# Most Cool "Pro" Thing To Happen To You



## bmxhacksaw (Mar 26, 2008)

Dr. Massimo (Max) Testa, BMC's team Dr. (also for 7-11, Motorola, and Mapei) lives in Salt Lake City and he comes up to the University of Idaho once a year to do Lactate Threshold testing. So in 2011 I got tested and got his printout on my zones and some training advice. 









Yours Truly

That year I also happened to win the CAT5 Idaho State RR Championship. Later that summer I was down at the Tour of Utah watching the TT at the Larry H. Miller Motorsports complex. All the teams were set up in the pit garages and you could walk through them and check out all the team stuff. So I'm in the BMC "pits" and there is Big George sitting on the trainer warming down and all these other BMC guys and lots of people milling around and I see Dr. Testsa ("Please, it's Max, you Americans are so formal") so I go up to him and say "Hi". Of course, he doesn't remember me but I told him about getting tested at ISU and he lights up and asks me how the training went and I told him I just won the State Championship and he freaks out! He starts yelling at everybody - you know George Hincapie and the rest of Team BMC - "He just won the Idaho State Championship!"

So here I am, a 50 year old, pudgy CAT5, standing in a WorldTour team's pits getting paraded around by a world-class sports doctor like I was somebody. It was embarrassing and totally awesome at the same time.


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## Fireform (Dec 15, 2005)

That is totally cool. I would have probably shat myself.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

Cool. But I don't know if I read that right. Idaho has Cat 5 state championships? Are they broken down by age?

Riding and racing (poorly) with local pros is about as pro as I'll ever be.


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

Does Hincapie really have a Road ID on? I am pretty sure any fan who sees him crash will know who he is without it.


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## bmxhacksaw (Mar 26, 2008)

Local Hero said:


> Cool. But I don't know if I read that right. Idaho has Cat 5 state championships? Are they broken down by age?


Yup..


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Nice story.

Soon there will be so many categories/age groups everyone will be a champion.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

foto said:


> Nice story.
> 
> Soon there will be so many categories/age groups everyone will be a champion.


That's almost how it is at my velodrome. But instead of having several different age categories we had countless events: scratch, points, miss&out, 200m, 500m, kilo, keirin, 2000m pursuit, 3000m pursuit, team pursuits, et cetera. I picked up four state champ titles in 2012. Match sprint was the most challenging but there were only a few rounds. I could have a fifth title in the uncontested 3000m pursuit but I left the track to go race a crit. Oh well, you can only race against the guys who show up.

At the end of last year I entered my second cyclocross race ever, the 3/4 championship. I won. 

In my opinion, State Champion titles matter as much as winning the Tuesday Night Worlds. And I took that prestigious title last night.


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## bmxhacksaw (Mar 26, 2008)

Local Hero said:


> In my opinion, State Champion titles matter as much as winning the Tuesday Night Worlds. And I took that prestigious title last night.


Thanks for bursting my bubble. :ciappa:

I guess all the training I did, the suffering I did, the attacks I covered, the Rule 5'ing I did just when I was about to get shelled out the back on a tough climb at that race was pretty meaningless, huh?


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

bmxhacksaw said:


> Thanks for bursting my bubble. :ciappa:
> 
> I guess all the training I did, the suffering I did, the attacks I covered, the Rule 5'ing I did just when I was about to get shelled out the back on a tough climb at that race was pretty meaningless, huh?


ultimately, yes.

But even if it's meaningless, winning is still fun. Isn't it?


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## RaptorTC (Jul 20, 2012)

Very cool. 

The only "pro" thing I've had happen was probably about 10 years ago and was from a mountain biker. I was a youngin' racing BMX at the time and a family friend contacted John Tomac (who is from my hometown). A little bit later I received a signed poster from John. Nothing too huge, but pretty cool nonetheless.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

bmxhacksaw said:


> Thanks for bursting my bubble. :ciappa:
> 
> I guess all the training I did, the suffering I did, the attacks I covered, the Rule 5'ing I did just when I was about to get shelled out the back on a tough climb at that race was pretty meaningless, huh?


