Gale was scheduled to shoot some cycling and triathlon training videos today at Active. I decided it would be a good opportunity to meet my coach and get some footage for the blog so I volunteered to be one of the "models".
I don't normally think of myself as awkward but in the world of triathletes, I just might be. I wear old clothes, my face gets bright red when I work out, and no matter how hard I try I come home from every ride with a grease stain on my leg in the shape of a chain ring.
Standing next to Gale it is easy to tell, who is the coach and who is the rookie. Gale wore matching Pearl Izumi pinks and black that reached from the trim on her shirt to the mesh in her shoes: I wore a ratty jersey I got for free in Japan eight years ago. Gale's frame is tiny and her body, trim: I kept pulling at my shirt, in hopes of covering up my tummy. I forgot sunscreen, I didn't shave my legs, and of course I gave myself a tire mark in between video takes.
Most of the video shoots were done with Jesse's bike and Jesse, the other model, spent the prior evening making it presentable. He wiped the tubes, dug the dirt out of the cogs, lubed the chain and tightened screws that needed to be tightened.
When we put my bike on the rack I noticed everything I didn't think to do the night before. My handlebar tape was peeling, the gearing was caked in dirt, the brilliant blue tubes were covered in a light gray dust and my cyclometer screen was dead.
"Eek, it's kind of dirty," I said.
Gale was polite. "It's OK, you can do what you like; personally, I prefer a clean bike."
We laughed and I made a mental note to buy some chain lube.
At the end of the day, we discussed what still needed to be done. Gale stopped mid-sentence to wipe what was undoubtedly a grease stain on my forehead.
Gale, It was great finally meeting you. Thanks for all the training and racing tips!
Adrienne
says:
Belle ~
It was great to meet you too! I'm back in cooler-than-San-Diego Colorado and just finished watching the Super Bowl. I'm sure I missed a good party at Toby's place. Hope the gang had fun!
Thanks for your nice compliments and know that I did not begin as the clean-bike fanatic that I am now. Honestly, I was in your shoes when I started cycling - having the same basic characteristics you describe. I didn't know about keeping a bike clean and how that would keep me clean when I had to change a flat. I had chain ring marks on my legs, and tire marks too. My forehead wasn't the only place I had grease smudges, as grease seemed to migrate everywhere.
At least you were wearing a cycling jersey. I didn't wear cycling jerseys for a long while. I wore only t-shirts, race t-shirts, for my triathlon bike training because after all, I wasn't a bicycle racer so why would I need a cycling jersey?
I've had several kind mentors that have helped me learn what I know now. In my early cycling years Dave French and Mike Noonan, fellow downhill ski instructors and good buddies, were the first ones to teach me about group riding skills. Dave owned a bike shop and helped my buy my first nice bike. He also started teaching me about properly caring for my bike and how to make adjustments myself. Al Killen (mountain bike champ Jimi Killen's dad) patiently taught me more about bike assembly, disassembly and maintenance.
More riding skills from the Fort Collins Cycling Club and "Jimmy D" - who worked with the big dog cyclists and was nice enough to pull me aside and teach me more about racing and riding tactics so I could hang with the group ride rather than being dropped after 20 minutes.
Additional riding skills, more maintenance training and keeping me in the loop of the latest and greatest in equipment came from from Christophe Noel, Kyle Radford and Kevin Hansen - all from Peloton Cycles. Christophe was the first to convince me I needed to ditch the t-shirts and el cheapo cycling shorts and invest in high quality cycling gear - Pearl Izumi - he told me I would see a comfort difference and he was right.
Yet more riding skills from Christophe "Snake" Ricord, former USA Cycling National Team member.
Roy Gatesman is my current ace mechanic, store manager and tech guru at Peloton Cycles and I learn something new from him at a steady pace. Trent Schlilousky has owned the store from the beginning and has been kind enough to take good care of me and my bikes.
What I'm trying to say here is my current cycling skills, love of the sport, endurance and knowledge came from years of questions and several bike shop guys. Guys that love bikes and guys with lots of patience. I've probably missed some names here and I apologize to those I missed.
I'm sure you could tell during my visit that I am a real supporter of local bike shops - the local shops and the local cyclists have taught me most of what I know about proper bike care and cycling skills.
If you decide to become a bike fanatic, be patient. Find good local mentors and ask loads and loads of questions about everything.
If you decide you don't want to be a bike fanatic - you can still ride your bike, be fit and have a great time. After all, that's the ultimate goal, right?