Shopper Blog: LeMond bike startup recruits local talent

HALLS

LeMond bike startup recruits local talent

Ali James, Shopper News

LeMond Bicycles “is an amazing company to work for,” said Fountain City resident Sonja Hill.

If the name sounds familiar, the founder, Greg LeMond, is a three-time Tour de France winner and has turned his knowledge, entrepreneurial and innovative skills to the design of ultralight e-Bikes.

Hill was working at the University of Tennessee and not looking to change jobs when a Minnesota recruiter contacted her. “I read the job description and thought it sounded fun.”

Hill joined the company last May as financial controller and director of human resources. Because it is a startup, “we all wear several hats,” Hill said. “My professional history is accounting, human resources and manufacturing. Several of us have taken up marketing; someone has to do it.

LeMond bikes are not available in bicycle shops. Customers order online, and they are assembled and distributed directly from the West Knoxville headquarters.

Lemond and his wife, Kathy, spent 14 years living in Europe during his racing career, riding Dutch bikes around town, leading to LeMond’s lighter remake of the classic bike that features a larger, soft seat and upright riding position.

LeMond moved to Greenback in 2017 and founded LeMond Composites, bringing on board technology partners from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. LeMond holds licenses to two innovative, patented carbon fiber technologies that have global applications in transportation, renewable energy and infrastructure markets.

And, yes, bicycle frames.

Production started in November 2020 and the first bikes rolled out in April 2021. “There is a demand; we get European orders and from all over the U.S.,” Hill said.

LeMond bikes may have been created by a Tour de France winner, but they are for the everyday person, according to Hill. “They are pedal assist, so you still have to pedal,” she said. “For those who like to commute or want exercise but need the pedal-assist, there is a wide range of people that buy them.”

What sets LeMond apart from some other electric bikes is that they weigh just 27 pounds.

“If you commute by bike in Seattle and New York you can carry them into your apartment. You can’t do that with others that weigh 50-70 pounds,” Hill said.

A Bearden couple purchased LeMond e-Bikes to cycle downtown at their leisure. “We have got a group of four to five ladies in Townsend who bought and ride them together,” Hill said. “A gentleman in Pigeon Forge bought 20 and he rents them out.”

New Dutch and Prolog e-Bike models start at $4,795.

“You can get a bike and get on it for the price that is listed,” Hill said. “You can add electronic shifting, lighter carbon wheelset and other accessories such as carbon-fiber racks, baskets and water bottle cages, a small computer to tell you how much battery you have left and how far you have ridden. We are also going to have saddle bags under the seat for a phone or a drink and a bell. Just things you don’t need, you just want.”

LeMond Bicycles offer white glove delivery. “The bike comes mostly assembled, slotted into the base of the box and it just slides out,” Hill said. “They explain how to use it; you’re not getting a manual and just having to look at that.”

Soon LeMond will be rolling out their road, then gravel and adventure bikes.

Eventually, he wants it to be a “100% USA-made bicycle,” Hill said.

Kim Cox, also a former UT employee, came on board with Hill as a sourcing agent. “I do the sourcing, purchasing and inventory for LeMond,” said Cox, who lives in Halls.

When asked about supply chain issues, Cox said she was not at LeMond at the height of the pandemic. “We are rolling out bikes and people are getting them,” she said. “Depending on color, model and size, it takes around two to eight weeks because we are waiting on different frames. The small one seems to be popular, but there are many different combinations.”

Cox and Hill just returned from a promotional event in Florida. “In Florida they may never get out of the first level, while here in Tennessee you are more likely to adjust to the medium level,” Hill said.

LeMond can usually be found a half-mile away from the company’s headquarters in his Research and Development facility designing and stress-testing the components himself. “He is involved in the R&D and touches all of the bikes himself,” Hill said.

POWELL

Suspense novelist wins book award on first try

Al Lesar, Shopper News

Little did Audra (Level) McElyea realize that one night in 2017 when she went to bed, she would wake up with an award-winning novel in her mind.

