Christian Vande Velde chats with hometown fans at Garmin Chicago
Adding to a rich history of engaging events – from running clubs to geocaching seminars to an aviation gathering that featured a full airplane (sans wings) squeezed into the store – Garmin Chicago tapped into the holiday spirit of Michigan Avenue this week by hosting hometown pro cyclist Christian Vande Velde and raffling jerseys and giving away shirts to an auditorium full of his fans. The informal discussion ranged from his training diet ("I eat a lot.") to his plans to race Tour of California over Giro d'Italia ("I've left plenty of skin on the roads of Italy.") to looming roster decisions for star-studded Garmin-Cervelo's classics and grand tours ("Director Matt White is going to have some tough choices and many sleepless nights…but that's a great problem to have."). One of the best questions came from a young girl in the front row, who sweetly and simply asked "How often do you get on your bike?" When Christian replied "Every day," the toddler's eyes got wide before she got a little too shy to answer when he asked the same question back to her.
Christian's quick sense of humor was showcased throughout the evening, first apologizing for sounding like a commercial every time he talked about how much he enjoys using a Garmin Edge in his training, and later in acting as a good luck charm. "Break a leg, Tram," was the message that one autograph seeker wanted on a resume, explaining "she has a job interview tomorrow." And when one guy requested two autograph cards, one for himself and the other for Emily, Christian asked if Emily was his girlfriend. The guy's quiet reply was "Possibly. Could be." After posing for a quick picture, he and Christian had a great exchange: "Good luck this year." "Thanks, good luck with Emily."
There were too many great moments to retell here, but watch for more from Jake from Garmin, Mark from Slipstream Sports and David from Pace of Chicago.
The post Christian Vande Velde chats with hometown fans at Garmin Chicago appeared first on Garmin Blog.
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