Dropping the kids off at the pool the other day. Literally for real really. Not taking a shit, but taking my kids swimming. Another dad a few chairs over says, what’s kickstand? pointing at my shirt. It was a zine, I say, leaving it at that.
A bit later the other dad asks, did it have anything to do with bikes? Yeah, I say, I was a bike messenger for a while, a while back, leaving it at that. The stilted conversation, or lack thereof. The long silent pauses, the empty space that drives my old lady crazy was the start of our conversing.
Late 90’s you say, says the other dad. Did you know Todd Gallaher? Yes, I say. And then he talks a bit about bike handling, riding in crits and strong riders pulling off crazy shit that only strong riders can pull off, riders like Todd that he raced with back in the day. Conversation moved on to other messengers that raced bikes too… …inevitably turning to Dave Richter and Jonny Sundt.
I'll leave it at that.
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