If it's meaningful to you what else is important? And I think you underestimated the relative importance of Tuesday Night Worlds. Some of my best racing takes place during unsanctioned Tuesday night sufferfests. Of course I have memorable sanctioned races but some of my best memories come from Tuesday night and Saturday mornings, riding against all comers from Pros to Cat 5s.


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## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

I think I would have peed my pants if I got that close to Hincapie. OK, maybe not peed my pants, but would have stammered a lot. 

That must have been so exciting for you, bmxhacksaw.


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

bmxhacksaw said:


> Thanks for bursting my bubble. :ciappa:
> 
> I guess all the training I did, the suffering I did, the attacks I covered, the Rule 5'ing I did just when I was about to get shelled out the back on a tough climb at that race was pretty meaningless, huh?


Sandbagger! :biggrin5:


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

bmxhacksaw said:


> Thanks for bursting my bubble. :ciappa:
> 
> I guess all the training I did, the suffering I did, the attacks I covered, the Rule 5'ing I did just when I was about to get shelled out the back on a tough climb at that race was pretty meaningless, huh?


"is important for amateur bike racers to realize how utterly futile and meaningless their endeavors are, and that if they choose to fritter away their lives by "training" for riding around and around in circles then that's their problem. In fact, I'd go a step further and say the same thing is true of professional cyclists--and, at my most cynical, I'd say it's actually true of everybody and everything, that sentience is merely an illusion, and that we're all just dust specks blowing aimlessly through an indifferent cosmos."

- RTMS/BSNYC










my opinion: it sure beats sitting on the couch watching tv.


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## caseyls (Sep 18, 2007)

Mine's a toss up. 

This past December I was invited by Garmin to come out to the Garmin/Sharp training camp. While I was out there I got to ride with the whole team and hang out with them for a couple days. I also got a sweet swag bag. 

3 years ago I was told by my Giant rep he would be supporting the Giant pro riders at the Mellow Johnnies Classic. He told me to find him so I could meet the guys. When I showed, the rep was a bit panicked and told me he needed help in the pit during the race. I ended up passing milk jugs full of cold water to Adam Craig and Carl Decker. A picture of me giving Craig a hand up was on Velonews.


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## Alaska Mike (Sep 28, 2008)

I worked crowd control during the first couple Tour de Trumps. I never watched a single rider go by, even though I was right on the course, as I was more interested in the girls. I don't think I owned a bike at the time, nor did I really consider cycling anything more than what you did before you got your drivers license.

If I had've turned around or noticed who that skinny guy in lycra I just stiff-armed was, I might have had an interesting story to tell.


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## jsedlak (Jun 17, 2008)

Congrats hacksaw, that's pretty legit! Most pro thing that has ever happened to me is when I took off my wind vest without stopping or spilling my brains on the pavement. 



foto said:


> Nice story.
> 
> Soon there will be so many categories/age groups everyone will be a champion.


Not sure if this is serious or not.....

The NJ Cat5 RR Championship is one of the hardest because it's a 100 strong field of guys who could easily be in the Cat3 field but won't ever upgrade all looking to win the flattest road race in the history of bike racing.


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## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

caseyls said:


> Mine's a toss up.
> 
> This past December I was invited by Garmin to come out to the Garmin/Sharp training camp. While I was out there I got to ride with the whole team and hang out with them for a couple days. I also got a sweet swag bag.


Holy fack, did you get to ride with Ryder? Now that would be my dream!


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## jspharmd (May 24, 2006)

Hacksaw, that is an awesome story!

IMO, your Cat 5 RR win was just as important as the Cat 1 RR win. Although, the elitist mentality in road racing would differ, not realizing that the Cat 5 race fees are what subsidize the ever so important payout for the the Cat 1s.


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

I was at the Tour of California one year and some team car driver told me to, and I quote, "Get the hell out of the way".

It was cool.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

jspharmd said:


> Hacksaw, that is an awesome story!
> 
> IMO, your Cat 5 RR win was just as important as the Cat 1 RR win. Although, the elitist mentality in road racing would differ, not realizing that the Cat 5 race fees are what subsidize the ever so important payout for the the Cat 1s.


well...

