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We couldn't get Phil to part with his original Dura-Ace Pocket Rocket Pro, but he'll be autographing one that's even nicer for a generous bidder at the Phinney fundraiser. Photo courtesy of the equally famous Graham Watson, www.grahamwatson.com What's all this about?
UPDATE: Phil Liggett sent us this message:
Well, the dinner was fun and we raised almost $200,000. I was on stage with the em-ce with the Bike Friday and suitcase and it went for about $3000(?) I believe. The Sunday ride was flat out and it was the rider, not the BF, who was in a spot of bother at times!
I managed to hold my place for the first 20 miles and then Phinney attacked and we split up. From then on I relied on the Friday to guide me home. I signed the big poster with the boys from Bike Friday and it was given with the bike at the dinner.
Lots of love and kisses,
Phil XX
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UPDATE: Jeff Linder's Report on the Davis Phinney Foundation 2005 fundraiser, August 19, 2005. Read about other Bike Friday Boosters like Jeff
The cycling community is an incredible place, full of wonderful and interesting people, places and adventures. Clearly my life has been blessed by my conscious decision one day in 1981. I decided to end my limited career as a runner and begin the expansive adventure of cycling.
Some 10 or eleven years later I "chose the path less traveled" and bought a ticket on the greatest excursion ride I could have imagined. The hot ticket was a Bike Friday; I haven't looked back since.
I’ve met, ridden with, visited, hung out and been honored to call friends some of the most wonderful people you could ever imagine. Some of them are "names" in the industry or sporting world, most are not; some are from my own neighborhood, some are quietly pedaling their way through life ... but most of them emphatically are not! In fact, they're doing just the opposite.
They're out there spinning their own tales, creating their own adventures and signaling to the world that they're alive and planning on staying that way.
One individual I want to tell you about falls in the "recognizable" category. His name is Davis Phinney, aka The Cash Register, the Winningest American, The winningest US racer in History - and a Bike Friday owner for more than 10 years.
I think Davis was one of the first famous members of our BF family to 'come out'. (Note: he was in good company with other 7-11 Team members and Bike Friday owners Alexi Grewal and Alex Steida). I remember hearing reports that Davis was riding his Pocket Rocket (no PR Pro's back then) at the VeloNews Annual Awards gala in Beverly Hills years back. He was bold and smilin’!
But alas, good things don’t always happen to good people and our hero faces the challenge of beating a dastardly foe - Parkinson’s Disease (PD).
Truth be known, good things DO happen to good people and Davis is indeed an example of this. He's seeing how much he is loved and respected by friends and admirers and is looking PD straight in the eye, gathering incredible momentum in his attempt to wrestle it to the ground - not only for himself but for the others who are fighting the good fight as well.
This quest to find a cure brought us to Cincinnatti, Ohio, to the front door of the Oakley Bike Shop and its delightful and tireless crusader against PD, Kathy Krumme. Kathy and her staff hosted theDavis Phinney Foundation Sun Flower Revolution Ride for 2005. The guest speaker was the sports most recognizable commentator, Phil Liggett. I blush when I say he is a personal friend, and a generous man when it comes to giving his time to support friends in need. And wouldn't you know it, a Bike Friday owner as well!
Phil and his wife Trish entertained the guests at Friday night’s Gala fund-raising banquet, where he auctioned off a fantastic signed poster of himself and his Pocket Rocket Pro - and a beautiful new custom Bike Friday, donated by Bike Friday. He spoke of it in such glowing terms and raised something nudging the $4000.00 mark!
On Saturday, Phil rode his Pocket Rocket Pro in the informal 30 mile lets-roll-from-the-shop-at-two pm-and-get-caught-by-the-incredible-thunderstorm-ride which included the famous and infamous in the cycling world.
The list of who’s-who included Wayne Stetina, Ben Serotta, Leonard Zinn, Maynard Hershon, Frankie Andreu, Connie Carpenter-Phinney, Clay MankIn and Pete Pensyres. Pete invited me to ride on the back of his tandem and a local chap wanted to test ride my Air Friday... That often happens to us Friday owners - be prepared to give up your bike!
Sunday’s 100K’er attracted 600-800 friends of Davis and enemies of PD. Cycling athletes can't help themselves - they "raced" the delightful country lanes around Cincy. I saw Phil on his Pocket Rocket Pro hangin’ with the fast boys, rolling over a rise. I cleverly decided that Trish, being all the way from England, needed an escort at a more measured pace, insuring a successful outing.
Trish and I got caught up on all the news in the Liggett family, hearing about the new house they have just finished in the African bush and her fantastic adventures. She is also a very talented photographer.
Later that afternoon we re-joined Phil at the conclusion of the ride where he confessed to a wickedly fast pace with the lads up front. He reported that his Pocket Rocket Pro served him well and truly. We expected that, didn't we?
It was an honor to represent Bike Friday, to be part of the crusade to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease and to be in the company of so many wonderful people. We're fortunate to know Davis and his family of supporters.
My long time friends and hosts for my stay, Safet and Dorothy Hatic, are great cycling fans. Dorothy was over the moon to meet the famous Phil Liggett. When I returned from Saturday’s outing drenched to the bone and with Phil and Trish’s wet riding gear, Dorothy was delighted that I'd offer to launder it.
She called her daughter in Boston. The conversation went something like this: “Guess who’s wet and stinky riding shorts and jersey I have in MY washer machine? PHIL LIGGETT’S!
Take care, and remember, "Motorists are people, just like you and me."
