genesis

Many people (ok, 2 people) have asked me how I came to join Team GamezNflix. it all started about two and a half years ago when I was a young pup at the Western Ky University Folk Studies program in Bowling Green. I had had aspirations of racing, but up until then I had only toured and participated in group rides (which I usually rocked...hard).

On a cold and windy fall day in October, I met up with a few brave souls at Basil Griffin Park to go on a century through Warren and Simpson County. In the parking lot, i met one John Estes, who was driving Fred Sanfords truck, with a brand new Trek Madone attached to the bed just above a pile of house demolition refuse. Immediately I was intrigued.

I asked John about the bike, and he offered me a chance to ooh and aah over how light it was (I was trying hard not to hate him). When i asked how much it cost, he told me nothing, and that he had recently gotten sponsored ( i was failing hard at not hating him). In his younger years, John had rocked the local mountain biking world and for a brief stint dominated cat 5 and some cat 4 crits and road races. While it had been a long time since his younger years, John was still a formidable rider. From the start of the century, which was supposed to be a moderately paced ride, John was pulling hard on the front and itching to go faster. I had found my wheel. Less than half way through the ride, John and I pulled away from others, and pushed each other all the way back. When the wind let up, more than fifty miles in, we pushed the pace to over twenty, and when we made the last turn towards the park, my legs were screaming. I was so thankful that I had driven to the park that day.

As we were loading up, John asked me if I would like to join the team.

"Do I get a Madone?" I asked with cherub like innocence.

"Helllll no!" John said with a devilish laugh. "But you get a jersey and your race entries reimbursed"

I was in.