So Steve got hit by a cab the other night and is still in the hospital, in a medically-induced coma after hours of brain surgery. Man, I can’t wait to visit him when he wakes up!
We rode together for Team Get A Grip Cycles in 2007, which was a really special year for me. Up to that point, I had just done collegiate racing and some random racing for my hometown shop in Minnesota, where I was more a customer than a sponsored rider, and I really had no idea if I was even any good or what it meant to really race a full season with a real team.
My UChicago buddy, Jon Tenney, convinced me I should try things out seriously that year though, and he was gracious enough to offer me a spot on TGAGC. I remember how nervous I was at my first race with them, Hillsboro-Roubaix, and how relaxed and amiable Steve was (then, and in training). He had a great calming effect on the entire squad. Yet, somehow, he had this uncanny ability to turn a 180 and ride like a complete animal in the race.
I didn’t quite believe him then when he told me how much confidence he had in my riding. Even during the race, I was still riding self-deprecatingly in the pack, as he was gladly destroying himself in a 40-mile breakaway for my benefit. In the end, when he was caught, I countered in the final miles and got my best result in a real big race ever—dusting 95 guys behind me, thanks to Steve and my teammates.
It was our goal the rest of the year to break away together to win a race. We tried and tried, but it was quite an audacious move, very unlikely to succeed. Yet, in my very last race as a Cat 3—our last opportunity to do it together—we connected after a stereotypical, race-long breakaway by him, “The Hitman”, and a stereotypical last-minute attack by me, “Twiggy”, to go 1-2 at Fox River Grove.
Does anyone have a picture of that? Crossing the line hand-in-hand with him was one of my absolute best days on a bike. Unfortunately, I can only find a picture of one of our more futile attempts earlier in the season. Thanks to Luke for that:
Anyway, he’s a really special guy. It’s scary to think he’s fighting just to hang on to his life right now, when so recently he was so on top of it.
He put a lot of faith into me, even when I changed teams the following year. And it’s been great to be able to rekindle our bond on the DeLuca training rides this fall as well.
Now it’s most certainly our turn to put faith in him. Keep hoping for Steve to recover quickly! And, if you want to push pedals with us tomorrow, the DeLuca ride will leave at 9am like always…perhaps just a bit more subdued.
Tags: Jonathan Tenney, Steve Vandeven, Team Get A Grip Cycles
