ABOUT the TLC Crew

Who is the TLC Crew?

Mike Stewart

Mike Stewart, Giant Account Executive for the San Francisco Bay Area…
My love affair with bicycles started when I was about 11. To me the bicycle represented freedom and opened up all kinds of opportunities for me as a kid and it continues to do the same for me to this day. I started working at my local bike shop when I turned 13. At retail I have pretty much have done it all, swept the floors, built bikes, mechanic, and store manager. I have been on the road as a rep for just over 15 years and I have been with Giant for 10 of those years. Working for Giant is amazing! Giant is like a great big ol’ extended family to me. I’m so thankful that I get to represent Giant and do what I do every day! I first started racing when I was 13, I raced BMX competitively for about 11 years, ultimately turning pro and having a few good years as a pro before calling it quits..I have raced several other styles, including road, mountain XC, 4X, dual slalom, and most recently pump track and Giant slalom. These days most of my riding does not include racing, I spend most of my time riding for fun with my son Will… We both share this love for dirt jumping, pump tracking, and DH riding… I even put a pump track in my backyard this summer..Good times… Giant’s marketing team tells us to Ride Life, I can honestly say I do..

Kim Cress Kim comes from outside the bike industry but her love for Tara is unstoppable. Kim started out shaping berms and cleaning up the track at Sandhill for Race for Tara 3. Soon after that, she became more involved with the behind the scenes work of the event with her husband, Daniel. Now, Kim helps with Volunteer Coordiantion and is an acting board member of Tara Llanes Classic non-profit organization.

Monica Davis

Born and raised in the Seattle area, I began my cycling career on a BMX bike from Fred Meyer – all blacked out, with black and white checker board patterned pads.  In the spirit of BMX Bandit’s, and Nicole Kidman, we had a gang of three – red/white, and blue/white checker board padded bikes respectively.  We rode dirt jumps, and pedaled all over town, and on the weekends, I delivered newspapers across town.  While I was pretending to be a pro BMX racer, Tara was learning to tear up the track. In 2005, I met Tara while working Sea Otter, in Monterey California, for Michelin – the race rig for Giant Bicycle’s was partnered with Michelin at the time.  Tara’s friendliness made it easy to get to know her, and of course as one of very few women in the industry, we became fast friends.  Now working for Giant, and helping where I can with the TLC Crew, we continue to have a friendship that has lasted years – I look forward to continued success of Tara Llanes Classic for its contributions to the Reeve Irvine Center, and support of the sport no matter your level or abilities – it’s about riding, racing, and advocacy for spinal chord research.

Daniel Cress

Being in the bicycle industry for 20 years, it was not hard to hear of Tara’s success in the racing circuit. Herself and a short list of talented athletes were carrying the torch and bringing a whole new dynamic to an industry that was literally starving for female athletes. This was before “women’s specific” bikes, saddles, geometry, etc even existed. So getting to actually meet Tara personally before her accident was especially important because it paved the way to creating a much stronger drive for me to get involved with the Tara Llanes Classic that we know today.
The first installment of Tara Llanes Classic, formerly known as Race for Tara, was held at the aging Sand Hill Ranch in Brentwood Ca.shortly after Tara’s accident. The pivotal moment was when the the organizers put Tara’s phone call on the microphone so all the riders could hear Tara thanking them. There wasn’t a dry eye in sight. That moment was magic. Everyone there knew that this was a unique moment and was something truly special.
So when the months ticked by, my interest in the next event was growing. When is Race for Tara 2 coming up? Still at Sand Hill? After a few phone calls to the bike park I found out there wasnt a race planned and in fact the actual bike park was being considered to be closed forever!! What?? No race? Hell no. Something inside me clicked. I couldnt let this happen. I had to do whatever it took to make sure the that the event would continue. So I made a few calls, found out the the track needed to be groomed and fixed up. If that happens then the promoters would host the next event. So I grabbed my shovel and got out there and started working on the track. I called my buddies and even got my wife out there to help me out. Needless to say, Race for Tara 2 did happen and it was awesome.
So the rest is history. With the event being held at Northstar, its just gotten huge. We are just six friends working together to do somethng special. With the help of our sponsors and the Northstar crew, we’ve tapped into an energy that makes the impossible possible. We never thought that dusty, track back in 2007 would grow into what is now and what we want it to be. The sky’s the limit.

Tara Llanes

Brian Bolin

Elladee Brown

Wendy Brown

Barbara Llanes