"Chasing" George

George Hincapie is one of those guys that I can’t help but root for. I don’t know why. I guess I just sense that he’s a man of great character and we should want more men like that representing our country in an international sport such as cycling. Plus, he rocks the US National Champion kit.

My morning started early. Crazy early. Like some of you may have just been getting to bed kind of early. The intention was to get up at 4:00 AM, but since I have chronic insomnia and some sort of issue with waking up an hour before I need to, I was out of bed by 3:30. Turned out to be a good thing because it allowed me to hit the road early and arrive at the start of the Amgen Breakaway Ride an hour before it was due to begin.

There weren’t many people there when I arrived. Just a collection of volunteers, early birds, and oh… George Hincapie. Yes, Big George was also an hour early and rolled up on his BMC at the same time I arrived.

Since I wasn’t there to ride, I just wandered a bit and took photos, desperately hoping to get at least one good shot of George. I watched him give interviews, sign autographs, and take a few pictures with fans. Everyone that approached him turned away with a glowing smile, not only thrilled to have this rare opportunity to ride with a pro cyclist, but to ride with the US National Champion and one of the most popular riders in the pro peloton.

George Hincapie interviewing with the local NBC affiliate, KCRA - Sacramento

After my brief hour of observing George Hincapie’s interaction with the media and fans, I’ve concluded that he’s definitely one of the “nice guys.” Nice guys don’t always finish last and it doesn’t have to be a tragedy when he doesn’t win. His positive attitude is much more important that winning races and truly sets him apart.

Waiting to address the crowd before the 113 mile ride from Davis, CA to Santa Rosa, CA

 

George thanked everyone for supporting the cause and reminded riders to be safe - Right back at ya Big George!

 
Additional photos can be seen on my flickr page here.

Velotherapy with Zippy

April has been filled with busy weekends and poor weather that have left little time for my own riding. I’ve hit up two races this month: the Copperopolis Road Race the first weekend and the Sea Otter Classic last weekend. Copperopolis was cold and Sea Otter offered me a chance to finally get to see Burke Swindlehurst of TeamGive race. Cheering loudly for him didn’t work, but in fairness, the race looked tough. Maybe if I’d fulfilled my promise of cowbell and pom poms the outcome would have been different, but I doubt it. Sorry T-Bird! I’ll try to bring reinforcements to Nevada City.

Peloton in the feed zone - Sea Otter Classic Circuit Race, April 17, 2010

Upon my return from Sea Otter on Sunday, I ventured out for ride number two with my new shoe and pedal set up (Sidi Carbon 5 Pro and Speedplay Zero purchased for 25% off on Easter Sunday – SCORE!). I crashed and burned immediately. Feeling defeated, cut my ride in half and returned home, wondering if the three months I have to prepare for the LIVESTRONG Challenge is going to be enough.

My first pair of fine Italian footwear

I’ve since realized that my days on the bike are filled with many ups and downs. It just wasn’t a good weekend for me. I was distracted by work, hadn’t taken my meds, and had a three hour drive home the night before. The legs never felt very well. Regardless, at least I tried and that’s half the battle. Who could tell what the next ride would have in store?

In contrast, today was one of those up days. It was a highly stressful work week for me, but from the beginning of the ride, my legs felt amazing. Almost as if I wasn’t putting in any work at all. It's a good thing too, because I was in desperate need of some velotherapy. An hour into the ride, my back started to bother me just a bit, and when I slowed down and pulled right to allow for an oncoming truck to pass an oncoming tractor, I was dropped by a couple on a tandem. That’s when I kicked it into high gear. No, I didn’t catch them because I let them go too far before launching the chase, but it did motivate me to work vigorously. The fact that there were many other cyclists out today was also comforting.

With 41.35 km in my legs from today, I returned home feeling remarkably energized and happy. Gotta love those endorphins! I’m looking forward to an early start tomorrow to catch George Hincapie then returning home for another ride in this amazing California weather.