The 2002 Powell High School graduate had struggled as a writer. While raising sons — now ages 8 and 5 — with her husband, Daniel, a structural engineer whose work means several moves for the family, Audra started her first book (“When Lilies Bloom”) in 2012 and finished it in 2016.

Her second attempt was much different.

“The entire book played out in a movie during a dream,” McElyea said. “It was crazy. It was a Johnny Depp movie, but I changed the main character to a woman so I could relate better.”

Once she woke from the dream, having watched the suspense story all the way through the resolution, she hurriedly typed in notes in her phone.

From there, “One Little Word” took a month to create. After five years working through the agent/publisher process, it was finally released Feb. 22.

Hitchcock influence

The Sequoyah Hills neighborhood of Knoxville is the backdrop for McElyea’s fiction suspense story. Powell and Karns are also used. One of the teasers for the book is: Reporter Allegra Hudson (at fictional TV station WKNX) writes about murder. Now, she is a victim.

Just to get an idea, some of the characters are “Pervert Perry,” a quirky schoolteacher, and the “Queen Bee of Knoxville.”

“I’ve always been obsessed with Alfred Hitchcock,” she said of the renowned mystery writer. movie director. “There are nods to (Hitchcock’s hit thriller) ‘Vertigo,’ which is my favorite.

“My work is more suspense than thriller. There’s nothing gory in my story. Everything is left to the imagination.”

Somebody liked the way McElyea told her story. Before the book was ever released, she learned it had won the Indies Today Award for Best Thriller of 2021. “Indies” refer to mid-size publishers.

“I screamed,” McElyea said of her reaction to opening the email with the announcement.

“My family thought I was hurt.

“I’m always mentally prepared for bad reviews. So far, this book hasn’t had any bad reviews and it’s already won a contest.”

Endless persistence

A majorette at Powell High School and the University of Tennessee, McElyea got her degree in consumer services management. She was a corporate buyer for clothes and jewelry but moved a lot with her husband.

She found that writing could be done from anywhere.

Over the years, she wrote when her two boys were taking naps and now while they’re at school. Most of her creativity is harnessed at an antique postmaster’s desk from a railroad station in Halls.

“I’ve had so much rejection,” said McElyea, who has a couple other novels in the works. “It really requires endless persistence. You get down, then bounce back. The bounce is faster now.

“I’ve learned to try not to edit as I write. The first draft can be horrible. That’s OK. If it’s full of potholes, that can be fixed. You can’t edit a blank page.”

“One Little Word” can be purchased on audio book, e-book and paperback from Amazon, Apple, Google and Barnes & Noble.

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FARRAGUT

Euphoric Cheese Shop celebrates 'quite a year'

Nancy Anderson, Shopper News

Euphoric Cheese Shop in Farragut was hopping at its one-year anniversary celebration Saturday, Feb. 19.

“It’s been quite a year,” said co-owner Cheri Intveld. Intveld spent the later part of 2021 battling cancer. Having finished her therapy in December, she said she’s feeling great.

“The year has been about embracing things. Whether it’s about embracing the community or the community embracing us and embracing help. Our plan was for just the two of us to work the shop ourselves and not hire anyone, but we needed help when I got diagnosed.

“It’s been fun and the community has been great. We’re so appreciative of the people who support us.”

Asked about being a woman-owned business, Intveld said it wasn’t about being a minority, it’s about offering the best service to their customers.

“Being a part of the shop has been really fun. We’re a minority, but we really don’t realize it. We’re just out here doing our thing and focusing on our customers. We want to support other woman-owned businesses like Tree Top Coffee.

“You just have to embrace it and go with it. We are who we are and we’re just going to do the best job we can do for our customers.”

Co-owner Amy Burritt said the shop grew exponentially through last year, having started with about 40 cheeses. The shop now offers well over 100 varieties from around the world.

“Our claim to fame is that people can just come in and sample so many different cheeses from around the world. Our charcuterie boards to go have been super popular. We also help people build their own charcuterie boards. We help them select crackers, and meats to go with the cheeses they’ve selected. It becomes an experience,” Burritt said.

Intveld and Burritt made sure the anniversary celebration was an event. Tree Top Coffee set up their mobile bar in the parking lot offering free coffee to the first 100 customers. The fresh coffee aroma was distinct and welcoming.