Ultimately this is true. None of this is actually "important", in the big scheme of things. But, Cat 1s may have loftier goals within the competitive cycling world than having fun and bragging rights. And it takes a lot more work to win at that level than at the cat 5.


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## jspharmd (May 24, 2006)

foto said:


> well...
> 
> Ultimately this is true. None of this is actually "important", in the big scheme of things. But, Cat 1s may have loftier goals within the competitive cycling world than having fun and bragging rights. And it takes a lot more work to win at that level than at the cat 5.


And that makes it more important? I would agree, it takes more time, more focus, and more effort, but it doesn't make it any more important. Belittling the achievements of a Cat 5 doesn't encourage them to come out and race again (I mean who cares? Right?) and it doesn't help the sport. Everyone was a Cat 5 at some point and success here is one thing that encourages racers to upgrade. If you make light of those achievements, it doesn't make people want to race. With fewer racers, races aren't as fun and don't payout as much. It is a simple concept many people forget, you build our sport from the bottom up, not the top down.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

jspharmd said:


> And that makes it more important? I would agree, it takes more time, more focus, and more effort, but it doesn't make it any more important. Belittling the achievements of a Cat 5 doesn't encourage them to come out and race again (I mean who cares? Right?) and it doesn't help the sport. Everyone was a Cat 5 at some point and success here is one thing that encourages racers to upgrade. If you make light of those achievements, it doesn't make people want to race. With fewer racers, races aren't as fun and don't payout as much. It is a simple concept many people forget, you build our sport from the bottom up, not the top down.


You're making a lot of presumptions. I said it isn't important ultimately. But a person with professional aspirations may put more relevance in their results than a hobbyist.

I've won some races, and they were great fun for me. But I don't put any more weight into those "accomplishments' as I would hitting a home run in a beer league softball game. It was awesome, but important? When I think "important" I think family, career, health, etc.

That's not elitist, that's just truth. It shouldn't make anyone feel bad.

Holy crap I just became a huge bummer on this thread. Sorry Hacksaw, I really do think your story is cool.


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## Carverbiker (Mar 6, 2013)

You win! Congrats! Very cool. Nice that he took you around and showed off his new protege.

My only experience came doing some volunteer work ( Free Bikes For Kids) where we fix up donated bikes to give to kids who could not afford them for X-Mas. Couple of years ago I was wrenching next to a guy and we started talking. The good natured ribbing and usual equipment comparison conversation turned when he told me he is a close personal friend of Greg LeMond. He pulls out his phone and it is filled with pictures of him with Greg and about a dozen other friends/former teammates at a Greg's 50th B-day party at Greg's place in Jackson Hole IIRC. All kitted out in some special you are old now themed gear. They did alot of riding during the weekend and he said the old pros could still put up some serious watts when they had to, but the stamina was not what it used to be. He said he did some work with Greg on the Revolution trainer I think it related to noise reduction.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

jsedlak said:


> Congrats hacksaw, that's pretty legit! Most pro thing that has ever happened to me is when I took off my wind vest without stopping or spilling my brains on the pavement.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


And the guys stomping around in the 3s would be competitive 2s if they upgraded


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Local Hero said:


> And the guys stomping around in the 3s would be competitive 2s if they upgraded


Every hero is an upgrade away from being packfill.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Great shots BMX! My greatest pro thing to happen was to nearly get run over by Freddie Rodriguez in the aftermath of the Pasadena Tour of California stage, a few years back.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Here is my take, a win is a win. If you didn't have a number pinned on its doesn't count, I have "won" many group rides those wins are meaningless, the race wins I had even the one with only 4 other guys in there mean much more because that was a race everyone was racing the whole time.

As far as "pro" things happening to me, I have been in NRC races with Jelly Bely , Jittery Joes and the like, but the best story I have is from the Greenville series one year. For those who don't know Gville Series are the early season races in Greenville SC. The race that day was on the Donaldson loop at one point the whole field went single file and pace went up and up and up. I was around 20th wheel biting my stem in two and when we went around one turn I could see a big guy in a columbia uniform pulling on the front and it dawned on me, oh George Hincapie is here, luckily he turned off the jets after a bit and the pace settled down.


