Continuing on the "All Carl Buchanan- All The Time" network.......just kidding! Today, Carl talks about his influence from Jeff Kerkove, his start in cross country racing, and how a sponsored athlete can benefit a shop.
G-Ted: Would you say you have an edge...uh..somewhat being that you have a person like Jeff Kerkove to bounce ideas off of right handy? You work with him, you can ride out on training rides with him. That kind of resource some people don't have, so......
Carl: Definitely! Definitely an advantage to me. I mean, he helps out a tremendous amount of people on his blog, you know, he gives advice and what have you. But to actually, to go and sit here with him for a five, eight, nine hour day, and that's all you talk about all day is bikes, it's.... You can bounce alot of ideas off a guy in eight hours, you know? And he enjoys it, you know, he gets off on that, he gets gratification outa that. So, if I've got questions, I have no problem asking him, because I know he's going to give me a right answer....truthfull answer, and he's gonna believe in his answer. And it's not going to be a.... He's not gonna tell you, well, "My sponsor says I should say this. I'm gonna say that." He's gonna tell me the truth, you know. That's all there is to it.
G-Ted: Yeah. His passion for the sport rubs off and gets you motivated and.....
Carl: I've.. I've never seen somebody that's more passionate about endurance racing right now.
G-Ted: Yeah.
Carl: You know, I... I truly view him as just like a "Lance Armstrong" in road racing, you know? His passion, you know, so focussed on the task that needs to be done, it's just unbelievable.
G-Ted: I think pretty much it's all his fault...
Carl: It is all his fault!
G-Ted: It's all his fault, and I got sucked into the black hole too, now!
(Laughter)
Carl: The funny thing is, I raced one time trial and one cross country race in 2001. That was my first year racing. And I met him in the spring of '02, I believe. And he convinced me to go do the Minnesota State Championship Cross Country Series. That was before he was racing endurance. And I was like, "Okay!" So, my first cross country race in Minnesota? Yeah! AFTON!
(Laughter)
Carl: All I can say is, PAIN! It HURT!
G-Ted: Yeah, yeah...
Carl: But I arrived there half an hour later than I had anticipated. So, I missed the cutoff to sign up for the Sport Class, which I should have been racing. So that forced me into racing for the Comp Class, and in doing so, I forced myself into buying a season number plate. So, it just kinda.... I mean, I knew I was gonna get my butt handed to me! But, I figured, you know, this is gonna be.... It's gonna be a steep learning curve, but it helped. I mean, my racing definitely improved throughout the season. Getting passed by Jeff Hall, (Sponsored by Salsa Bicycles: ed) like when he's doing mach 5, and you're sucking wind, and wantin' it to all end. It really puts things into perspective. It changes your whole viewpoint on the racing.
G-Ted: Yeah, he's ( Jeff Hall) been around a long time too.
Carl: Yeah, my entire racing career I can blame on Jeff. (Kerkove)
G-Ted: Huh? O.K. I....I can buy that! (Laughter) Yeah, well, I think that wouldn't you say that...ahh..... somebody who works in a shop that races and is passionate for the sport is a benefit not only to other people that they encourage to race, but to the clientel that comes into the shop? Would you..... Would you say that's a benefit?
Carl: I would say that's a benefit because, you figure especially you're racing onproduct that we sell at our shop. You know what the high end stuff of that shop is worth. You know how it's going to perform. And you can actually..... Instead of quoting a catalog and saying " such and such company says this about this bike and da-da-da-da daaa. You can actually flat out tell that customer the differences between this bike and this bike. This bike performs at this level. You know, so on and so forth......ummm..... So, you figure most of your entry level bikes are gonna handle pretty much the same no matter what. So, I think that any mechanic, salesperson can pretty much cover that, but I think that having racing and having a passion for that company shows when you go to sell a customer that bike. They see that in you and they take your....your word for it because they realize it means alot to you.
G-Ted: Yeah, considering it's something they can feel....
Carl: You should always try to get that emphasis apart, so that the customer can "Feel it"!
(Laughter)
G-Ted: Pimp the sponsor!
(Laughter)
Carl: Sorry, man! It's my everday talk!
That's it for today! Look for another Carl Buchanan installment tomorrow!
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