Friend Team

Not very long ago a really cool customer asked about our race team. “Do you guys have tryouts or need a resume or anything?” While we’re thrilled that someone might think our results could indicate that such might be the case, it isn’t. What we have is a concept that we call the Friend Team.

I think this all started our first summer when a bunch of us decided to do the Lawton road race. We all wore Pedal jerseys because it seemed fun and we thought we looked cool and organized. In truth, we were as unorganized as about anything I’ve ever seen. But it was a laugh and we all had a cold one and some food at the Old Hat (oh, how I miss thee) when it was done.

Why not a bona-fide race team? Our logic, twisted though it may be, works something like this: we’re a shop for everyone. While we’re pleased when someone wins while wearing a Pedal jersey, we also smile when we see a family pedaling around town on our bikes. I guess it comes down to two things:

• We feel like a team by its very nature is exclusionary. Are you on the team? Did you make the team? No. That ain’t us. You’ve got a bike and you want to race and you want someone to hang out with? We’re your people. Look for us in the beer tent.
• While we don’t want to be exclusionary, we would like to exclude assholes. I’m not sure that those folks enjoy hanging out with us anyway.

We’re all about community. We have some friends who are smoking fast. We have friends who aren’t. Our fast friends are friends with our not as fast friends. We’d like to introduce you to our friends. We’d like to hang out. We’ll cheer for you or heckle you as the situation merits. Do you have to wear a Pedal jersey? No, but it would help us pick you out. Can you wear a jersey from another shop and still be on the friend team? Sure, I guess, as long as you’re willing to buy the beer. ALL the beer. Heh.