Victory lap: Auburn cycling club honors local bike shop for longtime support

Dan Tebbs has been a supporter of the Sierra Foothills Cycling Club of Auburn since its beginning. He was part of the small group that supported Joe Hernandez's idea to start the club in February 2010. Tebbs continues to support the cycling club 14 years later as its membership has climbed to more than 300. He most recently hosted Sierra Foothills' Christmas party, attended by more than 80 people, at his Victory Velo shop on Lincoln Way in Downtown Auburn, and club members decided to honor him. Hernandez had an original club jersey framed, and a group of cyclists made a formal presentation to Tebbs on Monday morning at Victory Velo. Said Hernandez, "I bought that jersey there and I outgrew it." After hanging at CAC Fit in Auburn, where Hernandez was cycling instructor for several years, he took the jersey home, but it "didn't fit anywhere in my house. I'm talking to Larry (Matz) and Dan, so here, 14 years later, it's coming back to where it really should be, in Dan's shop." Said Matz, a club member, "Because Dan has been such a longtime supporter of the club, we're presenting it to him and he's going to put it on the wall to publicize the club and we want to recognize Dan's involvement." Cycling club member Don Baldwin joined the club about 2½ years ago, and he found a new bike shop – Victory Velo – when the Auburn shop said they'd have his bike fixed up "if you can wait 15 minutes." His shop in Folsom – now his former shop – told him he'd have to leave his bike "a couple weeks." "(Tebbs) makes customers very happy. He's loyal, and he makes a business thrive … so I just want to commend you for that," Baldwin said to Tebbs. "You figured that out long, long ago, that's why you've been so successful here in Auburn." Said Tebbs, "The club has always supported me, so I'm giving back. It's a great club. These guys are doing good work in the community and helping cycling grow. It's a good thing."