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April 05, 2005
St. Paul Bike Racing Club Spring Party
Tonight after work I rode my bike over to the Summit Brewing Company for the St. Paul Bike Racing Club (SPBRC) Spring party. They are one of the sponsors of the club and hosted the annual party in their large party room with pizza and free beer. And it looked like these cyclists enjoyed the beer. I did. I tried 3 different types of beer. I like beer but don’t drink very often, so you can imagine what 3 small glasses of beer did to me. Whew! I’m glad they also had rootbeer, which I think is a good tasting rootbeer. I never knew they brewed rootbeer also. Thankfully by the time I had to ride my bike home, my head was back to normal and the ride home was a good workout.
The whole event was only two hours but it was good. We all put name tags on when we first walked in and then about 6:15 they brought in what looked liked 20 or 30 boxes of pizza which were all gone by the time we left. There were a lot of hungry athletes in the room! I met the organizer of the Beginner’s Racing Program (BRP) and chatted with him for a few minutes, then went to stand in line for pizza. I found a table and while I was eating another one of the BRP coaches walked by and started talking to me. It was a good conversation about what to expect during the first couple of weeks of the BRP which made me feel more comfortable about the whole thing and consequently made me feel good about my decision to join this class. All of the BRP students were asked to put “BRP” on our name tags so we were easily recognizable. After talking to two of the coaches I started wandering around looking for other BRP members and ran into Kevin. Kevin was there with his riding friend who is not in the BRP but is a member of the St. Paul Bike Racing Club and has done a lot of racing. They have a small team of four that does 4-person team time trials. I found out that they live right by me and go for a long ride every morning as a group. Other people from the SPBRC often join them so they invited me to ride with them in the mornings for their training rides. I accepted so tomorrow morning I’m going on a 20-30 mile bike ride all before 7:30am.
Also, a very nice surprise for me was running into Luke. Luke is the owner of the Highland Grill in Highland Park, one of my favorite restuarants. They are very busy all the time and it gets kind of crouded but the food is good. I know Luke because I painted their window several times. Last year and the year before I entered a window painting contest sponsored by the Highland Park Business Association. I think the first year I got second place, but that’s because another artist I respect a lot, Holly Tappin, painted a ‘Chrismas Carol’ scene that was really awesome. Actually she’s the one that got me started on window painting that year when I talked to her at one of her art showings. Anyway, Luke at Highland Grill is one of the Sponsors of the SPBRC. Painting a very large window was a challenge for me because everything was larger than me. It was a good experience because keeping things in perspective and proportion was difficult for me when I painted something so large. Here is a picture of one of the window paintings:
If you ever get around town, this is a neet little business area. Right across the street is a movie theater and a vietnamese restuarant and The Tea Source, which has many awesome teas from all over the world. That’s where I buy tea. Then around the corner there’s a Half-Price Books, and across the Street and over a half a block is a Barnes and Nobles. And if you like imported wine and beer there is a liquor store in that same area that has an annual sale that’s worth checking out. And while you are in the area you can eat at the Highland Grill. Luke and his sister own it and are two of the nicest people I’ve met. When I was out there freezin my butt off painting the window, he instructed his waitresses to keep coming out to offer me hot chocolate. One day last summer I ran into Luke walking his dog and he stood and chatted for a while. Being a nice guy goes a long way to make a lasting impression. I like Luke because he always smiles and treats everyone like they are worth talking to. He even recognized me, even though I trimmed my beard short and cut off my pony tail since I last saw him. So running into Luke tonight was an added bonus that reminded me just how small the world is. I did notice the Highland Grill logo on our SPBRC jerseys but didn’t put two and two together that Luke might be at this party so I was happy when I saw him.
As far as large window painting goes, I’d like to find a building and paint a mural sometime. I think that would be fun. Right now I’m a bike racer, and with little time to spare that'll have to wait. Maybe I could paint bike racers on a wall. hehe.
Well, that was my night. It was a successful party and I'm happy I went, because I was reassured that the BRP is a good idea for me, met two new riding partners and saw Luke again, which reminded me of why it's good to be a nice person all the time. You never know when or where you'll run into someone from your past. He is a nice guy and lives it.
While I’ve been typing this, I was doing laundry. I already cleaned and lubed my bike to get it ready for tomorrow’s ride, and now I’m off to bed. Remember you bicycle enthusiasts, Wednesday night is Volunteer night at the Sibley Bike Depot. Come on over and meet me in person! I’d love to chat with you as we build bikes!
Posted by carl1236 at April 5, 2005 11:57 PM | Cycle Racing
Comments
Okay, this just has to stop. When I first found your blog I told my wife about it and how you and I seemed to be thinking about a lot of the same kinds of things. Then you're learning Korean and I have two Korean sisters and one of them had just told me about that Korean service I told you about (you ever go, btw?). Then you volunteer at the Depot. Now you have found me an awesome tea place! I mean, work right by the St Anthony Tea Source! It's just scary.
See you tonight. Sounds like Dan might be there, too.
Posted by: nathan at April 6, 2005 10:03 AM
Nathan, I really want to go to that church but I have the rest of this month still working on weekends. I have kept it in mind and definately plan on it once I get some Sunday's free in May. Thanks again for the info.
Posted by: John at April 6, 2005 10:17 AM
Hey - Would you be interested in getting together for dinner before the Depot tonight? I'm emailing Dan, too, but I don't know yours so hopefully you'll see this...
Posted by: nathan at April 6, 2005 11:59 AM
Sure Nathan, I usually eat at the coffee shop/cafe right in the same building but I can meet you anywhere, within reason. Just let me know. Sounds like fun. See you later.
Posted by: John at April 6, 2005 04:03 PM