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## DZfan14 (Jul 6, 2009)

foto said:


> Nice story.
> 
> Soon there will be so many categories/age groups everyone will be a champion.


Not cool. Why do you have diminish the accomplishment like that?


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## goloso (Feb 4, 2004)

Riding in the neutral support cars at the San Francisco Grand Prix.

Finding a lost Magnus Backstedt at one of those SFGPs and guiding him to the sign in. He couldnt have been nicer.

Having coffee on the FDJeux bus with Matty Wilson (Aus road champ) at the start of stage 14 at the 2004 Giro.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

DZfan14 said:


> Not cool. Why do you have diminish the accomplishment like that?


Check other posts by him. This was on the nicer side of the usual posts.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

spade2you said:


> Check other posts by him. This was on the nicer side of the usual posts.


Yes, let's have a competition. Thursday Afternoon Find Foto's Meanest Post World Championships. TAFFMPWC. We can even break it out into categories for you beginner internet stalkers.

Good luck to you all, I hope you enjoy my PO contributions in particular.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

DZfan14 said:


> Not cool. Why do you have diminish the accomplishment like that?


Usually those comments are from people that have not accomplished anything themselves they are best ignored.


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## PDex (Mar 23, 2004)

I caught Hinault's bike from falling when he leaned it up against the tree at the Coors Classic in Boulder (I think it was '82 or '83). He spun around and looked at me like I was stealing it. 

Part of the perks of riding in Boulder in general (and having a kid who rides Juniors in particular) is the built-in cycling mafia. Here's a pic from the Junior fundraiser last year.

Taylor Phinney
Neil Henderson (Taylor's coach)
Danny Summerhill 
Dirk Friel (Training Peaks)
Rory Sutherland
Janni Brajkovic (white sunglasses)
in the background is Biju Thomas (Feedzone cookbook) who cooked/catered the event.
View attachment 278016


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

32and3cross said:


> Usually those comments are from people that have not accomplished anything themselves they are best ignored.


So that's why he hated that CEO who ruined everyone's group ride.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

foto said:


> Yes, let's have a competition. Thursday Afternoon Find Foto's Meanest Post World Championships. TAFFMPWC. We can even break it out into categories for you beginner internet stalkers.
> 
> Good luck to you all, I hope you enjoy my PO contributions in particular.


Add in a numerous masters categories so everyone can win.

Wait...will there be PED testing? 




spade2you said:


> So that's why he hated that CEO who ruined everyone's group ride.


What's the story behind that? 

foto has some rage in him. I'd like to read the thread


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

spade2you said:


> So that's why he hated that CEO who ruined everyone's group ride.


No idea what your talking about


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

32and3cross said:


> No idea what your talking about


Some CEO tried to dominate a group ride and this somehow made it into an interw3b article. RBR was furious becaus he lead the charge for 30 some miles before imploding. ...and HE DIDN'T WAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

spade2you said:


> Some CEO tried to dominate a group ride and this somehow made it into an interw3b article. RBR was furious becaus he lead the charge for 30 some miles before imploding. ...and HE DIDN'T WAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Sounds like much to do about nothing


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

32and3cross said:


> Sounds like much to do about nothing


Not if you're insecure.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

spade2you said:


> Some CEO tried to dominate a group ride and this somehow made it into an interw3b article. RBR was furious becaus he lead the charge for 30 some miles before imploding. ...and HE DIDN'T WAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I don't remember this...


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Found it!!!

Enjoy, that was a good one. Thanks for the reminder, spade. 

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/ge...uys-freds-too-bill-ackman-edition-301294.html


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

spade2you said:


> Not if you're insecure.


