For some, the blog has been noticeably quiet, and rightfully so. The race season is winding down and the "need" to maintain form seems less significant. But above that, the last two weeks have been quieted and overshadowed by the passing of a dear friend.
I have known Jim Laue since 1993 when I bought my first "real" bike; a black Diamondback Sorrento. Since that time, cycling has been a focal point of my life and with that, Cycleworld has been the hub. In 1996 several of us traveled to Tallahassee to race. Diamondback had just released a series of full-suspension bikes and Jim had bought one for the shop; an orange V-Link. I was still riding my Sorrento, but just before we started, Jim asked if I'd like to race the V-Link. Duh . . . . yeah! Today, I don't change anything the day of a race, but back then it was a surreal opportunity. I raced and crashed. I pin-balled off two trees just before the finish. I hit so hard I couldn't hardly stand up. It took a second to get my feet under me. I soft pedaled out of the woods half loopy and half scared that I was about to have to pay for damages to a brand new bike. Jim and Ken Green met me as I crossed the line and helped me to the truck. Jim wasn't concerned about the bike at all. He did seem generally concerned about me, until he realized I was fine, then he turned back into a wise ass, but that was Jim.
I also remember the first time I went into the shop to buy something and received a DISCOUNT from Jim. I knew I had made it. I was told long ago that there were only several people that Jim would cut prices for and then it was only on good days. For what ever reason and to what ever degree, I made it into Jim's circle.
Towards the end of this past summer, I called Jim one morning and asked him to go for a ride with me. He felt good and agreed. We rode out Palmyra to hwy 32. We had to stop for 15 minutes or so at the crossroads because Jim's heart was acting erratically. As we turned to head back in, it returned to normal. Rather than do the sensible thing and head back in, we headed to Sasser. We motor passed a tractor, refilled out of an old hose in Sasser, cruised down Tallahassee road, and talked all the way through the neighborhood back to the shop.
Jim's passing has been terribly hard for some of us. Jim was part of our extended-family. Gene said it best at the memorial. Cycling communities develop into families; you have brothers, uncles, aunts, crazy cousins, fathers and grandfathers. Jim sat at the head of the table in our family and although his seat is now empty, his influence will linger on with every pedal stroke that many of us will take.
Jim will definitely be missed . . . but more importantly, he'll be remembered.
Jim "PooBah" Laue Update
Murphy's Law: Things don't always go according to plan.
So, after going in for a pacemaker and after 10+ hours at the hospital, Jim and the doctors decided on a different treatment for his heart. An hour or so after leaving the hospital, Jim had a stroke and is now back in the hospital.
Jim has had a series of tests run and still has some lingering stroke symptons, but seems to be stable and isn't real happy about being laid-up in bed.
Please keep PooBah and his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Once again, enjoy the ride and don't sweat the small shit because your day can change in and instant.
So, after going in for a pacemaker and after 10+ hours at the hospital, Jim and the doctors decided on a different treatment for his heart. An hour or so after leaving the hospital, Jim had a stroke and is now back in the hospital.
Jim has had a series of tests run and still has some lingering stroke symptons, but seems to be stable and isn't real happy about being laid-up in bed.
Please keep PooBah and his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Once again, enjoy the ride and don't sweat the small shit because your day can change in and instant.
T&P for PooBah
Jim's going in to have his ticker fixed today. Here's to a speedy recovery.
(T&P stands for Thoughts and Prayers . . . duh)
(T&P stands for Thoughts and Prayers . . . duh)
HERE'S YOUR UPDATE!
Yeah-Yeah-Yeah. It’s been busy and we’ve fallen down on the job. Should we be riding or writing?? We chose to ride, but now that there’s a spare minute, here’s the update.
Back on September 18th we traveled to Jackson, GA to participate in the 6hrs of Dauset. “We” translates into 10 of us. That’s right TEN of us. It was actually ELEVEN, but Suzy was working the event rather than racing. Since there were sooooooo many of us there, we’ll keep this short. If you want details ask one of the ELEVEN people who were there with SGC.
Josh is a freak and finished 2nd because he was being nice. DeAnna finished 7th in the women’s field in her first endurance race. Mitch did incredibly good in his first MTB race . . . ever. Stephen had his best race of the year. Clark had a blowout which didn’t allow him much race time but got some good hang time. There were two bees and one elephant man. The food for the weekend was great. The beer was better. We gave out the 1st Annual SGC awards post-race. It was a year in the making, but didn’t disappoint.
This past weekend, for one reason or another, several of us headed to the mountains. I’ll keep it short, but for the whole story ask someone involved.
• Brand new camper blows a tire and does damage to camper.
• Coyote decides to watch tire be changed.
• Set up camp at 3:00 am.
• Work on bike at 7:00 am.
• Start race at 10:00 am.
• Try to quit at 2:30 pm but Vonnie won’t let me.
• Josh finishes 2nd in solo expert class on his OLD bike (another story all together).
• Bill finishes 1st in solo Clydesdale on his NEW bike (no story needed).
Our honorary SGC member David Muse not only finished 2nd on the day, but finished 1st overall for the series and will now throw his hat in the ring with the Experts next year. ROCK’ON DAVE!
Next Up: Tumbling Creek MTB Rumble; October 30th
Back on September 18th we traveled to Jackson, GA to participate in the 6hrs of Dauset. “We” translates into 10 of us. That’s right TEN of us. It was actually ELEVEN, but Suzy was working the event rather than racing. Since there were sooooooo many of us there, we’ll keep this short. If you want details ask one of the ELEVEN people who were there with SGC.
Josh is a freak and finished 2nd because he was being nice. DeAnna finished 7th in the women’s field in her first endurance race. Mitch did incredibly good in his first MTB race . . . ever. Stephen had his best race of the year. Clark had a blowout which didn’t allow him much race time but got some good hang time. There were two bees and one elephant man. The food for the weekend was great. The beer was better. We gave out the 1st Annual SGC awards post-race. It was a year in the making, but didn’t disappoint.
This past weekend, for one reason or another, several of us headed to the mountains. I’ll keep it short, but for the whole story ask someone involved.
• Brand new camper blows a tire and does damage to camper.
• Coyote decides to watch tire be changed.
• Set up camp at 3:00 am.
• Work on bike at 7:00 am.
• Start race at 10:00 am.
• Try to quit at 2:30 pm but Vonnie won’t let me.
• Josh finishes 2nd in solo expert class on his OLD bike (another story all together).
• Bill finishes 1st in solo Clydesdale on his NEW bike (no story needed).
Our honorary SGC member David Muse not only finished 2nd on the day, but finished 1st overall for the series and will now throw his hat in the ring with the Experts next year. ROCK’ON DAVE!
Next Up: Tumbling Creek MTB Rumble; October 30th
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