craigdurkee

By Pamela LeBlanc
AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN
Monday, February 18, 2008

It's not about the bike sales.

That from Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, who plans in May to open a bike shop, commuting center, training facility and cafe in a 1950s-era building at the northwest corner of Fourth and Nueces streets.

"This city is exploding downtown. Are all these people in high rises going to drive everywhere? We have to promote (bike) commuting," Armstrong said Wednesday, gazing up at the towering 360 condos rising next to the site of his new shop. "This can be a hub for that."

Mellow Johnny's, named for the nickname Armstrong earned while wearing the Tour de France leader's "maillot jaune," or yellow jersey, will be housed in a yellow- and red-brick building next to the music venue La Zona Rosa. It is a block north of the Lance Armstrong Bikeway, a path that will cut east-west through downtown Austin.

Armstrong said he'd like to see Austin evolve into a place like Portland, Ore., where biking is part of the culture and people pedal to work, to restaurants and to run errands. "Walk outside, and the streets are lined with bikes — because they have a safe place to ride," Armstrong said of the city long known for its bicycle-friendly amenities and policies.

Full story..
https://www.austin360.com/recreation/...4bikeshop.html

nashcommguy

Good on ya, Lance! Great to see him putting his visibility and high level of respect into something like a bike shop/commuter training center. He could've had millions in meaningless endorsements and he opens a bike shop. **** the French, he's a class act from stem to stern.

Had a chance to spend the day in Nashville today, running errands w/a car. I live 35 mi o/s the city and rarely get into town, anymore unless it's for a doctor's appointment, etc. I commuted in Nashville for 4 years 80-120 miprwk, plus errands and I would go a month seeing NO other cycle-commuters. I lived in the middle of Music Row and was close to 3 college campuses and was a lonely commuter. I haven't lived in town for about 2 years. I'd see roadies, slackers, ninja guys, etc, but no 'hardcore-rack/fenders/lights commuter rigs. I spent most of the day running back and forth in the car and saw no less than 25 'commuter cyclists' in full rigs. It's like they all posted to the 'commuter thread' section. Everybody had varying degress of mtb/hybrid w/street tires. Mad props to them all. Blinkies galore and plenty of Gore-Tex. All of them seemed confident and assertive. I felt like I was doing undercover work or something. Very encouraging. Temps were in the 30s-low40s. All in all a very good day. Seeing all those cyclists in 'full commuter kits' was a real kick.

bigdufstuff

Thats great! I hope it does well and is a boost for the cycling culture of Austin.

alicestrong

This was already posted to another thread, guess it slipped through the cracks...

Commuting=where old retired racers all end up...



hehe Gotta love the trend I do

ajmstilt

hahahaha... Lance is a Fred now.

come join the dar... er... light side...

lil brown bat

Damn, I wish someone would open up a place like this in Boston!

CliftonGK1

I have this hilarious mental picture of Lance in full team kit doing about 8mph sitting bolt upright on an Electra Townie X-tra Cycle loaded with groceries.

nashcommguy

[QUOTE=ajmstilt;6205090]hahahaha... Lance is a Fred now...[{QUOTE]

OMG, that's SO true...like CliftonGK, I see him on some Schwinn Varsity w/a basketball on his 'spring loaded' rack. Baseball hat under an old Bell 'Jungle Jim' helmet. Blinkies everywhere...it's like "Hey, I'm Lance and I AINT takin' my suicide levers off and yes, that's a hose-clamp on my bottle cage." He's gonna have major 'fred-cred' no matter what.

NoRacer

How about on this bike by Naked that he purchased for $12 grand at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show a couple of weeks ago:

alicestrong

Thanks...love it! Now that's the kind of news from the show I'm looking for!!

kraemer

is it going to have a EPO bar? And maybe dr Ferrari will have an office in the back!

Intheloonybin

Ouch!!

Slammed for epo in both forums right off the bat!

Apparently I missed the memo that everyone is guilty before proven innocent! Are we in France??

Check out the girl in the pic to the right. Giddy fan?

Buglady

*drooling over that bike*

lil brown bat

Hey, let's turn this into a frog-slagging thread, that'll elevate the tone. But it might interest you to know that in the world of athletic drug testing, the burden of proof is indeed on the testee, to prove that he/she is not using. You might not like it, but those are indeed the rules.

BA Commuter

I'd invest if Mellow Johnny's ever goes public! NYSE symbol - EPO

You da man, Lance!!!

Intheloonybin

I'll revise this. Again.

I appreciate Lance and his efforts.

And rescind above comments to prevent further slagging.

pinkrobe

It's funny how often this comes up in conversation among my riding buddies who are getting out of their prime biking years [including myself]. Given the opportunity, none of us would turn down the performance benefits of EPO, HGH and testosterone. None of us race, we just ride a lot. With a little pharmaceutical enhancement, that Friday afternoon ride home would be a real blast.

[rant]I'd also like to make it clear that I don't begrudge anyone for using performance-enhancing substances to win races or whatever. It's applied technology, just like carbon fibre, lycra, titanium or plastic. They are professionals, it's their job and their choice. You want to create a level playing field? Make everyone ride lugged steel single-speeds and train/live together for the entire racing season.[/rant]