TECH Keeps Avid Cyclist Rolling

TECH Keeps Avid Cyclist Rolling

You never know what is going to show up in your e-mail account. Recently Brent Klomparens, who leads TECH’s Direct Sales channel, received one of those e-mails that is seemingly from left field. Here’s what it said:

“Hi, a friend gave me a bag of #16 TECH bicycle tube patches years ago. I‘m pushing 180,000 miles of bicycling and never had one of your patches deteriorate or fail in any other way!

I had one super lite tube with a half dozen #16 patches on it and it’s still a super lite tube that rolls fine!

I’m planning to attempt my 4th Trans Am Bike Race and am down to only a few patches left! May I order a bunch of #16 oval patches from you?”

– Bob “Bubba” Hedrick

First of all, 180,000 miles of bicycling…come on! Brent knew he needed to talk to Bob alias “Bubba”. After contacting Bob, Brent learned he was for real and is in fact an avid (mild understatement here) cyclist. He learned that Bob and his wife Patty are “bike-packers” who prefer tackling the back roads wherever they travel. This includes the rugged mountain roads of Costa Rica.

Bob introduced Patty to bike-packing by taking her to the Michelson Trail in South Dakota. Shortly after that, they ventured on an 800-mile bike-pack trip in Costa Rica; on a route Bob laid out a year before.

One of Bob’s goals is to establish a low-traffic Indiana bicycle route that extends from Lake Michigan to the Ohio River. It took a few years of bicycling different routes to determine what would work best. After riding 8,000 miles to choose the best roads, Bob is now working on getting a route plotted out to introduce to the bicycling community. Bob’s goal is to have an inaugural ride on the Indiana section, north to south, in 2019.

Well Bob, we want you to take TECH products with you wherever your cycling adventures lead you. So, TECH is sending you a supply of not only tube repairs, but an assortment of other tire and wheel service products to keep you and Patty safe as well as rolling while pursuing your cycling dreams.

Bob and Patty hope to have the inaugural ride on the Indiana bicycle route as a fund raiser for a worthy non-profit organization. To learn more visit: https://bubbabike.wordpress.com/.

Patty Hedrick