Inside the shop, Angie Cook from Cooks on the Curb was on hand with her pimento cheese spread. She had all the popular flavors on hand and made a special Cherry Chipotle flavor available only at Euphoric Cheese Shop.

There were numerous giveaways including gift cards and swag from Visit Farragut.

Winners included Brittney Fleetwood, who won a $50 gift card to Studio 135 Salon. Robert Burns won a $25 gift card to The Happy Envelope, and Alex Robertson won a $25 gift card to Fruition Café.

Euphoric Cheese Shop is at 139 West End Avenue in the West End Shopper Center. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday.

Info: www.EuphoricCheeseShop.com; 865-392-1199.

BEARDEN

1960s Highway Patrol building closes, ending an era on Kingston Pike

John Shearer, Shopper News

The end of an era recently came for the area of Kingston Pike across from West Town Mall.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol headquarters that has been located there since the mid-1960s — and even predated the mall by several years — has closed.

A new and larger facility at 1755 Neals Commerce Lane off the Strawberry Plains exit of Interstate 40 opened on Jan. 31, the second newer headquarters to open across the state behind one in Jackson. The last day for the West Knoxville location was Jan. 25.

While the West Knoxville Highway Patrol building was long part of the visual landscape of that part of town, it is also part of the psyche of many Knoxville residents. Although the public foot traffic there in recent years was lighter through people primarily obtaining just crash reports, for its first few decades it was the place you went to get tested to receive a driver’s license.

Many a Knoxville area 16-year-old had his or her moment of truth there before separate facilities for those services were later opened.

“I remember going there to get my learner’s permit and driver’s license,” said longtime West Hills resident Nancy Richer, who is now in her 60s. “Sorry to see it go.”

Retired Maj. Cheryl Sanders, who worked with the THP out of the headquarters beginning in 1983 and served until her retirement in 2020, is also a little sentimental about the end of an era for the location.

“It was just like home for us,” she said. “I am sad to see it go.”

She said the THP had been looking for a new place for years, and that and the fact that the West Town Mall area is so prime for commercial real estate development prompted the move.

Among her memories of the building are of monthly meetings of the Fraternal Order of Police there, the Christmas gatherings with staff, and even the blizzard of 1993, when the call load was overwhelming before automation.

“A trooper had to help answer the phones, and the call load was unreal,” she said.

She also recalled the green lights and red lights on a wall that would tell if a trooper was available or tied up or off duty before the dispatch system was moved elsewhere.

According to some old newspaper stories, the Kingston Pike facility was built to replace the former THP headquarters located where the road connecting Interstate 40 and Alcoa Highway was being built. An artist’s rendering of the new facility in the Knoxville newspaper in early April 1965 showed the design by architect Sam Good of Good and Goodstein, whose offices were at 825 North Central.

It was designed in the classic midcentury style with a long one-story layout, fine smoothed stone over part of the exterior, uniquely shaped vertical windows, a glass entrance, and light-colored brick.

The caption said the new facility would feature offices for the Highway Patrol and something called the Tennessee Bureau of Identification, communications, a fallout shelter, a kitchenette and sleeping quarters for four troopers, driver’s license examination facilities, a squad room, and a radio repair shop.

It was also to have parking for about 75 cars, a heliport and a large antenna.

When the building was completed in the spring of 1966, another photograph showed Lt. Mitchell Moody examining a center console, where a dispatcher could talk to 50 trooper cars in an 11-county region by radio or phone.

The building was officially dedicated on July 27, 1966. On hand for the ceremonies were Gov. Frank Clement, Commissioner of Safety Greg O’Rear, and former U.S. Sen. Herbert Walters, for whom the building was named.

Walters was appointed to serve the remaining Senate term of Estes Kefauver after his 1963 death. Born in Jefferson County and educated at Carson-Newman University and the University of Tennessee, the building honoree had made money in road building before entering politics. Walters died in 1973 and was buried in Emma Jarnagin Cemetery in Morristown.

