Yesterday, I wrote about how Eddy Mercx's ride to his first Tour de France victory was overshadowed by Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon.
Well, as it turns out, that day--20 July 1969--isn't the only connection between "The Cannibal," who left his competition in the dust, and the fellow who stepped off the Eagle into the lunar dust.
What Mercx's and Armstrong's (and Buzz Aldrin's and Michael Collins') journeys had in common were the vehicles that took them to their places in history.
By now, you might be wondering whether I've partaken of one of the substances consumed at another watershed event of 1969: Woodstock. I assure you, though, that the Kessels bike Eddy rode and the Apollo 11 spacecraft both had the same hand involved in them. Well, sort of.
That mano is Tullio Campagnolo's. Yes, the same uomo who designed the hubs, brakes, cranks, derailleurs and other major parts for the bike Eddy rode to the finish line also designed--and made--the chassis for a 1969 NASA satellite. It's not the same craft that took the astronauts to another world. But, certainly, much of the same technology and techniques were involved--and Tullio had a hand in them.
How many other people can say they helped to put men on the moon and get men (and women) over the finish line--in race cars as well as on bikes and motorcycles?
Well, as it turns out, that day--20 July 1969--isn't the only connection between "The Cannibal," who left his competition in the dust, and the fellow who stepped off the Eagle into the lunar dust.
What Mercx's and Armstrong's (and Buzz Aldrin's and Michael Collins') journeys had in common were the vehicles that took them to their places in history.
By now, you might be wondering whether I've partaken of one of the substances consumed at another watershed event of 1969: Woodstock. I assure you, though, that the Kessels bike Eddy rode and the Apollo 11 spacecraft both had the same hand involved in them. Well, sort of.
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| Tullio Campagnolo (center) in front of NASA OSO 6 satellite, for which he built the chasis (1969). |
That mano is Tullio Campagnolo's. Yes, the same uomo who designed the hubs, brakes, cranks, derailleurs and other major parts for the bike Eddy rode to the finish line also designed--and made--the chassis for a 1969 NASA satellite. It's not the same craft that took the astronauts to another world. But, certainly, much of the same technology and techniques were involved--and Tullio had a hand in them.
How many other people can say they helped to put men on the moon and get men (and women) over the finish line--in race cars as well as on bikes and motorcycles?
