December 20, 2006
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The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside Communications, Inc.

Losing a legend
Dear VeloNews,
I may have missed it, but I am curious why there has been little saidof the sad news of the death of Dong Ngo of The Denver Spoke. He was atrue legend in the bike community. There are countless numbers of riderswho have had the pleasure of being mowed down by the whirlwind of energythat Dong possessed. You might walk into the Spoke with the intention ofjust saying hello or checking out the latest and greatest gear, but beforeyou knew it, you were walking out with a brand new ride!He was a true salesman but he always backed up his talk with qualityand honesty. If you did not like the ride, he would do whatever it tookto make it right. How many riders can remember being measured by the smallwooden dowel with the level bubble mounted on it and the ageless yardstickthat Dong wielded like a sword. Then he would disappear into the shop muttering”Hey man, you friend of Dong, then Dong have bike for you”.He would reappear with some gorgeous ride which would have you muttering”Uh…Dong ….I can’t afford this.” And the answer would always be thesame: “Ahhh..man…don’t worry about the price…Dong take care of you.”He would take care of you, and you would invariably walk out withthe new ride.He was part dealer, part magician and pure Dong. He treated the verywealthy, the racers, and the barely “scraping by” riders all the same.Some days you would come in just to watch a little tennis or some of theTour with him – mostly you just came in to say hello to Dong and the crewat the Spoke. And any time you brought a case of beer in, then there alwaysseemed to be bonus points returned down the road for your thoughtfulnessand gift.He had a quiver of Eddy Merckx – from the new ATM to the “Rasta” paintjob on the Premium – and they were all on display when you walked in thefront door. Just Dong showing off, but in reality he was just setting youup for the next deal.When I brought my wife in for a new ride, I spent most of thedrive down to Denver preparing her for the mini tornado that was Dong.And from that day on, anytime she showed up it was “Hey, woman, how youdoing? You kicking your man’s ass on the bike?” He was always making surethat the bike fit her, tweaking this or that to try to help with the backor neck pains from long rides. And then there would usually be some newgear to check out just in case he had her size in the shop.We lost a true rider and a friend to many. From his younger days flyinghelicopters for South Vietnam, to his tennis, and finally to his love andpassion for bicycling. Dong Ngo will be missed. It was impossible to walkout of the Spoke without a smile anytime Dong was there preaching. Fromall of us may you have endless days of tennis and bikes, beers and laughs.May you rest in peace knowing that you made a tremendous number of customersvery happy.
Sincerely,
Kevin Kelble
ColoradoAn inspiring race
Dear Editor,
Thank you for publishing John Wilcockson’s report on the Coors Classicreunion. I especially appreciate the historical perspective his articleoffers to today’s domestic scene.I was ten years old in 1986, and will never forget seeing Bernard Hinaultsitting on the curb, watching the women’s criterium at the Tivoli in Denver.He was just hanging out, joking around with his
friends. My dad kept saying, “hey, let’s go get your picturetaken with Bernard Hinault!” But I wimped out. I was too damnshy! Until the day he died, my dad never let me live thatone down. Still, I was hooked, and I haven’t wavered in my love forcycling since.A couple years after that, in 1988, I was racing in the Red Zinger MiniClassic. The “Mini Zinger” was an offshoot of the “real” Red Zinger/CoorsClassic, and was an especially well-organized race series
for junior riders in Colorado. The Mini Zinger was hugely influentialfor a number of racers, some of whom went on to great things, and otherslike myself who have managed to make bike racing a fundamental part oftheir lifestyle for many years now. So I would add to the currentretrospective of the Coors Classic that the Mini Zinger (and all its “satellite”races) were ALSO of fundamental importance to the emergence of U.S. bikeracing in the 1980s (and especially the 90s, when we all grew up).And I would like to offer a huge, long-overdue thank you to all those involvedin organizing that race for all us kids brave enough to wear loose spandexshorts during our pre-pubescent years!
Thank you!
Jeffrey Struck
Portland, OregonNo complaints
Dear Velo,
I raced in the B Masters 35+ race at ‘cross nationals. What a greatexperience! Started in the second to last row, oh about a 180 riders fromthe front. The racing was just as fun and as safe as thefront of the race. If you have the engine you could make up most of thoserows in the first half lap. The course was plenty wide enough the wholeway around the course.

My teammate had four mechanicals ( 3 on the pit bike) during the race.He had to finish the race running the last lap. Never once did he complain,he was very excited about being able to race at Nationals. Isn’t that whatit is all about?

Just keep the courses nice and wide so we can all enjoy the nationalsexperience. The racing will take care of itself. Lets encourage more peopleinto our sport.
Greg Hoffman
Shrewsbury, PennsylvaniaClash of the titans
Dear Editor,
I’m really excited now! Lance vs. Floyd at the Leadville 100! All we need now is for “The Kaiser,” Tyler Hamilton and Ivan Basso to sign up and we will have the Tour De France stage of my dreams! But, on mountain bikes! Let’s hope that no one breaksa collarbone! Man, I’m going to have to go buy a tree stand andcooler out for this one!
Brian D. Kuhl
Huntersville, North Carolina

Wednesday’s Mailbag: Friends, heroes and the joy of racing

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