It was a hero’s welcome at Garmin headquarters Monday when the Team Garmin entourage rolled in. Following David Zabriskie’s big win at the Tour of Missouri, fans were lined up to greet DZ, Christian Vande Velde and several other team members. After an autograph session outdoors, we headed inside for a short team presentation and Q&A session. From my nearly front-row seat, I must say, the vibe was a bit different from a year ago, when the team made their Garmin visit a couple days before the Tour of Missouri kicked off. Then, the lean, lanky riders sat before a packed house, wide-eyed and full of banter. All but Christian, who was reserved, likely contemplating the upcoming race. His prerace strategizing obviously paid off since Christian took the ToM 2008 title.
For this year’s visit to Garmin HQ, the tables were turned. Fresh from their 612-mile journey through the hillacious Missouri countryside, the riders were understandably spent. All but Christian, who was well-rested since he’d had to bow out of the race early due to a fractured hand. An unfortunate event, but perhaps fortuitous for David Zabriskie, who’s had his share of time trial wins, but until Sunday, had yet to take the podium for a grand tour win. Class act by Christian that he was here for the final stage and got to hand David the trophy. Then, in true DZ style, he planted his presenter with a big smooch.
Throughout the Q&A session, Garmin associates and a few guests grilled the guys on everything from what they ate to what they did for cross training. When Steven Cozza threw out fishing and archery as fine cross training options, we weren’t sure whether to laugh or join a local scouting troop. Must work for these guys. Finally, it was time to cut the chat and get to the agenda item the fans were waiting for most — a short but sweet ride.
A pack of some 120 cyclists gathered around the team bus, ready to roll. A megaphoned Jake set us off with a nod to the pros and a “Team Garmin, are you ready?” Then addressed the rest of the crowd with “Lowercase team Garmin, are you ready?” And we were off with the fits and starts it takes to get that many cyclists of all sizes, bike types and experience levels out on the open road. I can’t think of a better way to end a Monday. It was a fabulous ride — see it here in Garmin Connect.
I teamed up with my friends Cheryl and Tina, both of whom served on the Tour of Missouri organizing committee. They’re not just big fans of Team Garmin; they are big fans of Garmin products. Cheryl, who does speed workouts with me once week and is training for a half marathon (she has several marathons to her credit, include a Boston), wants an FR60. Tina is a proud new owner of the Forerunner 310XT and will be putting it through the paces this weekend at her first half Ironman — Redman in Oklahoma. Though the only argyle I saw from my vantage point on Monday’s ride was worn by cyclists in their own Team Garmin jerseys, I guess I can say “I rode with the pros.” Still, I had to find out what it was like in the lead pack, so I checked in with David, one of the engineers who works on the Edge and other fitness products. He said he ended up in a 6-man breakaway that he claimed was led by Tom, another engineer on the fitness team. Tom, who does some road and cyclocross racing for a local team, said he didn’t “officially” start it. Something about Steven Cozza goofing around and doing a fly by, which apparently was answered by Kevin (team bus driver). Then Tom, a couple of his teammates and David all joined in. Here’s a link to their ride data in Garmin Connect. David and Tom both ride with ANT+ compatible power meters that send power data to their Edge 705. Once the ride was done, our heroes boarded their bus and literally rode off into the sunset. See our Flickr page for more pics of the team during their visit and the Tour of Missouri.