Regarding the old Kingston Pike site, where a car with a giant nail in it sat in recent years to warn teenagers of the dangers of drinking and driving, Sanders assumes the property has already been sold, although she said she is not completely sure. The sale no doubt will add to the state coffers, although it is not known if a developer would want to save the retro building constructed during the days of the Vietnam War and the space race.

Also likely to add richness in terms of recollections are the many stories of how the building served the Knoxville area state troopers and community for the last 55-plus years.

“It’s a really cool building with a lot of good memories,” Sanders said.

POWELL

Claxton crafter finds niche with barn quilt art

Al Lesar, Shopper News

For starters, let it be known that there is no need for a barn in order to create, appreciate, purchase or display barn quilt paintings.

“There are no barn quilt police,” said Coleen Miller of Claxton, who is one of the few crafters in East Tennessee who focuses on the genre. “If someone enjoys it, it can be done anywhere.”

Miller began in the medium 10 years ago in order to bring attention to her husband’s chainsaw carving business. Now, about 400 barn quilt paintings later, she understands the reality of the venture.

Coleen and her husband, Ross, live at 131 Creek Road in Claxton, an off-the-beaten-path location. Her hope was that getting recognized by the Appalachian Quilt Trail would divert some tourists to their home and generate some interest.

“The day after I hung my first painting on our barn we had a car stop,” Coleen said. “Two women pulled in and said, ‘Where can we get one?’”

Won't get rich

Coleen just laughed at the suggestion that she was born to be an artist.

“Growing up, I could never even color within the lines,” she said. “My family couldn’t believe what I was doing.”

The barn quilt painting business is hardly one that is going to make Coleen and Ross rich.

“There’s not a lot of money in it,” she said. “You can’t make a living with it. This is not art, it’s a craft.”

Coleen said the price of the outdoor lumber she uses for a painting has gone up 25%. A 2-foot by 2-foot painting will sell for $75 if it’s sitting in her shop or $95 if it’s custom made. The price goes up incrementally.

Her largest creation, the one she takes most pride in, is an 8-foot by 8-foot square that she donated to the Museum of Appalachia near Norris about five years ago.

“The money I make from barn quilt painting goes toward tithing,” Coleen said. “Whether it’s the church, the pet shelter or homeless, that’s where the profits go.”

'Welcoming Hands'

When a customer contacts Coleen, she said they fall into two categories.

“One type needs a barn quilt painting and they need it tomorrow,” she said. “And one type needs help making a decision. What sort of design do they want?”

Coleen said she has clients from all over the country — New York, Florida, Colorado — as well as in her own backyard.

“One lady who ran a wedding venue in Kodak ordered five or six a few years back,” Coleen said. “She gave them to her clients or her family, but it was nice to see she liked them.”

Besides the Museum of Appalachia, Coleen said she has a painting hanging in the Welcome Center near I-75 in Clinton.

“The painting at the Welcome Center is named ‘Welcoming Hands,’” she said. “All of the paintings have names. They all tell a story.”

She has researched the rumor that years ago, when the Underground Railroad to help slaves escape captivity was popular, a barn quilt painting with black paint in it meant that person was sympathetic and helpful to the cause.

“A lot of people had heard that, but nobody could confirm it,” Coleen said. “It’s something we’ll never know for sure.”

WORDS OF FAITH

Doing one of the hardest things Jesus tells us to do

John Tirro, Shopper News

Last Sunday in worship, we heard one of Jesus’ hardest teachings, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28). It’s a passage that’s been used to keep people in situations they really need to get out of, so I’m going to try not only not to do that, but to offer something helpful.

First, the word translated “love” here doesn’t mean have warm feelings, be passionately attracted, or hold mutual affection. Warm feelings or passionate attraction toward an enemy would not be appropriate and mutual affection is not possible, given the other person’s animosity.

The love Jesus means is not in the emotions at all, but rather an active choice to be concerned for someone’s welfare and to act from that concern, without trying to get something in return. It’s a big ask, but not dangerous or impossible.