Like I said those folks are best ignored.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

_“I had done no biking all summer,” Ackman now admits. Still, he went out at a very fast clip, his hypercompetitive instincts kicking in. As he and Loeb approached Montauk, Loeb texted his friends, who rode out to meet them from the opposite direction. The etiquette would have been for Ackman and Loeb to slow down and greet the other riders, but Ackman just blew by at top speed. The others fell in behind, at first struggling to keep up with the alpha leader. But soon enough Ackman faltered—at Mile 32, Ackman recalls—and fell way behind the others. He was clearly “bonking,” as they say in the cycling world, which is what happens when a rider is dehydrated and his energy stores are depleted._



Nobody pulled through?


I would have attacked him a few times early on to mellow the pace.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Local Hero said:


> Nobody pulled through?
> 
> 
> I would have attacked him a few times early on to mellow the pace.


Do you have a more passive aggressive solution? 

As I said in the thread, if a guy who hasn't ridden in a long time can pull me for 32 miles, I have way bigger problems. I would probably downgrade myself to Cat 6.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Downgrade now I can think of at least 3 people that can take months off the bike and still go out and easily put a hurting on folks for many many miles.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

It sounds like there was a lot going on in that ride (none of it particularly newsworthy). You have a knucklehead drilling the pace while the other guy sits in and sends texts to his strongest riding buddies. When reinforcements arrive all three guys draft off the goober. I get the feeling that they just sat in knowing he'd pop. That's cool too. I just like to attack. 

I suppose sending multiple "emails of concern" after the ride was passive-aggressive enough for the group. 

Actually, I think I'll start doing that. From now on, if a knucklehead goes to hard and gets dropped I'm going to make sure everyone contacts him later to make sure he's OK. 

"Hey, I heard about what happened on the ride and we're all just worried about you. Is everything OK?"


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Local Hero said:


> I suppose sending multiple "emails of concern" after the ride was passive-aggressive enough for the group.
> 
> Actually, I think I'll start doing that. From now on, if a knucklehead goes to hard and gets dropped I'm going to make sure everyone contacts him later to make sure he's OK.
> 
> "Hey, I heard about what happened on the ride and we're all just worried about you. Is everything OK?"


way too funny


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

hmmmm
Having Bob Roll pose with my daughter
Getting passed by Erik Zabel and some other T Kom guys going up Mt Palomar
Cracking jokes @ my local velodrome with Dave Zabriskie and Floyd Landis
Being on my Molteni Merckx and riding alongside Axel. I said "Nice Bike" (he was on a Domo Farm Frites Team SC in full kit) He looks over , smiles and says "You too"


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Local Hero said:


> It sounds like there was a lot going on in that ride (none of it particularly newsworthy). You have a knucklehead drilling the pace while the other guy sits in and sends texts to his strongest riding buddies. When reinforcements arrive all three guys draft off the goober. I get the feeling that they just sat in knowing he'd pop. That's cool too. I just like to attack.
> 
> I suppose sending multiple "emails of concern" after the ride was passive-aggressive enough for the group.
> 
> ...


You guys are crossing threads. This is the one about encountering pros in the wild.


...and my hilarious rage issue.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Local Hero said:


> It sounds like there was a lot going on in that ride (none of it particularly newsworthy). You have a knucklehead drilling the pace while the other guy sits in and sends texts to his strongest riding buddies. When reinforcements arrive all three guys draft off the goober. I get the feeling that they just sat in knowing he'd pop. That's cool too. I just like to attack.
> 
> I suppose sending multiple "emails of concern" after the ride was passive-aggressive enough for the group.
> 
> ...


Throw in some ad hominem and it sounds like a plan! :thumbsup:


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

foto said:


> pros in the wild.


Back on topic. There's a domestic pro in my neighborhood. This is him motorpacing: Loader-CashCall - YouTube

Here he is putting the hurt on our Saturday Morning Ride. When Pros Attack - YouTube

(What you can't see is that the majority of the 25 riders were caught out by his little attack. The group was split into several small groups of 3-4 riders.) 

