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Press Release: March 6, 2006

MEDINA

PENINSULA

ROCKY RIVER

(330) 722-7119

(330) 657-2209

(440) 356-5705

 

Contact:Scott Cowan

For Immediate Release

 (440) 356-5705

March 6, 2006

 

scott@centurycycles.com

 

Bob Roll Rocks Century Cycles on March 24

Rocky River, OH – Bob Roll, famed cyclist and gonzo voice of a cycling generation, will make a rare North Coast appearance on Friday, March 24, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. at Century Cycles bicycle store in Rocky River (19955 Detroit Road, Rocky River). Sponsored by Century Cycles and Kryptonite Locks, the event will feature a presentation by Roll, question-and-answer and autograph sessions, refreshments, and product giveaways. It is free and open to the public.

“This is a great opportunity to meet a true bicycling legend up close and personal,” said Scott Cowan, owner of Century Cycles.

A self-described “scar-tissued, hard-as-coffin-nails, crosswind-craving metal storm,” Bob Roll is a Cycling Hall of Famer who has gained recent notoriety as a colorful television commentator for Outdoor Life Network’s coverage of the Tour de France and cycling’s other big races. The same no-holds-barred approach that shaped his career as a Tour de France racer and mountain bike competitor is what sets him apart from other sports commentators and authors. Lovingly known by his fans as Bobke (pronounced “boob-ka”), Bob Roll has written three books, including The Tour de France Companion and Bobke II (the latter will be for sale and available for signing at the event).

An accomplished rider in his own right, Bob Roll has been involved in some of American bicycling’s most important milestones, from being one of the pioneer U.S. cyclists who rode on the original 7-Eleven Tour de France team in the 1980s, to being a training partner of Lance Armstrong during his comeback from cancer (remembered by Roll in Bobke II in a chapter entitled “Lance and the Dipped in Ding-Dong Doodle Down in Dixie”).

His cycling accomplishments include:

  • Member of the Cycling Hall of Fame as part of the original 7-Eleven Tour de France cycling team
  • Former member of the Motorola cycling team
  • 4-time Tour de France racer, 3-time Giro d’Italia racer, 8-time Paris-Roubaix racer, 3-time Tour de Suisse racer
  • Won stage 3 of the 1988 Tour de Romandie
  • Won stage 11 of the 1985 Coors Classic
  • Won the 1997 and 1998 San Francisco Hill Climb
  • Raced in eight World Championships

In Roll’s experience, cycling at the Tour de France level is not for the faint of heart or the weak of body. In his book Bobke II, this is how Roll advises to prepare for the Tour de France: “Watch every movie ever made about Vietnam. Then watch ‘Auvoir Les Enfants’ by Truffault. Then shoot Novocain into your brain and drink a bottle of champagne. Then burn your fingernails off with a Bic lighter. Then kill your cat with a shovel. Now you are ready to be buried alive by the Tour de France.”

For more information about Bob Roll’s appearance, contact Century Cycles in Rocky River at (440) 356-5705 or email info@centurycycles.com. To arrange an interview with Bob Roll, please contact Donna Tocci at Kryptonite Locks at (781) 828-6655, ext. 268.

Century Cycles is an award-winning chain of independent bicycle stores with locations in Rocky River, Medina, and Peninsula. In addition to catering to cyclists and their families with high-quality bicycles and exemplary service, Century Cycles is active locally and nationally in support of bicycling paths and other issues of vital importance to the cycling community.

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