Sign O’ The Times

So Rant made the pilgrimage to the Borders in Wheaton, Illinois to attend the first of two book signings that Floyd Landis is doing in the Chicago area. Driving down, I thought I’d miss the congestion and rush hour traffic. Boy, was I wrong.

Mix some scattered thunderstorms and a few nutty drivers on busy roads and you’ve got a recipe for slow moving traffic. If I’d made it here at Mapquest-calculated speed, I’d have arrived three hours before the start. As it was, I made it with about two hours to go.

Thought it would be jam-packed, given how crowded the reports of the Lancaster, PA booksigning were. But that was Floyd’s hometown peeps, and one could reasonably assume there would be a huge turnout. At this point, it’s about an hour and ten minutes before the signing will begin, and the seats are pretty well full. If you’re just heading out to the store, you’ll be part of the standing-room only crowd.

Talked with a few folks here before the signing. Seems like most people are Floyd supporters, which shouldn’t be too surprising. With any luck, I’ll get a chance to talk with Floyd before the event. Depends on when he gets here, though.

Twenty minutes to showtime and there are easily 100 or more people crowding in the back area of Borders, where Landis will be signing his book. People keep flocking in. A couple of photographers are here, one a writer/photographer for cyclingnews.com, and the other a local freelance shooter. Later, a couple of professionals showed up. Didn’t get a chance to find out where they were from, however.

There’s a wide range of people here, and a wide range of ages from very young children to people who could well be those kids grandparents. A number of fans have brought jerseys and other memorabilia for Floyd to sign.

Landis arrived to a great round of applause from the crowd. And he was in good spirits, looking tanned, smiling and clearly happy with the reception.

About 10 minutes before he got here, Kristin Sohacki, a Borders spokesperson, asked if anyone had a book that they weren’t planning on buying. They’re sold out, even before Landis had walked in the door. Looks like this book signing thing is a good way to generate sales. It’s heartening to see so many people interested in Floyd’s story.

No wonder Positively False is on the New York Times bestseller list. This book tour could well be a shot in the arm for Mr. Floyd’s image.

Floyd spoke for about 5 to 10 minutes before taking questions from the audience. The questions covered a wide range of topics, most related to the hearings, but some not so much. One person asked what Floyd thought of Greg LeMond. Landis handled the question gracefully, saying he didn’t really know LeMond and wouldn’t want to comment on him (except to say that he probably won’t be calling Greg any time soon — which got a big laugh from the crowd).

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my tape recorder and a notebook (just ask my wife, whenever I travel I almost always forget something). Borders being a bookstore and all, I was able to get a notebook, but I’m not able to give you any verbatim quotes.

People getting books signed were given armbands of different colors, depending on when they arrived. Each color had about 40 people, and there were at least 4 different colors of armbands distributed. My final estimate for the total turnout is at least 150 people, perhaps more. A number of people were buying multiple copies of the book, so it wouldn’t surprise me too much if 200 copies sold this evening.

Bottom line on the evening: Even though the rain made getting here challenging, it was most definitely worth the effort. Floyd is a warm, friendly guy who you wouldn’t mind meeting for a beer at the corner pub.

While no one knows when the arbitration panel’s decision will come down, Landis seems confident that no matter what, things will work out. I’m very inclined to agree.

Note: I’ll upload a few of the pictures I took at the book signing when I have some time tomorrow afternoon or evening.