with Jocelyn Lovell at the time, and he was out to be

\r?\n> first in this ride. He

\r?\n> > came in first, some crazy fast time. Then about 15

\r?\n> min. later came a tandem

\r?\n> > team, with Rebecca right behind them. She was not even

\r?\n> entered, just went

\r?\n> > for a ride! Anyway, maybe I am not remembering this

\r?\n> correctly but I do

\r?\n> > remember being impressed.

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > Jim Merz

\r?\n> > Big Sur CA

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > On Sat, Jan 29, 2011 at 11:43 AM, <rdf1249@aol.com>

\r?\n> wrote:

\r?\n> >

\r?\n> > >

\r?\n> > > Well, I don't have any mementos of Rebecca,

\r?\n> except maybe the poster of her

\r?\n> > > on her Benotto bike and 7-11 jersey and white

\r?\n> Duegis, but I have a lot of

\r?\n> > > memories. We were both on the Velocipede team the

\r?\n> summer she started

\r?\n> > > racing, 1977. She rode in the track nationals

\r?\n> that year, a month after the

\r?\n> > > first time she rode the track (on a borrowed

\r?\n> Davidson track bike, by the

\r?\n> > > way), and won her age category. She was just 14,

\r?\n> and living back and forth

\r?\n> > > between her divorced parents. She was just out of

\r?\n> 8th grade, and heading to

\r?\n> > > the University of Washington in the fall. Yes,

\r?\n> she skipped high school

\r?\n> > > entirely. I kept her bikes running, and picked

\r?\n> her up at one parent or

\r?\n> > > another's house and took her to the races. She

\r?\n> was sweet, and naive, and

\r?\n> > > determined. Smart as a whip, but not a lick of

\r?\n> common sense. Guess that

\r?\n> > > had to come with more maturity. We both switched

\r?\n> to Rainbow Cycling club in

\r?\n> > > 1980, when Kolin and De la Rosa moved to town and

\r?\n> started it, along with

\r?\n> > > Northwest Cycle, where I we

\r?\n> > > nt to work. Through their many connections, they

\r?\n> were able to get her

\r?\n> > > sponsorship from Schwinn, who made her several

\r?\n> nice light bikes. Mike

\r?\n> > > hammered at her relentlessly, seeing the

\r?\n> potential in her, and saw her

\r?\n> > > through a couple more nationals until she got

\r?\n> tapped by Eddie Borysewicz for

\r?\n> > > the national team. We followed her along in a

\r?\n> great career, culminating in

\r?\n> > > 16 US Championships and 6 World Championships. I

\r?\n> last saw her a few years

\r?\n> > > ago at a Marymoor Velodrome dinner, kid in tow, a

\r?\n> mature young lady.

\r?\n> > > Following along in mom's footsteps, already

\r?\n> divorced. She had been married

\r?\n> > > for a short time to Mark Whitehead, a hotheaded

\r?\n> young racer himself. She

\r?\n> > > had attained a PhD from the UW and was working as

\r?\n> a biologist.

\r?\n> > >

\r?\n> > >

\r?\n> > > Message: 12

\r?\n> > > ate: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 13:49:26 -0800 (PST)

\r?\n> > > rom: Joe Starck <josephbstarck@yahoo.com>

\r?\n> > > ubject: [CR] Rebecca Twigg memento for sale:

\r?\n> > > o: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

\r?\n> > > essage-ID: <245219.41597.qm@web34302.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

\r?\n> > > ontent-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

\r?\n> > > Laddies, gladdies, baddies, caddies, and daddies

\r?\n> -- who've I left out? --

\r?\n> > > not

\r?\n> > > he Australian framebuilder, who fav's the red as

\r?\n> much or more as I do,

\r?\n> > > ergo,

\r?\n> > > I've had me a half bottle o' cabernet see, just

\r?\n> right nowso -- a demi or a

\r?\n> > > semi

\r?\n> > > onthly occurrance? I forget -- and I also

\r?\n> happened to be a-diggin' amongst

\r?\n> > > me

\r?\n> > > ersonals see, and lo and behold, as I held it in

\r?\n> my hand, the first thought

\r?\n> > > hat entered my mind was, that one o' youse bloody

\r?\n> bike aces would shirley

\r?\n> > > fancy

\r?\n> > > he pleasure of proclaiming, in yer best docent

\r?\n> demeanor, "This here is a

\r?\n> > > letter

\r?\n> > > ritten to Joe Starck, from Rebecca Twigg."

\r?\n> > > It's got flowery borders, and if I knew my

\r?\n> stationary from my Aunt who'd be

\r?\n> > > my

\r?\n> > > ncle if she had balls, I'd cough up some accurate

\r?\n> descriptive details of

\r?\n> > > this

\r?\n> > > etter's paper, but I'll leave that to Ole

\r?\n> Shiffer, cuz I happens to know he

\r?\n> > > nows his crocus from his sharmin better than I

\r?\n> do.

\r?\n> > > Dated "May 26, 1993," this letter is. Yours for

\r?\n> $50. $50.01 if you are

\r?\n> > > Ernst.

\r?\n> > > Joe Starck

\r?\n> > > adison, Wisconsin USA

\r?\n> > > Joe asks the Chief a legal Q:

\r?\n> > >

\r?\n> ttp://wisconsinreflections.wisc.edu/guests/show/28

\r?\n> > >

\r?\n> > >

\r?\n> > >

\r?\n> > >

\r?\n> > > Bob Freeman

\r?\n> > > Elliott Bay Bicycles

\r?\n> > > 2116 Western Ave

\r?\n> > > Seattle, WA 98121

\r?\n> > > 206-441-8144

\r?\n> > > http://www.elliottbaybicycles.com

\r?\n> > > http://www.davidsonbicycles.com