Masseur. Mechanic. Chauffer. Psychologist. An Ode to Joe. 

Every cyclist has a support team, even the most casual amateur. Your wife, your husband, your kid(s), your buddy, your teammate. Everyone has someone to help, to urge them on, to snap them out of it, and to reel off excuses to. Luckily, kolo t.c. has Joe to do all those things.

So far this season, Joe has played the role of teammate, driver, financier, marketing coordinator, sidewalk chalk artist, photographer, mechanic, and sports psychologist. The Official Dad of kolo t.c. has been at nearly every race all season, sometimes driving six hours in a day to watch a two hour race. He races a lot too, but he is always around to see Yours Truly and the Official Twin off at the start line, leaving us with two invaluable pieces of advice. “Don’t get hurt over this shit, you’ve got to work tomorrow. And remember, it’s a race.”

Since beginning his Comeback in 2010, Joe has put in downright heroic rides, including a top forty finish in his age group at the Cherry-Roubaix that year. In his first road race ever, he was dropped before the peloton even left the parking lot. Afterwards, he casually remarked, “I didn’t get dropped, I let up. I got tired of looking at butts.” He rode alone, then with Charles Gann for nearly 50 miles, eventually slotting in ahead of almost 30 other riders, most on much nicer bikes and with shaved legs.

Going for a bike ride with Joe is a lesson in life. He’s going to go his own pace. You can go ahead, you can wait, you can do whatever you want, but Joe is rolling how Joe is going to roll. It doesn’t change. Every once in a while he’ll put the hammer down on a climb, often habitually clearing his throat before he makes his move. He’s got a penchant for signaling his attack. It’s not dramatic like Marco Pantani’s throwing down his bandana, and not as personal as Armstrong’s “The Look”. It’s a casual, business-like way of saying, I don’t know about you, pal, but I’m on the move. 

When kolo t.c. was near financial collapse, as it nearly always is, Joe has spot financed some projects, such as the big Buy A Mountain Bike Tire endeavor of late September. He also bankrolled the kolo t.c. sticker purchase of March 2012 and the Gasoline Crisis of Battle at the Burg. kolo t.c. would gone by now without his help.

We all have someone helping us out and kolo t.c would like to invite you to thank them today. This is a sport that demands a lot of time and money to stay involved, and those that support us deserve an awful lot of thanks and appreciation.

Nominate your Soigneur of the Season, an award that will be featured in the first annual kolo t.c. Year End Awards this December.