a couple of years ago, after cross season, I went to dinner at our neighborhood restaurant The Craftsman with my wife, and during our meal we were visited by the chef ! After my initial surprise, I recognized Mike from the local cyclocross scene. He pitched an idea to build a local cyclocross team with a local builder. It sounded like a cool idea, and we agreed to stay in touch about the possibility. Over the next couple of years, I got to know Mike, and his work at the Craftsman. I got to know how committed he is to grass roots, sustainable and down to earth solutions to living. Solutions from real people, and neighbors. Like the folks in our community and region that provide him with the finest products to create those fantastic dishes that my wife and I have now shared with many of our friends and family on trips to the Craftsman. The beet and chevre terrine, the homemade saurkraut crackers (my mother in law said they were just like her mom used to make), Mike's charcuterie plate, the pulled pork sandwich, the pasta with fresh mushrooms....good stuff from our own backyard. Obvious solutions to basic needs. And so, how surprising is it that when Mike wanted to build up a new cyclocross machine he found a similar home grown solution? Just as rational as purchasing produce from local growers when you're living smack in the middle of the agricultural midwest, he had the common sense to contact his local schoolpal and frame builder extraordinaire Curt Goodrich for his next bike. And one night in the middle of last January, biking home on the snow covered streets from the rink at Longfellow Park, after a game played on ice so cold your blades squeaked, I stopped in at the Craftsman for a beer, and signed up.
- rpm
the builder
the story
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