Second, though Jesus asks us to be concerned for the other person, his primary concern is not the effect this will have on the other person, but rather the effect on us, as ones hearing his words, considering whether to do as he says, and entertaining the possibility that it’s true, that “the measure you give will be the measure you receive, a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, spilling over” (Luke 6:38).

I do think it’s true. When we remain bound to the pains of the past, they do press down, shake together, and spill into our present.

Unresolved grief, especially when we feel tired, overloaded, under-appreciated, disappointed, or offended, builds up and spills over in actions and attitudes that cause others to feel tired, overloaded, under-appreciated, disappointed, and offended, and the cycle continues until someone is willing to break it.

Jesus asks us to break the chain, to be places in the world where good enters, to give back better than we receive.

A couple more things I hope will help.

First, the things Jesus asks all place distance between us and the offending person. You don’t have to be anywhere near someone, to be concerned about them and act from that concern.

Second, Jesus’ descriptions of the offending people move from the general to the particular, and the closer to home their actions get, the more distanced the responses Jesus asks of us.

Here’s what I mean. “Enemies” and “those who hate you” are broad categories. They could be people you don’t know. Doing good for them could look like voting or picking up trash in a park. It doesn’t mean putting yourself at their disposal.

“Those who curse” or “abuse you” is more personal, and Jesus’ ask is even more distanced. Blessing and praying are things you can do from far away, that remove you, not only from their presence, but also from their influence.

They curse, mistreat, and threaten, inviting you to become like them. You bless and pray, and in so doing, you say no.

John Tirro is pastor of music and campus ministry at St. John’s Lutheran Church. Info: sjlcknox.org.

OPINION

Life goes on after big events

Leslie Snow, Shopper News

It’s something I felt before, so I understood. I understood the emotional letdown that follows a big event, the sense of loss that can creep in after pouring so much energy into one thing for so long. When it’s over, there’s an empty space that takes time to fill, a void in search of the next big thing.

I say that to Amanda when we’re talking on the phone. She tells me her wedding day was a perfect day, that the weekend was everything she ever dreamed it could be, and more.

Then, with a little hitch in her voice she admits, “Now that it’s over it’s over, I’m feeling a little blue. I want to go back and relive the weekend. I want to marry Ethan all over again and take in every moment. It all went by so fast.”

I listen and tell her I understand. I promise the sense of loss she feels will pass in a few weeks. “You’ll get back into work and school. You and Ethan will find a new routine and settle in. You won’t be thinking about the wedding. You’ll be thinking about your life together and your next steps.”

But after we get off the phone, I realize there is more Amanda needs to know. There is more to say about all the years that lie ahead of her. I think back to my own experiences.

I felt that same sense of loss most acutely after Ethan was born. My husband and I had decided three was our magic number. We were going to have three children, not four. I was never going to be pregnant again. I was never going to carry a life inside me or watch a newborn take its first breath. I had moved from my childbearing years to something new and unfamiliar. And I mourned the loss of it.

I mourned my flat stomach and my empty body. I mourned the end of that exquisite expectation, “When will he be born? Who will he look like?” I believed that Ethan’s birth marked the end of the most remarkable phase of my life.

But I was wrong. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I didn’t recognize all the big moments ahead that were still left to live.

I didn’t understand the joy I would feel watching my children grow up. I didn’t know that their milestones would feel like my milestones or that their firsts would be my firsts, too. I didn’t understand the excitement I’d feel over first steps and first days of school. I didn’t know how moving my children’s graduations would be or the excitement I’d feel over learning where they’d go to college.

I didn’t know my children’s weddings would be so meaningful or that having grandchildren would fill my world. I thought giving birth to my last child was an ending, but really, it was a beginning.

That’s what I need to tell Amanda. I need to tell her that her wedding was a beginning, not an end. I need to remind her of all the big things waiting for her in the years to come.

There are a million little milestones ahead of her. There are accomplishments and new careers. There are new cities and new beginnings. There are pregnancies, births, and first steps. There are everyday joys and heartaches that will give her life meaning and purpose.

I want to tell her all that, but I don’t. Because Amanda will need to live those moments herself before she knows that it’s true.

Leslie Snow may be reached at snow column@aol.com.

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