Valley shop owner donates bike to fire victim

Seven-time Tour de France winner, cycling great and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong turned a South Shore teen's nightmare into a dream come true Thursday with a stroke of a pen at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.

Garrett Singer - a budding road bike rider - had been preparing to do at least two passes of the Death Ride slated for Saturday.

But on June 24, the 13-year-old's life changed when the raging Angora fire swept through his North Upper Truckee neighborhood - consuming 3,100 acres, the family's Pyramid Circle home and the boy's bike in its path. The fire was so hot it melted the chain and gears of his old K2 bike together.

The boy's life changed again when Armstrong, before teeing off for the American Century Championship, signed a new Trek bike at a press conference announcing expanded fire relief donations from the golf tournament ending Sunday. The bike was donated by Keith Hart of Big Daddy's Bicycles and Fitness shop in Gardnerville.

"Anybody have an Allen wrench?" the teen asked, ready to hop on his new bike.

His parents - Harold and Pam Singer - were beaming knowing what the gesture meant to their grieving son. Armstrong was the subject of the boy's fifth-grade project, which resulted in a mosaic of his hero. The mosaic was burned in the fire.

"This has been the first smile and real joy I've seen from him since the fire," Garrett's mother said. "He may not ride it. He might just keep it in his room."

A teary-eyed Singer looked at the Armstrong-autographed yellow cap she was holding.

"I just bought this for him before I knew about all this," she said.

Further, Singer commended the family friend, local architect Alan Tolhurst, for arranging the philanthropic event. Tolhurst had sent an e-mail to NBC to inform management of the family's hardship.

Hart said he was contacted by the tournament officials on behalf of Armstrong to purchase a Trek bike.

"I said, 'I'll just donate it,'" Hart said.

The red-orange mountain bike is worth about $800, Hart said.

"The kid was pretty surprised," Hart said. "He thought he was just going to get an autograph."

Hart said his shop was contacted, because his is the only one in the area that sells Trek bicycles, Armstrong's sponsor.

"It was kind of happenstance we got the call," Hart said. "It was just the best."

Hart had met Armstrong briefly on a couple of occasions, but Thursday they had a chance to talk.

"I invited him on a mountain bike ride," he said. "I wanted to take him on the Tahoe Rim Trail, but he had to leave right after the tournament."

Armstrong knows hardship as well. He equated the grieving and loss at the hands of fire to getting a cancer diagnosis like he did years ago - the inspiration for his best-selling book, "It's Not About the Bike." In the book, Armstrong talks through the peaks and valleys of his life as a cancer survivor.

"Everything is fine, and then a bomb comes along, and rocks your world," he told the media in the conference. Armstrong declared his allegiance to giving to charity and donating to local causes.

Philanthropic efforts have extended their reach at the golf tournament this year -- including a planned telethon of sorts with a special report from NBC on the devastation.

"Our first reaction was: 'How can we help?'" NBC Director of Development Gary Quinn told the media. He admitted the broadcasting company struggled with the sensitivity of the disaster and expressed doubts about even holding the tournament. But business officials "were adamant we have to show the world" the fire didn't burn the whole town, and those affected are in recovery.

Tailoring charitable efforts with Armstrong as athlete and dedicated cancer survivor proved to be a given for the title sponsor, broadcaster, organizers and golf course - which experienced a fan fest when Armstrong made his first appearance last year.

Armstrong's golf swing showed improvement this Thursday on the 4th hole. He summoned a curve shot that landed in an ideal spot on the green, prompting fans to acknowledge the performance.

"Nice shot Lance," one yelled.

Even the Carson City Sheriff's deputy added: "That's the mojo."

While engaged in a tit-for-tat with Armstrong from the year before, basketball great and ultimate teaser Charles Barkley had a few of his own words for Armstrong - who apparently stole the thunder last year.

"I wish people would stop calling him the greatest athlete in the world," he joked.

It's not about the golf, Charles.

- Tribune staff writer William Ferchland contributed to this report.