Part I spoke of the promise of sponsorship. Part II reveals a pleasant return. Rad Racing NW boasts some of the most promising junior and U23 athletes this fine country has to offer. At the close of each season, the team mails thank you notes to every sponsor. Not just a copy-n-paste note “from the team” but individual cards from each rider written specifically to each supplier.
The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades…
Team & individual sponsorship proposals are rolling in by the dozen these days and likely adding a nice end-of-year boost to Kinko’s bottom line. No matter the discipline, nearly every pitch offers the promise of the ultimate return on investment – “your logo on our jersey”.
Somewhere right now James Selman is crying…
It was 1997 or maybe 1998. I was driving west across the country from one NORBA event to the next. I had stopped for the night in St Louis, Missouri with the intention of eating an entire Imo’s pizza on my own. With some time to kill before dinner I happened upon a thrift store nearby. Hidden among the not-so-vintage vintage Hawaiian shirts and armpit-stained atomic age active tops hung a lonely black full-zip trainer. A hand-written tag gave the price of twelve dollars. Sold!
I’ve worn this 1970’s wool-acrylic blend jacket pretty much every day since then if the temperature falls below 60 degrees. I am uncertain of the brand although the tag sewn inside the collar does tell me it was made in Frankfurt. It’s about as basic an athletic piece as you can find and I love it. So, too, do many of my cycling peers as I have been offered a fair amount of money on several occasions to sell this beauty. Sorry, I’m taking this one to the grave.
There’s just this one thing, though. Those stripes. On the collar and cuffs those particular stripes suggest an achievement recognized the world over in the cycling community – Campione del Mondo. Don’t bother googling me, I’m not.
A few years after the purchase I happened to be wearing the sweater in the company of Brian Lopes. “Nice jacket”, he says to me. “Thanks” I say. “When’d you get it?” he continues. “A few years ago” I say totally unaware of his implication. And then it hit me. He, and just a handful of the very best, busted his ass to earn the right to wear these stripes. Me? I paid more for the pizza I ate on the same night that I “won” my stripes.
Now, Brian is a good guy and he was only joking but there is something to this. I hold a great deal of respect for the tradition of cycling; you’d never (ever) catch me wearing a maillot jaune. Or, for that matter, a world championship jersey. I wear this sweater, though, because it reminds me of so many of the things I love about cycling. I wear this sweater because it is simple; its design is elegant and timeless. But sometimes those stripes make me an uneasy wearer. Please tell me that it’s alright by you. I cannot imagine cold days without it.
