Jan
22nd
The Tom Kavanagh new bike project! January 2010
By murrdogg
Last year, after Tom Kavanagh left Bicycles Plus and subsequently
lost his staff mountain bike, I came up with an idea to solicit his
customers and friends to help me buy him a new bike. I had no idea
of the response I would get, and the overwhelming outpouring of
generosity that would result!
It was late in November when, after discussing the idea with my good friend lola doucet, I decided to go ahead and send an email to a group of Tom’s friends and customers to ask them to help me out with this crazy idea I had. I wanted to raise enough money to buy Tom the bike he previously had on a staff deal from Bicycles Plus, a 2010 Giant Trance X1. Retail value: about $3700 plus tax.
No small feat.
Within three days I was amazed to have over $2000 already donated! I received a ton of emails shoeing support and accepted many generous donations in cash, by email money transfer, and through Paypal button I put on my website. I places the order for the bike by that very weekend, and two days after that, I left the country for three weeks on a business trip, confident that I would not have a problem reaching my goal.
While I was away I continued to receive donations and emails and all that was left was to wait for the bike’s arrival and arrange a party to unveil our gift.
Now I knew Tom was a popular guy in the cycling community, so it really made my job easy and afforded me the opportunity to do something this nice for one of my best friends. What really made it possible was the 53 donations I received from all of these wonderful people in the community. Everyone gave what they could and really, when it was all said and done, came together to make this happen.
That’s right! 53 donations!
Lola offered her home as a location to host the grand unveiling, which happened on January 21. We set it up as a mountain bike movie night and I billed it as a chance for our friends in the cycling community to get together and not only enjoy some drinks and good company, but to see Tom again, since many of them hadn’t seen him since his parting ways with Bicycles Plus.
Everyone arrived early as planned, and Tom showed up earlier than I had planned (Of course) to a packed house. I figured he would know something was up when he saw the road lined with dozens of cars and a rather strange crew of folks attending a movie night. Usually it’s just our small crew, but this place was filled with cycling club members, some of whom only ride road bikes, friends, and customers of the shop. He told me afterwards that he did think something was up, but he had no idea what was really going on!
Once we were all settled (using that term loosely), I began by giving a little speech about how we all got together to see Tom again and since we had such a big group, we had decided to get him a little something to say we missed him.
I enlisted the help of Tom’s daughter, Abby, to go into a back room and bring Tom out a cloth grocery bag with a 5-pack of Harp Lager in it. Why 5? Well of course I had to make it look like something was missing from the package (Not to mention I had gotten thirsty waiting for him!) so I asked lola to go back into the room to see if she could find the rest of the gift. That’s when she rolled out his real present.
I asked Sally Gionet, a good friend and now Sales Manager at BP, to help me out with the project and she crafted a beautiful set of custom ribbon streamers for the bike, each one bearing the name of one of the donors. On top of this, I framed a copy of the original email I sent to the donors, including some of the nice comments they sent back and a full list of the donors. Just something for him to remember.
If you know Tom, you’ll know he’s very rarely speechless! Well folks, he was blown away! He sat with a beer in one hand and the bike held up with the other for ten minutes just staring at the bike and around the room while we clapped, his mouth opening and closing like a gasping fish with no sound coming out.
I think I even saw a tear or two! Mission accomplished!
After I sat down to read the contents of the email to everyone, we all signed the poster and hung out for a few hours to talk to Tom and enjoy the euphoria of the evening. Tom was eventually able to give a little speech, which was over and above considering the shape he was in! I think it was a pretty big shock to him to see how much his friends cared about him in this way. I figure he’ll be reeling from this for a few days!
My heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped me out with this. Especially lola for her generosity and for being such a gracious host. To Sally for helping me out with her crafts skills in making the streamers. To Jeanne Ju for giving up one of her own staff bikes this year to use it for this project. To Adam and Sandrine for helping me out with the picture frame and support along the way. To Mark Sawlor for filming the event. And to everyone who donated to the project to make it possible. There is no way I could have done something like this without you! You are amazing people!
Now all that remains is to get out on the trails and go riding with Tom to help him break in his new ride! I’m sure he will enjoy this bike for many years to come!
My deepest gratitude,
Geoff Murray
It was late in November when, after discussing the idea with my good friend lola doucet, I decided to go ahead and send an email to a group of Tom’s friends and customers to ask them to help me out with this crazy idea I had. I wanted to raise enough money to buy Tom the bike he previously had on a staff deal from Bicycles Plus, a 2010 Giant Trance X1. Retail value: about $3700 plus tax.
No small feat.
Within three days I was amazed to have over $2000 already donated! I received a ton of emails shoeing support and accepted many generous donations in cash, by email money transfer, and through Paypal button I put on my website. I places the order for the bike by that very weekend, and two days after that, I left the country for three weeks on a business trip, confident that I would not have a problem reaching my goal.
While I was away I continued to receive donations and emails and all that was left was to wait for the bike’s arrival and arrange a party to unveil our gift.
Now I knew Tom was a popular guy in the cycling community, so it really made my job easy and afforded me the opportunity to do something this nice for one of my best friends. What really made it possible was the 53 donations I received from all of these wonderful people in the community. Everyone gave what they could and really, when it was all said and done, came together to make this happen.
That’s right! 53 donations!
