Nickname(s):
Skippy, Closer, Poser, Preacher
City where I live:
Holland
Other Humans and/or Critters I live with:
Gail (lovely wife)
Abby (yellow lab)
Simon (yellow lab)
I originally hail from:
Indianapolis, IN (home of Marshall "Major" Taylor)
I have called myself a cyclist for:
Serious since 1982. Gail also rides. The dogs don't understand it, yet.
These are the bikes that I own:
1. Colnago Dream Plus (road)
2. Bianchi Axis (cyclocross)
3. Faggin (track bike)
4. Klein Mantra (MTB)
5. Cannondale RT2000 (tandem)
6. '85 Centurion Lemans RS (my first lugged bike that I bought with paper route money)
Favorite bike:
N/A
Dream bike:
The Colnago is a Dream Plus model… that sort of sums it up.
Average number of miles riden a year:
500 more than the year before.
Favorite cycling memory/memories:
1. Junior Track Racing in front of my parents at Major Taylor Velodrome.
2. My big brother holding me at the start of TT's.
3. Taking my wife to the Velodrome for the first time and bypassing the stands for the infield.
4. Singing songs while racing.
5. The Epic Holland-Fennville-Holland tour of February 2003 with Brent Groenwoud that finished in a 15 degree blizzard.
6. My first century ride.
7. Cracking my helmet (and not my skull) in 2002.
8. Racing my 4 year old nephew in Indianapolis (with my cross bike, I just DOMINATED him on his 16 inch wheeled bike)
Worst cycling memory/memories:
1. Vomiting in the infield of the Velodrome at every race as a Junior.
2. Quitting the sport COMPLETELY in 1988.
3. The 2002 Iceman (my first and last Iceman)
All time favorite ride/route:
1. 333 meters no right turns.
2. Any ride with Jim "The Bud Man" Keur.
3. Saturday mornings when Robin comes home from Colorado…I love sprinting with girls.
4. Bloomington, Indiana.
Cycling advice and tips:
1. Relax -- you are never as good or as bad as you may think. Stop taking this stuff so seriously; there is always somebody significantly faster than you. And when you do win, remember…unless it's a rainbow jersey or an Olympic medal, then today's win really didn't mean a whole lot, did it?
2. Regardless of your speed, there is no excuse for you or your equipment to not look really good, and a team kit includes a matching helmet and socks. Your riding wardrobe deserves as much attention as your LT training.
3. Riding you bike is supposed to be fun. If it isn't fun, why bother?
4. When in doubt, ask yourself, "What would Eddy Merckx do?"
Favorite cyclist and why:
Eddy Merckx -- The one and only; the greatest who ever has or will ever come in contact with a bike. No one has ever dominated EVERY aspect of his sport the way Eddy did. Tour, Giro, Vuelta, World Championships, 6 Day Races, Classics, He raced every race, and he raced to win every single day.
Average number of flat tires per season:
2
Favorite ice cream flavor:
Fudge Brownie
Preferences:
- Campagnolo (Record) over Shimano... The ultimate combination of artistic beauty and engineering perfection--nothing else is worth mentioning.
- Aluminum and carbon frames laden with carbon, titanium, and aluminum components. In the modern day, steel has one place..... (cables and housings).
- Bibs over Shorts they work regardless of how much fat you have.
Other Preferences:
- The Giro over the Tour
- Tubulars over Clinchers
- Road over Track, Track over Cyclo-cross, Cyclo-cross over bone marrow transplant, bone marrow transplant over mountain biking
- Shaved over Hairy
- Rollers over Trainers
- Dogs over Cats
- Italian over everything else
- Brunettes over Blondes
- Sprinting over Climbing
- Drafting over Pulling
Riding fuel:
Extran and Tums, the fastest cure for leg cramps.
Post ride snack:
Anything (in mass quantities)
Favorite song to have stuck in my head during a ride:
Since 1985 I hear the entire soundtrack from American Flyers every time I get on a bike.
