Did anyone notice that Jim Ochowicz's daughter raced as a speed skater in the Winter Olympics that just concluded? A number of good American cyclists from the 7 Eleven era got their start as skaters, I suppose because they used cycling to train in the off-season.
I was fortunate to meet a number of the 7 Eleven guys the first year Hampsten was on the team when they were present for the opening of a Wheels in Motion bike shop in Dallas. I got autographed cards from Hampsten, and my two young sons used to keep them on their nightstands next to their beds the way some kids displayed baseball cards.
The team raced in a criterium at the State Fair of Texas in October of, oh, 1984 or 1985. The course took them through a parking lot and on the sidewalk in front of the Cotton Bowl. To get over the curb in front of the stadium, asphalt was packed down to construct a makeshift "ramp". Everytime the pack went by, a couple of guys would rush out with brooms to sweep up the scattered clumps of asphalt, and try to repack the ramp. Ron Kiefel won, but I kept hearing people in the crowd ask "Where's Eric Heiden?" as he was the only guy most non-cyclists knew by name. Heiden wasn't there that day.