cupworthy

In the summer of 2013 I went to see a couple of stages of the USA Pro Challenge bike race in Breckenridge, Colorado.  While I was there I was lucky enough to meet my favorite rider, Jen Voigt, and give him a cup I had made with a a bike and orange stripes (because he gets the most courageous rider award every day!).  He was so nice and took the cup, gave me a water bottle and my son a Radioshack Leopard Trek hat (that he loves and hardly ever takes off).  It made my day/year/decade that he just took the cup!  Today I found out, via a friend that follows him on twitter that he is actually using the cup.  And he loves coffee!

This is what he said via twitter: “aahh the friendly lady with that coffee mug! Ha a lot of coffees already in that mug. A million thanks again!!”

In many ways I like to imagine my pots living a good life and  being enjoyed when they are sent off into the world.  It makes me very happy to know that this particular cup is living a life in Jens’ hands.

So…I just recently discovered that Jens also tweeted about the cup the day I gave it to him.  He took this picture himself.

The story continues as this past summer I sent a cup, made especially for Jens, to my very good and dear friend who lives in Breckenridge who had agreed to find Jens and get this cup to him.  The 2014 USA Pro Cycling Challenge was Jens’ last race as professional and it meant a lot to me to get another cup in his hands.  Although my friend was not able to meet Jens and give him the cup personally he made friends with the head tech on the Trek Factory Racing bus who promised to make sure Jens got the cup.  He did and he tweeted about it the next day!

I hope that as Jens enjoys his retirement he will drink his coffee out of these cups and be reminded how much he was loved and admired by his fans and how much he inspires me with his passion for life and the way he seems to make the most of every moment- even the painful ones.

Giving the cups to Jens started something.  It began the designation of being “cupworthy”.  A cupworthy cyclist is not necessarily one that wins races.  To be cupworthy, one must be courageous, thoughtful, a great teammate, inspiring, kind, funny, generous and give the impression that they would appreciate the gift of a handmade cup.  It is also helpful if I hear in interviews that the person likes to read and also appreciates a good cup of coffee or tea. 

Over the years, more cups have been bestowed on riders. 

Frankie Andreu has received two cups.  One at the Tour of California and one when he was radio commentating on the Air Force Cycling Classic in my neighborhood.  If a cupworthy cyclist comes to my neighborhood- they get a cup. 

Tony Martin received a cup at the World Championships in Richmond. His cup has a Panzer on it. When I handed it to him he said, “It has a Panzer on it.”

Mick Rogers also got a cup at the World Championships in Richmond. He also gave my son a hat- which was very nice of him.

Richard Moore, one of the hosts of The Cycling Podcast received a cup for helping me get a cup to Joe Dombrowski. Joe was deemed cupworthy after watching him race in a Giro and listening to his diaries and interviews on the podcast. He got bonus points for being from Virginia.

Rusty (Michael) Woods received a cup after a suggestion from Richard Moore- which was a very good suggestion.

Last summer as I was watching the Tour de France and seeing Jens Voigt commentate I sent him a tweet asking him if he still has the cups I had given him. His reply: “Hell yeah i still have em”. Yes. Cupworthy.