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UPDATE: Cycling author and humorist Maynard Hershon's report
I did not have a preordained role at the Davis Phinney Foundation weekend. I did send a jersey for the auction, a Tour Lankawi Sprint Leader's jersey that Gord Fraser contributed to the fight against Parkinson's. Gord found that day's result sheet, showing him as leading the sprint competition, in the jersey pocket. He signed it and it went with the jersey. I mailed it to Cincinnati, sigh, but I wanted it for myself.
My girlfriend Tamar Miller did a drawing of a pair of 7-Eleven cycling gloves, gloves that had been a gift from a riding friend. The drawing looked wonderful, especially matted and framed, and it found a good home in Cincinnati in a bike rider's newly redecorated family room.
So I felt I'd helped, even if I only pointed the way.
As Jeff said, the people who did the work behind the scenes, who attended the gala, who helped out with and rode the rides, were genuinely lovely people, people like Davis and Connie.
Many of us who live in the west feel that we're in God's Country, the only part of America that'll sustain civilized life. We're just wrong. I had the best feeling in Cincinnati. It's fun, it's cosmopolitan, it's set in gorgeous country... Terrific. I hope I can return soon.
With that in mind, Kathleen Krumme and I and some of her staff are in the first stages of planning a women's road cycling clinic for next spring. Our clinic will be in or near Cincinnati. It'll be based on years of successful clinics promoted by Sunnyside Sports in Bend, Oregon, and the two clinics I did in Tucson. Watch this site for news.
If you do visit Cincinnati, please remember: it is NOT flat, as furriners often think. And it can be sunny and warm when you reach for your STI lever and pouring rain when the chain lands on the new cog.
Somehow, even a desert rat like myself can have fun in drenching rain - in the company of Cincinnati cyclists, Davis, Connie and the flock of notables assembled in SW Ohio for the Davis Phinney Foundation weekend.
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PHIL LIGGETT TO RIDE AND AUCTION A BIKE FRIDAY FOR THE DAVIS PHINNEY FOUNDATION
August 10, 2005
This framed poster (photo courtesy of Graham Watson) will be signed in the yellow box by Phil, Davis and the Scholz Bros and presented to the winning bidder, who will call a BF Sales Expert and be custom sized for their commemorative Bike Friday. See it slightly bigger.
PHIL LIGGETT, famous English Voice of the Tour de France, will be riding and auctioning a Bike Friday for a great cause: the Davis Phinney Foundation's Sunflower Gala and Auction, to be held in Cincinnati on August 19, 2005.
Olympian Davis Phinney, a longtime Bike Friday owner and supporter, is one of only three Americans to win multiple stages of the Tour de France, earning him the title of "The Winningest American". He also won an Olympic Bronze Medal (1984), a Pan-Am Games Gold Medal (1983), and four National Championship titles, including the coveted US PRO title in 1991. Read more about Davis.
Davis is married to 1984 Olympic Gold Medallist Connie Carpenter, also a Bike Friday owner! Ah yes, people who play together, stay together - especially if they play on strange-looking bicycles ...
Davis was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2000, and has been fighting it ever since. His fledgling foundation has already raised many hundreds of thousands of dollars for medical research. One notable coup was the sale of a bicycle owned by comedian and cycle-nut Robin Williams, which fetched $9,500. (OK, OK, I confess to slipping a note into Robin's mailbox last year inviting him to join us on a Bike Friday Club of San Francisco ride - even if there's no room in his garage for another bicycle, folding or otherwise.)
At the suggestion of Bike Friday ambassador-at-large Jeff Linder, Phil agreed to ride a Bike Friday at the Gala's Sunflower Revolution ride. Jeff thought Phil might like to auction off his own bike, a power-purple, Dura Ace Pocket Rocket Pro, and accept a brand new one from Bike Friday. Apparently, Phil's quite attached to his original Friday, so the winning bidder will instead be fitted for a new one just like Phil's. The prize will thus be Bike Friday's donation to the Foundation.
The prize will be signed by both Phil and Davis - we'll coordinate that somehow - even if it's a decal with the famous signatures that can be placed with pride on the monotube ...
Special guests at the event will include famous cycling writer and satirist Maynard Hershon, who entertained our fold at the Lon Haldeman/PACTOUR Bike Friday Desert Camps.
Gosh, all these famous names around out little wheels - our cheeks are starting to burn!
"The Sunflower Revolution" ride on the Sunday is 62 and 25 miles of winding scenic rural roads of Southwestern Ohio.
From the webpage: The rides will begin and end in Loveland. Cyclists and Parkinson's disease advocates will have a chance to meet and ride with some of international cycling's most popular legends: Davis Phinney, a two-time stage-winner in the Tour de France; Connie Carpenter Phinney, an Olympic gold medalist; Phil Liggett, the renowned Tour de France television commentator; Ben Serotta, maker of the world's finest custom bicycle frames; and Wayne Stetina, a former Olympian and a current Masters cycling racer. The ride entry fee of $80 includes a T-shirt and lunch. Read more and register.
Read about the Gala and consider joining Davis, Phil, Maynard and Jeff at the event - for $25,000 you can sit with the stars themselves and say things like "do you like using your TravelTrailer or do you prefer panniers?" If you can't make it you can always donate to the Foundation from the comfort of your own armchair.
If you do make it there, we'd love a shot of you for the Bike Friday Gallery a la "What Did I Do On A Friday? - I rode with the who's who of cycling for the Davis Phinney Foundation!"
 The Galfromdownunder shares a pocket rocket salad with Phil. Story. |
Emailable link to this article: http://www.bikefriday.com/bf/phinney05
For more information, follow this link http://www.davisphinneyfoundation.com/2005_gala_and_auction.php.