Lola offered her home as a location to host the grand unveiling, which happened on January 21. We set it up as a mountain bike movie night and I billed it as a chance for our friends in the cycling community to get together and not only enjoy some drinks and good company, but to see Tom again, since many of them hadn’t seen him since his parting ways with Bicycles Plus.
Everyone arrived early as planned, and Tom showed up earlier than I had planned (Of course) to a packed house. I figured he would know something was up when he saw the road lined with dozens of cars and a rather strange crew of folks attending a movie night. Usually it’s just our small crew, but this place was filled with cycling club members, some of whom only ride road bikes, friends, and customers of the shop. He told me afterwards that he did think something was up, but he had no idea what was really going on!
Once we were all settled (using that term loosely), I began by giving a little speech about how we all got together to see Tom again and since we had such a big group, we had decided to get him a little something to say we missed him.
I enlisted the help of Tom’s daughter, Abby, to go into a back room and bring Tom out a cloth grocery bag with a 5-pack of Harp Lager in it. Why 5? Well of course I had to make it look like something was missing from the package (Not to mention I had gotten thirsty waiting for him!) so I asked lola to go back into the room to see if she could find the rest of the gift. That’s when she rolled out his real present.
I asked Sally Gionet, a good friend and now Sales Manager at BP, to help me out with the project and she crafted a beautiful set of custom ribbon streamers for the bike, each one bearing the name of one of the donors. On top of this, I framed a copy of the original email I sent to the donors, including some of the nice comments they sent back and a full list of the donors. Just something for him to remember.
If you know Tom, you’ll know he’s very rarely speechless! Well folks, he was blown away! He sat with a beer in one hand and the bike held up with the other for ten minutes just staring at the bike and around the room while we clapped, his mouth opening and closing like a gasping fish with no sound coming out.
I think I even saw a tear or two! Mission accomplished!
After I sat down to read the contents of the email to everyone, we all signed the poster and hung out for a few hours to talk to Tom and enjoy the euphoria of the evening. Tom was eventually able to give a little speech, which was over and above considering the shape he was in! I think it was a pretty big shock to him to see how much his friends cared about him in this way. I figure he’ll be reeling from this for a few days!
My heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped me out with this. Especially lola for her generosity and for being such a gracious host. To Sally for helping me out with her crafts skills in making the streamers. To Jeanne Ju for giving up one of her own staff bikes this year to use it for this project. To Adam and Sandrine for helping me out with the picture frame and support along the way. To Mark Sawlor for filming the event. And to everyone who donated to the project to make it possible. There is no way I could have done something like this without you! You are amazing people!
Now all that remains is to get out on the trails and go riding with Tom to help him break in his new ride! I’m sure he will enjoy this bike for many years to come!
My deepest gratitude,
Geoff Murray
Dec
1st
December's Rider of the Month - Tom Kavanagh
By bikergrl
Tom Kavanagh awarding prizes at the 8 Hours of Gore Night Crits
The Propeller Brewing Company/
PedalTrout Rider of the Month for December, Tom Kavanagh, was
nominated by his good friend Geoff Murray. We could
add our own 2 cents worth here but Geoff does a mighty fine
job on his own:
What can I say that you don't already know about this guy? Tom IS mountain
biking in Nova Scotia! Former proprietor of "The Bike People" bike shop in
Halifax, ex-cross-country racer, ride promoter, master trail builder, crazy
bike handler, friend to every cyclist in the province no matter what shop they
are loyal to, fun-loving Irishman and all-around great guy! Tom can barely be
squeezed into one month, he's the rider of the decade!
I have had the pleasure of riding with Tom on a regular basis for the
last three years, and I know we'll be riding buddies for the rest of our
lives. He lives and breathes biking! He is an active member of Bicycles
Plus Cycling Club and not only runs their weekly mountain bike rides, he
also puts on their points series race, A-GORE-Aphobia in Gore every year
and does a heck of a job!
Only getting his driver's license when he turned 40 to be better able to
drive his new daughter around, he has lived on his bike for most of his
life. He is connected with every generation of cyclist in the province,
from senior racers and enthusiasts to children of all ages. He is a
certified commissaie and routinely volunteers his time to officiate at
local cross-country and downhill races. He has been a card-carrying
member of IMBA for many years and is an experienced trail builder. One
of the few 'Master" trail elves we have here! He is also the mastermind
behind the Shubie Park Ice Races held every year on Lake Charles,
getting cyclists of all ages out and riding even when the weather is
miserable!
Tom loves nothing more that to bring his faithful dog, Fergus, out to
Spider Lake any evening of the week and hammer the young bucks into the
ground for hours. We call him "Mad Skillz" Kavanagh for his abillity to
stay upright and pedaling through the gnarliest terrain! You can always
count on him to join you for a post-ride "beverage" usually in the Irish
Ale variety, and keep the conversation bright and filled with
bike-related ideas!
I could go on and on and still never come close to covering all that Tom
has done for the sport in Nova Scotia. Someday he'll receive a lifetime
acheivement award for his contributions, but for now, I'd like him to be
the December "Rider-of-the-Month" on PedalTrout.
Thanks for the submission, Geoff, we'll be sending Tom some Propeller Beer
and if you're lucky he just might share it with you!
Know somebody who you think should be Rider of the Month? Drop us a line
and tell us why. Include a photo if you can!
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