There's also a 20 year old phenom who has been racing in Europe for the past year. He's originally from the area and when he returns to see his folks he takes all the KOMs, including the local 4+ mile circuit course. I was in a 4-man break with him and we put over three minutes into the rest of the field.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Other stories:


Driven team cars in San Fran GP and Philly for women's teams.Done sprint drills with Tyler Farrar and motorpaced with Micheal Creed and Danny Pate at SD velodrome. Had dinner with J Vaughters, drinks with Greg Lemond, beers with Roger Hammond, been thrown out of a bar with Micheal Creed. Prolly some other stuff that I can't remember right now.

Oh and had Eddie B as a coach.


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## ultimobici (Jul 16, 2005)

Had Bruyneel in my workshop, whilst setting up a Radioshack bike for a friend of his. Ended up taking the pi$$ out off his mate with him for wanting a cadence sensor on the Garmin I was fitting. A little surreal...


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

Flying from Rome to Sardinia in 2007 with all the Giro riders heading for the opening team TT prologue on LaMaddelena. Sat next to Axel Merckx for two hours and three years later he knew me by name when my son and I were waiting in line for an autographed picture with him. 

Back in the 90's, Summerville, SC would have an early season Crit that paid big. I would host pro riders at my house. One year I had four riders from the Saab team including Declan Lonegan and Dave Mann. The previous year I had Greg Oravetz who was the US Pro champion just a few years prior.


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## adam_mac84 (Sep 22, 2010)

Had Sven Nys' arm around my shoulder for a photo at a meet-and-greet... it was awesome


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

as a teen I had Greg Lemond toss me a water bottle during the Red Zinger race
I had a La Vie Clare jersey on. A couple decades later I had him sign it


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

atpjunkie said:


> as a teen I had Greg Lemond toss me a water bottle during the Red Zinger race
> I had a La Vie Clare jersey on. A couple decades later I had him sign it


In the late 80's, I was living and riding in the PNW. One day I saw a group heading towards me but I didn't recogninze anyone so I kept going. I thought one guy looked like Greg L but I thought, surely he wouldn't be riding in rural WA State. Found out later it was Greg along with some of his teammates.


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## upstateSC-rider (Aug 21, 2004)

32and3cross said:


> As far as "pro" things happening to me, I have been in NRC races with Jelly Bely , Jittery Joes and the like, but the best story I have is from the Greenville series one year. For those who don't know Gville Series are the early season races in Greenville SC. The race that day was on the Donaldson loop at one point the whole field went single file and pace went up and up and up. I was around 20th wheel biting my stem in two and when we went around one turn I could see a big guy in a columbia uniform pulling on the front and it dawned on me, oh George Hincapie is here, luckily he turned off the jets after a bit and the pace settled down.


I have another GH and Greenville story...Few years ago in the Fall Michelin Classic race in downtown I was in one of my first Cat 5 races. I flatted out on Saturday but after the race I fixed the flat and rode around a little bit and came back to the Neutral Support tent to ask how I go about a wheel change in case I flatted the next day. 
As I was talking to one of the mechanics, GH rolls in asked the other mechanic to adjust his saddle height. As I said Hi to him this kid, about 6 and coaxed by his Dad, comes into the pits from the sidewalk entrance. He's eating a chocolate ice cream cone and probably wearing as much ice cream on his face and hands as there was in the cone.
He says Hi to GH and then touches the handlebar...You should've seen Big George cringe.


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## JaeP (Mar 12, 2002)

Great story 'Hack and congrats on being a State Champion! 

Way back when a buddy and I were riding when we were soon engulfed by a large group of cyclist from the Olympic Training Center here in Sandy Eggo. I couldn't remember any faces but I was surprised by how shopworn most of their bikes were; after all, this was a training ride. Someone said "Mind if we sit in" and my buddy and I pulled them a couple of miles to Hwy 94 were they went their separate ways to find roads more vertical.

Shaun Wallace yelled "STAY" at me while warming up at the Velodrome.


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## little_shoe (Apr 18, 2008)

32and3cross said:


> . For those who don't know Gville Series are the early season races in Greenville SC.


I got to race the last two weekends of that this year. Really nice having a big race series like that right next to my house. The routes up by the mountains they had were pretty nice too. We actually had flurries on saturday of week 3.


