Sneaky Bastard

I needed a new pair of shoes yesterday. There’s a new Road Runner Sports retail store in Newbury Park. I’ve shopped through their Amazon seller storefront before with good results, so I figured I’d try the bricks and mortar version. Their space is nicely arranged, and they just sell running stuff — no tailgate grill/cooler combos or inflatable ski boat tow toys, á la Sports Chalet. I browsed around for a bit, and one of the sales assistants offered to show me some shoes. I told him what I wanted, and he returned from the shelves with it a moment later. This is in stark contrast to some experiences I’ve had at Big 5 Sports where I never saw the person again.

The first two shoe models I thought I wanted didn’t fit well. The sales assistant offered to verify my foot measurements. They were pretty much what I thought they were. We then went over to the computerized foot pressure pad and treadmills. He confirmed that I should have a neutral, ie. squishy, shoe, however the pressure pad graph showed that my arch wasn’t quite as high as I had thought. Interesting. I ran on the treadmill for a while where a video camera is positioned to capture the heel strike and pronation. After these quick tests, he recommended an adidas Response Trail. It was just right. Before leaving, I bought the upsell product: Superfeet Insoles. I do feel like a bit of a sucker when buying any add-ons, like warranty extensions or performance guarantees. But these insoles really do feel nice.

Later that day, I went walking with my folks in Ventura. I arrived a bit early, and I had been wanting to check out the Patagonia retail store at their headquarters. I had Olie with me, so I figured I would just do a bit of window shopping. We walked up to the front of door, and I poked my head in to check it out while Olie was in a sit-stay. ;) The clerk saw me and invited us in. I was hesitant because the store is beautiful and I didn’t want to offend anyone by bringing a dog inside. He reached behind the counter for a doggie biscuit for Olie and then took us on a tour of the store, telling me about the history and philosophy of the company. It was really nice. They’re an awesome company.

So, I experienced EXXXTREME Customer Service yesterday. It was refreshing. I highly recommended it.

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. And the clip below is one of my favorite scenes. How can you watch this and not cheer?

There are some problems with this scene, but you probably won’t notice them until you watch it a few dozen times:

• Dave puts three turns on one spoke nipple, then immediately mounts the wheel in the fork dropouts — with the quick-release lever pointing forward, no less.
• The film rig and crew is seen in the reflection of the chrome bumper on the truck.
• At 40 MPH, Dave is in the big chainring. After passing 50 MPH, the camera shows a shot of him in the small chainring.
• Dennis Christopher’s stunt double, an uncredited USCF racer, is a real cyclist. Just look at his legs and form.

I saw this promo for a series of Discovery TLC shows a couple years ago. I nearly fell off the couch laughing. Enjoy.