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## Mosovich (Feb 3, 2004)

I got a few.. Rode in the Tibco team car during nationals, Had Michael Engleman stay at my house a few weeks during nationals, had dinner with Levi one night, Had lunch with Axel Merckx, did an MTB ride with Adam Craig ..


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## CalgaryDave (Jan 7, 2002)

Two close encounters stand out for me, both with legends in the Canadian cycling scene due to their success on home turf and internationally.

1/ A friend and I were out for a sharp MTB ride on a sunny spring day in Calgary and our route took us through a highway underpass tunnel, of the 15' diameter corrugated pipe style. As we entered the dark tunnel our vision went to almost nil as our eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. Fortunately the two riders coming through from the opposite direction saw us, yelled, and we four came to a stop nearly tire to tire, avoiding a head-on collision. The curly red hair and beaming smile of the lady who graciously said, "Whewww, that was close. Have a fun ride" easily identified her to us as multi-discipline Olympic medal winner Clara Hughes.

2/ The same friend and I, later that year, found ourselves with a slim lead for our category of the TransRockies Challenge MTB stage race after five days of the seven day race. The second place team (teams of two) had been closing the gap each day and math had us both on edge. Breakfast and dinner at that type of race are a buffet for all competitors, from pro to hack, and on the sixth morning I was doing my best to stuff down enough energy to give me a good start. The rider who sat himself across the table from me was the top dog in the race, one half of the eventual winning men's team. He recognized me as being "that guy racing with the tiny chick", the tiny chick being our provincial champ, and asked how things were going. I said I was the drafting horse for her but she could out-climb me and with the race rules stating that teammates had to remain within two minutes distance of each other we were finding ourselves a mismatch for each other. I asked him if he had any advice. His reply, "Well, if you chose to play by the rules you're definitely f*cked. If it were me I'd pin it to win it." 

At the closing ceremony we watched Andreas Hestler take top spot in the Open Men's category while we took second in ours, having missed out by a minute over seven days of racing, a sliver of margin in that race format.


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## Kemmelberg (Dec 27, 2005)

Got top billing over Miguel Indurain in the local newspaper for the Sarthe region of France in 1992 because I won a race and all Miguel did was consolidate his place atop the world rankings.


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## Used2Run (Sep 5, 2012)

I took a KOM by 1 second without knowing it 2 weeks ago. Then, 2 days later, the guy who previously had it took it back by a second. So, a few days later I went nearly all out and dropped the time on it by nearly 30 seconds. 


I was really proud of myself for a few days. Now, I just feel like a prick...


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## Cyclo-phile (Sep 22, 2005)

I used to wrench for the Velo Bella mountain bike and cyclocross teams, so I've had the pleasure of working with several women that represented the US at Worlds: Barb Howe, Deedee Winfield, and Amy Dombrowski.

I helped out the Peanut Butter Twenty20 team a few years ago at the Philly race doing bottle feeds. The same weekend I had dinner with Frankie Andreu, who was directing the team for the race.

In '97 I met John Tomac at the NORBA Nationals at Seven Springs. Last year I got the chance to talk to him again before watching his son, Eli, race motocross nationals.


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## Used2Run (Sep 5, 2012)

Fun fact, Sue Haywood and I are the same height. I was at my first cross race (also, first bike race) this last fall and saw a bike there sitting by a trash can with a for sale sign on it. I called the number and pedaled it around some and liked it so I eventually bought it. I had a a few of the LBS guys with me to make sure it fit and they were half star-struck when the lady came over to talk to me about it. It took me a while to look up who she was but then I realized that I will probably never ride that bike at the level she did. 

She even gave me a free jar of her hot sauce she makes. She neglected to mention how hot that $hit is.


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## Duane Gran (Feb 3, 2004)

Local Hero said:


> In my opinion, State Champion titles matter as much as winning the Tuesday Night Worlds. And I took that prestigious title last night.


Maybe in your area... In my neck of the woods the person who finished outside of the top 10 usually is training 15 hours a week. State championships in Virginia are rarely taken easily and it is a big deal to the teams when they have a jersey holder in their ranks.


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